As a close observer of justice and reconciliation issues in East Timor, I have watched with great interest as the debates on 'acknowledging the past' unfold in Australia.
In many ways the two nations could not be more different. East Timor, colonised for more than 400 years, is now one of the world's newest nations. Australia, a settler society, is one of its oldest democracies.
Yet Australia could learn much from East Timor about the importance — and limitations — of acknowledging a painful past. In particular, East Timor's experience suggests the significance of both symbolic forms of acknowledgement and material reparations to those who have experienced past injustices.
After independence, the East Timorese leadership emphasised the need to 'move on'. They shied away from demanding reparations for abuses committed during the Indonesian occupation, partly for reasons of pragmatic international relations. Then President Xanana Gusmao suggested the population was best served by a focus on practical issues: poverty reduction, electricity, decent housing and medical care.
In Australia, the Howard Government also expressed a preference for 'practical' forms of assistance to indigenous communities, and a focus on the future, rather than the past.
Against these 'pragmatic' responses have come moves to ensure that both East Timorese victims of violence and indigenous Australians receive some form of official, public acknowledgement of their experiences.
From 2002, a number of East Timorese survivors were able to participate in an independent Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR). While many welcomed the opportunity to tell their stories to the nation, there were widespread expectations that justice and economic compensation would follow. Following the release of the CAVR's final report in 2005, the political debate in Timor is now turning toward the question of victims' reparations.
Within Australia, Prime Minister Rudd's recent apology is a first step towards acknowledging the wrongs committed against members of the Stolen Generations. We should not be surprised if the issue of compensation now also emerges as an important focus for many indigenous Australians.
It is helpful to view questions of compensation within a framework of 'reparations' for past wrongs. Reparations can encompass material as well as symbolic measures, and measures directed to both individuals and communities.
Material reparations may take the form of compensation, including payments of cash or service packages, and provisions for health, education or housing.
Symbolic reparations may include official apologies, the change of names of public spaces, the establishment of