DILI, East Timor The statue is still covered in scaffolding, but visitors are already trudging

up a steep dirt road to behold a new symbol of hope: Jesus Christ poised on a globe, 27 meters
(88 feet) high.
Their eagerness is understandable. Here in the turbulent territory of East Timor, annexed by
Indonesia in 1976, hope is a precious commodity. Indonesian military officials express
confidence that all is well, withdrawing two army battalions from the province this month to
prove it.
Yet the Timorese remain a people of frayed nerves, vulnerable to 24-hour surveillance,haunted
byreports of shootings, beatings and disappearances. There is persistent friction between the
Timorese and immigrant Muslim Indonesians, which led to a wave of rioting last week that
burnedDili's central market, where Muslim merchants dominate trade.
The balm is faith. And with arms outstretched, this towering concrete Jesus beckons to East
Timor's Catholic majority.
Built atop a mountain overlooking Dili, the monument known as "Christ the King" offers a
stunning panorama of pristine beaches and placid seas. Its fame has spread quickly as the
second-largest statue of Jesus in the world, after the one in Rio de Janeiro. "We are very proud
this is something extraordinary," said a Dili resident, Jose Vicente Martins Fontes, as he and
friends made their way down the slope.
At the same time, the monument provides a bird's-eye view of the deep divisions within
Timorese society. Surprisingly, critics of the statue include some leaders of the Catholic church.
The $2 millionmonument is being erected at the request of Abilio Soares, the governor of East
Timor. Most of the funds come from local government coffers, with assistance from Indonesia's
airline, Garuda.
The governor told President Suharto that the statue would soothe Catholic fears about the spread
of Islam, and ease Timorese resentment against the Muslim Indonesians working here as civil
servants, contractors and traders.
Reassuring Catholics is not the only item on the agenda, as a look at the governor's instructions
to the design team in Bandung, West Java, shows. "Christ the King" is redolent with Indonesian
nationalist symbolism.
First, the governor told designers, the statue should measure 27 meters from base to tip,
representing East Timor's position as the 27th province of Indonesia. Second, the figure of Christ
alone should measure 17 meters, to remind viewers of "Integration Day" on July 17, the date

East Timor was formally absorbed into Indonesia. It also marks Aug. 17, the day in 1945 that
Indonesia declared its independence fromthe Netherlands.
With East Timor's political status still in dispute at the United Nations,which continues to
recognize Portugal, not Indonesia, as the legitimate administrator of the territory, some Timorese
bristle at the governor's instructions.
"Is integration the wish of God?" asked FatherDomingos Soares, sitting outside his church in the
district of Letefoho. "We don't want religion to be used as a tool of the government."
And don't expect a rush of enthusiasm from Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, the most
prominent Catholicin East Timor. "What's the point of building a statue of Jesus if people are not
treated according to the Gospel?" the bishop recently told an Indonesian magazine. "It would be
better to improve the situation, rather than build statues."
The government has taken little notice of such criticism, but it seems that art is refusing to follow
Governor Soares's schedule.The statue was scheduled to be inaugurated on July 17, but that
deadline came and went. The next opportunity for a symbolic date was Aug. 17, but that one
slipped by, too.
Some delay has come from an act of God. In June, a powerful tremor threw workmen into a
panic,the construction supervisor said. But the monument's foundation held strong, and work
quickly resumed.
Shaken by last week's violence, the Timorese are similarly struggling to maintain their own
bearings. Wearily, they brace themselves for the next tremor, hoping it will be smaller than the
last.

location Timor leste, Dili(pasir putih)

Diving in Timor-Leste can be as simple as taking a dip close to the roadside. It can
be as exhilarating as swimming shoulder to shoulder with a school of barracuda.
The country's dramatic mountain scenery is often repeated underwater: a
vertiginous cliff crashes down to a sweeping beach, which plunges within metres to
a spectacular coral wall that slopes off into a marine prairie of sponges and fans
grazed by flashing shoals of brilliantly coloured fish. The variety of habitat makes for
a wide diversity of dive sites for marine biology enthusiasts and photographers in
search of nature's stranger, smaller critters, as well as divers who love to look at the
big picture of life on one of the healthiest coral reef systems in the world.