A day in Novembe
Construction and demonstrations
Today was kind of a weird one. Solomon Brothers Construction was busy working on the Beach Road parking in front of the palace while demonstrators were gathering behind the palace having a rally, some throwing stones. It was like 2 different worlds.
The demonstrators came in trucks this morning and milled about until they were finally disbanded by the police around 2 pm.
The protesters are usually given time to vent their frustration as long as the rally is peaceful, after all East Timor is a democracy and the people want to be heard.
As usual I don’t have any idea what they were demonstrating for or against but it gave you something to watch if you were eating at one of the sidewalk restaurants back there.
It was a small rally and was basically uneventful.
Yesterday was a day of remembrance for the people killed at the Santa Cruz Massacre.
Those people were killed by the Indonesian Army while in a funeral procession that turned into a pro independence march near the cemetery on Nov 12, 1991.
They didn’t get an accurate count of the dead but it was believed to be around 271 plus others that were disappeared.
Last night as it got later there was a large group of easterners roaming the streets.
Tires were set fire at many intersections around town but there didn’t seem to be any serious violence but most residents kept a low profile for the evening, especially the westerners.
This morning I had a cup of coffee at the Harbor View Cafe where a couple of Filipina girls are trying to make a go of it there.
The location is grand with a beautiful view of the harbor where you can watch fishermen walk by with trevalleys, tunas, octopus, and lobster.
I really like it there but at this time there are so few tourists that it will be difficult for the girls to make it.
The sidewalk crew is doing a fantastic job on the parking along the beach and it will be a very nice improvement for the front of the palace.
It is good to see positive action taking place.
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East Timor