Transcript
Brett Callander of the New Zealand police points out a memorial in the capital Dili to a massacre which sparked tension in 2006.
He's among a handful of New Zealand police and defence staff who remain in Timor Leste.
He's been helping promote community policing round the country, helping people to get over a traumatic past.
But many Timorese have been anxious in recent weeks because the minority government, elected in July, still hasn't been able to push through its policy programme for the country.
Nevertheless a minister in the government Rui Maria de Araujo says he's proud of the way Timorese have remained calm.
The opposition politician Fideles Magalhaens says democracy has matured in the country.
Timor Leste has a huge youth population and 15 thousand a year are leaving school and university without job prospects.
Some say this is a potential powderkeg especially with martial arts gangs still a powerful force.
Juvinal Diaz of the local think tank Lao Humutuk says there won't be real stability in Timor Leste until people's needs are addressed.
New Zealand's ambassador to Timor Leste Vicki Poole says the country's peace and security remains a concern but things have moved on.
New Zealand is spending 17 million dollars annually on aid to Timor Leste in policing, education, agriculture and scholarships.
And you can hear more about Timor Leste 15 years on from independence, after the 8 o'clock news on Sunday morning.
