MP Tim Costley has been in Timor-Leste representing New Zealand.
MP Tim Costley has been in Timor-Leste representing New Zealand.
THREE KEY FACTS:
The 25th anniversary of INTERFET (International Force for East Timor) was commemorated in Dili on September 13-14.
From 1999 to 2002, New Zealand deployed 5000 NZDF personnel to INTERFET and then to UNTAET, making it the largest single deployment of New Zealand military personnel since the Korean War.
INTERFET’s mission included restoring peace and security and facilitating humanitarian assistance operations, in response to attacks by pro-Indonesia militias on Timorese civilians.
Tim Costley is the MP for Ōtaki.
OPINION
I’m writing this from Timor-Leste (East Timor), where I have been honoured to spend the weekend representing the Government of New Zealand. I’m here for the 25th-anniversary commemorations of the INTERFET deployment, and to remember the decades of struggle undertaken by the people of Timor-Leste to secure their independence.
The toll of that struggle — the violence and the destruction — was immense and the suffering great. Yet in 1999, the people of Timor-Leste showed great courage in turning out to vote, and to vote overwhelmingly in favour of a free and independent future.
New Zealand stood alongside Timor-Leste then, as we do today.
Our military deployment here was, and still is, the biggest since the Korean War. I was only one of more than 6000 Kiwis who deployed on the peacemaking and peacekeeping mission here. I wasn’t here for the initial deployment starting in 1999, but served here flying helicopters as part of New Zealand’s peacekeeping force in 2007 and 2008.
At the site of a new peacekeeping memorial in Timor-Leste are Australian Minister for Veterans Matt Keown (left), President Jose Ramos Horta, former Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, Major General Martyn Dunne, and Tim Costley.
On this trip our Kiwi delegation has been in the capital Dili, in Suai and Tilomar. We’ve paid our respects to the five New Zealand Defence Force personnel who lost their lives here, and we remember the civilians who died at Balibo and those who died during the Santa Cruz massacre. We will never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
I visited places like the old prison at Chega, a site of untold horrors that only accentuated what the East Timorese people overcame to win their independence.
I met with both the President, Jose Ramos Horta, and the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao. I also met senior government officials from Timor-Leste, Portugal, Australia, ambassadors and military officers, and Australia’s Minister for Veterans, Matt Keown. I was joined by retired Major General Martyn Dunne who commanded the Kiwis here in 1999, and Major General John Howard, who was a young officer leading troops on the ground 25 years ago. We joined Australia’s former Governor-General and the commander of the East Timorese mission, General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
MP Tim Costley was presented with a medal by President Jose Ramos Horta while he was in Timor-Leste.
I especially loved meeting and playing with the children here, sneaking them food and playing futsal. It reminds me of my time here 17 years ago.
Our delegation also visited with one eye to the future. It’s important to see Timor-Leste in 2024. They have built a stable democracy that adheres strongly to the freedoms for which they fought: the right to vote, the right to live in peace, and the right to determine their future.
MP Tim Costley playing with children outside the presidential palace in Timor-Leste.
New Zealand will continue to stand alongside Timor-Leste in the years ahead, with our defence partnership, our scholarships, and our support for education particularly early childhood education, economic development, agriculture, community safety and security.
It’s been an honour to share this occasion in Timor-Leste and represent every Kiwi. The warmth of the welcome and the depth of the appreciation have been overwhelming, but most of all, the pride we all feel in seeing a peaceful and free Timor-Leste — that is the lasting memory everyone, Timorese and foreigners, will take home with them from that weekend.
As our Prime Minister, Chris Luxon, said this year — we remain close and committed friends.
