Timor-Leste's two veterans' commissions have finished their work of identifying and registering more than 37,000 veterans of the nation's 24-year struggle for independence. President Xanana Gusmao will receive the commissions' final report at the end of May, and the names and detailed data about the veterans in commissions' new database will be handed over to the government.

The data is based on the responses to more than 60,000 questionnaires sent out by the commissions last August. In December 2003, the commissions published their first provisional list in each of Timor-Leste's 13 districts. The posting was followed by a series of public meetings to discuss the list and consider the criteria for the commissions' definition of a veteran. The meetings were well attended and elicited broad community support.

The two commissions were established in 2002 by President Xanana Gusmao to research and provisionally register veterans. One commission, the Commissions for Former Combatants' Affairs (CAAC), focuses on those who fought between 1975 and 1979. The second commission, the Commission for Falintil Veterans' Affairs (CAVF), is concerned with those who fought between 1979 and 1999. Though they represent veterans from two periods, the two commissions have worked together.

Inclusion in the commissions' list is one of the first steps to formal recognition for those who fought for independence between 1975 and 1999. The commissions are wrapping up their work and writing their final reports, which will offer demographic details of the conflicts, including who fought where, for how long, and for which organization.

The government of Timor-Leste is in the process of deciding which of its departments will be responsible for veterans' policies and legislation, and which will produce the final list of veterans. A special seminar set for August will include presentations by international speakers on how other countries have addressed these issues.

Through its small grants program, USAID has supported the veterans' commissions since November 2002 with grants totaling more than $235,000. Establishing a formal registry and providing appropriate recognition and support to veterans are important issues in Timor-Leste. The commissions' work furthers the process of reintegration, reconciliation, and representation of veterans, which are vital to the continued stability and security of Timor-Leste.

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