Dili, February 14, 2025 (Média Democracia) – Related to Timor Leste’s post-accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) where the Government of Timor Leste together with the World Trade Organization held a national conference related to “Timor Leste’s post-accession to the WTO” on 10-11 February 2025 at the CCD and this activity is part of the high-level visit and assessment of the WTO on the development of Timor-Leste before joining as a direct member of the WTO in August 2024.
That is why Civil Society Organizations have expressed their concerns regarding the realization of the conference and the visit of the WTO Deputy Secretary-General to Timor Leste in the midst of the ever-present cost of living crisis in Timor Leste.
“The cost crisis due to lack of access to health and medical services, many people waste their health and the death rate in hospitals is very high, the lack of healthy and sufficient food for people, and makes 300 thousand people live in a food crisis and half of the population live in malnutrition, the price of goods and basic necessities has not decreased, access to land and housing is expensive so it is very difficult for ordinary people.” Said FONGTIL’s Executive Director, Valentin in a press conference
The growth of private schools and the commercialization of the education sector has made education more expensive to ensure that the poor can access quality education. Forced evictions carried out by the state to make room for the private sector and other issues.
He added that 20 years have shown that poverty in Timor-Leste continues, dependence on oil-gas and imports of goods continues.
“With the unsustainable Petroleum fund survey, the potential to bring Timor-Leste to the ‘fiscal cliff’, leaving Timor-Leste without alternative and sustainable revenue from oil-gas. Corruption, nepotism and partisanship of public functions and services are widespread but soon come with weak mechanisms on control, accounting and transportation. With these question, maintaining more poverty, inequality and poor development in Timor-Leste.” He said.
He explained these reasons through studies and observations of the concrete situation in Timor-Leste and learning from the experiences of other countries when integrating into the WTO is a civil society network that expressed concerns about Timor-Leste’s entry into the WTO.
“Considering and reaffirming that the WTO has been an economic instrument for the industrialized North to exploit and control the underdeveloped and marginalized South countries like Timor-Leste since its inception. The WTO is a new instrument to consolidate external domination to reinforce dependency and inequality in Timor-Leste.” He added.
The Government of Timor-Leste did not lead a good consultative policy with civil society and did not ensure effective public participation mechanisms in the process of Timor-Leste’s accession and post-accession to the WTO.
“We consider this conference as a way to socialize, and find consensus rather than a good and effective consultative and dialogue platform to ensure the participation of civil society and the public. We continue to appeal and remind that despite complying to the WTO, Timor-Leste must ensure the ‘right to regulate’ of the economy and commercial rather than ‘deregulation and liberalization’ of vital sectors, which will make the people’s class suffer and be more vulnerable,” he said.
The Timor-Leste government must safeguard strategies areas and potential, through a policy of protection, duties and subsidies that protect and advance local businesses and production in Timor-Leste.
Timor-Leste’s government must prioritize, protect and invest heavily in the country’s socio-economic priority sectors such as health, education and agriculture.
On this occasion, Researcher in the Field of Agriculture and Economy, Mariano Ferreira emphasized that the situation in Timor Leste has long been in a fairly good condition so that it can develop well.
“Then we can compete because we enter these organizations, meaning we also open our market to others and others also become our target market, we know that we have not yet entered the WTO, we also see that our country is dominated by imported products from other countries, now let’s try to ask our products that we send abroad, like coffee with other small items.” Said researcher, Mariano Ferreira
Therefore, he asked the government to be more active and work harder, because the one planning and developing is the government.
“Therefore, we ask the government to work seriously with the rhythm of the last 10 years, do not let us make the people and society victims, because we must not allow the expansion of imports of other people’s products from abroad, which later we will only be guests in our own country.” He said.
He regretted that currently Timor-Leste is not yet a member of ASEAN, it has just become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) but in Dili there is no place to trade, foreigners are dominant such as Indonesia, China and other countries.
Reported by : Estefania
Picture by : Estefania