It was reported in the The Age today that Timor Leste was prepared to stand up to the combined bullying of the Australian company Woodside and the Australian Government and leave gas in the ground “for generations” under the Timor Seaif necessary until Timor could get a fair deal over where the gas is processed.
Gusmao was quoted in The Age as saying "many developing countries fall victim to the corporate resource giants exploiting and plundering their sovereign resources......Timor-Leste (East Timor) will be the country that goes down in history as the nation to put a stop to it... Here in Timor-Leste we struggled long and hard for our independence, here our soil carries the blood of those who fought for our freedom, so we respect our laws, our sovereignty and our democratic institutions” He went unless there was an advantage that lifted the Timorese from poverty, "then we will wait until many generations have learnt the lesson that humanity comes before commercial realities. "We will be the nation that others follow … oil giants will be forced to change their indecent behaviour."
Earlier in the week Woodside executives staged a walk-out in Dili at the National Petroleum Authority, because the Timorese Government refuse to agree to a proposal for a floating platform as opposed to processing the gas through a pipeline to an onshore facility in Timor. Such a plant would provide Timor with desperately needed income and jobs in one of the poorest nations on earth.
Gusmao also recently accused Woodside of lying over their plans for a floating offshore facility. Read about his statement at Asia Pacific Solidarity
Its not enough that Australia first tried to steal Timorese oil under the Indonesian occupation, then bullied the new nation over sea boundaries to claim the lion share of the oil and gas in the Timor Sea, now Woodside want even agree to onshore processing.
Read two background articles from the Socialist group “Direct Action” by John Lamb here and here