Timor-Leste by planting listening devices in the latter s cabinet office in the hope of obtaining information pertaining to the negotiations of the Timor Sea Treaty. In ----, the Australian Se- curity Intelligence Organisation raided an office premise owned by Australian lawyer Bernard Collaery, who represented the Timorese government during negotiations of the treaty, seizing documents and data. Legal action was taken by Timor-Leste at the International Court of Justice, pressuring Australia to return those documents it seized from Collaery s office. Australia re- turned the document, and Timor-Leste stopped pursuing further legal actions against the former, highlighting a silver lining in relations between both countries and suggesting that they will likely seek to prevent their relationship from further worsening despite ongoing disputes over the sharing of energy resources. Meanwhile, the Greater Sunrise oil and gas field, which was discovered in the ----s, has yet to be developed. ...If the government fails to adequately provide programmes or promote private investment to reduce poverty in Timor-Leste, a large number of poor, uneducated and unemployed men could be a major source of social unrest. Domestic Political Transitions: Political power has alternated between the two main political parties in Timor-Leste, the
...Timor-Leste operates as a parliamentary democracy, with the prime minister and legislature holding executive power, while the president fulfils a largely ceremonial role. ...Timor-Leste operates as a parliamentary democracy, with the prime minister and legislature holding executive power, while the president fulfils a largely ceremonial role. Following the ousting of FRETILIN leader Mari Alkatiri as prime minister in ----, when the country descended into a state of near-civil war after perceived ethnic discrimination in the military led to an attempted coup, CNRT leader and then Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao (who is a highly respected political figure in Timor-Leste and a major contributor to the country s fight for independence back in the ----s) held onto power since ----, until he finally called time on his premiership on February - ----. He chose Rui Maria de Araujo, the country s former health minister from the FRETILIN opposition party, to succeed him as the new prime minister. ...Its membership application has, however, been put on hold, particularly in the aftermath of the outbreak of violence across the country in ---- that required international intervention and prompted the resigna- tion of Alkatiri. The crisis has since ended, and we have yet to see any significant outbreak of violence, with Timor-Leste -- Business Monitor International Ltd www.bmiresearch.com
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