Crocodiles prove no bad Omen.

• Author: Jones, Brennon
• Position: Field Watch

For much of the international press, living on a diet of violence and bloodshed as they do, the 30 August Constituent Assembly elections in East Timor must have been a bit of a let-down. It was ever so peaceful. But the polling was big news nonetheless, because with that day's vote East Timor, which had been so thoroughly destroyed just two years ago, entered the ranks of global showcase for democracy. Its 91.3-per-cent turnout at the polls was hailed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as a "glowing example to the world community".

But it wasn't just the level of popular participation that was remarkable--it was the spirit of tolerance that prevailed throughout the electoral campaign and the complete lack of political violence. Carlos Valenzuela, Chief Electoral Officer for the Independent Electoral Commission, summed it up: "In over 14 elections in which I have worked, I have never seen such a peaceful and orderly campaign."

As the vote approached, however, a degree of fear was widespread. In Dili, a few shopkeepers even drew down their inventories and boarded up their stores. And when saltwater crocodiles were sighted off Dill's beaches in mid-August during their annual migration, more than a few Timorese, in their anxiety, deemed it an ominous sign of impending conflict-of civil war.

There was an undercurrent of anxiety across the an about the potential for former pro-autonomy militia who remained as refugees in West Timor crossing the border into East Timor and provoking unrest and also, according to some international observers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), about the use by some political parties in the districts of inflammatory rhetoric and outright intimidation that had the potential to spark serious conflict. But this was not 1999. The United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) had been unarmed then, and some Indonesian military and police were complicit with the pro-autonomy militia. Kathleen Goncalves, owner of the Acait Bistro, saw the difference between then and now. "Most of my friends were worried" as the recent elections approached, she said. "They were scared, but I told them, don't worry. CivPol and the PKF are now organized."

She was right. Some 8,000 armed peacekeepers (PKF) and 1,485 UN Civilian Police (CivPol) were providing the Timorese people with a highly visible sense of security throughout the country. They were bolstered by a thousand of their young, but increasingly impressive, counterparts in the East Timor Police Service and a battalion of the recently created Defense Force, which draws most of its ranks from former members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation of East Timor. In addition, PKF and CivPol, along with the Timorese district administrators, had established and trained District Security Committees in all 13 districts to confront a crisis or civil unrest swiftly and effectively and in a highly coordinated fashion. Nonetheless, the trauma of the 1999 experience lingered and continued to leave many Timorese on edge and UN security forces on high alert. Even through this climate of wariness, the Timorese people showed their best qualities. It wasn't the courage and determination they displayed in confrontin g the 1999 violence, or even the fierce determination in rebuilding their country over the past 24 months, but this time it was pure conviction. They were ready to participate in the democratic process for which they had risked so much and would not now be denied. They were set to elect an 88-member Constituent Assembly that would draft the nation's first-ever Constitution, which would provide the framework for the presidential elections that would...