Masculinities, Violence and Power in Timor Leste

This article sketches some of the manifestations of violent masculinities which were visible in the Timor Leste conflict from 1975 to 1999. While concentrating on Timorese actors, it points out that this does not in any way mean that Timorese men are inherently more violent than others. In fact, the vast majority of the acts of violence during the conflict were committed by members of the occupying Indonesian security forces. After a brief thematic and historical introduction, the article examines manifestations of violent masculinities within the pro-independence Falintil guerrilla, the pro-Indonesian militias and the civilian population.As the end of the conflict has not meant an end to, but a “domestication” of violence with extremely high rates of domestic and gender-based sexual violence, the article further examines the impact of the post-conflict situation on violent manifestations of masculinity.Cet article esquisse quelques-unes des manifestations violentes de la masculinité qui ont été visibles au cours du conflit du Timor Leste entre 1975 et 1999. Bien que relatif aux acteurs timorais, il ne saurait en aucun cas signifier que les hommes timorais soient fondamentalement plus violents que les autres. En réalité, au cours du conflit, la grande majorité des actes de violence ont été commis par des membres des forces de sécurité des occupants indonésiens. Après une brève introduction thématique et historique, l’article examine les manifestations violentes de la masculinité entre la guérilla indépendantiste des Falintil, les milices pro-indonésiennes et la population civile.Étant donné que la fin du conflit n’a pas constitué une fin mais seulement une « domestication » de la violence, avec des taux extrêmement élevés de violence sexuelle domestique et de type sexiste, l’article examine en outre l’impact de la situation d’après-guerre sur les manifestations violentes de la masculinité.Este artigo esboça algumas das manifestações de masculinidades violentas que são visíveis no conflito de Timor-Leste no período de 1975-1999. Sublinha-se que a concentração sobre os actores timorenses de modo nenhum significa que os homens timorenses que os homens timorenses são intrinsecamente mais violentos do que outros. De facto, a grande maioria dos actos de violência durante o conflito foi perpetrada por membros das forças de segurança ocupantes indonésias. Após uma breve introdução temática e histórica, o artigo examina manifestações de masculinidades violentas no seio da guerrilha independentista das Falintil, das milícias indonésias e da população civil.Como o fim do conflito não trouxe o fim da violência, mas sim a sua « domesticação » com elevada taxa de violência sexual interna e baseada no género, o artigo examina ainda o impacto da situação pós-conflito sobre manifestações violentas de masculinidade

Localising WPS in the Post-Soviet Space Reconfigurations, Copy-Pasting and Conceptual Gaps

The localisation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda has been a growing trend over the past years. Its aim is to turn the often somewhat abstract aims of WPS National Action Plans (NAPs) into tangible ‘on-the-ground’ activities; to allow for broader and more diverse participation; and to expand the issues covered by NAPs, focusing on local needs. Localisation has taken different forms, ranging from more heavily ‘top-down’ to mainly ‘bottom-up’ approaches, and combinations of these. Based on an analysis of WPS processes in Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Ukraine, I examine the different approaches taken, hurdles encountered, and emerging re-configurations of WPS. Using these five case examples, I examine to what degree the high hopes placed in localisation have materialised, and where potential future entry points lie. As the massive 2022 escalation of the Ukraine War occurred during the revision process, it will only be reflected upon briefly

Engaging with the gender, peace and security agenda in research and activism in Lebanon

Issues relating to gender, peace and security are a contested field in the Arabic-speaking world. This includes the history and present state of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, which local grassroots level actors and critical voices often struggle to influence. Rather, it is often powerful national governments, non-state actors and outside actors – including donor governments, international organisations and international nongovernmental organisations (INGOs), Global North academia but also powerful religious institutions – that define much of the framework, direction and content of gender, peace and security work. Much of the region is marked by armed conflict, occupation, displacement and rule by authoritarian governments. Increasingly, in a number of the countries the already limited space for civil society and academia is shrinking further, due to an increased securitisation of politics. This is exacerbated by policies of Global North actors that focus on countering violent extremism (CVE) and/or utilise frameworks put in place to address gender inequality (such as the WPS agenda) to address short-term security concerns, which can marginalise women’s rights organisations’ work on redressing gender inequality and its societal impacts.

Histories of violence, states of denial-militias, martial arts and masculinities in Timor-Leste.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2010.This thesis examines the complex interplay between violence and concepts of masculinity using the case study examples of former members of pro-Indonesian militia groups and current members of gangs, martial arts and ritual arts groups in Timor-Leste. Thirty-eight former and current members of these groups were interviewed in both Timor-Leste and Indonesian West Timor. While the members of these groups and their violent acts are often cast in relatively simplistic terms as being the work of misguided, socio-economically marginalised, violent young men, the thesis argues that the phenomena of these groups are far more complex and are intricately intertwined with local East Timorese and imported concepts of what it means to be a man. In addition to being political and economic projects, membership in these groups gives the men new, albeit often violent, ways of defining their masculine identity and defining their place in post-colonial, post-conflict East Timorese society. The violent enactments of masculinity displayed by the young men involved in the various groups examined in this thesis have been formed by the violent history of Timor-Leste but simultaneously the young men have also been personally involved in forming this history of violence. Both on the personal and on the level of the East Timorese state, these histories of violence are dealt with strategies of denial when it comes to taking personal responsibility for violence, leading to impunity and denial of justice to the victims. For the perpetrators, though, denial of responsibility and justifications of violence are used in an attempt to regain masculine honour and respectability in the eyes of broader society. Violence continues to be one of the tools they are willing to resort to for addressing real and perceived grievances, both on the personal and public level. Given the disruptive and deadly ways in which the activities of these young men have affected Timor-Leste, a central challenge for building a peaceful, just and equitable society will be to overcome the ways in which masculinities are defined through violence – a task which requires the involvement of East Timorese boys and men, but also their mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, wives and lovers

Wahlen in Timor-Leste: Feuerprobe für Sicherheit und Konsolidierung

Am 16. April 2012 fand die zweite Runde der Präsidentschaftswahlen in Timor-Leste statt. Am 7. Juli folgten die Parlamentswahlen. 2012 ist ein wichtiges Jahr für Asiens jüngste Demokratie. Timor-Leste feierte den 10. Jahrestag seiner Unabhängigkeit und wählte zum dritten Mal einen neuen Präsidenten und ein neues Parlament. Die Wahlen waren auch eine Bewährungsprobe für den Sicherheitssektor. Die Präsidentschaftswahlen brachten in der zweiten Runde den ehemaligen Armeechef Taur Matan Ruak als Sieger hervor. Der bisherige Präsident und Friedensnobelpreisträger José Ramos-Horta verlor damit sein Amt. Bei den Parlamentswahlen siegte die Partei CNRT des charismatischen Unabhängigkeitskämpfers und bisherigen Premierministers Xanana Gusmão. Trotz Korruptionsvorwürfen gewann seine Partei erneut die meisten Stimmen. In Koalition mit zwei kleineren Parteien wird die CNRT die nächsten fünf Jahre regieren. Die Partei FRETILIN schaffte es nicht zurück an die Spitze und wird erneut von der Regierungskoalition ausgeschlossen. Die Wahlergebnisse zeigen das Fortbestehen eines tiefen regional-politischen Grabens. Im Osten Timors bleibt FRETILIN mit Abstand die stärkste Partei, im Westen dominiert die CNRT. Es gibt jedoch Anzeichen dafür, dass die bisherigen regionalen Parteiloyalitäten unbeständiger werden. Die Wahlen waren auch eine Bewährungsprobe für den Sicherheitssektor: Die Vereinten Nationen stellten bei einem gewaltfreien und friedlichen Ablauf der Wahlen den Abzug der Mission UNMIT in Aussicht. Polizei und Armee haben aus Sicht der Vereinten Nationen die Probe bestanden. Die politische Arena in Timor-Leste ist weiter fest in der Hand der bisherigen politischen Elite. Die Dynamiken der politischen Unterstützung sind stark geprägt von personenbezogenen Parteien, familiären und sozialen Patronagenetzwerken, verbliebenen Strukturen aus dem Widerstand, Jugendbanden sowie Kampfsport- und Ritualgruppen

Well-based, Geochemical Leakage Monitoring of an Aquifer Immediately Above a CO2 Storage Reservoir by Stable Carbon Isotopes at the Ketzin Pilot Site, Germany

AbstractWe measured dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) stable isotopes (813CDIC in ‰) of brine from an observation well within the first aquifer above the CO2 reservoir at the Ketzin pilot site, to test weather these can detect potential CO2 leakage. The monitoring revealed that DIC concentrations and 813CDIC values were masked by the used high alkaline drilling mud, even eight months after well development. However, subsequent changes in 813CDIC and DIC from of -27 ‰ and 165mg L−1 to -23.5 ‰ and 116mg L−1 reflect most likely a shift towards pristine values of the aquifer

From ‘It rarely happens’ to ‘It’s worse for men’ : dispelling misconceptions about sexual violence against men and boys in conflict and displacement

Sexual violence against men and boys in conflict and displacement has garnered increasing attention over the past decade and has been recognised in UN Security Resolution 2467. Despite increased evidence and understanding of the issue, myths and misconceptions nevertheless abound. The authors of this article – practitioners and academics with extensive experience in the field – aim to dispel ten of the most common misconceptions that we have encountered, and to highlight the current evidence base regarding sexual violence against men and boys in humanitarian settings. We argue that just as there is no universal experience of sexual violence for women and girls, there is no universal experience for men and boys, or for nonbinary people. In order to address the complexities of these experiences, a survivor-centred, intersectional approach is needed

Hydrogeochemistry of surface and spring waters in the surroundings of the CO2 injection site at Hontomín–Huermeces (Burgos, Spain)

In this paper the very first geochemical and isotopic data related to surface and spring waters and dissolved gases in the area of Hontomín–Huermeces (Burgos, Spain) are presented and discussed. Hontomín–Huermeces has been selected as a pilot site for the injection of pure (>99%) CO2. Injection and monitoring wells are planned to be drilled close to 6 oil wells completed in the 1980s for which detailed stratigraphical logs are available, indicating the presence of a confined saline aquifer at the depth of about 1500 m into which less than 100,000 tons of iquid CO2 will be injected, possibly starting in 2013. The chemical and features of the spring waters suggest that they are related to a shallow hydrogeological system as the concentration of the Total Dissolved Solids approaches 800 mg/L with a Ca2+(Mg2+)-HCO3− composition, similar to that of the surface waters. This is also supported by the oxygen and hydrogen isotopic ratios that have values lying between those of the Global and the Mediterranean Meteoric Water Lines. Some spring waters close to the oil wells are haracterized by relatively high concentrations of NO3− (up to 123 mg/L), unequivocally suggesting an anthropogenic source that adds to the main water–rock interaction processes. The latter can be referred to Ca-Mg-carbonate and, at a minor extent, Al-silicate dissolution, being the outcropping sedimentary rocks characterized by Palaeozoic to Quaternary rocks. Anomalous concentrations of Cl−, SO42−, As, B and Ba were measured in two springs discharging a few hundred meters from the oil wells and in the Rio Ubierna. These contents are significantly higher than those of the whole set of the studied waters and are possibly indicative of mixing processes, although at very low extent, between deep and shallow aquifers. No evidence of deep-seated gases interacting with the Hontomín–Huermeces waters was recognized in the chemistry of the disolved gases. This is likely due to the fact that they are mainly characterized by an atmospheric source as highlighted by the high contents of N2, O2 and Ar and by N2/Ar ratios that approach that of ASW (Air Saturated Water) and possibly masking any contribution related to a deep source. Nevertheless, significant concentrations (up to 63% by vol.) of isotopically negative CO2 (<−17.7‰ V-PDB) were found in some water samples, likely related to a biogenic source. The geochemical and isotopic data of this work are of particular importance when a monitoring program will be established to verify whether CO2 leakages, induced by the injection of this greenhouse gas, may be affecting the quality of the waters in the shallow hydrological circuits at Hontomín–Huermeces. In this respect, carbonate chemistry, the isotopic carbon of dissolved CO2 and TDIC (Total Dissolved Inorganic Carbon) and selected trace elements can be considered as useful parameters to trace the migration of the injected CO2 into near-surface environments

The Inherent Tracer Fingerprint of Captured CO2.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the only currently available technology that can directly reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions arising from fossil fuel combustion. Monitoring and verification of CO2 stored in geological reservoirs will be a regulatory requirement and so the development of reliable monitoring techniques is essential. The isotopic and trace gas composition - the inherent fingerprint - of captured CO2 streams is a potentially powerful, low cost geochemical technique for tracking the fate of injected gas in CCS projects; carbon and oxygen isotopes, in particular, have been used as geochemical tracers in a number of pilot CO2 storage sites, and noble gases are known to be powerful tracers of natural CO2 migration. However, the inherent tracer fingerprint in captured CO2 streams has yet to be robustly investigated and documented and key questions remain, including how consistent is the fingerprint, what controls it, and will it be retained en route to and within the storage reservoir? Here we present the first systematic measurements of the carbon and oxygen isotopes and the trace noble gas composition of anthropogenic CO2 captured from combustion power stations and fertiliser plants. The analysed CO2 is derived from coal, biomass and natural gas feedstocks, using amine capture, oxyfuel and gasification processes, from six different CO2 capture plants spanning four different countries. We find that δ13C values are primarily controlled by the δ13C of the feedstock while δ18O values are predominantly similar to atmospheric O2. Noble gases are of low concentration and exhibit relative element abundances different to expected reservoir baselines and air, with isotopic compositions that are similar to air or fractionated air. The use of inherent tracers for monitoring and verification was provisionally assessed by analysing CO2 samples produced from two field storage sites after CO2 injection. These experiments at Otway, Australia, and Aquistore, Canada, highlight the need for reliable baseline data. Noble gas data indicates noble gas stripping of the formation water and entrainment of Kr and Xe from an earlier injection experiment at Otway, and inheritance of a distinctive crustal radiogenic noble gas fingerprint at Aquistore. This fingerprint can be used to identify unplanned migration of the CO2 to the shallow subsurface or surface