USAID Propaganda on East Timor Land Law Issues

ETLJB Editor's Note: See the extract below which is a complete misrepresentation of the facts and a distortion of reality. As at the date of this article, there were no significant reforms in the review and enactment of a land rights law. The $10 million referred to would have gone a long way towards the implementation of systematic or even sporadic land rights registration, boundary surveying and the constitution of a land rights register. This has still not happened.

The land law has only just been enacted; some 17 years since the international intervention in East Timor.

The truth of the mater is that enormous funds from the American tax payers were spent on USAID staff and international "experts" who did nothing to clarify land rights, did nothing to formulate appropriate policies for the government to consider.

The fact is the USAID is essentially an intelligence gathering organisation for the American government and corporations.

Property Rights Reform Makes Progress in Timor Leste

MARCH 13, 2012   ARTICLE

Update on Land Administration and Policies in Asia/Pacific

Earlier this month, the Parliament in Timor Leste passed three laws related to property rights. The new measures, which now await signature by the President, are expected to provide a foundation for resolving disputes and registering land; prescribe procedures under which the Government can expropriate land; and create a fund to compensate property owners who lose their property rights.

These new laws will have a large impact on economic growth, which stalled when the Indonesian occupation ended and civil war ripped the country apart.

The new legislation is a significant accomplishment that USAID and other bi-lateral donors have supported over the long term. Since 2007, USAID has invested $10 million in supporting the Strengthening Property Rights in Timor Leste (SPRTL) project. This project addressed serious concerns related to land-based conflict raised in a 2006 Conflict Vulnerability Assessment. The project’s main objectives included:

Read the rest of this crap here: https://www.land-links.org/2012/03/property-rights-reform-makes-progress-in-timor-leste/