Word: timorously
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...East Timor: Up in Smoke
...East Timor: Up in Smoke
...Even as the authorities announced an inquiry, theories were quickly floated as to the causes of the unrest. Without specifying by whom, Gusmao, Alkatiri and the U.N., which maintains peacekeepers in East Timor, all declared that the students had been provoked to riot. That's possible. East Timor's diverse ex-guerrilla groups used to be united in the fight against Indonesia's military. But now they are falling out over who should run the country and how, not least because many former rebels are jobless and disenfranchised, and feel cheated by the new government. Recent weeks have seen...
...East Timor's problems go beyond insider intrigues. The biggest burden is the economy, the poorest in Asia. Unemployment is estimated to be between 50% and 65%. According to the U.N., nearly half the population earns less than 55 cents a day. Despite a preponderance of farmers, East Timor still imports rice and other staples. Meanwhile, an offshore oil drilling agreement with Australia is bogged down in negotiations. Riots are the last thing a nation desperate for foreign investment needs. "If you burn people's houses and steal their possessions," said Gusmao in a national radio broadcast, "they will leave...
...Another issue is the state of the government. Many officials are either former rebel fighters with no experience building a stable society, or members of East Timor's Elite. Prime Minister Alkatiri?who led the effort to make Portuguese the national language even though only a fraction of Timorese speak it?belongs to this class, and his ministers have come under attack from less privileged compatriots who think their lifestyle too lavish. A few days before the riots, Gusmao himself launched a withering attack on the administration, calling it incompetent and uncaring. "We cannot justify our situation simply because...