Three regional and international civil society networks who are involved in solidarity work, conflict prevention, and democracy protection and sustenance are set to conduct a joint solidarity and democracy mission to Timor Leste.
Three regional and international civil society networks who are involved in solidarity work, conflict prevention, and democracy protection and sustenance are set to conduct a joint solidarity and democracy mission to Timor Leste.
A preliminary visit has been conducted in Timor Leste for two weeks by the Regional Coordinator and Regional Initiator of APSOC and GPPAC respectively, Augusto N.Miclat, Jr. He met with civil society groups, government officials and the UN (Special Representatives of the Secretary General (SRSG) in the country. The planned mission is most welcome and is seen to help facilitate and contribute to the national dialogue processes being initiated in country.
Offering solidarity to the people of Timor Leste is the main aim of the mission. Its specific aims are:
1. To determine possible avenues for supporting a partnership of civil society, the Timor Leste government, and the UN in preventing an escalation of conflict in the country and ascertain the capacity building needs of civil society groups as active players in the process;
2. To submit proposals and recommendations to the Timor Leste government, civil society organizations, the church, the UN and the other parties essential to the resolution of the conflict; and
3. To formalize mechanisms with groups, key actors and organizations for sustained networking and partnership.
To achieve these aims, it is imperative that the mission meets with key government, political, church, grassroots, UN, and civil society personalities and figures in Timor Leste.
The mission is tentatively set on 27 – 30 August 2006.
The networks involved in this mission are World Forum for Democratization in Asia (WFDA), Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC).
The WFDA is a network of democrats in Asia composed of parliamentarians, activists, development workers and donors whose mission is to promote democracy and hasten the creation of fully democratized societies in Asia. Network steering committee members are the Alliance for Reform and Democracy in Asia (ARDA); Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID); Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN); Forum Asia Democracy (FAD) and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
WFDA is the Asian counterpart of the World Movement for Democracy (WMD) and the Non-Governmental Process of the Community of Democracies (CD).
While GPPAC is global network cum movement composed of 18 regions that aims to develop and institutionalize mechanisms of partnership for conflict prevention among the UN, governments and civil society. It is a response to a call of the UN Secretary General for civil society to initiate such a process and determine its role in complementing existing official and institutional mechanisms at the multilateral and national levels. During its inaugural conference at the UN headquarters in New York in July 2005, His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao was the only Head of State who personally attended and committed to the ideals and principles of GPPAC. Meanwhile, the GPPAC- Timor Leste, anchored by the K’dadalak Sulimutuk Institute (KSI), an NGO led by Antero Benedito da Silva has initiated a community and popular security program which they hope to mainstream.
And APSOC is an outgrowth of the Asia-Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) committed to solidarity for the peoples in the region in the myriad issues and concerns confronting them and common struggles.
The Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) will co-anchor the mission hopefully with its local partners like GPPAC-TL, PDF, KSI among others and TFD which is the secretariat of WFDA. IID is the convener and secretariat of APSOC, the regional initiator for Southeast Asia of GPPAC and a Steering Committee member of WFDA.
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