German-East Timorese Relations

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German-East Timorese Relations
Location of Germany and East Timor
GermanyGermany East TimorEast Timor
Germany East Timor

The states of Germany and East Timor maintain smooth relations.

history

East Timor was part of the Portuguese Empire for 500 years as Portuguese Timor . In the 19th century there were rumors that Russia and Germany wanted to set up a coal station in Portuguese Timor, or that the colony could be exchanged for Germany, France or Great Britain for the recognition of Portuguese claims in Africa . In fact, on August 30, 1898, Germany and Great Britain agreed in the Angola Treaty on a joint loan for heavily indebted Portugal, for which the Portuguese colonies were provided as collateral. In the event of insolvency, Portuguese Timor would have fallen to Germany. In 1899, however, the treaty was undermined by the extension of the British guarantee of protection for Portugal and all of its possessions. In 1909 and 1911 two German expeditions visited the island of Timor under the guidance of geologist Johannes Wanner . When the First World War broke out , Portugal was initially neutral. In August 1914, the German cruiser Emden appeared off the eastern tip of Timor . Governor Filomeno da Câmara de Melo Cabral reacted quite aggressively and let the head of the Tutuala post board the Emden . This instructed the Emden that they should leave the Portuguese waters immediately. In April 1916 it was learned that German warships were in the Dutch East Indies. Then the gunboat Pátria was sent from Macau to Timor .

In 1975 Indonesia occupied the territory and annexed it in violation of international law, which led to a guerrilla war. Like most countries in the world, Germany was reluctant to criticize Indonesia. There were no sanctions, not even on the arms sales to Indonesia. Only sometimes did Germany reprimand human rights violations in East Timor without drawing any conclusions from them. In February 1993, during his visit to Indonesia , Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl (CDU) announced that 39 warships from the holdings of the East German Navy were to be sold to Indonesia. At this time, the ships were in the Peenemünde naval port . On May 29, a few hundred people from the East German peace movement and activists from Watch Indonesia demonstrated ! against the planned sale, with reference to the East Timor conflict. The protesters entered the port and occupied four corvettes and a landing craft. They put up banners and protest signs. At night, the protesters were taken away by the police, except for seven who had locked themselves in a ship. After two days of negotiations, the protesters came out before the police broke the door.

The Berlin Nakroma

When President Suharto visited the Hanover Fair and other cities in Germany in 1995 , he was accompanied by minor protests, including by Amnesty International . The Weimar City Council declared Suharto an undesirable person. In Dresden he was refused entry in the city's golden book , leaflets were thrown at him and his vehicle was prevented from continuing. Suharto authorized members of the Indonesian secret service to investigate in Germany who could be held responsible for these demonstrations. These investigations were mainly aimed at East Timorese who lived in Germany, but also at Sri-Bintang Pamungkas , a member of the PPP and the Indonesian parliament, who was in Germany at the same time. Even if the then federal government under Helmut Kohl addressed the human rights violations at its meeting with Suharto, it was still a proponent of economic cooperation between Indonesia and Germany. Human rights organizations particularly criticized the export of German submarines and Bo 105 helicopters to Indonesia. Germany, together with the likewise conservative government of the United Kingdom under John Major, also opposed efforts by the Republic of Ireland to put the East Timor conflict on the European Union's agenda during its EU Council Presidency in the second half of 1996 .

After the resignation of Indonesia's dictator Suharto in 1998, the red-green federal government took up the issue of East Timor as part of its EU Council Presidency in the first half of 1999. EU resolutions called for the release of the East Timorese freedom fighter Xanana Gusmão and the disarming of the pro-Indonesian militias . Measures to enforce these demands were not taken. As long as East Timor was not in the headlines, there was no need to act on the part of the federal government. The UNAMET was given a small financial contribution through the EU and only offered five police officers. After the outbreak of Indonesian violence after the independence referendum in East Timor in 1999 , Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul (SPD) was the first member of the government to demand the immediate deployment of a peacekeeping force. Previously, human rights organizations and the churches had turned to the government and parliamentarians several times to get support for East Timor. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Greens) declared on September 8th that Indonesia must now act against mass terror or allow a peace mission. Michael Steiner , foreign policy spokesman for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) thought the deployment of a peacekeeping force was still premature. First of all, it is a question of not releasing Indonesia from its obligations.

The German Ambassador Peter Schoof and East Timor's President Francisco Guterres

Together with a number of other countries, the Federal Republic of East Timor has been supporting the establishment of the UN interim administration since 1999. Germany also participated in the International Armed Forces East Timor (INTERFET). On October 7, 1999, the Bundestag approved the dispatch of a medical contingent with up to 100 soldiers to Darwin, Australia . Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping sent the German Air Force Contingent (DtLwKtg) to East Timor. The Luftwaffe stationed two C-160 Transall transport aircraft with MEDEVAC equipment from the Air Transport Wing 63 from Hohn and the Air Transport Wing 62 from Wunstorf together with medical specialists. On October 17th, the German task force was subordinated to INTERFET. The first operation took place on October 21, 1999, when injured INTERFET soldiers and a civilian UN employee were evacuated from Dili .

On May 20, 2002, East Timor was granted independence by the United Nations . Since then there have been diplomatic relations between Germany and East Timor. Since his first visit in November 2002, the then Foreign Minister and later East Timorese President José Ramos-Horta has visited Germany several times. In 2004, President Xanana Gusmão was a guest here, most recently as Prime Minister in 2012 . On February 11, 2005, Joschka Fischer was the first EU Foreign Minister to visit East Timor.

diplomacy

Peter Badge (2013, with microphone), Honorary Consul East Timor in Berlin

The Federal Republic of Germany does not have its own embassy in East Timor and is represented there by the German embassy in Jakarta in Indonesia .

East Timor does not have its own embassy in Germany and is represented here via its representation in Brussels .

There is an East Timorese honorary consulate in Berlin . Honorary consul has been Peter Badge since September 26, 2011 .

economy

An investment promotion and protection agreement (IFV) concluded in 2005 between Germany and East Timor is still awaiting ratification (as of November 2017).

In 2018, the East Timorese statistical office registered imports from Germany worth 435,000 US dollars (2016: 362,000 US dollars), placing Germany in 26th place (2016: 27th place) of all importers in East Timor. These include tractors for $ 146,080. For a long time Germany was the largest buyer of East Timorese coffee alongside the United States. In 2018, Germany only ranks third among coffee buyers behind the USA and Canada. In 2018 it was 937,200 kg of coffee for 2,198,372 US dollars (2016: 2,587,190 kg for 3,883,000 US dollars). This puts Germany in fourth place behind Indonesia in terms of total exports to East Timor . In addition, there were re- exports from East Timor to Germany totaling 52,000 US dollars (11th place).

Development Assistance

Emblem of the German-East Timorese cooperation on the GTZ house in Viqueque

East Timor has been a recipient of German development aid and cooperation since 1999, particularly in the areas of promoting peace and development, especially in rural areas. So far, goods and services worth around 56 million euros have gone to East Timor. During the first period of the United Nations interim administration for East Timor, Germany operated food, emergency and refugee aid and the drinking water supply in the eastern districts . Later, German experts helped set up a registration system and issue ID cards. There was also German support for the publication of the final report "Chega!" By the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR). The reconciliation with the former occupying power also helps state employees of East Timor to study in Indonesia.

East Timor is also advised on setting up and running agriculture, community initiatives in villages and water catchment and forest areas. Since 2012, the project has received major EU funding. In 2016, the project “Sustainable use of agro-biodiversity to secure livelihood” was added, also with financial support from the European Union. Peacekeeping is provided by building up state structures for youth care, non-violent conflict resolution and dozens of individual projects for young people.

In 2007 the East Timorese ferry Berlin Nakroma was financed by Germany together with ship maintenance and repair facilities. The ship is the only one serving the regular service between the state capital Dili, the island of Atauro and the exclave Oe-Cusse Ambeno . Germany also helped in creating the institutional prerequisites for maritime legislation and compliance with international standards in maritime transport. At the government talks in March 2013, it was decided to build another ferry with German support. 2016 new signposts and information boards in the Nino Konis Santana National Park . For the period from 2018 to 2022, Germany promised East Timor further aid in the field of youth and agriculture in the amount of 7.4 million euros.

With “Ai ba Futuru”, the European Union and Germany are funding a partnership program for sustainable agriculture. Thousands of trees were planted in Venilale , for example .

Entry requirements

Citizens of East Timor are exempt from visa requirements for the European Union. Germans can also enter East Timor without a visa.

See also

Web links

Commons : German-East Timorese Relations  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Federal Foreign Office: Timor-Leste: Relations with Germany , accessed on November 29, 2017.
  2. ↑ Hague Justice Portal: Island of Timor: Award - Boundaries in the Island of Timor  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / haguejusticeportal.net  
  3. ^ The New York Times, October 7, 1910, Portugal's rich colonies: Germany and Great Britain Not Long Ago Had a Plan to Divide Them.
  4. ↑ ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: ATLAS OF MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ESCAP REGION, Volume 17, Geology and Mineral Resources of Timor-Leste, United Nations , p. 16, accessed on March 19, 2013.
  5. ↑ Australian Department of Defense, Patricia Dexter: Historical Analysis of Population Reactions to Stimuli - A case of East Timor ( Memento of the original of September 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 1.1 MB)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dspace.dsto.defence.gov.au
  6. ↑ a b Monika Schlicher: Intervention in Asia: The example of East Timor - conflict resolution without adequate prevention , March 2004, In: Prof. Thomas Hoppe (Ed.): Protection of human rights, civil interference and military intervention - analyzes and recommendations , project group Just Peace of the German Commission Justitia et Pax, 2004 / Verlag Dr. Köster, Berlin, Chapter 6, pp. 257-300.
  7. ↑ UNSW Canberra: Companion to East Timor - International Solidarity - Phase Four , accessed December 29, 2018.
  8. ↑ Watch Indonesia! : Suhartos Chaostage in Hanover, Indonesia-Information No. 3 1995.
  9. ↑ German Bundestag Printed Matter 13/1648 ( Memento of 28 September 2007 at the Internet Archive ) 7. June 1995.
  10. ↑ Stephen McCloskey, Paul Hainsworth: East Timor Question: The Struggle for Independence from Indonesia , 2000, ISBN 978-0-85771-229-5 .
  11. ↑ German Embassy Jakarta: First Honorary Consul Timor-Lestes in Germany appointed ( Memento of the original from January 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 7, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jakarta.diplo.de
  12. ↑ Direcção-Geral de Estatística: External Trade Statistics Annual Reports 2016 ( Memento of the original from January 10, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed January 10, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.statistics.gov.tl
  13. ↑ Direcção-Geral de Estatística: External Trade Statistics Annual Reports 2018 , accessed on April 17, 2019.
  14. ↑ a b c German Embassy Jakarta: Development cooperation with Timor-Leste ( Memento of the original from January 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 7, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jakarta.diplo.de
  15. ↑ German Embassy Jakarta: New signposts and boards in the Nino Konis Santana National Park in Tutuala (Lautém region, Timor-Leste) inaugurated ( Memento of the original from January 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 7, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jakarta.diplo.de
  16. ↑ Timor Agora: Alemaña Ofrese € 7.4 Milioens ba Timoe-Leste , February 9, 2018 , accessed on February 12, 2018.
  17. ↑ LUSA: Covid-19: União Europeia quer apoiar Timor-Leste na recuperação económica , April 6, 2020 , accessed on April 6, 2020.
  18. ↑ Introduced with Regulation (EU) No. 509/2014 (PDF) of May 15, 2014, which came into force on June 9 , 2014.
  19. ↑ Foreign Office: Entry Regulations for German Citizens , accessed on December 7, 2017.