Since Timor-Leste became an independent country in 2002, USAID has provided vital support to the Timor-Leste news media through a series of grants to various media entities including the Timor-Leste Public Broadcasting Service, community radio stations, Internews, and the private electronic and print media in the country. The grants have helped Timor-Leste’s news media perform its role of providing coverage of governance, current affairs and development issues in the nascent democracy.

The violence that broke out anew in Timor-Leste this year caused the interruption of various business activities, including the operation of the three daily newspapers--Timor Post, Suara Timor Lorosae, and Jornal Nacional Diario. USAID provided critical financing to help them resume operation. The three newspapers are now back in circulation providing their readers with the much-needed information on what is going on in the country.

The recent violence also forced an estimated 150,000 people to flee their homes, many of them ending up in internally displaced people’s (IDP) camps across the capital while others fled to the districts where they originally came from. To effectively address the IDPs’ need for information, USAID has supported the Timor-Leste Media Development Center (TLMDC) in distributing three daily newspapers to IDP camps in Dili as well as to the other 12 districts and their subdistricts. USAID recognizes that in times of crisis, people depend on accurate and reliable information. To further ensure that people have greater access to information, USAID has also awarded a grant to a mobile radio service to relay national radio broadcasts to some remote areas that have no access to national or community radio.

With elections tentatively scheduled for May 2007, the country now more than ever needs a responsible media that is balanced and has skills to manage and disseminate information. USAID has therefore funded the International Center for Journalists’ (ICFJ) program for Strengthening Independent Media. This combination of activities strongly demonstrates USAID’s commitment to the goal of developing a strong, professional and sustainable independent media sector in Timor-Leste.