Transition & reconstruction

When peacekeeping isn't a piece of cake

Sydney Morning Herald - January 25, 2003

John Martinkus -- Almost three weeks after a series of militia incursions into East Timor from neighbouring Indonesia left five people dead, the two largest contingents of the peacekeeping force (PKF) responsible for security in the newly independent nation, the Australians and the Portuguese, are still facing criticism over their failure to heed warnings of the attacks.

Signs of differences between the Timorese authorities and the UN mission are also lingering over the rioting in Dili last month. Questions are being asked about the commitment of the international teams to stability in East Timor.

The attacks were the worst since East Timor achieved independence in May last year. They began on the night of January 4 with volleys of gunfire in three villages in the Atsabe area near the Indonesian border, and a raid on the house of a local leader that killed his nephew and two others.

Three men were kidnapped in the same area. The only one to survive by escaping identified his captors as local former militiamen from across the border. The other two were found dead, surrounded by shell casings from Indonesian military rifles.

The morning after the incident, President Xanana Gusmao and the heads of the East Timor defence force and police met UN officials in Dili and asked to be allowed to undertake an operation to secure the area.

"Our argument was that we trust the PKF. But the marginal groups have changed the way they act. If PKF operate alone, maybe they don't have a chance because they don't know the people," President Xanana said.

He described how in his days as a guerrilla commander fighting the Indonesians, he would often wave at Indonesian troops manning checkpoints. The Indonesians didn't have the local knowledge. "We put the same question to the PKF. These men they will just salute you and say 'Hello, mister'. You won't catch them."

The East Timorese defence force, the FDTL, was given command of the area where the militia attacks took place and 130 people were arrested in two weeks. But only eight suspected militia are still being detained and the operation is winding down.

Local police investigating the deaths in Atsabe believe the killers fled back across the border, through the sector controlled by Australian troops. Despite warnings of militia incursions planned for December and January, Australian troops abandoned their border post at Nunura in December.

Paulo Maia, a former pro-independence guerrilla who worked for previous Australian troops gathering intelligence, says the removal of the post left a gap in the border that allowed militia to trek deeper into East Timorese territory.

On January 8 three militia were seen filling their Indonesian military issue canteens in the Nunura river. More than 100 local East Timorese gave chase and threw rocks at them. The Australian troops 5km away in their new base in Mouliana were unaware the incident had occurred.

The infiltration of four groups of armed militia back into East Timor through Nunura began in December. The groups were believed to be armed and controlled by former pro-Jakarta militia head Joao Tavares, who is still living in Atambua.

The plan was to infiltrate four groups into the towns of Hatolia, Atsabe, Liquica and Maubara, in western East Timor, to assassinate local leaders who had fought for independence. Only the group that reached Atsabe seemed to be successful, but the information was well known locally beforehand, but ignored by the PKF.

Similar warnings were passed through President Gusmao about the withdrawal of Portuguese troops from their base in Ermera, leaving the area undefended save for a few police with handguns. The PKF command in Dili has refused to comment.

Reporters are faced with a Catch-22 situation: dealing with a UN administration that refuses to talk to them unless they have UN ID, while no longer issuing journalists UN IDs. The silence of the UN on the rioting on December 4 has contributed to the sense of instability and uncertainty over the commitment of the UN mission.

On the day of rioting in the capital following the deaths of protesters at the hands of East Timor's own police, each UN contingent was engaged in protecting its own country's assets.

Meanwhile, the UN administration in Dili remains silent and seems intent on only keeping the withdrawal timetable intact. As one senior officer in the FDTL put it, it would be a shame for the UN to leave dishonourably after serving so well there.

For Gusmao the most difficult times dealing with those across the border are still ahead. He supported the reconciliation process with former militia leaders such as Tavares. "We are now entering a difficult phase of reconciliation. Before it was only repatriation. Now we are starting to deal with the criminals."

A refusal to offer amnesty and the lenient sentences handed out at the Indonesian ad-hoc human rights tribunal in Jakarta give little incentive for militia leaders like Tavares to return.

Both East Timorese convicted in the Jakarta trials, former governor Abilio Soares and former militia leader Eurico Guterres remain free, pending appeal, despite recently being sentenced to five and 10 years' jail respectively for human rights abuses in 1999.

The UN force and President Gusmao refuse to speculate on the involvement of the Indonesian military in the latest incursions. "What we need is evidence," says Gusmao.

But FDTL Commander Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak has been reported as blaming the Indonesian military for the incursions, and one of the militia in custody has told the media that he was briefed by junior Indonesian military officers.

More Australian soldiers not needed: Gusmao

Melbourne Age - January 23, 2003

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- President Xanana Gusmao has denied a report that East Timor is seeking increased Australian military involvement in the territory to curb militia infiltrations from West Timor.

"We have been very happy with the performance of the peacekeepers," he said. "We don't need more Australian soldiers. They are needed for the war in Iraq; it's more important."

Mr Gusmao also denied claims, attributed to an unnamed East Timor official, that Indonesia's elite Kopassus unit had sent in Timorese militiamen believed responsible for attacks in the Atsabe district. "The Indonesian Government has its own problems and doesn't have anything to do with this," he said.

"These people are Timorese ex-militias who came from West Timor and are using local bandit groups. They might say they are sent by Indonesian generals but that has to be proved."

Eight men are being held in Dili on charges of disturbing security, illegal border crossing and transporting arms. According to defence lawyer Cancio Xavier, they surrendered peacefully to villagers in their home district of Bazartete a week ago.

"They said they had instructions by Indonesian army officers in Atambua [West Timor] to wage guerrilla war," he said. "But they changed their minds after crossing the border and decided to surrender."

A hunt is under way for other armed groups believed to have crossed the border last month. Seven people died in raids on Atsabe, 25 kilometres from the Indonesian border, on January 2 and 4. SKF automatic rifles, which are standard issue for the Indonesian army, were used in the attacks and were also carried by the Bazartete infiltrators.

After a meeting with the President, UN administrator Kamalesh Sharma also played down the situation. Asked whether East Timor was facing a major security crisis, he said: "There have been disturbances in some areas, and we hope that we can build up capacity to deal with it."

Mr Gusmao said the security situation was of great concern. "We know there are six or seven armed groups at large, and that those responsible for the Atsabe attacks fled south. If we don't disarm them we'll have further problems."

He said the planned withdrawal of UN peacekeeping forces in June next year would increase these worries.

The former guerrilla commander criticised human rights groups that have condemned the use of the Timorese defence force in special operations in Atsabe. He said although Timorese soldiers should only be used to counter external threats, the current situation was exceptional and covered by a UN agreement. "Two NGOs (non-governmental organisations) have spoken of human rights problems yet armed elements are attacking our population," he said. "They don't speak of this."

Insecurity creating rift between governmnet, UN mission

Lusa - January 14, 2003

Dili -- The atmosphere of instability looming over East Timor is leading to a deterioration of relations between national and UN security structures.

The tensions, which first surfaced during deadly riots in Dili on December 4, have deepened after recent attacks on villages by unidentified gangs southwest if Dili and confirmation that armed bands of former anti-independence militias are infiltrating from Indonesia.

Timorese Defense Force units dispatched by President Xanana Gusmao to the southwest Atsabe region last week have complained of a "lack of support" from and insufficient communication with the UN peacekeeping force (PKF), which remains primarily responsible for security, despite East Timor's having achieved independence last May 20.

Dili's leadership, which publicly criticized the UN's "morose" response to the December riots, has called for the UN mandate and the form of its implementation to be reassessed to help quell mounting instability.

The tension between Dili and the UN mission, UNMISET, has also been aggravated by the growing lack of information offered by the UN, both to media and to its Timorse counterparts. Local and international media grumble about the "strange silence" following the arrival of UNMISET chief Kamalesh Sharma eight months ago, while senior Defense Force officers complain they are providing much more information to UN security officials than they get in return.

Timorese leaders, both government and military, and some international officials contacted by Lusa suggested the lack of information and comment from UNMISET on the recent violence and instability aim to "not rock the boat".

"The prime interest at senior UN levels is not to mess with the (UN) withdrawal calendar", set for June 2004, an international official told Lusa. "To publicise the current tension lived here would go against this objective and could put the [withdrawal] timetable at risk", added the official.

Senior Defense Force officers told Lusa they needed more equipment and a broader mandate from UNMISET to continue with counter-insurgency operations in the southwest. "Our operations have been restricted [by the UN] to a limited zone, and the armed groups simply slip away" to areas patrolled by the PKF only within urban perimeters, said one chief-of-staff officer. "We don't want more arms", he added. "We need more transport, better communications systems and nighttime capacity, which we don't have".

Gusmao suggests extending UN peacekeeping mandate; More

Lusa - January 16, 2003

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao said yesterday that it may be necessary to extend the mandate of the 5,000-soldier UN peacekeeping force in East Timor beyond June 2004, its scheduled end, in light of continued instability on the island. Acknowledging the "difficulty" of extending the UN Mission of Support in East Timor's mandate, Gusmao for the first time made a public plea for a study of the possibility. His remarks came during a meeting with foreign diplomats in the capital, Dili.

"The population ... is scared and living in panic," Gusmao said, referring to recent violent incidents, including riots in Dili last month. "There are organized groups, some armed, who are assaulting homes and taking everything the people have," he added. "These groups travel in gangs and cover a large portion of the territory" (Antonio Sampaio, LUSA Agencia de Noticias, January 13, UN Wire translation).

Last week, according to East Timorese authorities, three men were killed in two villages southwest of the capital, allegedly by former members of pro-Indonesian militias. Indonesia has denied involvement. According to Gusmao, the young country's own internationally trained defense force will be unable to cope with such security problems when UN troops leave.

"By the time the international contingents leave their barracks, [our] soldiers will only have walls and floors as their facilities," Gusmao said, adding that his government is considering deploying the army to crack down on criminal gangs across the country (Associated Press/Yahoo! News, January 13).

Gusmao said UNMISET and the government reacted too slowly to last month's riots, which left several people dead and dozens injured. "The reaction of UNMISET was incredibly slow," he said, adding that UN forces acted first to protect "interests" before moving to restore stability. Gusmao said the real measure of whether UNMISET has completed its mission will be the stability of East Timor at the end of the peacekeepers' mandate (Sampaio, LUSA Agencia de Noticias).

Eight months into the mandate, criticism is growing over matters including UNMISET's alleged snubbing of the press, LUSA reported yesterday. Since he took the helm of UNMISET, Kamalesh Sharma, who is responsible for law and security in East Timor, has limited his contact with the media to press releases, refused interviews and held no press conferences, LUSA reported.

There has also been an "inexplicable silence" between peacekeepers and international police, the agency added. UN officials told LUSA that the situation is causing tension within the UN mission and disturbing relations between international and local authorities. "They should be saying more," said one official (Sampaio, LUSA Agencia de Noticias II, January 13, UN Wire translation).

The sentencing of former Dili police commander Hulman Gultom has been delayed until Monday by an Indonesian ad hoc tribunal responsible for trying officials accused of complicity in crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999. The court cited a lack of consensus about what the sentence should be.

Gultom is accused of failing to prevent an attack on the house of pro-independence activist Manuel Carrascalao, in which at least 12 people died (LUSA Agencia de Noticias, January 13, UN Wire translation).

Militia/boarder issues

Unleash diggers on militia: East Timor

The Australian - January 23, 2003

John Kerin and Terry Plane -- East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta wants Australia's UN peacekeepers to be involved in joint operations with the East Timor Defence Force to combat Indonesian military-backed militia raids on the fledgling country.

Mr Ramos Horta said yesterday incursions backed by elements of Kopassus, Indonesia's notorious special forces, had become increasingly serious yet the UN and the Australian Government considered the matters to be a low priority.

He added that Australia, which contributes about 1100 out of 4400 peacekeepers, should apply pressure to ensure the UN could conduct joint operations against the militia.

"The Australians are professional and brave but they need to work with the East Timorese Defence Force to combat these incursions," Mr Ramos Horta said. "That is the crux of the matter." He said the downsizing of the UN peacekeeping force should stop until the "militias who train in West Timor [with] sophisticated weapons" were overcome.

The comments follow claims by an East Timorese government official on Monday that the country was facing the greatest security threat since becoming an independent nation last May. West Timorese militia armed by elements of Kopassus, according to a UN report revealed by The Australian yesterday, made incursions into East Timor on January 4 and January 13.

The official claimed Australian UN peacekeepers were reluctant to get involved in local policing matters and the incursions were repelled by villagers and Portuguese troops. Although the mandate for the UN-sponsored force is to be formally reviewed in May, an Australian government source said yesterday it was almost certain it would be extended to May 2004.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday that while he was concerned about the cross-border raids, there was no evidence they had been armed by Kopassus. Mr Downer said there had been no request from the East Timorese for Australian government help to repel the incursions. "The peacekeeping force isn't an Australian peacekeeping force," Mr Downer said.

"There are Australians who play a very big part in the peacekeeping force but this is a United Nations peacekeeping force. There have been a couple of incidents during January which have been a concern for us. [But] this is a matter between the United Nations and the East Timorese, it isn't a matter that directly involves the Australian Government."

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said the Government was so preoccupied with the deployment of troops to Iraq that it was ignoring the threats to East Timor. "This view ... is dangerously naive and demonstrates just how distracted the Government has become by Iraq."

Refugees 'forced to become guerillas'

Sydney Morning Herald - January 25, 2003

Jill Jolliffe, Dili -- Members of an armed militia group arrested here last week say they agreed to return as guerillas because Indonesian officials in West Timor had prevented them from returning legally with United Nations refugee programs.

"After President Xanana [Gusmao] visited us last year we tried to come back with the UN High Commission for Refugees," said 38-year old Elias, "but the Indonesian military [TNI] stopped us. They had the guns, and we were afraid of them." Elias is a pseudonym, because he is afraid his testimony could result in reprisals against the family he left behind in Atambua, West Timor.

A manhunt is under way in East Timor for six other armed groups believed to have also crossed the border in December. Seven people died in raids on the border district of Atsabe in early January. SKS automatic rifles, standard issue for the TNI, were used in the attacks.

Speaking in Dili's Becora prison, Elias reinforced testimony given earlier by fellow-prisoner Miguel Metan that junior TNI officers Tome Diogo and Henrique Moreiraboth, wanted by the UN for war crimes, had instructed their group to return and kill pro-independence village heads. He said he agreed because he was afraid to refuse, but also wanted to return home. He alleged militia chief Joao Tavares was also involved.

"I wanted to surrender and make peace with my village, so I could bring my family back," he said.

Kai Neilsen, UNHCR's mission head in Dili, said he found it hard to believe Indonesian authorities would take this action, "but maybe there are some elements -- we know there are people left in West Timor with an interest in destabilising East Timor".

UNHCR has not had a presence in West Timor since the murder of three of its staff in Atambua in 2000. "We have no access to camps there," Mr Neilsen said, adding that co-operation with Indonesian authorities at the senior level had been excellent recently.

Last year the UNHCR sponsored two trips by Mr Gusmao to camps in West Timor to convince pro-Indonesian refugees they had nothing to fear in East Timor. Elias said he believed his message, but was stopped from returning legally.

Tavares, also wanted for involvement in 1999 militia attacks, sat beside Mr Gusmao at some rallies.

He said publicly that violence belonged to the past and East Timorese should reconcile with each other. However, according to Elias's testimony, Atambua refugees still live in fear of him.

"We are just common people, so we could never talk to him, but Tome Diogo and Henrique Moreira acted with him," Elias alleged.

Mr Metan, 45, said that although his family had been able to return to East Timor in 2001 from the Indonesian-controlled camps, he was told he could only return "to wage guerilla warfare".

Their group of eight crossed the border on December 19 armed with one SKS rifle and five home-made pistols. Both men say they walked over the border at an area controlled by Australia's UN contingent, but had first to avoid Indonesian border guards, who they feared.

East Timor appeals for help to stop militia incursions

Radio Australia - January 22, 2003

East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, has warned that the United Nations peacekeepers stationed in the new nation are not managing to control border raids into East Timor by pro- Indonesian militia, and that the Australian Government and the United Nations have been slow to take the threat seriously.

Transcript:

John Highfield: And as Australian war plans for Iraq intensify, East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, is today warning that the United Nations peacekeepers stationed in this new nation on our doorstep, are not managing to control border raids into East Timor by pro-Indonesian militia.

Mr Ramos Horta says the Australian Government and the United Nations have been slow taking the threat seriously.

Mr Ramos Horta says if the destabilising activity on the border with Indonesian West Timor is not stopped and stopped soon, the UN peacekeeping mission which involves around 1,000 Australian soldiers, may need to be extended beyond next year.

The East Timorese Foreign Minster is also proposing that the Australian forces and other peace keepers join his country's own fledgling Defence Force units for joint operations on the border. Here's Matt Brown in Canberra.

Matt Brown: East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, says pro-Indonesian militia attacks across the border from West Timor into East Timor have been a growing problem since late last year. One incursion even occurred under the nose of Australian peacekeeper.

Jose Ramos Horta: One militia said he crossed the border on December 18, just ten metres away from some Australian units, stationed along the border.

Matt Brown: An attack at the start of the year in the Atsabe district overwhelmed the local Police. But Jose Ramos Horta says the United Nations and the Australian military were initially sceptical about the magnitude of the problem and the need for military involvement.

Jose Ramos Horta: In the beginning, obviously, their common thinking in Timor by the UN, the UN Police and the Australian side as well, were that these were matters low in order. Even after the violent incident of Ahabe [phonetic], you know the sub-district of Atsabe near the border, where a group of armed men totally overwhelmed the police. This is not just a Police matter, this becomes an army or defence matter.

Matt Brown: The scepticism of the Australians and the international security force in East Timor has diminished in part, due to the intelligence from captured militia.

Jose Ramos Horta: The captured militia say that they enter East Timor from West Timor as early as December last year. So contrary to some factors some people believe or try to make us believe that these were internal problems of East Timor. Actually there are not.

They are militias who train in West Timor. The militias came in with weapons, sophisticated weapons that totally overwhelm our police.

Matt Brown: Now Jose Ramos Horta wants the rules of engagement changed in East Timor. He wants to get his forces into action on the border along with the Thai and Australian peacekeepers stationed there.

Jose Ramos Horta: The agreement that we have had so far is whether there should be a deployment at all of the East Timor defence force. Our defence force is still in the making but its knowledge of the terrain is well known, its experience in dealing with this kind of activity is well known.

While the peacekeeping force do not know the people for obvious reasons, they don't speak the language, they don't know the terrain. So we have proposed joint activities between our defence force and the peacekeeping force. That is where the UN is a bit reluctant and understandably so, because the UN doesn't want to get into any mistake.

Matt Brown: Negotiations are underway now to beef up the joint security effort on the border with West Timor. But given the determination of Australia's Defence Minister to push ahead with re-establishing close ties with the disgraced Indonesian Kopassus special forces ten days ago, Mr Ramos Horta delivered a difficult warning to the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer.

Jose Ramos Horta: I did raise the possibility of militia involvement or Kopassus involvement.

Matt Brown: Mr Ramos Horta argues that if the situation with militias on the border isn't dealt with soon, the United Nations' mission in East Timor, may need to be extended, and that will involve a difficult decision for an overstretched Australian military, which must consider this ongoing security sore on our doorstep as well as costly operations in the Persian Gulf and other peacekeeping duties.

John Highfield: Matt Brown in Canberra.

Kopassus behind militia attacks: report

Laksamana.Net - January 22, 2003

The Army's elite Special Forces (Kopassus) is reportedly behind recent incursions into East Timor by militia fighters.

A leaked United Nations report alleges that gangs armed and supported by Kopassus have been entering East Timor and threatening to kill villagers and community leaders who oppose them, the Australian Broadcastingting Corporation said Wednesday.

Militiamen on January 4 raided the hamlet of Tiarlelo near Atsabe town, which is 25 kilometers from the border with Indonesian West Timor. The bandits killed one man and left three people wounded, including two children.

At the same time, another militia group attacked Laubuno village, 14 kilometers away, killing two people and wounding several more. Four more bodies have since been found, leaving a death toll of seven, The Sydney Morning Herald reported Tuesday.

The use of automatic weapons and discovery of bullet shells from Indonesian-issue SKS rifles raised fears of a return of Kopassus-ordered militia attacks.

In the wake of the second attack, Portuguese soldiers were called in to disperse the militia after Australia reportedly rejected a request for intervention by Australian peacekeepers.

Villagers later managed to capture between six to eight militiamen, at least one of whom reportedly confessed to being ordered by Indonesian soldiers to carry out the incursions.

East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta is certain the Indonesian government has no strategy to destabilize East Timor, but concedes that rogue Indonesian elements might have been involved in the attacks.

Kristio Wahyono, head of Indonesia's diplomatic mission in East Timor, said he had been assured by West Timor military commander Lieutenant Colonel Tjuk Agus and militia leader Joao Tavares that no ex-militias had crossed the border and attacked. "If anyone did, there were certainly no instructions from the Indonesian military," Wahyono was quoted as saying by the Herald.

Militia raids a threat to Timor Leste's security

Agence France Presse - January 23, 2003

Jakarta -- Timor Leste faces the worst threat to its stability since independence as security forces counter raids by armed gangs from Indonesia's West Timor.

Militiamen, who murdered six villagers early this month, have infiltrated the nation -- known formerly as East Timor -- with the aim of destabilising it, a government official said yesterday.

"They did not accept the results of the 1999 referendum. The Indonesians did but they did not," said Mr Jose Guterres, Chief of Staff to East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

He said the militiamen now operating "have nothing to do with the Indonesian government" which ruled East Timor for 24 years up to 1999.

On January 4, 12 to 15 men armed with M-16, SKS and G-3 rifles killed six people in the villages of Tiarelelo and Lobano, about 35km from the Indonesian border, said Brig-Gen Justin Kelly, deputy commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force stationed here. 'We have detected a number of armed bands, some of them who seem to incorporate former militia members, who are conducting criminal operations in East Timor,' he said.

"It's a serious situation." There had been little militia activity in East Timor for about two years.

President Xanana Gusmao, speaking to reporters in Dili yesterday, did not rule out militia involvement but tied the murders to frustrations among his people.

Indonesian army link to Timor incursions

Sydney Morning Herald - January 21, 2003

Jill Jolliffe, Atsabe -- The hamlet of Tiarlelo is only a few kilometres from Atsabe, itself 25 kilometres from the border with West Timor, but the rough jungle track that leads to it emphasises its isolation.

When well-armed, masked assailants struck Tiarlelo at nightfall on January 4, it was close enough for gunfire to be heard in the town, but distant enough for it to be cut off from help.

When police arrived at first light, they found one man dead and three people wounded, including two children. In a simultaneous attack at Laubuno, 14 kilometres away, two were killed and several wounded. Four more bodies have been found since, leaving a death toll of seven.

The use of automatic weapons and the discovery of bullet casings from Indonesian-issue SKS rifles raised fears that the attacks represented a militia incursion from West Timor.

The arrest several days later of eight armed men in the Liquica region confirmed those fears. Testimony was given in a Dili court that seven armed groups had crossed the border to kill former resistance leaders, under orders from soldiers of the Indonesian army (TNI).

The East Timorese Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said he was convinced there was no Indonesian Government strategy to destabilise East Timor. There might be Indonesian elements involved, but rogue elements, Mr Ramos Horta said.

"With all Indonesia's troubles, East Timor is not on its radar screen at the moment," he said. "My concern is how we can get senior officials in Jakarta to pay attention, and alert [President] Megawati [Soekarnoputri]."

To this end he called in Kristio Wahyono, head of Indonesia's diplomatic mission. The ambassador had earlier told the Herald he had travelled to Atambua, in West Timor, to consult TNI commander Lieutenant-Colonel Tjuk Agus and militia leader Joao Tavares.

"Both told me no ex-militias had crossed the border and attacked Atsabe," Mr Wahyono said. "If anyone did, there were certainly no instructions from the Indonesian military."

After the attacks the East Timorese President, Xanana Gusmao, headed an emergency meeting in Dili, after which the United Nations administrator, Kamalesh Sharma, was persuaded to take an unorthodox course.

He signed an agreement allowing the newly trained East Timor Defence Force (ETDF) to mount a counter-insurgency operation in the area -- waiving accords placing the force under UN command and ignoring a clause in the Timorese constitution stating that the ETDF could not be used internally.

A week later, camouflage-clad East Timorese scoured the jungle around Atsabe for infiltrators.

A statement issued by Mr Sharma on Friday said ETDF soldiers had apprehended about 66 people identified as militia members by the local population.

The reality on the ground was different. Most of those arrested were local people who were members of Colimau 2000, a group with religious trappings previously accused of armed raids into homes to extort money.

Denounced by neighbours, they were arrested without warrant and handed over to police for transport to Dili jails.

In Lemeia Kraik, known as a Colimau stronghold, 59 people, including children, were arrested, to the disquiet of human rights observers. Of 31 Colimau members presented in court Friday, 28 were freed for lack of evidence.

The story of the men arrested in Liquica district was more worrying. It showed that militia incursions from Indonesia were involved, but backed Mr Ramos Horta's view that those orchestrating them may be junior officers.

Miguel Freitas Metan, 45, is among those remanded for 30 days on immigration, security and illegal arms charges. Speaking in Dili prison, Metan, a native of Liquica, said he had lived at Hali- Ulun, near Atambua since 1999.

He said that on December 17 he was summoned to a meeting with low-ranking TNI officers, mostly of East Timorese origin. He said seven militia units received instructions to cross into East Timor for guerilla actions and "groups going to Atsabe, Letefoho and Baucau had already left".

Two TNI soldiers, Tome Diogo and Henrique Moreira, led the briefing. Both wanted by the UN for crimes against humanity in the April 1999 Liquica massacre. Also present was a West Timorese sergeant-major called Frans Taek, Metan said.

He told how his unit crossed the border two days later. "It was easy. We crossed not far from the night market at Mota Ain. There was an Australian patrol, but we hid until it went past."

During the 14-day trek to Liquica his group of eight men, all originally from Liquica, had a change of heart and, realising that independent East Timor was peaceful, decided to surrender rather than go through with their attack. They gave themselves up in their home village on January 14. Members of the other six groups are still at large.

Captured ex-militia says infiltrated in December

Lusa - January 14, 2003

Dili -- A captured former anti-independence militiaman has told interrogators in Dili that at least seven armed groups infiltrated East Timor from Indonesia in December, according to two reports obtained by Lusa Tuesday.

The reports, one prepared by Timorese police and the second for the Timorese Defence Force, cite the captive as saying all the armed groups were organized in the West Timor border town of Atambua by an Indonesian army chief sergeant, Tomi Dogo, and a former Indonesian civil servant in Gleno, Miguel Guterres.

According to the captive, Armando Kamarudin, who once served with the Indonesia special military SKI force, the seven groups crossed the border through the informal market area of Talilaran with orders to head for seven East Timorese districts, including Dili and Baucau. The two reports made no mention of the missions or targets given the infiltrators.

But when Kamarudin and five other members of his seven-man band were captured by civilians near Liquica, about 36 kms west of Dili, Monday, they reportedly said their mission was to "destabilize" East Timor. Kamarudin, according to the police and Defense Force reports, gave deatiled information on four of the seven infiltrated groups, all apparently composed of Timorese and armed with a variety of automatic weapons and homemade arms.

Kamarudin was quoted as saying that his group crossed the border on December 18 through the Talilaran market between two Australian UN peacekeeping checkpoints. "The peacekeeping soldiers never inspect civilians, so when dressed as civilians one can infiltrate East Timor even in daylight, right under their eyes as if one were going for a walk", one report cited Kamarudin as saying.

Unidentified armed bands have been operating in areas southwest of Dili for weeks. In a January 2 raid on a village near Atsabe seven people were abducted and two days later six were killed and four wounded in raids on two other villages in the area, about 60 kms from Dili.

West Timor/refugees

Refugees find a home on another island

Melbourne Age - January 16 2003

Matthew Moore, Jakarta -- Some of the 28,000 East Timorese who remain in West Timor after fleeing the carnage that followed East Timor's 1999 vote for independence will soon be leaving the island altogether.

In the next few months, the first of 300 East Timorese families will be moved to the nearby Indonesian island of Sumba in an experiment by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Indonesian Government intended to permanently resolve the Timorese refugee issue.

Announcing the plan yesterday, UNHCR officials said it would be quite different to the transmigration policies of the Suharto government, where millions of farmers were relocated from densely populated parts of Indonesia to remote areas such as Papua and Kalimantan.

UNHCR's assistant regional representative, Fernando Protti- Alvarado, said the first group of 70 refugee farming families would soon move to the village of Denduka in western Sumba. In negotiations with villagers in Denduka last month, agreement was reached for refugees to farm common land and to have access to water and other necessities.

Asked why villagers wanted the settlers, Mr Protti-Alvarado said: "They want to show solidarity with the refugees and to get access to the community development fund.

Money from Jakarta and the UNHCR will fund new houses in the village not just for refugees but also for locals, with the likelihood of more money for schools and other government services. Villagers on Sumba, a mainly Christian island, have made it clear they do not want to be outnumbered by the refugees and they are only willing to accept other Christians.

The UNHCR said the refugees would move only when they and the host villagers agreed to the plan and the Timorese had had a chance to inspect their new homes and meet their new neighbours.

The UNHCR's regional representative, Robert Ashe, said the plan to relocate refugees would appeal to some, but most refugees still in West Timor would stay there permanently. Nearly 90 per cent of the 250,000 refugees who flooded into West Timor have returned home, but most of those remaining have roots in Indonesian Timor.

Mr Ashe said that of 9000 East Timorese families still in West Timor, 5600 have a family member employed in the Indonesian civil service, the army or the police and have opted to stay.

People who had fled to West Timor lost their right to official refugee status and United Nations protection on December 31 last year when the UN decided they no longer qualified as refugees.

The UNHCR has also drawn up a two-year plan to resolve 819 cases of East Timorese children still separated from their families. About 350 of these children are in West Timor and others are scattered around Indonesia. In some cases, their guardians refuse to allow the UNHCR to have contact with the children or to allow contact with their families, Mr Ashe said. "We have a number of difficult cases where the caretaker is unwilling to release the child or allow them to establish some contact ... through letters or photographs," he said.

Government & politics

Alkatiri mulls revamped executive - government sources

Lusa - January 16, 2003

Dili -- Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri is studying a possible restructuring of East Timor's government ministries to improve their functioning and the performance of ministers, official sources said Thursday.

The changes could include the creation of a new minister for the presidency of the council of ministers. This post would be filled by Justice Minister Ana Pessoa, who would be replaced by her deputy, Domingos Sarmento, government sources told Lusa.

Pessoa would act as a virtual deputy-prime minister and take charge of public administration, currently the responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI). Rogerio Lobato, who currently heads the MAI, would remain in his post, despite recent calls for his dismissal, but with reduced responsibilities. The MAI would have no direct influence on local government, sources said.

East Timor's head of government is also examining a scheme to send deputy ministers and state secretaries to the provinces for "periods of a few weeks" to get the Dili government's message across.

Alkatiri told Lusa earlier this month he was open to remodeling his government, "if it can be proved this will solve the problems". "I am thinking deeply over this. I have the clear notion that some ministries work well and others less so. I am analyzing the illness and the reasons, Alkatiri had said. Random inspections of all departments were instigated last week by Alkatiri as part of his crackdown on absenteeism and lack of efficiency in government.

Human rights trials

Timor clergyman says soldiers among church attackers

Jakarta Post - January 24, 2003

Jakarta -- Father Raphael dos Santos, an East Timorese priest, said on Thursday Indonesian Military soldiers and policemen were among the attackers of his refugee-packed church in the town of Liquica in April 1999.

Father dos Santos was testifying by teleconference from Dili at Indonesia's human rights tribunal here. "I saw it myself, that the attackers were soldiers, police and militia members," Dos Santos told the trial of Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, who headed the military command overseeing East Timor and other provinces at the time of the attack, as quoted by AFP.

Adam Damiri is the most senior of 18 military and police officers, officials and civilians to have appeared before the court. All were accused of gross rights violations in East Timor in April and September 1999, before and after the territory voted in August that year for independence from Indonesia.

The court has imposed jail sentences on a former Dili police chief and a former military chief in the territory, as well as on the former civilian governor and an ex-militia chief. All four are free pending appeals.

Ten security force members and a civilian have been acquitted in widely criticized verdicts. Three senior Army officers including Damiri are awaiting verdicts.

The Catholic priest said he also saw police firing tear gas into the church compound. Shots were also fired toward his house in the compound.

Pro-Indonesian local militias, angered by the actions by independence supporters against some militia members in Liquica, attacked the church where dos Santos said some 2,000 people were sheltering. Prosecutors have said at least 18 people were killed in the attack.

Several witnesses from East Timor have previously told other trials at the rights court that they saw soldiers among the attackers of the Liquica church.

The priest said that soon after the attack he was taken to the safety of the local military headquarters by soldiers. When he returned to his house, it was ransacked and traces of blood were everywhere.

"I reject all of the witness' testimony because this testimony runs against and is not in line with the testimonies of other itnesses," Adam told the court, referring to evidence given by the chiefs of the local military and police.

Policeman gets three years for rights crimes

Jakarta Post - January 21, 2003

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Former Dili police chief Lt. Col. Hulman Gultom was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday by a human rights court for crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999.

However, like previous convicts, he remained free pending an appeal with the High Court.

Hulman was found guilty of failing to prevent a crime committed by his subordinates and allowing then pro-Jakarta militia members to attack and kill pro-independence East Timorese taking refuge in the house of independence leader Manuel Vegas Carascalao on April 17, 1999.

At least 12 refugees died and dozens were injured in the massacre.

Hulman was also convicted for failing to prevent similar attacks at the Dili Diocese building and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo's residence on September 5 and September 6, 1999 respectively.

"We sentenced him to three years in prison for the crimes," said presiding judge Andriani Nurdin.

Hulman said he would appeal the verdict with the High Court. Prosecutor Nasir A. Maksum had demanded a 10-year prison sentence for Hulman.

According to Law No. 26/2000 on Human Rights Tribunal, a crime against humanity carries a minimum sentence of 10 years.

Andriani admitted the three-year jail term for Hulman was below the minimum punishment set by the Human Rights Tribunal Law, saying that such a minimum sentence was not in accordance with the judges' sense of justice.

"So we decided to deviate from the Human Rights Tribunal Law," she said.

Hulman claimed that the judges were wrong in thinking that he did not prevent the killings in East Timor in 1999. "I was always ready to give my life to prevent [any bloody incidents there]," Hulman said.

With Hulman's verdict, the human rights court has handed down 15 verdicts of a total 18 defendants.

Besides Hulman, former Dili military district chief Lt. Col. Soedjarwo, former East Timor governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, and former militia leader Eurico Guterres were also convicted.

Soedjarwo was sentenced to five years in prison, Abilio to three years in jail, and Eurico to 10 years in prison.

The court is still to hear three other cases against Maj. Gen. Adam Damiri, former Bali-based Udayana military commander overseeing Bali, Nusa Tenggara and the then-East Timor province, former East Timor Military chief Brig. Gen. Tono Suratman, and his successor Brig. Gen. Noer Muis.

Hundreds of innocent people were killed in the run-up, during, and after the United Nations-sponsored referendum in East Timor in 1999, in which the majority of East Timorese voted to break away from Indonesia, which occupied the territory for more than two decades.

Timor trials criticized

Laksamana.Net - January 14, 2003

The Indonesian government made only half-hearted attempts during the year to hold accountable those responsible for TNI abuses in East Timor. Human rights defenders inside and outside the country called for an international tribunal in light of the failures of the Indonesian justice system.

On January 12, 2002, President Megawati Sukarnoputri appointed eighteen non-career judges to sit on the Indonesian ad hoc human rights court for East Timor. Twenty-four prosecutors were inducted on February 8. The office of the attorney general issued the first charges against seven individuals on February 21.

The court tried the former East Timorese governor, Abilio Osorio Soares, for crimes against humanity under Indonesian Law 26/2000. Prosecutors charged Soares with responsibility for widespread and systematic human rights violations perpetrated by subordinates under his effective control. The incidents cited in his indictment included the Liquica Church massacre of April 6, 1999, the attack and killings at Manuel Carrascalao's house in Dili on April 17, 1999, the September 1999 Suai Church massacre, and the September 1999 attack on Bishop Belo's house.

Former East Timor police chief, Brigadier General Timbul Silaen, faced similar charges of crimes against humanity. In addition to incidents listed in Soares' indictment, the court charged Silaen in connection with an attack on the UNAMET office in Liquica in September 1999.

Five other men went on trial together for the Suai Church massacre: former district administrator of Suai, Herman Sudyono; former Suai district military commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lili Kusardiyanto; former chief-of-staff of Suai district military command, Captain Ahmad Syamsudin; former Suai military sector commander, Sugito; and former chief of police in Suai, Lieutenant Colonel Gatot Subiaktoro.

Trials commenced in March, after government regulations on witness protection and victim compensation were settled. Despite concerns about the implementation of the witness protection programs and at least one allegation of intimidation, four East Timorese witnesses traveled to Jakarta and gave testimony. Not one UN staff member was called to testify.

Announced on August 14, 2002, the first verdicts from the trials triggered widespread international and domestic criticism. Abilio Soares was found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to three years of imprisonment, well below the legal minimum of ten years and the ten-and-a-half years requested by the prosecution. The other defendants, named above, were acquitted. In November Colonel Timbul Silaen was promoted to the rank of one-star inspector general and became security assistant to National Police Chief Dai Bachtiar.

The outcomes of the trials had been expected. Although the judges had not allowed the trials to be derailed, a presidential decision limiting the mandate for the tribunals to a handful of cases that occurred in April and September 1999 hindered the prosecution. Most significantly, the prosecutors failed to reveal in court the role of the military and Indonesian officials in organizing and arming militia groups and in orchestrating the violence.

The prosecutors' indictments were weak. They charged defendants with "failure to act," rather than organizing and perpetrating atrocities. By portraying the 1999 violence in East Timor as a civil disturbance, rather than a systematic and widespread terror campaign, the indictments made it more difficult to establish crimes against humanity.

On January 19, 2002, the sentences of three persons convicted of killing three international UNHCR staff members in West Timor on September 6, 2000, were increased from ten-to-fifteen months to five-to-seven years, after international outcry over the leniency of the initial sentences.

On March 7, Yacobus Bere was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison for the July 2000 murder of a New Zealand peacekeeping force soldier, Private Manning. On March 20, the Central Jakarta District Court acquitted three other men, tried separately for involvement in the murder.

On January 1, 2002, the Indonesian government ceased humanitarian assistance to East Timorese refugees in West Timor. The cessation of aid spurred many refugees to return to East Timor in March and April, as post-harvest stockpiles of food began to run out; and malnutrition, diarrhea, and malaria increased. Indonesia's announcement that it would end repatriation incentives at the end of August also prompted refugees to return, with an estimated ten thousand refugees crossing the border to East Timor in July and August.

An estimated thirty thousand refugees remained in West Timor at this writing. UNHCR announced in May that the UN Refugee Convention would cease to apply to all East Timorese remaining in Indonesia at the end of December 2002, though individuals still retained their right to appeal this cessation of status.

The issue of missing and separated East Timorese children in Indonesia remained unresolved. UNHCR and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) made slow progress on an estimated 1,500 reported cases, with little help from the government of Indonesia.

While some reunifications occurred from West to East Timor, children in other parts of Indonesia became increasingly isolated after three years of separation.

Most well-known were the cases of almost two hundred East Timorese children taken to orphanages in Central Java by Octavio Soares, brother of former East Timor Governor Abilio Soares. Their status remained unclear. Requests for reunification of the children by the parents, UNHCR, and the IRC were met with hostile resistance from Octavio.

East Timor media updates

East Timor media updates

UNMISET - January 22, 2003

Dili -- Falintil/FDTL Commander, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak criticized on Tuesday a human rights organisation and international institution operating in Timor-Leste, which accused Falintil/FDTL of "breaking human rights procedures" when detained members of Colimau 2000 Group. Speaking to the media at Falintil/FDTL headquarters Taur said " I extend an invitation, to those that defend human rights to travel together with Falintil/FDTL to Hatulia, Atsabe to have a face to face dialogue with the local people. If they are only in Dili travelling up and down in their cars, critics can be made but please go and see the people who are suffering, who are not sleeping in their homes and who have not been going to work in their corn fields. When they are impartial, they only look at one side, not the victims. To be precise they are siding with those criminals". Ruak added that Falintil/FDTL was created 20 years ago to defend victims of power abuses, criminals and those in power. "Therefore I think no one cannot point a finger to FDTL for not defending human rights. All the Timorese defended human rights but clearly at that moment [during Indonesian occupation of Timor-Leste] many people forgot about human rights" he said. He pointed that many foreigners currently in Timor-Leste are speaking about human rights and should not preach the Timorese because many countries sided with Indonesia to violate the rights of Timorese people. " Now these are the people speaking about human rights. How do we classify human rights? To defend those criminals or defend those who have detained them and defend those who have died? Those people, defenders of human rights up to date have not made an effort to do an investigation on the victims in Atsabe. I would like to stress that they defend more the criminals the same way as we with the victims" stated Ruak. The Timorese Brigadier General informed that he had discussed with Mr. Hasegawa as member of the UN and invited him and his staff to speak to the people in that area to judge whether the actions of the former militias were correct. In regards to those detainees released by the court, Taur said Falintil/FDTL would carry on with their investigation and take the case back to the tribunal.

According to "Suara Timor Lorosae" Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak criticized UNPOL Police commissioner Peter Miller; in a letter sent to Taur, Miller-states the newspaper- accused Falintil/FDTL of violating human rights when they detained people involved in the Atsabe attack. Speaking to the media Ruak said that the accusations "are a cover up to their weakness." " It is better for the UNPOL Commissioner Peter Miller to speak the truth that the police does not have the capacity, instead of trying to cover it up by accusing Falintil/FDTL breaking human rights," he said. (STL)

CPD-RDTL coordinator, Antonio Aitahan Matak, on Tuesday met PM Alkatiri and handed him a document underlining the main topics for the upcoming national dialogue scheduled for 25th of this month. Aitahan Matak said he requested a reply from the government as well as the Parliament and the President on the acceptance of the proposal. He said " The people gave me the document to hand it in. This is the second time that I am doing this. I have not yet received a reply. But hopefully the government will come with something good for the people". Aitahan Matak added that during his meeting with the Prime Minister they discussed the possibility of some people using the national dialogue opportunity to create problems. He alerted PKF, UNPOL and the Timorese Police to take into consideration the situation of Falintil, which is now divided into two groups: one guarding the weapons in Metinaro, which became FDTL during UNTAET period, and the other living among the communities and under the responsibility of CPD-RDTL. These are the reasons I have requested PKF, UNPOL and the Timorese Police to respect them. From their uniform to backpacks to radio communications they have acquired during the resistance period the area of Baucau. This is why CPD-RDTL demands security to be transfered to the Timorese.

Manuel Carceres da Costa from UNHCR stated that many Timorese children are still living in Indonesia. Interviewed by STL he said TNI troops forced over 4000 East Timorese children to separate from their parents during 1999 violence.

According to him 2,131 children have been identified by UNHCR and they will soon return to Timor-Leste. He also said that the whereabouts of 1370 is not clear. He said many were already adults and had married. A few were being getting the support of their parents He added that he was also informed about the death of two of these children. At the moment 819 East Timorese children are still in Indonesia and UNHCR is still trying to return them to their parent.

East Timor media updates

UNMISET - January 23, 2003

Dili -- President Gusmco, Supreme Commander of FDTL stated that he is prepared to stand in court had the defence armed forces committed something wrong. "I am their commander, I am ready to take any responsibility and I am ready to resign", he said.. Xanana Gusmco said the reason for FDTL members to be engaged in the operation that lead to the detention of dozens of people was the death of several people. The President added that FDTL is stationed in areas formerly under PKF control and that they have received various complaints from local residents about threats and assaults. He said these informations have all been passed to the police but it seems that nobody is doing anything about it. Gusmco said that after Atsabe attack hopefully PFK and FDTL would coordinate the work better and help to find a security solution for the country. (TP, STL)

Members of Parliament leveled a strong accusation against UNPOL police commissioner Peter Miller and the Judicial System Monitoring Program (JSMP) over the arrest and detentions of members of Colimau Group 2000 by FDTL during a military operation in Atsabe reported the local media. Antonio Ximenes said such accusation confirms how slow the UN police have been working all this time.

Three members of the parliament (Antonio Ximenes from PDC, Vicente Soares Faria, Fretilin and Clementino dos Reis Amaral from KOTA) told the media on Wednesday that as Timorese who wants peace and security rejects accusations made by JSMP and UNPOL Commissioner Peter Miller, that members of the Falintil-FDTL violated Human Right in Atsabe. Ximenes said the question that needs to be asked should be " did members of Falintil-FDTL kill someone in Atsabe? He added that UN peacekeeping forces failed to track down the former militias and Colimau 2000 gang leading to the death of local residents. Falintil-FDTL was sent there to help UNPKF and UNPOL to maintain security, therefore such accusation about FDTL breaking human rights is not acceptable, said Ximenes. Antonio Ximenes said it is better for Peter Miller not to talk about Human Right because he himself gave the gangs opportunity to violate Human Rights. (TP, STL)

Residents of Hatolia, Ermera sub-district yesterday (22/01) presented a letter to Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro underlining their dissatisfaction on UNPOL Commissioner, Peter Miller's letter, reported Timor Post. The letter signed by the sub-district coordinator Bonifacio M. dos Reis and ten head of villages, appealed to human rights organizations, UNPOL Commissioner Peter Miller and authorities to go and see the peoples'situation. The people of Hatolia stated that they do not want to go through the suffering and death of Atsabe residents. The letter also says that prior to Falintil/FDTL operation in that area on 8 January, Colimau 2000 Group killed two buffaloes and stole a horse from the village of Samara. They said that during the operation FDTL fired shots to the air when members of Colimau Group circled them. (TP)

Prosecutor General, Longuinhos Monteiro said accusations made by the Timorese Police and UNPOL Commissioners on FDTL should look into their responsibilities instead of blaming somebody. Longuinhos said had he been the head of UNMISET he would have recommend another person to replace the police commissioners. He added that FDTL was only providing security to these people before handing them over to the police. He also mentioned the letter received from the people of Hatolia and Atsabe expressing their dissatisfaction about the justice sentenced to members of Colimau 2000 who are now out of jail. Longuinhos said the people are the witness to the suffering inflicted to them by Kolimau 2000. He added that living in Dili one can not feel the suffering of the people in the villages. (STL)

PM Alkatri said human rights do not only applies to bandits but to all people. Speaking to journalist after the Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday Alkatiri said the Judicial Monitoring System Program and Peter Miller should not preach about human rights because they themselves do not understand human rights concepts. He added one should not look into the one's who became the victims and died in the incident. Therefore one must take into considerations both sides. He added that Falintil-FDTL is still awaiting negotiations with UN referring to its institutionalization. Alkatiri said the government would pass its recommendations/suggestions to the SG Koffi Annan through its representative in Dili Kamalesh Sharma after it has been carefully studied. He said the Special UN Representative in Timor-Leste fully understands the situation the country is facing. Alkatiri added that the meeting could lead into a better. (STL)

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Dr, Tony Tan on Wednesday arrived in Dili to visit his country peace keeping forces as well as government officials. On his one-day visit Dr. Tan met with Prime Minister Alkatiri, PKF Commander, Major Tan Huck Gim and the SRSG, Kamalesh Sharma. He stressed that his forces will continue in Timor-Leste to provide security. (STL)

President Gusmco said he has not asked for the extension of UNMISET. He had pointed out that security disturbances in the country had increased and he is concerned with the total withdraw of PKF by July 2004 because FDTL still needs further assistance in order to take over from PKF. Gusmco stated that this issue was raised during a meeting with ambassador Kamalesh Sharma, General Tan, Prime Minister Alkatiri, Minister of Justice, Ana Pessoa Brigadier General Ruak prior to their departure to Atsabe after the attack on that village. (TP)

Reports of groups wearing masks in the form of "Ninjas" have been seen around Gariwai, Wailili, Fatumaca and Baucau armed with hand made weapons, machetes and arrows, reported STL on Thursday. These groups have been stealing animals from the local residents. The case has been reported to the authorities but the residents are complaining that the matter is getting worst day by day. UNPOL Commander for Gariwai area, Reupena Faali confirmed last Sunday that he has received complaints from local residents about the ninjas groups activities but has not identified anyone yet. It is reported that the groups strike around midnight at a time where there is no police patrolling, said Reupena Faali. The police officer added that the head of Gariwai village, Jorge Gusmco who lives nearby the police station had his animals and belonging stolen by these groups. (STL)

Head of UNMISET, Kamalesh Sharma, yesterday met President Gusmco in the Presidential's office, reported the media.After the meeting, Kamalesh Sharma told the media that they discuss human rights problems, which has increased lately in the country. Sharma said they did not discussed about Peter Miller accusations on Falintil-FDTL. " We discussed matters relating to human rights. Our presence in Timor-Leste does not only focus on security but also on other areas. Human Rights is one of them, social, economy and other problems," he said. When questioned about the incapability of UNPOL to maintain security in Timor- Leste the UN Special Representative said UNMISET task is to follow the UN mandate. (TP)

East Timor media updates

UNMISET - January 24, 2002

Dili -- Father Rafael dos Santos, an East Timorese catholic priest, said on Thursday that Indonesian Military soldiers and policemen were among the attackers of his refugee-packed church in the town of Liquica in April 1999. Father dos Santos was testifying by teleconference from Dili at Indonesia's human rights tribunal here. "I saw it myself, that the attackers were soldiers, police and militia members," Dos Santos told the trial of Major Gen. Adam Damiri, who headed the military command overseeing East Timor and other provinces at the time of the attack, as quoted by AFP. Timor Post says that according to his testimonies, in 1999, Father Rafaelstated that the Indonesian military troops went to Liquiga parish in April 5 and 6 when the massacre took place. He said he saw two dead persons at the church. Father Rafael said that after the gun firing, the militias threatened the people who had taken refuge in the church. He said the militias had the strong support of the military. After the massacre the situation had subsided, and the priest said he was standing in front of the church when he saw the militias leader, Eurico Guterres who then approached him to resolve the problem. The priest said Guterres became the mediator between the church and the Besi Merah Puti leader Manuel Sousa who had agreed to settle the problem. When questioned by the tribunal if he saw who killed the two people, Father Rafael said he only heard gunshots reported TP. Adam Damiri has rejected the testimony of the pastor as false. Eighteen people were killed in the attack. (TP, AFP, LUSA)

FDTL has not violated Human Rights in Atsabe, said Fretilin's President, Lu'Olo and President of the National Parliament, on Thursday in Dili. According to TP, Lu'Olo said that FDTL was only acting because several people had been killed in 3 villages of that area. Lu'Olo said according to the constitution of Timor- Leste Falintil-FDTL is the one to defend and provide security for the new independent country. He said how could FDTL violate human rights when they were asked by the people to defend them from being killed by armed people. He added that FDTL went to Atsabe to defend human rights. He pointed out that when FDTL detained those people they were not beating, tied or insulted. They detained them as suspects in connection with former militias involved in the killings and for further investigations, he said, according to the newspaper. (TP)

Francisco Lu'Olo Guterres, President of Fretilin and speaker of the National Parliament said that in Saturday's "National Dialogue" there will be only one representation of Fretilin which no longer holds the same structures as 1975 but keeps the same idealism. He said he had received an invitation by the President to participate in the Dialogue but he is not sure whether he would be present because he does not know who will be the moderators and the program of the event. He added that if this Dialogue is going to be similar to the one held last year than he would rather do something else, because CPD-RDTL made all the people that attended the meeting feel like puppets. (STL)

The Administrator of Atsabe District, Josi Gongalves da Silva stated that intimidation, threats and the theft of animals has left the lives of residents of Atsabe sub-districts in fear. It is reportedly that the people are more concerned now than during the militias activities in 1999 wrote TP on Friday.

According to the newspaper, Josi da Silva said members of Kolimau 2000 have been in touch with former pro-Indonesia militias many of whom are currently living in the refugees camps but have been travelling in and out of that district. He added that members of this group constantly ask him details of his plan whenever he leaves the village. (TP)

The media coordinator for Justice System Monitoring Program (JSMP), Nelson de Sousa Carvalho Belo said it's important to have different views to strengthen the democracy of the newly independent country. Nelson Belo made this statement to answer to the critics made to JSMP by various Timorese leaders including the President of the Republic and Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, following a communiqui issued by the organisation on the detention of people subjected of having participated in the attacks of January 4th. (STL)

The first "Portuguese Language Fair Book" which will exhibit 100.000 from the Portuguese Speaking Communities Nations (CPLP) will be held in Timor-Leste from the 1-12 of March this year, announced Lusa newsagency. Instituto Camues has promoted the fair with the support of over 100 institutions, among them Lisbon Municipal Council and the Brazilian Academy of Literature. It is the first book fair for Timor-Leste, which still does not have a bookshop. Around 20.000 titles will be on sale with prices ranging from two dollars. During the event, an edition of Xanana Gusmco's poem book titled "Meu Mar/My Sea will be launched. (STL)

Two memoranda of agreements were reached on Thursday between the Government of Japan and UNDP for the benefit of the Government of Timor-Leste, in connection with the urgent rehabilitation of small power stations in rural areas and with maintaining the output capacity of Comoro Power Station. Project funds and its accrued savings amount to US$ 360,000 in total. The small power stations are located in Atabae, Atsabe, Beco Iliomar and Loes. The generators of Comoro Station will be provided with spare parts, following the terms of the memoranda.