The Presidential Moke

Published in 2010 by David Kay

The Presidential Moke

I’ve only been in Dili for three weeks this trip. But even still, I think I am hallucinating. I saw the great Nobel Prize winning Il Presidente driving his mini moke. I saw the Aussie Ambassador playing in a rock band. I saw the US Navy medical corps having it off with Jesus. Please. Let me back home.

Early this year – or maybe it was late last year – I did a trip to Baucau and Lospalos. I did the same trip last year when I worked for Ministry of Education. But this time it was for a different reason. Why is not important. What is important is that I was mistaken for President Ramos Horta. He’s the one with the Nobel Peace Prize. The one that travelled the world whipping up support for Timorese independence. The one who was shot in 2008. My mate (or should I say brother) Jose likes blondes. I’m more of a red head man. But never mind.

On the trip to Lospalos and Baucau we travelled in an ILO car with diplomatic plates. It was a big white 4 wheel drive thingo with an ILO driver. I sat in the front. Quite often people would come running out from the side of the road to stare as we drove past. When we stopped at our district office in Baucau a lot of the staff (I had not met them before) just sat around staring at me. When I asked the driver later what it was about he said they wondered why the President had come to visit. After all who else would be chauffeured in a white car with diplomatic plates?

Last year I met my colleague’s wife at their home in Dili. The next day he told me that his wife was angry with him for not telling her the President was coming to visit. My colleague had 2 phones and I never knew which one he would use. So whenever I left a text I sent it to both phones and signed it JRH. For a while his wife really thought the President was sending him messages.

For about six months till the end of May this year I lived in a bungalow at the back of an Australian owned hotel in Dili. Not long after I moved in one of the receptionists was staring at me. She told me I looked like the President. She used to greet me when she saw me as Mr. Kay. “That’s OK”, I said, “you can call me Jose”. I’ll let you make your own judgement (assuming you know what I look like). If you don’t, I’m like the bloke in the photo.

Or a side view.......  Out if interest, this picture was taken on the same day that I describe below. The fellow I am with is the Myanmar foreign minister. Hmmmm. I changed clothes before the events I am about to describe.

Every Friday night a group of us get together somewhere in Dili for a chat and a drink and sometimes a meal. We try to go to different places. Last Friday we decided on a bar right on the beach. One of the reasons was that my fellow choir member Peter was performing in a rock and roll band. Rock and roll is probably a bit of a stretch. But they play music from my era. It is an Aussie band. The manager of the ANZ Bank. A physiotherapist. A flautist who I think works at the Aussie embassy. And my friend the percussionist. Mt friend and choir colleague Peter is also the Australian ambassador to Timor-Leste. You can just see him in the back corner on the left. Sorry about the photo – it was taken with a mobile phone.

As soon as I arrived I noticed a white four wheel drive parked outside the hotel. It had the number plates SEC 1.  If you are not good on anagrams, that means security number 1. I knew there was somebody important inside. Just how important I was about to find out.

To set the scene here is a photo of the bar (before it was done up a bit). It now has a full size roof and there is a bar area to the left. The next photo will give you some idea. 

If you look at the grainy photo taken with my phone and imagine that there are two people on the couch at the back, then you are with me for the next bit.

As I walked in the first thing I noticed were three guys lounging around at a table near the entrance. I had seen them before. A couple of times on my morning walk I had come across a security convoy guarding the President whilst he was on his morning walk. We were never that close as children so I would usually just nod a greeting to my bro. At the back on a couch and looking very relaxed was the man himself. He was with a young and very good looking blonde woman. He usually is, but they are not always the same blonde woman.

Peter the ambassador went to pay his greetings. You probably can’t see it from the band photo, but Peter is dressed in a dark brown (or was it black) T-shirt that probably had its better days a year or so earlier. He was wearing khaki shorts – also a bit off their prime. The President was dressed in his usual splendour – white linen shirt with grandfather collar. His blonde friend was wearing white, but not much. The ambassador’s wife was at our table (she is also a choir member) and she thought he might come over to greet her. But maybe he saw his long lost brother and decided not to.

For one reason or another – the music, my presence – who knows, he decided to leave soon after the band started. He just got up and wandered outside to the car park – blonde in tow. Then he hopped into an old dark blue moke and took off. The security detail were left flat footed. He was shooting off down the road whilst they were still trying to get into SEC 1. They took off after him with one guard hanging on to the door trying to get in. Good security in Dili. I did not have the foresight to take a picture, but here is a moke in much better condition, in case you are too young to remember them.

Whilst I was having all this excitement at the bar, some other people were making their own form of excitement over at Jesus. Jesus (Cristol Rei) is a Dili landmark. It is atop 564 steps (I have counted them) at is at the very end of the road that follows the beach in Dili.

For the last week there has been a US Navy hospital ship in the harbour. On the ship there are medical corps and volunteers providing medial services to Timorese. This is the hospital ship – the US Mercy.

So, you might ask, what do Jesus and a hospital ship have in common?

I can do no better than quote in full the article I read (in translation). It says it all really.

East Timorese civilian guard the area, Antonio Da silva Costa and his friends arrested to two US Navy because they were alleged of doing sex near the area which according to some Timorese is holly place. Those sailors came to Dili with US Mercy ship to conduct humanitarian assistance for the Timorese people. “I got them while they were on  (not good expression),” said Antonio.  “I saw these two foreigners walked up the stairs and when they got to the top they were took some photos. Then the man looks around and he didn’t see me. I was not on alert. But when I turn around I saw the guy has removed his shirt and released his pin and pulled out his vital organ and the woman took out her t-shirt and then ....,” Antonio said with loud tone.

“I felt of these people disrespect our culture and our believe because they did it right near Jesus statue. If they do it in some other place or on peace is their freedom but not in that place,” Said Antonio da silva Costa the Timorese civilian security for the area. The couple try to bribed and his colleagues to keep the issue quiet but the security guys refused. The case were get big attention from UNPOL , Local Police including some American officials. The US Navy were wear white t-shirt with short were took away in a car drove towards Dili.

Tempo Semanal has requested some comment from US Embassy in Dili. In response the Chargé D'Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Dili, Jonathan Henick said, “The U.S. Navy and its commanders take seriously all incidents and allegations involving misconduct by Sailors. “The U.S. Navy is already investigating this incident and will punish any wrongdoing.” “We regret that this unfortunate incident has detracted attention from the important and valuable humanitarian work of the USNS Mercy in Timor-Leste," John wrote.

“Once again thank you so much for seeking our comment and if you have  any further question or need further clarification, please do not hesitate in contacting us.”

The couple were out from the ship and travel to visit the white sand beach and walk towards Jesus Christ statue located on the hill of Fatukama.

Posted By TEMPO SEMANAL to TEMPO  http://temposemanaltimor.blogspot.com/2010/08/civilian-guard-arrested two-us-navy.html SEMANAL on 8/19/2010 01:22:00 AM

I could add a lot – gratuitous and otherwise, but it is probably best not to. But I can’t resist wondering if the car they were driven off in was a dark blue mini moke.

Later on my way home I had to turn at an intersection in town Next to the famous ANZ bank that I have written about before. On that corner is the top hotel in town. The intersection was completely blocked  by police and security and the hotel entrance was also blocked by police. Outside was a dark blue mini moke. Presumably inside was my bro, his blonde friend and maybe the Myanmar foreign minister. Or perhaps with a couple of people from the US Mercy.