12.07.2015 Views

Local Governance in Timor-Leste - Secretaria de Estado da Arte e ...

Local Governance in Timor-Leste - Secretaria de Estado da Arte e ...

Local Governance in Timor-Leste - Secretaria de Estado da Arte e ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS
  • No tags were found...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

The centrality of these k<strong>in</strong>-based groups cont<strong>in</strong>ued through Portuguese times as thepower of the liurai was slowly replaced with Portuguese-recognised rulers, andcont<strong>in</strong>ued throughout Indonesian occupation as the resistance networks were basedlargely on important social relationships <strong>de</strong>f<strong>in</strong>ed with<strong>in</strong> these same communities.These groups, bound together via lisan, therefore form the common thread throughoutall of these stages of history, and as such can be recognised as a dist<strong>in</strong>ctively<strong>Timor</strong>ese system of governance. However, dur<strong>in</strong>g the UN <strong>in</strong>terregnum the importanceof these communities was not well un<strong>de</strong>rstood. As other political disagreements tookcentre stage, consi<strong>de</strong>rations around the centrality of these communities were largelyleft out of the nation-build<strong>in</strong>g enterprise—effectively exclud<strong>in</strong>g the majority oford<strong>in</strong>ary <strong>Timor</strong>ese liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the rural areas. This then provi<strong>de</strong>d the framework throughwhich contemporary local governance is now be<strong>in</strong>g shaped with<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong><strong>de</strong>pen<strong>de</strong>nt<strong>Timor</strong>-<strong>Leste</strong>, leav<strong>in</strong>g the complicated questions surround<strong>in</strong>g policy <strong>de</strong>velopment forhybrid local communities unanswered. Here, I consi<strong>de</strong>r the impact of these variousforms of local government throughout the different periods of <strong>Timor</strong>ese history,exam<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g how they have <strong>in</strong>terfaced with ongo<strong>in</strong>g traditional <strong>in</strong>stitutional structuresthat exist with<strong>in</strong> the suku of <strong>Timor</strong>-<strong>Leste</strong>.76

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!