Timor-Leste is proud of being rated as the strongest democracy in Southeast Asia, but as it prepares to receive Pope Francis, tensions between activists and the authorities are rising.
Next week, Timor-Leste will welcome Pope Francis, its first papal visit in 35 years. Aside from being an enormous event in this deeply Catholic country, the two-day visit also has resonance in terms of its recent history.
To say this is a cause for excitement is an understatement. But while officials and the foreign media will likely frame the visit by looking back at Timor-Leste’s independence struggle, younger Timorese citizens are more concerned with social justice in their fledgling democracy and solidarity with other liberation movements around the world.
This week, the detentions of an activist and journalist, an assault on street vendors by security forces, and the eviction of families from the site of the papal mass have all caused considerable anger. Timor-Leste’s activists, meanwhile, have a different idea of what patriotism means. For them, this is an opportunity to shine a light not just on their nation’s achievements, but also on its continuing struggles for social and economic justice, including, notably, for victims of clerical abuse.
While displaying the Morning Star flag is illegal in Indonesia, it is not in Timor-Leste. The West Papuan cause understandably enjoys widespread support from the people here . In another worrying development on Tuesday night, state security officers were filmed brutally clearing a group itinerant vendors who were selling vegetables from carts in the suburb of Kampung Baru. Shaky mobile phone footage shows a chaotic scene as uniformed men kicked and tipped over carts and pushed people away as terrified children screamed and cried.
Pope Pope Francis Timor Leste West Papua
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