Timor Gap

Australia expects East Timor gas pact in months

Reuters - September 13, 2005

Marguerita Choy, Paris -- Australia expects to finalise a deal with East Timor in the next few months that will split the revenue from the disputed Greater Sunrise gas field, a government official said on Tuesday.

Greater Sunrise operator, Australia's Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AX:), froze the $5 billion project in December last year after talks between East Timor and Australia collapsed over the biggest gas resource in the Timor Sea.

Both sides have repeatedly said since April they expect a pact to be finalised soon with only minor details to be sorted out, with East Timor last putting a timeframe of August for the pact.

"Agreement has been reached but it has not been formally signed. We are hopeful it will be signed in the next few months," said John Griffiths, director general of offshore resources at the Australian ministry of industry, tourism and resources.

"It depends on agreement by the governments at the highest level. The Australian prime minister is sympathetic to the issue with East Timor," he said on a visit to Paris.

About 20 percent of Greater Sunrise, which holds an estimated 8 trillion cubic feet of gas and up to 300 million barrels of condensate, lies in the Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) and the rest in what Australia claims is exclusively in their jurisdiction.

Under the JPDA, 90 percent of revenues go to East Timor and 10 percent to Australia. But under the yet-to-be formalised pact, East Timor has agreed to shelve talks on drawing up a permanent sea border in exchange for dividing revenues from the field.

"We have agreed to keep the maritime boundaries and joint development area but are giving more revenue from that field, 50 percent, to East Timor," Griffiths said.

East Timor, which gained independence in 2002 after centuries of Portuguese colonial rule and 24 years of occupation by Indonesia, is depending on oil and gas revenues to rebuild its economy and wean itself from foreign aid.

Griffiths said the Australian government was keen that the project proceeds. "Australia provides a lot of aid to East Timor, and wants to see that they have their own revenue and are on a surer footing," Griffiths said.

The joint venture was aiming to make its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries from the project by 2010.

The project's other stakeholders are: ConocoPhillips (COP.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Dutch/Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (RDSb.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Japan's Osaka Gas Co. Ltd. (9532.T: Quote, Profile, Research). Woodside is 34 percent-owned by Shell.

Agreement close on East Timor revenue

The Australian - September 6, 2005

Nigel Wilson -- A technical argument about what activities may occur between the sea bed and the surface of the joint petroleum development area in the Timor Sea is now believed to be the only hurdle stopping a revenue-sharing agreement between Australia and East Timor.

This assessment, after months of delays, comes as the group responsible for jointly managing a key area of the Timor Sea has released the first petroleum exploration areas since the Timor Sea Treaty came into force two-and-a-half years ago.

Formal signing of a deal that would result in the transfer of $13 billion in revenue between Australia and East Timor won't take place for at least three weeks and possibly not until next month.

Officials on both sides are confident an agreement is close after Australia rejected an East Timor "clarification" that could have resulted in a maritime border being established as a result of international action on fishing reserves.

Under the petroleum revenue sharing agreement, maritime boundary negotiations between Australia and East Timor are deferred for 50 years.

Within the JPDA, East Timor receives 90 per cent of revenues from petroleum developments such as the Bayu Undan project.

Final haggling over the working of the revenue-sharing agreement comes as the Timor Sea Designated Authority has released new licence areas in the JPDA. The authority says that the four production sharing contract areas range from 3770sqkm to 5770sqkm in depths of 70 to 1000 metres.

"Two areas contain gas discoveries, one area lies near two oil fields currently proposed for development and one area lies adjacent to a giant undeveloped gas field," the authority says.

The oil fields are Kuda Tasi and Jahal, east of the Laminaria/Corallina fields, which are still being reviewed by Woodside, while the undeveloped gas field is Greater Sunrise which Woodside says won't proceed until a legal and fiscal agreement is accepted by the East Timorese parliament.

Justice & reconciliation

Gusmao says tribunal won't bring justice

Australian Associated Press - September 20, 2005

Sydney -- East Timorese president Xanana Gusmao says pursuing Indonesian generals through the courts for atrocities committed years ago won't provide justice.

Launching his book Timor Lives today in Sydney, Gusmao said the people of East Timor backed a fight for the truth and a just account of history.

"(But) we don't support too much the demand to put Indonesian generals in court. What we support is... to reveal the truth," Mr Gusmao said. "Another way to make justice is revealing the truth, revealing who is behind all the atrocities."

Mr Gusmao's remarks follow a call by the United Nations in June for an international tribunal to look into possible atrocities by Indonesian militia during East Timor's 1999 referendum.

More than 1,000 East Timorese were killed and hundreds of thousands fled their homes when pro-Jakarta militiamen, backed by the Indonesian military, went on a destructive rampage just days after the population voted for independence in a UN ballot.

After intense international pressure, Jakarta established a human rights tribunal in 2002 which tried 18 suspects, but only convicted one.

Today, Mr Gusmao, who led armed guerrillas against the Indonesian army and was later captured and imprisoned in Jakarta, said the East Timorese people wanted to move on. He said his country would risk all that it had fought for if it continued with dead-end tribunals.

"We can lose more if we... struggle to further something that would be very difficult to be achieved," he said. "It is in a practical way, a kind of justice that we are pursuing... we would like ideally to have everything solved but sometimes it is not practical."

Mr Gusmao said his book stood as testimony to the struggle East Timor endured to establish itself as a free and independent country.

"It is not a very easy task we have worked for. For 24 years to get independence and what we know about independence was only to be free," he said. "We never thought during the 24 years... we have to establish government, how to establish parliament, how to make clothes."

Ex-cop acquitted over Timor abuse

Agence France Presse - September 15, 2005

Jakarta -- Indonesia's Supreme Court has upheld the acquittal of a former police officer charged with gross human rights violations in connection with two massacres in East Timor in 1999, an official said today.

Three judges from a five-man panel yesterday rejected a prosecution appeal against the acquittal of former Dili district police chief Hulman Gultom, an official with the Supreme Court's criminal appeal unit said. "The ruling was issued on Wednesday, but a copy of it has not yet been sent to prosecutors of the case," the official said.

Militia gangs, which the United Nations has said were recruited and directed by Indonesia's military, went on an arson and killing spree before and after the East Timorese voted for independence in a UN-sponsored August 1999 ballot.

They killed about 1400 independence supporters and laid waste to much of the infrastructure in the half-island, which was a Portuguese colony before Indonesia annexed and invaded it in the mid-1970s.

Indonesia's human rights court in 2003 sentenced Mr Gultom to three years in jail for failing to stop two attacks by Jakarta- backed militias in Dili in April and September 1999 and failing to stop his subordinates joining in the assaults.

For survivors of Timor massacres, justice still elusive

Washington Post - September 16, 2005

Ellen Nakashima, Liquica -- On the day he disappeared, Jacinto da Costa Canisio Pereira, a local resistance leader, stood in a priest's bedroom and prayed, his brother recalled. "I wanted to stay, to die with my brother," said Graciano Pires dos Santos.

His knuckles, head and legs bear scars from machete, hammer and bullet wounds inflicted by Indonesian soldiers and the Timorese militiamen they sponsored, who stormed Sao Joao de Brito Church in April 1999. But as gunshots rang out and tear gas stung their eyes, Pereira urged him to leave, he recounted.

Pereira was among about 1,500 people killed in East Timor in a series of massacres in 1999 at the time of its referendum for independence from Indonesia.

Time has not dimmed the survivors' memories or fervor. In interviews last month in villages across this small island nation, the victims' families said they wanted to know the truth. Who murdered their relatives, who gave the orders, where are the bodies? But the truth, they said, is not sufficient. The survivors, who in some cases live near the people who burned their houses or carted away the bodies, hunger for justice: They want the killers charged and tried in an impartial court of law.

The families' insistence on prosecutions puts them at direct odds with their government, whose leaders, veterans of the 24-year struggle for independence from Indonesia, now want friendship with the former occupier. The two countries have created a Commission on Truth and Friendship, modeled after South Africa's post-apartheid panel. The commission's aim is to establish the "conclusive truth" about the crimes up to and after the August 1999 vote; its work will not lead to prosecutions.

The 10-member panel, formed in August with a one-year term, has the power to recommend amnesty for people who fully explain their crimes, apologize and show remorse. It contains no provision for criminal proceedings or compensation.

The lack of prosecution, critics warn, is a recipe for impunity.

"What's more important for us?" said Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor's foreign minister, who proposed the commission to the Jakarta government. "That democracy slowly is consolidated in Indonesia? Or the blind pursuit of justice at the expense of stability in Indonesia?"

Ramos-Horta, a 1996 Nobel Peace laureate who spent 24 years in exile, and President Xanana Gusmao, a charismatic former freedom fighter who spent more than six years in a Jakarta prison, oppose survivors' calls for an international war crimes tribunal. The Timor government also has rejected a recommendation by a UN advisory panel that the Indonesian government redo its widely criticized East Timor war crimes trials. The trials concluded last year with only one of 18 defendants convicted. New trials, Ramos-Horta asserted, would prompt a backlash within Indonesia's powerful military and destabilize East Timor's fledgling democracy.

"Truth is already a major aspect of justice," he said, leaning back in a swivel chair in his office in the government palace overlooking the Indian Ocean.

"They're playing word games," said an indignant Rafael dos Santos, the Liquica parish priest in 1999 and now a Catholic school principal in Dili, the capital. "A crime is a crime. Justice is justice."

The day before the April 6, 1999, massacre, waves of anti- independence militiamen advanced over the hills into Liquica, a town of about 55,000.

Hundreds of men, women and children flocked to the church compound on a hillside sloping to the sea, believing they would be safe there. The Indonesian-trained militiamen were burning homes and kidnapping resistance leaders, said the priest and other survivors, whose recollections, along with an indictment from a UN-funded prosecution team, form the basis for the following account:

Shortly before 1 p.m. on April 6, a militia leader approached the compound and asked that Pereira, who was a village chief, and other resistance members surrender. They refused.

At 1 p.m., a shot rang out. Hundreds of militiamen, soldiers and police officers surrounded the compound. Police fired tear gas. Bullets flew.

"People started running every which way," said Helio Domingos da Costa, Pereira's oldest son, now 22. "The militia started to attack, swinging machetes.. I was running wildly when suddenly a militiaman came up." He made a swooping motion with his right arm. "I moved. He missed. Then he yelled, 'Now go inside and die with your father!' "

Pereira and several other resistance members were hiding in the priest's bedroom and adjoining bathroom. Several teenagers hid in the crawl space between the ceiling and the zinc roof. Troops climbed on the roof and fired down.

Dos Santos, the priest, was escorted to the district military command by a nephew, who was an Indonesian soldier. As the priest was leaving, Pereira's brother recalled, "I saw many people inside the house try to grab Father Rafael's robes, touching them and shouting, 'We are dying! We are dying!' "

Pereira's wife could hear the gunfire from a brother-in-law's house, where she had fled with her three youngest children. The militiamen burned her house. That afternoon, an Indonesian soldier's wife told her that the men who had hidden in the priest's home had been killed. "I felt like I wanted to cry," she said, "but no tears came."

About 5 p.m., the priest returned to the church. He found no bodies, but blood was on the bathroom and bedroom floor, along with part of a brain. A few days later, the military had mopped up the blood, repaired the roof and patched the bullet-pocked plaster in an apparent attempt to cover up the massacre, said the priest, who showed a reporter a scarred memento: a white robe bearing singed holes from bullets that penetrated his closet.

Authorities initially said five people were killed. Liquica police later told the priest that 113 had been killed. The UN indictment stated that more than 50 civilians had been murdered.

So far, only one person has been tried and convicted in connection with the massacre. Pereira's murder case is still open; no one has been indicted, according to UN records.

Three times in the last six years, Anita dos Santos, who is Pereira's widow, and her neighbors have searched for their relatives' bodies. Using shovels and buckets, they have dug in Liquica, in a neighboring town and in a village by the sea. "People would come to say, 'This is the site. Dig here,' " she said. "So we tried. Many times, we tried. We found nothing."

She nodded toward a family graveyard 120 yards away, nestled amid coconut and tamarind trees. She dreams, she said, of being able to bury her husband's remains there, in a row of stone tombs.

Lower-level militia members who burned and looted homes now live in Liquica, said Eliza da Silva dos Santos, the widow of a resistance member who was "disappeared" with Pereira. "Sometimes I see them on the street, driving a car, working in a government office," she said bitterly. "When I see them, it pains me." She must repress an urge, she said, to attack them.

The survivors' frustration is deepened by a sense of betrayal by their own government and the United Nations. For years, Eliza dos Santos and Anita dos Santos helped the underground resistance, passing supplies to rebels.

They, like their husbands, revered Gusmao, the prisoner turned president. Now, they charge, he and Ramos-Horta, the foreign minister, have forgotten "the little people." The women also criticize the United Nations for closing its special prosecution unit in May, leaving pending more than 600 cases linked to the 1999 crimes.

Over 4 1/2 years, the UN-funded unit convicted only 84 people, all low- to mid-level Timorese militia members. The higher- ranking personnel, including Indonesian military and police officers, are beyond reach in Indonesia, which has no extradition treaty with East Timor.

Topping the impunity list is Gen. Wiranto, the retired Indonesian military commander, indicted by a Dili prosecutor. For political reasons, the warrant was never forwarded to Interpol, the international police agency.

Two months ago, Ramos-Horta said, he warned Wiranto that the truth commission was "their last chance to clean Indonesia's image." Wiranto, he said, promised cooperation.

The survivors of the struggle for independence also criticize the impunity of those among the Indonesian security forces who committed abuses. An estimated 150,000 to 175,000 Timorese -- up to one-fourth of the population -- were killed during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor.

Aniceto Guterres, a truth commission member and human rights lawyer who was an early proponent of an international tribunal, has deep misgivings about the panel's lack of a prosecution option. But "if I had to choose between truth and justice," he said, "I would opt for truth."

Timorese leaders ready to face international rights court

Agence France Presse - September 5, 2005

Dili -- The top two leaders of East Timor on Monday separately said that, should the need arise, they were ready to appear in international courts judging past human rights violations.

"For violence from 1987 onwards, others should not have any headaches because I am the one who is prepared to account for them," President Xanana Gusmao told journalists here.

Gusmao in 1987 began to head the military wing of the pro- independence Fretilin East Timorese movement, fighting the occupation by Indonesia.

He said that as a former guerrilla leader, he was also prepared to account for violence blamed on the Fretilin between 1975 and 1986.

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who is one of the founders of the Fretilin and its secretary general, said he was also prepared to appear in court over past rights violations if necessary. "I am ready anytime," he said. "Even tomorrow I would be ready."

So far there has been no call for former East Timorese rebels to face international justice over alleged past rights violations.

However, many abroad and in East Timor have called for recrimination over deadly violence by pro-Jakarta militias during East Timor's 1999 drive for independence.

Militia gangs, which the United Nations has said were recruited and directed by Indonesia's military, went on an arson and killing spree before and after the East Timorese voted for independence in a UN-sponsored August 1999 ballot.

They killed about 1,400 independence supporters and laid waste to much of the infrastructure in the half-island, which was a Portuguese colony before Indonesia annexed and invaded it in the mid-1970s.

An Indonesian tribunal set up to try military officers and officials for atrocities in East Timor has drawn international criticism for failing to jail any Indonesians, prompting calls for an international tribunal.

The leader of the two neighbouring nations, however, have rejected prosecutions in favour of looking toward the future between tiny East Timor and the population giant Indonesia.

They have set up a bilateral commission of truth and friendship to address the past right violations

East Timor gained full independence in May 2002 after more than two years of UN stewardship.

News & issues

Witness to Balibo Five killings dies

Melbourne Age - September 19, 2005

Jill Jolliffe -- A witness to the killing of five journalists in Balibo, East Timor, in 1975 has died in Dili months before a new inquiry by the NSW Coroner's Court.

Olandino Maia Guterres accused former Indonesian minister Yunus Yosfiah in 1998 of ordering the deaths of the five television reporters after they filmed an attack on the border town.

Official reports claimed the men -- Greg Shackleton, Gary Cunningham and Tony Stewart of Channel Seven and Malcolm Rennie and Brian Peters of Channel Nine -- were killed in a crossfire.

Mr Guterres entered Balibo with the Indonesian troops. He told the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program that he heard Mr Yosfiah give the order to shoot the men as they tried to surrender. He said he also saw him fire shots at them.

East Timorese police commander Paulo Martins said by phone from Dili yesterday that Mr Guterres had apparently died of kidney failure.

NSW Coroner John Abernethy said in June that he would hold an inquest into the death of Brian Peters after a request from Peters' sister Maureen Tolfree, of Bristol, England.

The inquest has been given documents from a UN inquiry to which Mr Guterres and others testified. But that inquiry stalled after Indonesia's attorney-general blocked access to witnesses.

The inquest has some sweeping powers and will be held early next year.

Daily media reviews

East Timor daily media review

UNOTIL - September 3-30, 2005

374 PNTL officers stationed at Polling Centres

374 National Police will be stationed at polling centres around Dili for today's round of village elections. PNTL Dili District Commander Eugenio Pereira told Timor Post that each polling station will be equipped with 2-3 police officers. (TP)

PM Alkatiri: Indonesia not involved in Timor Gap Negotiations

According to Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, the demands of the Association for Those Who Care for West Timor (YBTB) that Indonesia has the right to participate in the Timor Sea Border negotiations are unfounded.

Responding to journalists' questions upon his return from Washington yesterday, Alkatiri said that he does not understand why Indonesia would have the right to be included in the negotiations, as according to international law this matter does not concern them.

On a different matter, in response to the declaration from the President of the Timor Lorosae Lawyers Association that foreign lawyers working in Timor-Leste's sovereign institutions is illegal, Alkatiri said that anyone who claims such should not be a lawyer, and should study the law.

"Study the law first before speaking", said Alkatiri, explaining that the legislation governing the Public Administration provides for foreign law specialists such as lawyers to assist Timor- Leste. (TP, TVTL)

Church expresses concern over moral education for young people

The Catholic Church has expressed its continuing concern over the development of education in Timor-Leste, in particular that of moral education and the means of teaching it, such as in schools. Speaking to journalists after his meeting with President Xanana Gusmao on Thursday, Bishop Dom Alberto Ricardo da Silva, accompanied by the Vicar General Apolinario Aparicio said that as many young people are now involved in prostitution, the Church is currently prioritizing ways of improving the moral education of young people in schools. He affirmed that the objective of the meeting with the President is to analyse the development process in Timor-Leste so far, and to "put their heads together" to think of ways to further improve this process. The two religious figures added that other matters of current concern for the Church include agricultural development in order to improve the lives of the people. (TP, TVTL)

BPU patrols and knowledge of agreement essential to peaceful border

In order to secure and stabilize the situation at the border between Indonesia and Timor-Leste, the Border Patrol Unit must follow the guidelines as already established by the two governments, and there also needs to be a strong information campaign launched among the Indonesian border communities. Speaking to the media at Passabe, Oecussi, last Monday about the recent conflicts in the border areas, Vice-Commander of the BPU Inspector Jaimito Hei said that the TNI and BPU conduct regular patrols as normal, in accordance with the agreement between the two countries and based on the border lines on the new and old maps, and there are no problems between the two forces themselves. He said that the forces themselves know the location of the conflict areas as designated on the new maps, but that it is now important for the communities on either side to be aware of the new border lines, otherwise each community will continue to demand access to conflict areas.

Independent MP from Oecussi Antonio Lelan also complained that the Indonesian border communities are not yet aware of the results of the accord between the Indonesia and Timor-Leste recently signed in Bali, and this is contributing to conflict in the area. (TP, STL)

National Parliament To Investigate Tibeselo Case

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, President of National Parliament's Commission B in charge of Security and Foreign Affairs Faustino da Costa was reported as saying that the Commission would now set up a team to be sent to Oecussi District in order to investigate the Tibiselo case.

According to da Costa, the information that Commission B received from the populations, revealed that both populations in Tibeselo (Oecussi) and in Kefamananu (West Timor) were engaged in land dispute in the border area due to the fact that the area is fertile for cultivating agricultural products. "I notice that the case is very sensitive. Our obligation is merely to assess the situation, " said da Costa. Moreover, da Costa said that the case would then be presented directly to the Government and Parliament of Indonesia by National Parliament's President Francisco Guterres "Lu-Olo" during his visit to Jakarta, scheduled for next Monday, adding that it would be the right moment for the Parliaments of the two countries to take measures in settling the matter. (STL)

Minister Bano: Korea Accepts 200 Workers from Timor-Leste

Minister of Labour Arsenio Bano stated on Thursday, upon his return from the visit to South Korea, that the Korean Government would accept 200 Timorese workers to work in the area of construction, STL reported.

The plan to send Timorese workers to Korea, Bano said, has been prepared for the last two years, adding that it has been a successful effort due to the fact that now Korea has agreed to accept the workers. However, he said, the Korean Government requested that the workers should learn Korean language in order to work there. STL also reported that during his visit to Korea, Bano and his Korean counterpart discussed the possibility of the extension for work period through employment permit system, which provides the possibility for Timorese women to go and work in Korea. (STL) PNTL arrest man suspected of stealing RTTL solar panel in Maliana

Timor-Leste National Police or PNTL was reported to have arrested a 38 years old suspected of stealing an RTTL solar panel in Maliana, reported STL. According to PNTL investigation officer for Bobonaro district, Jacinto Selestino, the suspect had stolen the solar panel 14 times arguing that there was nobody there at warehouse of RTTL in Bobonaro district to look after the equipment. Officer Seletino repeated the statement of the suspect who declared that he did not steal the equipment but he was just securing it in his house and would return when people will be looking for the equipment and he would use the opportunity to ask for a job. Meantime, the Bobonaro district chief of RTTL, Jonas Lopez, confirmed that the statements by the suspect are incorrect and suggested police take the suspect to the court since what he had done was a criminal act which had caused further damage to the stolen solar panel. (STL, TVTL)

September 29, 2005

Horta: Princess Anne visit shows strong UK-TL relations

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Ramos Horta has said that the visit of Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Lawrence shows that the relations between the United Kingdom and Timor-Leste are very strong.

Speaking at a press conference at the International Airport after accompanying the Princess and her husband to the airport upon departing Timor-Leste, Horta said that the Princess' visit is a symbol of these good relations. The Minister stated that during the 1999 crisis in Timor-Leste the contribution of the United Kingdom to the UN Security Council's decision to intervene in the crisis was a very important one, and explained that since then the UK has also provided important multilateral assistance during Timor-Leste's transition period and up to the present, an example being the training that the UK together with Australia has provided to the PNTL. The Minister thanked the UK Ambassador Tina Redshaw for her invaluable assistance in facilitating the visit, and told the media that the Princess took some Timorese coffee home with her as a keepsake from her visit here. UK Ambassador Redshaw also told reporters that one of the concrete results of the Princess' visit to Timor-Leste was that a WWII veteran with a missing leg was yesterday provided with a false leg from the ASSERT organization, an organization funded by the United Kingdom and visited by the Princess yesterday. While here the Princess also launched the BBC's World language service in Timor-Leste at frequency 105.9 FM. (TP, TVTL, DT, DN, STL)

STAE acknowledges error

It is reported that STAE has acknowledged its error in relation to the results of the village elections held on 20 September for the village of Haburas, Motael. The results from the counting as witnessed by the Haburas village population themselves clearly showed that the Social Democrat Party (PSD) had won, however the results as publicized by STAE declared that PSD had received zero votes. Vice-Director of STAE Edgar Sigueira Martins told journalists on Wednesday that this was STAE's mistake, as sometimes there are typing errors. He confirmed that the matter had been clarified between STAE and PSD, that the error had been corrected on STAE's behalf, and that there was not an issue with the incorrect candidate name, just the party name. He explained that the results published by STAE were provisional results, and that the Court of Appeal is responsible for declaring the final, conclusive results. He asserted that the above mistake was not an attempt by STAE to manipulate the election results as declared by some political parties, but just a simple error. In a separate article, Mr Martins was reported by STL as clarifying that STAE would prepare 175 voting stations for the upcoming village elections on 30 September. (TP)

Timor Border problem to be discussed in District Parliament

The issue of the borders between Indonesia, Timor-Leste and Australia was scheduled to be discussed in Indonesia's District Parliament session in Jakarta on Wednesday. The Parliament has invited the Association for those who Care for West Timor (YPTB), an organization which has been very vocal on the issue for some time, to attend the session, along with several other guests including the Governor of East Nusa Tenggara, political representatives, and several military and police officials of the West Timor area. In its press release the YPTB has declared that its minimal target for this session is that the rights and interests of the people of West Timor, Sabu, Rote and Alor, which have up to now been disregarded by Jakarta and Canberra, to be noted as one of the Issues for Recommendation for the District Parliament's Plenary Session to begin on 30 September. The recommendation will then be forwarded to the Indonesian National Parliament and Central Government to be followed up. This would mean that all agreements made between Indonesia and Australia regarding the Timor Sea since 1971 would be rendered invalid and would be subjected to trilateral negotiations together with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, and in accordance with international legal principles. (TP)

Border market management transferred

The central government of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province has transferred its authority for the management of the three traditional markets along the border between the Belu District of West Timor and Timor-Leste. The markets have been transferred to the authority of the local Belu Administration, in order that market income can be directly attributed to the local administration. Head of the NTT Office of Commerce and Industry Supartantyo in Kupang confirmed the transfer, and explained that the traditional markets in that area are designed to attract Timor-Leste residents as buyers, in order to indirectly contribute to the revenue of the local Belu Administration. (DT)

President Gusmco Asks Political Parties to Discuss Electoral Law

Speaking to the media on Wednesday after his meeting with President Xanana Gusmco, President of PSD (Social Democratic Party) Mario Viegas Carrascalco was reported as saying that during the meeting the President of Republic requested all political parties to discuss the electoral law for the 2007 general elections. Moreover, Carrascalco informed that President Xanana wanted to organize a workshop next year for all political parties to discuss the matter before taking it to the National Parliament for further deliberations. At the meeting, Carrascalco said, PSD delegation also expressed their disagreement over the Government's policy in creating Secretaries of States for the Regions. According to PSD, such policy was unconstitutional since the Constitution [clearly] states that the law for the creation of such administration needs to be approved first by the Parliament. (TP)

Liberal Party Asks for Dialogue on Truth and Friendship Commission

Vice President of Liberal Party, Carlos Sarmento had asked President Xanana Gusmco during a meeting on Wednesday to hold dialogue with populations at the grassroots level on the objectives of the creation of the Truth and Friendship Commission, Timor Post reported. By doing so, he said, it will be a way to clear the doubts of the population on the question of justice. Sarmento also informed that during the meeting he raised his party's concerns over Government's economic policy. His party found that there is an urgent need to clearly define the economic system in order to move forward as an independent nation. (TP, DT)

Claudio Ximenes: Olinda Guterres' PDC is Invalid

The President of the Court of Appeal, Claudio Ximenes, told media recently that the Court of Appeal only recognises the Christian Democratic Party as Antonio Ximenes' party and not Olinda Guterres version of PDC, which was also considered illegal, reported Dario Tempo. Claudio Ximenes added that apart from the existing regulation that a political party has to fulfil, a political party also has to have around 1500 supporters to be recognised as a political party for the Court of Appeal to register. (DT)

September 28, 2005

National Parliament Welcomes Princess Anne

It is reported that President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres (Lu-Olo) told Princess Anne that before Timor-Leste gained its independence it experienced 24 years of difficulties, which resulted in its independence. During her visit to the National Parliament yesterday, Lu-Olo told Princess Anne and her husband Timothy Lawrence that the members of the National Parliament are always determined, along with the government and the people themselves, to further develop this nation. The Princess' visit to the Parliament was delayed momentarily due to a security scare when someone entered the Parliament without an identity card, but only a moment later continued as normal. The President of the National Parliament also related to the Princess the activities of the National Parliament since its inception, in particular activities surrounding the approval of laws and the ratification of international conventions, and presented the Princess and her husband with a keepsake of a traditional house made of sandalwood.

The Princess reciprocated with a keepsake of a photograph of her and her husband.

During her meeting with President Xanana Gusmco, the Princess accepted the President's offer of coffee, commenting that she had heard that Timor-Leste produces the best coffee in the world. The President and the Princess discussed a range of topics, including the assistance that the Princess provides to a children's NGO, as well as the situation in Timor-Leste, in particular the attention that Timorese leaders pay to the lives of their people. STL also covered Princess Anne's visit with a second headline where she is quoted as stating that the United Kingdom is committed to assist Timor-Leste through NGOs that are working in education and social work. (TP, Diario Nacional, TVTL, RTL, Timor Post)

Presence of new Prosecutors to expedite court process

The President of the Court of Appeal has said that the presence of the four new international Prosecutors will increase the capacity of the Prosecution to expedite the prosecution process. Speaking to journalists after the inauguration ceremony of four new Prosecutors from Portugal and Brazil held at the Office of the Prosecutor General in Caicoli, Dili, he explained that the new Prosecutors would take up positions in all the District Courts.

He said that this assistance would very much assist the judicial processes in the District Courts to start moving again, as finally there will be a sufficient numbers of judges, prosecutors and defenders to be able to carry out procedures for court cases.

Ximenes further explained however that even though there are now more Prosecutors, the same problem of communication remains, where the Prosecutors speak Portuguese and do not understand Tetum, and the people speak Tetum and do not understand Portuguese. Thus he said the use of interpreters is still essential in the court system. He said that one more international Prosecutor is due to arrive in the near future, and that mostly these international Prosecutors will handle problems of a criminal nature with limited dealings in civil matters such as those concerning children and the disadvantaged. (TP)

RI Embassy yet to receive information on reports of arrested TL citizen

It is reported that the Indonesian Embassy in Dili has stated that it is yet to receive information regarding an Indonesian Metro TV news report last Friday which reported a Timor-Leste citizen to have been arrested by Indonesian forces along the border area, for smuggling of kerosene and fuel. According to Primanto Hendrasmono, representative of the Indonesian Embassy in Dili, the Embassy is still trying to confirm the report.

Timor Post was also unable to confirm the incident with the Minister of Interior.

Primanto confirmed that Indonesia is now prepared to implement the border pass system, which would assist the population living in the border areas to visit relatives, and would also be beneficial in promoting cultural and economic cooperation, as well as enhancing security. He reportedly acknowledged, however, that Timor-Leste is not yet prepared for the implementation of such a system. (TP)

MP Araujo: President Gusmco Requests The Constitutions of PNT and KOTA

Speaking to the media after her meeting with President Xanana Gusmco along with KOTA party representative, PNT MP Alianca de Araujo confirmed that President of the Republic, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmco had asked both PNT and KOTA to present their political parties' constitutions, Timor Post and STL reported. She also reportedly referred to a discussion with President Gusmco regarding the election law for the 2007 general elections. (STL, TP)

Paul Martins: Situation On The Oecussi Border Returns to Normal

Speaking to the media on Monday, PNTL's General Commander Paulo Fatima Martins was reported as saying that the security situation at the Oecussi border after the recent incidents involving community members of Oecussi and Kefamananu (West Timor), which caused some injuries, has returned to normal. The security agencies of both Timor-Leste and Indonesia, Martins said, have made efforts to provide security in Oecussi border in order not allow such incidents to take place again. It was reported that Martins left for Oecussi on Monday to assess the security situation in the area. He was expected to have a direct dialogue with community members in the border areas of both Timor-Leste and Indonesia, especially those who were involved in the incidents. Meanwhile, MP Antonio Lelan of Oecussi District stated that both the Government of Timor-Leste and Indonesia are currently engaged in dialogue in order to normalize the relations between the communities in the border area. MP Clementino Amaral was reported as arguing that a traditional reconciliation system is needed to tackle social problems between populations in the border areas. "During the Portuguese period, an arrangement on such system was created by the Government, and the result was very positive. I think now we can take such measures to deal with the issue," Amaral said. (STL)

PNTL Officer Released on Bail In Relation to Becora Car Accident

STL reported that a PNTL officer was involved in a car accident at Becora Bridge last Friday, causing the death of a victim called Alexandre Belo. In the first hearing conducted at Dili District Court on Monday, the suspect was released on bail and he was asked to regularly report to the Dili District's Prosecutor Office pending the conclusion of the investigations into the case. (STL)

September 27, 2005

Princess Anne Visit Reflects UK commitment to TL

The visit of the United Kingdom's Princess Anne, accompanied by her husband Rear Admiral Timothy Lawrence, reflects the commitment of the United Kingdom to the continued strengthening of democracy in this country, and the continuing assistance for capacity building and development of Timor-Leste's state institutions, according to a press release issued by the British Embassy on Monday. The Princess will begin her two-day visit to Timor-Leste today and will meet with President Xanana Gusmco, President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres, and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Jose Ramos Horta. A special dinner will be held to honour the Princess. The Foreign Minister, as the person who invited Princess Anne to visit Timor-Leste, told journalists that the Princess is well known in many places in the world as she very much supports efforts to overcome humanitarian problems. He expressed his appreciation for her willingness to visit Timor-Leste. While here the Princess will officially launch the BBC World Service in Timor-Leste. (TP, Diario Tempo, STL, RTTL, Diario Nacional)

President Gusmco Holds Regular Meetings with Political Parties

Beginning last Friday President Xanana Gusmco has been holding his regular meetings with all the established political parties. Several parties met with the President last Friday, while on Monday the UDT and PST held their regular meetings with him. After his meeting with the President, UDT Secretary General Luis Rodrigues told journalists that the objective of the regular meetings are to discuss political, social and economic issues of current concern in Timor-Leste. According to Rodrigues, Timor- Leste is currently experiencing a political crisis, which impacts on the economy and therefore impacts on the lives of the people. He added that the President is interested in holding a retreat next year for the political parties and international agencies, so that they may discuss and analyse what they may do more of to further assist development in Timor-Leste. (TVTL, TP, Diario Nacional)

MP Goncalves: Provedor's Office Violates Basic Principles

PSD MP Joao Mendes Goncalves has reportedly said that the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice Sebastico Diaz Ximenes has violated basic principles of justice which state that someone may only be condemned if there is clear evidence and proof as seen in a court of law. Speaking in Parliament's plenary session on Monday, and related to the current dispute between Akui Leong and Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro, Goncalves explained that the Provedor could not accuse the Prosecutor General of corruption unless this has already been proven in a Court of law.

Additionally, he said that according to his knowledge, it is not within the competence of the Provedor to be concerned with such a matter, as the Provedor is empowered to investigate cases of suspected human rights abuses as brought by citizens.

It is also reported that the President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres has also stated that the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice has no authority to make public statements regarding alleged corruption case that allegedly involved Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro, Diario Tempo reported. The report mentioned that Francisco Guterres made the above statement after MP Leandro Isaac questioned him on the public statement of the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice, Sebastico Diaz Ximenes.

Speaking at a Press Conference the director of HAK Association, Jose Luis was quoted by Timor Post as saying that the behaviour of the Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro is considered as an abuse of power.

Jose Luis made the above statement following an accusation by the Prosecutor-General against the three lawyers of Akui Leong, Tome Xavier, Rosentinho Amado Hei and Arlindo Dias Sanches.

In a separate article, Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro, is reported to have stated that as a citizen who has rights, he has the right to defend himself both as an individual, his private as well as public life. He then added that there has been much defamation against him. He then clarified that acting as an individual he is trying to defend himself rather than using his official position as Prosecutor-General. (TP, Diario Tempo, STL)

Provedor Ximenes: Provedor's Office Has Not Investigated Any Complaints

Diario Nacional reported Provedor Sebastico Diaz Ximenes as saying, "since the opening of the Office of the Provedor, it has received complaints which cover human rights issues and the abuse of power, discrimination, information on corruption, collusion and nepotism. Despite receiving all of the above information, the Office of the Provedor could not conduct any investigations so far due to lack of human resources as a newly found institution. (Diario Nacional) PPT Lower ASDT Flag in Metinaro It is reported that members of the People's Party of Timor (PPT) lowered the ASDT party flag in Metinaro sub-district before the recent village elections, upon authorization from the Metinaro sub-district Administrator and the Police. ASDT MP Maria Valadares told Parliament's plenary session on Monday that the reason for the lowering of the flag was to allow elections to be held there. She explained that this is a normal procedure before elections, but that she is disappointed that a member of another political party, not ASDT itself, had been allowed to lower the flag.

PPT President Jacob Xavier told Parliament that members of his party had been forced by the Administrator and the PNTL to lower the flag, with the reasoning that for the Administrator or PNTL to do this themselves would be against the law. (TP)

Prosecutor-General Swears in Four International Prosecutors

Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro will swear in four international prosecutors today, STL reported. Speaking to the press on Monday, Monteiro explained that after being sworn in, he would issue an internal decision for deploying them to the district prosecutor offices. "There are a total of five international prosecutors who are going to work at the Office of the Prosecution." Monteiro said. It was reported that two prosecutors would carry out their work in Dili Prosecutor's Office, two prosecutors in Baucau, and the other prosecutor would cover the work both in Suai and Oe-cussi. Longuinhos also informed that Head of UNOTIL, Sukehiro Hasegawa, President of Court of Appeal Claudio Ximenes and Minister of Justice Domingos Sarmento would also attend the swearing-in ceremony. (STL)

Princess Anne and Yudhoyono discuss Aceh reconstruction

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Britain's Princess Anne discussed reconstruction in tsunami-damaged Aceh during a meeting Monday, the president said. Princess Anne, president of the Save the Children Fund, briefly visited Aceh province on Sunday to see several British-funded projects before flying to Jakarta. "She came to see the progress in rehabilitation, in relation to children... their treatment and ways taken to address their trauma," Yudhoyono told journalists after a meeting with the princess. "She also came to see, in a comprehensive way, the progress in general of the reconstruction in Aceh," he added.

Yudhoyono said the princess noted that many youngsters were left orphaned by a December 26 earthquake and tsunami that killed 131,000 people in Aceh. An additional 400,000 people were displaced. The United Nations food agency said this week that recovery in Aceh had been slow and warned of a second crisis unless action were taken to speed up the relief effort.

Princess Anne was accompanied by her husband, Rear Admiral Timothy Laurence, and British ambassador Charles Humfrey. The British embassy said that while in Jakarta, she would also meet senior government officials, representatives of NGOs and members of the British community. She was to leave the country on Tuesday.

From Jakarta, Princess Anne was to fly to East Timor for a two- day visit there, East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta told journalists in Dili. He said the princess would meet President Xanana Gusmao and national parliament chairman Fransisco Guterres. She would visit several non-governmental organisations and attend the inaugural broadcast of the BBC world service in East Timor. (AFP)

September 24-26, 2005

Gusmco Comments on Political Parties' Statutes and Philosophy

It is reported that President Xanana Gusmao has said that he wants to know more about the regulations and philosophies of the political parties, namely whether the party regulations are being implemented according to party statutes, and whether the party philosophies are being applied in the relations of the party with the people. After meeting with the President last Friday, Secretary General of the ASDT political party Gil Alves told journalists that the President is keen to learn more about the above aspects, adding that the President would also like the political parties to formulate development programs that are beneficial for the people.

According to Alves, the President wants the political parties to talk less about the past and focus more on the future and a better life for the people. (TP)

MP Ximenes: Falintil Veterans Need to Reform

It is reported that the sacrifice that the Falintil veterans made during the period of struggle cannot be recognized with just medals, but there must also be reform, according to the President of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) Antonio Ximenes. Speaking to journalists, Ximenes' said that during his meeting with President Xanana Gusmao on Friday, they discussed the possibility of reform of the Falintil veterans, as well as the economic situation of the country, and justice. Ximenes told journalists that the PDC is currently preparing a proposal for veteran reform to be submitted to the President. (TP)

MP Lelan: Indonesian Population Destabilizes Border Area

It is reported that the people of Tibiselo, Oesilu, of the enclave of Oecussi were panicked last Thursday when a group of Indonesian citizens entered and burned some land in Timor-Leste territory. Member of the National Parliament, Independent Antonio Lelan is reported to have said that this is provocative behaviour from the Indonesians, designed to destabilize the border regions. Speaking to journalists, Lelan expressed his concerns as to why the Indonesian military post stationed in the region allowed the Indonesians to enter Timor-Leste territory. He appealed to the Minister of Interior to take action to secure the area, and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation to inform the Indonesian government of the incident. According to Lelan, the Indonesian government has failed to inform its population of the accord denoting border demarcation lines signed between the two governments in Bali several months ago, with the result that the Indonesian population remains uninformed, and border crossings and infiltrations continue to occur. Secretary of State for the Oecussi region Albano Salem told journalists that he has informed the President of the National Parliament, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the incident, so that the Minister may discuss the incident as well as the several other incidents that have occurred in the area recently with Indonesia's representative in Dili. (STL)

Parliament to Hold Seminar on Electoral Regulation

During its parliamentary factions meeting last week, the National Parliament decided to hold a seminar in October concerning the electoral regulation for the 2007 elections. National Parliament Secretary Francisco Carlos told journalists that the seminar will be jointly held with a Swedish delegation, in accordance with the unofficial parliamentary accord. (TP, TVTL)

CPLP Meeting To Be Held in Timor-Leste For the First Time

STL reported that the 20th meeting of the General Directors for Border Control Units of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) was going to be held for the first time in Dili, Timor-Leste for five days, starting today. National Director of the Border Control Unit, Uldarico Maria Rodrigues, would head Timor-Leste's delegation for the meeting.

The primary objectives of the meeting are to establish harmonization in various practices of border control to apply a uniformed document for all of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries. During the meeting, Timor-Leste would present the Code of Conduct for Border Control Management. Acting Prime Minister, Minister of State Administration Ana Pessoa along with Minister of Planning and Finance Madalena Boavida representing Timor-Leste's Government would attend the meeting. (STL,TVTL)

Santos: CPD-RDTL Members Damaged Eulese's Health Centre

Speaking to Timor Post last Thursday, Village Chief of Eulese, Lautem District Macario dos Santos informed that Eulese's Health Centre had been closed for the last three weeks due to the damage caused by a CPD-RDTL member on 1 September. It was reported that five of the windows of the building were totally destroyed. Lautem District PNTL Deputy Commander Fasio de Jesus Lima, when questioned about the case, stated that an investigation had been carried out by PNTL. To attend the medical needs for the local population temporarily, a mobile clinic has been since operated under the supervision of Cuban medical doctors deployed in the area. (Timor Post)

MP Amaral: National Security Services Should be Better Equipped

Speaking at the workshop hosted by NDI and USAID on security sector auditing MP Clementino Amaral was reported as stating that in order for PNTL and F-FDTL to better perform their security services in patrolling the border and preventing people from stealing natural maritime wealth of Timor-Leste, both PNTL and F-FDTL need to be better equipped, reported Timor Post. MP Clementino also reportedly said that although Timor-Leste is stable and secure there are still problems such as martial arts issues and the issue of CPD-RDTL. F-FDTL Chief of Staff, Colonel Lere Anan Timor stressed that internal security matters should be addressed otherwise it would further contribute to any external threats. Diario Nacional on also quoted Minister of Interior, Rogirio Lobato as saying, "the Government of Timor-Leste would try to improve conditions for PNTL to enable them to perform their duties according to the law." Minister Lobato made the above statement during the dispatch of 13 district PNTL officers last week. He further clarified that the conditions referred to are such as insurance/compensation. (Timor Post)

UK's Princess Anne to launch BBC World Service next week

Princess Anne of the United Kingdom will visit East Timor next week, inaugurating the British Broadcasting Corporation's Portuguese language service in the country during her two-day stay, a diplomatic source told Lusa Friday. Princess Anne, the diplomat said, would also meet with President Xanana Gusmco and Foreign Minister Josi Ramos Horta and visit charitable institutions.

Her Royal Highness (HRH) The Princess Royal will visit Timor- Leste with her husband Rear Admiral Laurence, on 27th and 28th September 2005. During the visit HRH will meet President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, and Senior Minister/ Minister for Foreign Affairs and Co-operation, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta.

Topics for discussion will include the achievements of East Timor since independence in 2002 and the challenges still faced. During the visit, The Princess Royal will visit the Child Friendly Space Learning Centre, ASSERT Physical Rehabilitation Centre, Alola Foundation and will launch the BBC World Service FM Broadcasts in Dili. (Lusa, Release)

Malaysian Human Rights Expert Delivers Training for the Provedor

A training programme for the Provedor Mr. Sebastico Dias Ximenes and his Deputy Silverio Baptista Pinto coordinated by the UNOTIL Human Rights Unit was completed on Friday 23 September 2005. The training was funded by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights arranged after consultation with the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF), of which Timor-Leste is now a candidate member.

The five-day training programme was delivered by Vice-Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, Mr. Simon Sipaun who commented that "the programme is an important step on the never-ending journey to promote and protect human rights in Timor-Leste". Mr. Simon also congratulated the Provedor on the strong legal mandate he has been given to promote and protect human rights in Timor-Leste. He also commented on the current process of drafting a National Human Rights Action Plan as demonstrative of a strong commitment by the Timor-Leste government to human rights.

During the training programme, practical advice was provided to the Provedor on establishing procedures for management and staff training, the drafting of internal procedures for receiving and investigating human rights complaints as well as education and promotion of human rights to the people of Timor-Leste. The training programme also focussed on the importance of the establishment of good working relations with other state institutions such as the Prosecutor-General, PNTL, the Office of the Inspector General, the Courts and the Office of the Prime Minister's Advisor on Human Rights. There was also emphasis on the Paris Principles on National Human Rights Institutions for the Office of the Provedor to function effectively and independently.

Provedor Sebastiao Dias Ximenes stated that "the programme has been very useful to us. The discussions and the sharing of experience in setting up a national human rights institution will help us in establishing a strategic plan for the human rights aspect of the mandate of Timor-Leste's Office of the Provedor".

UNOTIL has already provided one national human rights officer to the Office of the Provedor. An international human rights officer will shortly be provided to the Office of the Provedor in addition to other human rights officers who will be provided to the National Parliament, the Office of the Advisor on Human Rights to Prime Minister and the Ministries of Interior, Defence, Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (UNOTIL)

September 23, 2005

President Gusmco on UN Reforms and the MDG's

Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmco has said that even though there has not yet been any reforms to the United Nations system, the UN is considering two different models for reform, one involving an increase in the number of permanent members in the Security Council, and one which involves a rotating system, where additional members can participate in meetings, without the right to vote or veto. Speaking to journalists at the Nicolau Lobato International Airport on Wednesday upon his return from the United Nations General Assembly meeting on the Millennium Development Goals held in New York last week, Gusmco explained that the many members of the UN are consulting each other to decide on the most suitable reform model that is acceptable to all parties. Commenting on progress toward the Millennium Development Goals established in 2000, the President said that many nations are still struggling to resolve internal conflicts, and thus have been unable to focus on other concerns such as combating serious illnesses. (TP)

Magno: No Negative Impact Due to Absence of Ambassadors

Even though Timor-Leste has not yet nominated two new people to fill the Ambassador's posts of Malaysia and Australia, this does not impact negatively on Timor-Leste, according to Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Adalgiza Magno. Speaking to journalists at the International Airport on Thursday, Magno explained that this process is in the hands of the President, and it is up to him to nominate the Ambassadors. She said that she hopes these posts will be filled soon, because even though there is no negative impact as such from the unfilled posts, it is still better that they are not left vacant for too long. (TP)

Two People Injured in Shooting in Border Region

The undecided land border between Timor-Leste and Indonesia continues to affect the people of the border regions. Oecussi District Commander of the Border Patrol Unit Joaquim Asqueli has reported a shooting assault from residents of Nululat, West Timor, which injured two Passabe, Oecussi residents. The two victims were injured when bullets were fired from rifles carried by the Nululat residents, injuring one person in the throat and the other in the thigh. The two victims are currently undergoing treatment in Oecussi Regional Hospital, but they will need to be transferred to the National Hospital in Dili to have the bullets removed from their bodies.

Commander Asqueli confirmed that his relevant commander is coordinating with the relevant TNI Commander to resolve the incident, and that cases of conflict between residents on both sides of the border have arisen three times so far in the month of September. (TP)

F-FDTL Chief of Staff, Lere Anan: CPD-RDTL Creating Instability

The activities of the CPD-RDTL in Suai are creating instability among the local population, according to the Chief of Staff of the F-FDTL, Colonel Lere Anan Timor. Speaking to journalists after returning from a visit to Suai, Covalima District, Lere Anan said that when conducting controls in the area during his visit there, he and his patrol received information from the local population that the CPD-RDTL are lying to and collecting money from the population, stealing animals, disturbing people at night, and in general creating a climate of fear. "We will try and find out their base, and gather some more information, but the F-FDTL is unable to take action against the group", said Lere Anan. According to Anan, matters such as these are the realms of the police, as the F-FDTL only responds to external threats, or in an emergency situation. (STL)

Clementino Amaral: Timor-Leste and Indonesia Should Address Border Conflicts

Speaking to the media yesterday, Vice President of National Parliament's Commission B in charge of Security and Foreign Affairs, Clementino dos Reis Amaral was quoted as saying that both Government of Timor-Leste and Indonesia should quickly resolve the [recent] border conflicts taking place in Ambeno, Oecusse District. "We notice that the relations between the two countries in the government and the state level have been very good. However, there are still small problems among the residents. Therefore, both Governments should have dialogue and find the solutions for the existing problems," Amaral said.

Amaral has been insisting both Government of Timor-Leste and Indonesia to always involve the residents living in the border areas whenever negotiating on border demarcation. This, he argued, any border conflicts would be avoided since the residents in the border areas are the only ones who know much better about the [real] situation in the field.

Meanwhile, in a separate news it was reported that Amaral expressed his feelings of satisfaction yesterday with the fact that UN has shown its respect and confidence towards Timor- Leste's National Police Force, PNTL by having 10 officers to be involved in the peacekeeping mission in both Kosovo and Liberia. Amaral urged the selected ten officers to work professionally in the two missions in which they are going to offer their services. With professionalism shown by officers, he said, will create a good image of Timor-Leste in the international arena. (STL& Diario Nacioal)

MP Lopes: PM Alkatiri Has Got No Evidence to Accusation Opposition Party (ies) Over the Incident During Xefi Aldeia Election

The Secretary-General of Democratic Party, Mariano S. Lopes told media (22 Sept) that the PM Mari Alkatiri has got no evidence to accuse opposition party/ies of being involved in tearing the picture of Fretilin candidate for Xefi Aldeia election during Xefi Aldeia election process in Becussi Kraik/ Becora, STL reported. He added that the opposition party/ies did not exist and that it was only the civilian population who were to vote. MP Mariano Sabino Lopes made the above statement to the media on Thursday, Sept 22nd at the National Parliament's. "I think those accusations have got no grounds, the incident (of tearing picture) was maybe because of the injustice treatment towards the voters or the voters felt that they have not been treated unsatisfactorily during the election process but not because of the opposition(s)," Lopes clarified. It was further reported to use the incident as a reflection for STAE and those in power to better prepare election. Since there have been many incidents (of manipulations) have occurred during the election, such as, in Liquica district where the voting box (es) for was (were) left open where the secrecy of the voters were not guaranteed. He stressed that PM Alkatiri should use appropriate terminology to refer to some one instead of using (his/her or their) political function(s) since those political affiliation(s) do not exist at the Day of Election. (STL)

Minister of Justice, Sarmento: Timor-Leste Expects to Implement Three Decrees on Code of Conducts

The Minister of Justice, Domingos Sarmento, told media that the three decrees that cover the code of penal, the process of penal code and the civilian code process that his ministry currently is preparing are only queuing to be applied to improve the judicial system as well as Timor-Leste as a country, Diario reported. He furthered that the National Parliament had approved the three decrees and that the President of the Republic has also promulgated them. The only awaiting aspect would be legislative authorization to the government to turn the three decrees into the code of penal, the process of penal code and the civilian code process. The report also mentioned that the justice ministry is also waiting to present the referred three decrees to the Council of Minister for its better consideration/observation. (STL, p 1)

British Buy-up Pumps Oilfield

THE prospect of a revitalised Laminaria/Corallina project has emerged with the decision by Santos to sell out of the undeveloped Kuda Tasi/Jahal oilfields about 575km northwest of Darwin. The buyer of the 25 per cent stake is British group Paladin Resources plc, which in the past year has bought out Shell and BHP Billiton as partners with Woodside in the Laminaria development, once Australia's largest producing oilfield.

Paladin has indicated it does not want to be a silent partner in the Timor Sea and its development interests are aligned with those of the project operator, Woodside (40 per cent) and secretive Japanese group Inpex (35 per cent).

Depending on the results of a new seismic program beginning next month, Kuda Tasi could be producing well before Woodside's other Timor Sea prospect, the Greater Sunrise gas field.

Santos told the stock exchange yesterday that it would receive 3.5 million Paladin shares -- roughly 1 per cent of the British group's capital - valued at about $US19.5 million ($25.3 million) at the current share price and exchange rate, as well as a $US2.5 million reimbursement for current exploration spending.

Santos will also receive $US3 million in cash under certain circumstances following any future oilfield development in the permit. "This divestment is in line with Santos's strategy to rationalise its portfolio and realise value by selling non-core assets," managing director John Ellice-Flint said.

The Kuda Tasi/Jahal permit is in the joint petroleum development area (JPDA) of the Timor Sea between Darwin and East Timor. Ninety per cent of all revenues from the JPDA are assigned to East Timor.

Last year the East Timor Government demanded that production be halted from Laminaria/Corallina until the maritime boundary dispute between Australia and East Timor was resolved. This demand is to be withdrawn when East Timor agrees to Australia's offer of about $13 billion in revenue in exchange for delaying boundary talks for 50 years. That agreement is set to be signed soon.

Woodside has been reviewing whether it is commercially justifiable to tie back the Jahal and Kuda Tasi fields to the Northern Endeavour floating production storage and offloading vessel to help offset declining production in the nearby Laminaria and Corallina fields, which are just outside the JDPA.

Ultimately, a development decision will depend on the terms of a production-sharing contract with the East Timorese Government.

Paladin, which was formed in the 1990s by a group of former Clyde Petroleum executives, first moved into Australia late last year by buying BHP's stake in Laminaria and Corallina.

This was followed in March when Woodside and Paladin bought out Shell's interest in the fields. Woodside now owns 66.67 per cent of Corallina and the Northern Endeavour floating production storage and offloading vessel as well as a 59.9 per cent interest in Laminaria. Paladin holds the remaining 33.3 per cent of both Corallina and Northern Endeavour and the remaining 41.1 per cent of Laminaria. (The Australian)

Timor Leste Proposes RI to Represent Muslim World in UNSC

Timor-Leste continues to wish to see the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) membership expanded and proposes Indonesia to be a permanent UNSC member representing the Muslim world, a spokesman said. Timor Leste Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta made the statements in his address to the 60th United Nations General Assembly here on Wednesday.

He said although his country was predominantly Catholic, it was seeing the need for the Muslim world to be represented in the council. "We believe Indonesia as one of the biggest Muslim nations in the world, a democratic country and the third most densely populated country in Asia has the right to be a permanent member," he added. He said Timor Leste also supported the bid of the G-4, namely Japan, India, Germany and Brazil, to become permanent members in the council. Horta also spoke about his country's friendly relations with Indonesia and the establishment of the Truth and Friendship Committee to settle the human-right violations that occurred following a UN-sponsored people's ballot in the former Indonesian province in 1999.

He denied allegations that Timor Leste was more interested in developing friendship with Indonesia than in seeking justice over the past human rights violations and thus paving the way for the granting of an amnesty to those responsible for the abuses. Horta said his country was quite aware of the need to uphold the dignity and respect the rights of the victims of the past violations and was also convinced that in seeking justice it had to be sensitive to the need for striking a balance between justice and national reconciliation. The Timor Leste government was adhering to this stand also to prevent a continuous disintegration that could worsen the situation in the country. He also reported relations between Timor Leste and Indonesia had much improved and they had settled 90 percent of their borderline problems. (ANTARA News)

September 22, 2005

Lu-Olo: "Where There is Peace, There is Stability"

President of the National Parliament Francisco Guterres (Lu-Olo), in his speech at the Peace Park at Lecidere on International Peace-Day yesterday, told the audience that Timor-Leste is now celebrating Peace-Day in a climate of freedom, democracy, and sovereignty. Therefore, "peace is the first condition....for the strengthening of the idea of rights, dignity and respect for all peoples, as well as the conditions for freedom of ideas", he said. He reminded the population that the struggle for peace means the struggle against all forms of violence, both physical and psychological, including violence against women and children, in the form of domestic violence. He also explained that social, cultural and economic development cannot be achieved without peace. (Diario Nacional)

To Achieve Peace Differences Should be Respected": Lu Olo

The President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres is reported to have told media that to achieve peace in Timor-Leste, a multiparty culture of respecting the differences between the existing political parties should be encouraged. Political parties should not be vindictive toward each other which then would lead it to war, reported Timor Post. He added that peace is needed among the Timorese but it should not be forgotten to respect the existing differences between the Timorese in Timor- Leste, and that after the 1975 political experience, the manner in which political parties are insulting each other happened again due to the multiparty environment.

He then emphasized that it is not the intention of the majority party as well as the opposition to be vindictive toward each other then create conflict. (TP)

Gusmco Proud That There is Peace in Timor-Leste

President Xanana Gusmco says that he feels proud, because other nations are always congratulating him on the peace and stability in Timor-Leste.

Speaking at the International Airport last week upon returning from a trip to New York, the charismatic leader said that Timorese should be happy that they are now living in a time of peace and stability. This is not to say that there are never any problems, but that, overall, things are peaceful.

He added that with this peace Timor-Leste is giving an example to the world, and particularly to those countries that are still struggling to establish peace that, after war, there can be peace. (Diario Nacional)

Raul: "Peace should be in hearts and actions"

Speaking at a Peace-Day celebration in Manatutu district, Timor Post reported that the Vice Minister of Public Works, Raul Mousaco, as saying that peace should not only be words but also be in our hearts and translate into actions. The celebration was also attended by the Vice-Minister of Development, church representatives and the general public.

Minister Maia: Minister of Education Does Not Recognise Recent Graduates of Crystal Tertiary College

Minister of Education, Armindo Maia told media that the Ministry of Education does not recognise the recent graduates of Crystal Tertiary College due to the lack of involvement of the referred institution in the accreditation process, reported Diario Nacional. Minister Maia, who was quoted at the Ceremony for the International Peace Day at the Peace Park in Lecidere, Dili on 21 September, added that besides the lack of involvement in the accreditation process it is also because there has not been any approval by the Ministry of Education. (Diario Nacional)

Australia to Train PNTL, and 10 Security Personnel Members Return from Thailand

The Minister of Interior Rogerio Lobato on Wednesday met with the Australian Minister for Justice Chris Ellison, to discuss means for the strengthening of police ties between the two countries. Minister Lobato told journalists after the meeting that the two Ministers discussed the possibility of the Australian Police Force providing training to the PNTL, in particular involving the police academy, with the aim of increasing the capacity of the PNTL. Lobato confirmed that the Australian Police Force has agreed to provide training, with an exceptionally large budget of AS$32 million. Other issues discussed during the meeting focused on the deficiencies that Timor-Leste must cope with, including the absence of a criminal investigations centre, and a place for narcotics analysis. For this, Lobato said that the continuing assistance of Australia and other countries in these matters is appreciated.

In separate news, ten security personnel have returned from three months training in Thailand. Speaking from his office in Dili yesterday, PNTL General Commander Paulo de Fatima Martins told journalists that the ten come from a range of government offices, including the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Office of the President of the National Parliament, and VIP Security. He said that this training is a part of bilateral cooperation between the governments of Thailand and Timor-Leste, in which ten members of the Rapid Intervention Force also underwent a one-month training in Thailand. Martins expressed his view that the training was excellent, and that Timor-Leste would be more than pleased if Thailand were to offer more training for Timorese police. He said that Timor-Leste's border police would particularly benefit from some Thai training, as Thailand has a lot of border patrol experience, with borders on three sides. (Diario Nacional)

Timor-Leste In Support of Indonesia for Security Council Seat

Speaking at UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta is reported to have said that the UN Security Council to consider that Indonesia deserves permanent membership of the Security Council to represent the Islamic world as well as the country with the third largest population in Asia. It is reported that Timor-Leste also supports the G-4 (Japan, Germany, Brazil, India) initiative for permanent seats at the Security Council. (Kompas, Antara)

Santos Sells Stake in Timor Sea Oil Fields to Paladin (Update1)

Santos Ltd., Australia's biggest natural gas producer, agreed to sell its 25 percent stake in a Timor Sea exploration permit containing the undeveloped Jahal and Kuda Tasi oil fields to Paladin Resources Plc.

Santos will receive about $19.5 million of Paladin shares for the stake and be reimbursed for about $2.5 million of exploration expenditure since July 1, Adelaide-based Santos said today in a statement. It may also get $3 million in cash should any fields be developed in the area.

The operator of the two fields, Woodside Petroleum Ltd., said in January last year they aren't large enough to support a stand- alone project, after earlier saying it expected to start production in 2005. Edinburgh-based Paladin earlier this year bought stakes in the producing Laminaria and Corallina oil fields, also off northern Australia.

"This divestment is in line with Santos's strategy to rationalize its portfolio and realize value by selling non-core assets," Santos Managing Director John Ellice-Flint said in the statement, which was lodged with the Australian Stock Exchange. (Bloomberg)

September 20, 2005

Alkatiri on Improvements in Timor-Leste's Health and Education Sectors by 2015, and Netanyahu as Economic Adviser

According to Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, Timor-Leste will show improvements in its health and education status by 2015. In health, the main focus for progress will be in decreasing the infant mortality rate and improving nutrition, and for education the focus will be on improving the quality of education. Speaking upon return from the United States where he participated in the Millennium Summit, Alkatiri said that this was the message that Timor-Leste gave to the world at the meeting, also relating Timor-Leste's experiences in development and poverty reduction in the past three years. The Prime Minister related the success of the Summit in achieving a consensus on the Final Project Declaration, the objective of which is to mobilize international assistance in reducing world poverty by 2015.

At the same opportunity Alkatiri told journalists that the Israeli Prime Minister has not sent any kind of letter to him regarding the nomination of Israel's former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an economic advisor for Timor-Leste. He said however that he appreciates the willingness of the Israeli government to assist Timor-Leste, and if he received such an offer he would accept. (TP)

Timor-Leste Celebrates International Peace Day

Speaking at a press conference at the airport on Monday upon return from the United States, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said that this is a day of significance for Timor-Leste because wherever there is no peace, there is also no development. He asked all citizens of Timor-Leste to reflect on the day and ask themselves how they may contribute to peace building in Timor- Leste, so that this country may become an example to the world.

Timor Post reports that tomorrow Timor-Leste will celebrate International Peace Day, with a program jointly organised and administered by the Government and the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL).

According to the press release received by Timor Post from the Office of the Prime Minister yesterday, the government has been working together with UNOTIL to involve religious organizations, civil society and the public in the celebrations through a range of activities on the day. They have requested their respective employees to wear an item of white clothing and to participate in a Moment of Reflection at 12 noon, as a mark of their respect for the meaning of the day. The day's activities will begin with mass in churches around the country, followed by a Moment of Reflection to be held at the Peace Park in Lecidere, Dili. Government representatives, the United Nations and its agencies, civil society and other institutions as well as the general public will plant trees in schools and churches as a symbol of peace. The afternoon will involve a peace march beginning at the Hotel Timor and continuing to Democracy Field where a concert for peace will be held in the evening. (TP)

Five Sub-Villages Will Not Participate in the Village Elections

Five "aldeia" sub-villages (four in Dili and one in Liquica) will not participate in today's village elections, according to the Director of the Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) Tomas Cabral. At a press conference on Monday Cabral said that these aldeia will not participate in the elections because they did not attend the community meetings at the aldeia and suco level. According to Cabral, a member or members of the community must have attended these meetings to be able to participate in the elections. Cabral also told the press conference that both international and local electoral observers would observe the elections. (TP)

MP Branco Laments Lack of Clear Education Policy

President of the Fretilin bench in the National Parliament Francisco Branco has lamented the fact that the Ministry of Education and Culture has not yet presented a clear education policy for Timor-Leste. Speaking in relation to the recent graduation from the Cristal Foundation of 176 graduates with science diplomas, MP Branco said that the issue of quality of education is an issue not only for the government but also for civil society, so that these recent graduates may occupy important posts in this new country, and thus contribute to the development process. (TP)

Princess Anne rages at global pull-out

Princess Anne has hit out at the withdrawal of key British missions worldwide by penny-pinching bureaucrats. She says we're deserting loyal allies such as Tonga, Madagascar and East Timor and letting the Chinese move in to pick up trade deals. Of Tonga, one of her favourite islands, the Princess told pals: "They'd never close their mission in London." Tory vice-chairman Nigel Evans said the posts cost as little as pounds 250,000 a year to run. (The Sunday People-UK)

September 17, 2005

Lu Olo: No Other Party Can Govern Like Fretilin

President of Fretilin Francisco Guterres "Lu-Olo" has reportedly said that this country will not be peaceful if Fretilin is not governing.

Speaking at Becora on Friday during the final campaigning for the village elections, Guterres reportedly said that today we are swimming, but tomorrow we could drown. He asserted that even though the opposition criticises the government, only Fretilin can maintain a government, as only Fretilin holds political ideals suitable for the people. (TP, STL, DT)

Menezes: Don't Be Afraid of Political Intimidation

Speaking at the last day of the campaign for village elections last Friday, General Coordinator of the Democratic Party (PD) for the election, Rui Menezes reportedly appealed to PD supporters followers not to be afraid of political intimidation. According to Menezes, the political intimidation launched [by certain political opponents] was merely an attempt to mislead the people, and it would not bring any benefit to the development of Timor- Leste, adding that the consequence of such intimidation was that it would be the people who would continue to suffer. Menezes appealed to PD supporters to have trust in the candidates from the party who run for the elections. Moreover Menezes assured party supporters, that PD has the legal basis to run activities as PD has been registered at the Court of Appeal. (Timor Post)

Corte Real: Government is Trying to Create Conflicts

Member of National Parliament's Commission on Land and Property, Alexandre Corte Real was reported to have stated that the decision of the Government to evict people out of state-owned houses was an indication that the Government was trying to create conflicts. Corte Real argued that the Government should not take any decision to evict people out of state-owned houses because such action is a violation of human rights. "If the Government wants to evict people, it should be based on a complete [package] of the development plan. However, [I find that] the objective for this is not clear, "Corte Real added. (Timor Post)

Aderito Soares: No Amnesty for Crimes Against Humanity

The Timor Post lead story concentrated on comments of lawyer and former Director of the Sahe Institute for Liberation Aderito de Jesus Soares has reportedly said that, according to international law, persons who commit crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes can never be granted amnesty. Thus, according to Soares, the terms of reference of the joint Truth and Reconciliation are problematic because they allow the granting of amnesty to suspects of the 1999 crimes who admit their guilt. Speaking at a public meeting about justice at HAK Association last Friday, Soares said that speaking as someone who understands the law, amnesty can be recommended from a range of parties including the Presidents of the two countries or their national parliaments, but never for crimes against humanity. Soares acknowledged the good intentions of the Timorese government in establishing the Commission, in the context of the development of democracy in Indonesia and the need for good relations with its neighbour, but feels that the strategy is mistaken. (TP)

Government, CTF and NGOs Discuss Justice

NGO La'o Hamutuk on Friday organized a small public meeting at HAK Association to discuss "the road to truth and justice", in particular related to the 1999 crimes. Speakers at the meeting included Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Nelson Santos, one of the members of the Timor-Leste delegation to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Felicidade Guterres, and Director of HAK Association, Jose Luis de Oliveira. Government representative Santos told the meeting that the justice that the Timorese were seeking for 24 years is liberation, and this they have already achieved. He reminded the audience of a range of factors relevant to Timor-Leste's relationship with Indonesia. He reportedly said that it is remiss to "put a full stop" at 1999, as there were also human rights problems in the Portuguese period, that Indonesia's 1975 invasion of Timor-Leste was a consequence of the Cold War, and that the weapons and aircraft used to launch the invasion and maintain the occupation were not made by Indonesia itself but by the United States. He asked the audience whether they really believed that Timorese didn't kill anyone during the war, and reminded them that the Indonesian people also suffered as a consequence of Indonesian policies at the time, not just the Timorese.

Santos acknowledged the value of the ideal of an International Tribunal to try the perpetrators of crimes in Timor-Leste, but explained the difficulty in gaining approval of such a move from the UN Security Council. He said that Russia would have difficulty in approving the Tribunal considering the issue of Chechnya, and questioned also China's acceptance in the face of the Tibetan issue. He reiterated that the view of the Ministry is that it is important for this nation to move forward now. CVA representative Guterres explained the mandate and the tasks given to the Commission including truth seeking, the cementing of reconciliation and friendship, and how to secure the two nations from similar problems in the future.

NGO representative de Oliveira told the meeting that in his opinion the Commission is unconstitutional as it is not based on the principles of the Constitution, and that an International Tribunal is still the right path, as the crimes committed here in 1999 are international crimes, and, according to Timor-Leste's Constitution, crimes must be tried in a court.

He ended by asserting that Timor-Leste's independence means nothing without justice. (TP)

Conditional Sentence for PNTL Member and Assault of PTL Officer in Ermera

A member of the Timor-Leste National Police Force has been sentenced to an eight-month conditional sentence on an assault charge. The defendant will serve the sentence outside prison on the condition that he does not commit or become involved in any further crimes. The international judge granted the light sentence on the basis of the family responsibilities of the defendant. In separate news, four citizens appeared in Dili District Court on Friday afternoon charged with the assault of a police officer.

According to the Prosecutor the assault committed in November 2002 in Ermera was the result of a family problem. (TP)

September 16, 2005

Lu Olo: Fretilin Would Never Create A Dictatorship in Timor-Leste

President of the Fretilin Party and the National Parliament Francisco Guterres (Lu-Olo) has reportedly said that Fretilin honours the people for their suffering during the period of the struggle, and that Fretilin would never establish a dictatorship in Timor-Leste. Responding to STL's questions related to comments from Democratic Party (PD) Vice-Coordinator Ernesto Fernandes ('Dudu') that the Fretilin government is trying to establish a dictatorship in Timor-Leste so that the opposition are pacified, Lu-Olo said that it would not be necessary to create a dictatorship in this country as the people of this country are intelligent.

He also referred to the period of struggle when the people listened to their leaders and eventually gained independence. He said that in this new period of democratic rule, it is important that all people put forward their ideas related to issues of national interest in order to find constructive solutions, rather than launching personal criticisms. (TP, STL, Diario Nacional)

Guterres: UDC may reunite with PDC

President of the Christian Democratic Union (UDC) Vicente Guterres has told journalists that his party may eventually reunite with the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) but at the moment the two parties remain in dialogue. Guterres explained that many people recognize the two separate parties as one party, as they previously were, but that UDC has not yet made a decision as to whether to re-merge with PDC. He emphasized that his party considers the interests of the people and the nation to be the most important factor in this decision, and not power struggles over positions. (DT, Diarion Nacional)

DRSG Bajwa Congratulates National Police on Professional Skills

Deputy SRSG of UNOTIL Mr. Anis Bajwa on Thursday congratulated the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) and the Police Task Force Unit of the Timor-Leste National Police Force for their demonstration of skills in handling demonstrators as part of a recent training they participated in.

Speaking after the demonstration at the Police Academy yesterday, DSRSG Bajwa congratulated the police participants, not only on an excellent demonstration, but also on their professionalism in displaying their capacity to control demonstrators while maintaining their patience and discipline, even when faced with difficult behaviour from demonstrators. At the same event, UNOTIL Senior Police Advisor Malik told journalists that the United Nations Police are continuing to support the Timor-Leste National Police, until May 2006 when the Timorese themselves will be able to train each other. Deputy General Commander of the PNTL Inspector Ismail Babo said that this training is not only provided to the UIR but also other police units. (DT)

Santos & Ismael on the Border Crossing Implementation

General Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nelson Santos, reportedly told the media that to facilitate the border crossing by Indonesian and Timor-Leste communities along the border that both the Timor-Leste and Indonesian governments have signed an agreement to implement a "border crossing" policy to enable communities from both sides to visit each other. He added that the "border crossing system" has not been implemented until now as Timor-Leste is not ready with such a new system, which Indonesia has experienced with Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam. Santos commented further that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is trying to implement the system this year by addressing financial and technical complications.

Deputy Operation Commandant, Ismael da Costa Babo reportedly told media recently that PNTL Maritime Unit could not regularly patrol the South Coast due to a lack of boats. He added that so far the PNTL Maritime Unit could only patrol the North Coast. (TP, STL)

Amaral: PNTL Leadership Is Incompetent

MP Clementino Amaral reportedly told media that the leadership within PNTL is incompetent because PNTL are reinstating dismissed PNTL officers into their functions after dismissing them reported Diario Tempo. He added that it is not normal by other countries' standards to reinstate such officers after suspending them for a month or a year. He suggested that the PNTL leadership should first study the cases before dismissing officers to then be reinstated. (Diario Tempo)

Japanese Government Donates Generator To EDTL

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Deputy Technical Director of Timor-Leste's Electricity Service (EDTL) Inacio de Jesus Leite was quoted as saying that the Japanese Government has donated a 4 megawatt-generator to Timor-Leste in order to address the power problems faced by the people of Timor-Leste, especially those who live in Dili, the capital. The generator, Leite said, would not function until after Christmas as it is still in the process of being installed at Dili power station.

Moreover, he explained that with the large generator, there would be sufficient provision of power to cover the needs of all residents in Dili and those of Liquica, Maubara, Laulara and Manleu. (Timor Post) UNDERTIM and FUN are Frustrated Groups

Today's edition of STL published an opinion piece by Martinho G. Da Silva, a Catholic priest currently working as the Director of Baucau Diocese's Peace and Justice Commission. The article provides an analysis of National Unity of Timorese Resistance (UNDERTIM) and National Unity Forum (FUN) stating that those who founded UNDERTIM and FUN are politically frustrated.

According to Da Silva, the political transformation conducted by UNDERTIM and FUN indeed goes in line with what Alkatiri himself has stated regarding the need for an evolution of mentalities in order to face the challenges of building a state based on the rule of law. In this case, he said, the accusation of Alkatiri by labelling the founders of UNDERTIM and FUN as frustrated groups was baseless. In some aspects, da Silva noted that the two newly founded groups apparently wanted to transform Fretilin into a political force with a new mentality in accordance with modern political standards. In conclusion, da Silva argued that with their political efforts, both former Guerilla Commander L-7, the founder of UNDERTIM and Marito Reis, the founder of FUN have managed to 'make Mari Alkatiri's political tire flat' [read- burst his bubble]. (STL)

First Celebration of the International Day of Peace Across Timor-Leste

At the initiative of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri with the support of President Xanana Gusmco, it has been decided to celebrate the International Day of Peace on 21 September in conjunction with the United Nations, representatives of civil society and the people of Timor-Leste.

Preparations are underway to celebrate the International Day of Peace in all districts of Timor-Leste through sporting events and other commemorative activities to mark the International Day of Peace for the first time across the nation.

In Dili, a formal ceremony with a minute of reflection at noon will be held for the public at the Peace-Park in Lecidere and will be attended by Prime Minister Alkatiri and other officials. A "March for Peace" will commence at 17:00 at the Main Government Building and proceed to the Democracy Field where there will be a "Peace-Concert" with music groups, performers and cultural groups in which President Gusmco and other officials will participate. On 1 October, a "Peace Seminar" will be held on the role of civil society in the consolidation of peace which is due to take place at the former CNRT/UNAMET building.

The Prime Minister has invited RDTL officials and the people of Timor-Leste to participate in a national one minute of reflection at 12 noon and also wear an item of white clothing on 21 September 2005. All United Nations staff in Timor-Leste and other organisations will also be encouraged to participate in such activities to mark the International Day of Peace.

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 and fixed by UN General Assembly Resolution 55/282 in 2001 to be celebrated on 21 September every year. The International Day of Peace provides an opportunity for all individuals, all organizations, religious groups and member-states of the United Nations around the world to celebrate Peace-Day with acts of peace.

Peace Day is a day to strengthen the ideals of peace and to promote the alleviation of tensions and causes of conflict. It is an invitation to all nations and people to honour non-violence and global ceasefire for the duration of the Day in joint events or activities. (Press Release)

September 15, 2005

Lu Olo: Fretilin Not Forcing Children to Take Part in Campaign

The President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres (Lu-Olo), is reported as saying that the Fretilin party is not forcing children to participate in the current election campaign because children do not have the right to vote. He reportedly added that Fretilin will not, however, stop children from listening to Fretilin's political campaigning.

Responding to criticisms from some organisations about the involvement of children in Fretilin's election campaigning, Guterres told journalists that no one is forcing the children to take part in the campaigning, but that they are participating of their own free will. (TP, STL, Diario Nacional)

Truth and Friendship Commission To Receive SCU Documents

Timor Post reported that both Directors of the Truth and Friendship Commission from Timor-Leste, Dionisio Babo and Indonesia, Benjamin Mankudilaga had received a letter from the President of Court of Appeal Claudio Ximenes last Friday stating that the Commission could have access to the documents of cases related to serious crimes that had been decided by the Court. Dionisio Babo was quoted as saying that the Commission is also expected to be able to have access to documents of the Commission of Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) pending their final report to be released formally next month. (Timor Post)

Street Vendors Demonstrate Against Dili District Administration Tens of street vendors from Comoro Market, Dili demonstrated against Dili District Administration on Wednesday, STL reported. The demonstration, facilitated by two local NGOs: La'o Hamutuk and Rede Dai Popular was an attempt by the vendors to demand promises made by Dili District Administration to provide basic proper facilities for Comoro Market such as clean water, toilets, garbage bins and the rehabilitation of the market building itself. The vendors also demanded the responsibility of Dili District Administrator for actions taken so far by the Administration in ordering police officers to dismantle the vendors' kiosks. The vendors considered such actions as inhumane. In addition, the vendors insisted upon the neutrality of the Dili Administration in taking actions against foreign street vendors. In response to the demonstration, Dili District Administrator Ruben Braz thanked the vendors who managed to come to his office and raised their concerns, adding that all actions taken by Dili Administration so far were in accordance with the norms of city management. (STL)

Gene Ward: No Political Motive Behind the Presence of US Peace Corps Volunteers

Coordinator of the American Peace Corp volunteers has reportedly told STL that the presence of Peace Corps volunteers in Timor- Leste is not politically motivated, and that their mission here is a humanitarian one. Speaking after a ceremony held to present certificates of Tetum language course completion to the volunteers who will work in Timor-Leste for the next two years, Ward is reported to have explained that the Peace Corp organization is independently funded and is not mandated by the US Government. He said that the presence of the volunteers here is upon a request from Timor-Leste through the Timor-Leste Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation to his American counterpart, with the aim that the volunteers will assist and cooperate with the Timorese community in a range of areas. For example, the volunteers assigned to work in the field of health will educate the community on the nutritional value of certain types of foods. (STL)

CPD-RDTL Members Flee to Mountains Due to Police Action

CPD-RDTL Members are reported to have fled to the mountains last week after Police actions against the group by Baucau PNTL officers, the Rapid Intervention Unit and the Police Reserve Unit. According to information received from the Baucau District Police Commander Inspector Pedro Belo, CPD-RDTL members are reported to have been threatening and forcing the community of Laivai village, Los Palos, to join their organisation.

Members of the community, reportedly scared of CPD-RDTL's threats, reported the matter to the police who went to investigate the situation. Upon their arrival, members of the organization fled. CPD-RDTL General Coordinator Antonio Aitahan Matak confirmed that members of his organization had fled to the mountains after a quarrel with the police. (Diario Tempo)

50 Members of Border Patrol Unit on Hunger Strike Due to Unsatisfactory Food

The Commander of the PNTL Border Patrol Unit, Abilio de Carvalho in Maliana is reported to have told the media that 50 members of the Border Patrol Unit in Mota Ain are on hunger strike for the third day due to the unsatisfactory food provided for their consumption, reported STL.

Commander Carvalho argued that food changes are needed for the hard work of the Border Patrol Unit where they have to patrol 118 posts along the Mota Ain border areas. Moreover, Buibere Food Company reportedly confirmed that basic menu of cabbage that it has provided so far is due to lack of funds disbursed since taking on the contract. (Suara Timor Lorosa'e)

Xavier's Clarification on the Houses to be Knock Down as Published on 14 Sept by Timor Post

Director of the National Land and Property Department, Pedro de Sousa Xavier clarified to the media that the houses he referred to as reported by Timor Post on 14 September are only those houses that are currently within the area or site of the future establishment of Chinese Embassy, Timor Post reported. Pedro de Sousa Xavier made the above clarification due to the concerns of the Aitarak Laran local residents of the rumors that the Timor- Leste Government will relocate the whole community of Aitarak Laran.

Mr Xavier was quoted as clarifying, "It is not true, the Government would only remove those houses that are within the area when the future Chinese Embassy would be constructed." (Timor Post)

East Timor Upbeat Following World Bank Business Report

The prime minister of East Timor, Mari Alkatiri, says a new World Bank report shows that, on balance, his government is performing well. The report analyses 155 economies based on the environment for doing business, including regulatory controls and corruption. Mr Alkatiri says that while East Timor is ranked 142 in the list of 155 economies, the report acknowledges Dili's achievements. He adds the document does not take into account new investment laws, set to be introduced this year. (ABC Asia Pacific TV / Radio Australia)

September 14, 2005

Lu Olo: TL will calm down, UN Accepts Views of National Parliament The President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres, reportedly stated to the media on his return from an overseas trip that there are possibilities that Timor-Leste's tense internal situation full of threats, criticism, insults and defamation will calm down. Mr. Guterres was reportedly quoted as responding to the statement of PM Alkatiri, that "Fretilin does not consist of people with unwashed long hair". He further commented that the tense situation could be calmed as long as people focus on specific political issues in order to avoid people fighting. He also reportedly said that at the meeting of Parliamentary representatives from across the world, which he attended in New York, there was agreement that National Parliaments would work together to face challenges. He added that after the meeting there will be implementation of the outcomes from the meeting by all those countries. (TP, STL, Diario)

State Houses in Aitarak Laran Will Be Dismantled

The National Director of Land and Property Pedro de Sousa Xavier reportedly told the media on Tuesday that state houses occupied by residents in Aitarak Laran of Dili District will be dismantled in October of this year.

Sousa Xavier further explained that the residents are aware of the situation, adding that some of them have started to look for other houses to live in. The Land of Property Unit, he said, has been trying to find possibilities in providing humanitarian assistance for the residents so that they will be able to leave the location, and find ways to rebuild their own houses in other locations. Sousa Xavier also said that those who find empty houses belonging to the State would be eligible to rent such properties through the Land and Property Unit. (Timor Post )

Branco: Recruitment of Regional Secretaries of State Were Politically Nominated

Government Spokesperson, Olimpio Branco told media that the recruitment process of candidates to be Regional Secretaries of State was not public as they were political nominations who will become employees of the Timor-Leste Government, Timor Post reported. He added that apart from the political nomination, the capabilities of the four selected Regional Secretaries of State were also aspects that were considered in appointments. (TP)

MP Pereira: Parties' Leadership Fight Over Prime Minister's Seat

Speaking to Diario Tempo on Tuesday in response to the statements by some political parties that Fretilin party would lose in the 2007 general elections, MP Cipriana Pereira (Fretilin) was quoted as saying that those parties, even though they are united in coalition, would not last long.

This, she said, was due to the fact that they all would fight over the position of Prime Minister seat which is now under the leadership of Fretilin. Moreover, she said, "I do not think any of these parties will be ready at the current stage to lead the nation. Perhaps in ten years time, when they are well prepared, and prove that they can." (Diario Tempo)

Guterres of PDC: Court of Appeal Plays Manipulation

The Christian Democratic Party (PDC) under the leadership of Orlinda Guterres was reported to have rejected the decision by the Court of Appeal which only acknowledges the validity of the Christian Democratic Party under the leadership of Antonio Ximenes. Therefore, Guterres said, the Court of Appeal has played a huge manipulation, adding that the old party's logo had been changed, and it has been submitted to the Court since February. In addition, Guterres said that she totally rejected the decision of the Court of Appeal's decision. According to Guterres, the Court has violated the law and the result of the national congress held in July 2003 which had elected her [as the new president of PDC]. (Diario Tempo)

Longuinhos Takes Akui Leong to Court

Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro has brought accused Francisco Luy alias Akui Leong to Court, due to of defamation, related to allegations of corruption, via a summons to appear in court issued to the defendant.

One of Leong's three lawyers told reporters that they are ready to appear in court on the matter, as they have been preparing for this case for one year now, and have substantial documents to support their case. (Diario Tempo) International Staff Suspected of Stealing Electricity

Dili District Court on Tuesday heard the case of two Burmese citizens working as information technology/internet specialists for the Timor-Leste Defense Force, accused of stealing electricity. Presided over by international Judge Emiliano Nossolini dos Reis, Tthe court heard that the two foreigners, known as Pio and Koko, deny that they have been stealing electricity. Based on their declarations, the judge Judge Nossolini granted conditional release to the two suspects, with the condition that they continue to report to the Prosecution Office. The judge also gave authorization to the Prosecution to continue to investigate the case.

During the hearing the Prosecution brought the maximum charge of five years prison for stealing electricity. (Diario Tempo)

September 13, 2005

CNE Investigates PSD Allegations

One of the Commissioners of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) Carmelita Moniz has told reporters that the Commission is investigating allegations brought by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) regarding manipulation of PSD candidate lists for the village chief elections in Comoro, Dili. Speaking to journalists from her office on Monday, Monis said that the Commissioners have been investigating the case since Saturday, by carrying out 'cross-checks' with relevant persons, in an attempt to substantiate the allegations. Moniz asked the population to be patient in waiting for the results of the investigation, as the CNE is attempting to manage a wide range of tasks with limited human resources. She added that the Commissioners are working on a voluntary basis, and must be mindful not to neglect their paid jobs. (TP, STL)

Women's Caucus Provides Training to Women Candidates

The Women's organization "Women's Caucus" last Friday provided training to Democratic Party (PD) women candidates for the upcoming village elections.

PD has nominated five women candidates for the elections, as village and youth representatives. Speaking to journalists on Monday, Candidature Coordinator Rui Menezes explained that the training focused on the candidate's future participation in the village councils, as well as how to prepare effective campaign strategies. He added that the principle objective of the training was to teach the women candidates about the key problems and issues relevant to running campaigns at the village level.

According to Caucus Director Teresinha M. N. Cardoso, some of the most useful campaign techniques include door-to-door visits and holding campaign functions in public places. She said that this kind of training is very important for women, as women face many obstacles to political involvement including a lack of access to information. Cardoso added that PD is the only political party so far to have requested Caucus to provide training directly to their women candidates. (TP, STL)

Three Ex-Militia Remain in Detention

The detention of three ex-militia members, Mariano Barros (35), Lino dos Santos (25), and Bartolomeu Godinho (22), from the group Hametin Merah Putih (HMP), who recently illegally entered Timor- Leste territory from West Timor while looking for wood, was extended on Friday by the judge.

The defence lawyer for the three ex-militia stated to reporters that his clients became members of HMP in 1999, against their will.

According to the defence lawyer, his clients were not involved in any murder, arson or other crimes during the 1999 crisis, and that they simply witnessed what others were doing. He reportedly added that they were brought to court in relation to 1999 crimes, and not due to their illegal entry into Timor-Leste territory, and that he is unhappy with the extended detention order. (TP, STL)

No Casualites Following Incidents at the Border

Speaking to the media on Monday, PNTL's Deputy Commander Ismail Babo stated that the recent actions taken by some Indonesian citizens residing near the border between Oecussi and Kefamanu (West Timor) against the technical team conducting the border- line demarcation caused no casualties.

According to Babo, the actions were due to the fact that some Indonesian citizens in the border area were not quite sure of the process of border line demarcation, adding that they presented their concerns by protesting against the work of the technical team. Moreover, Babo said that due to the collaboration of the security team of both Timor-Leste and Indonesia, the situation remained under control. (TP, Diario)

Request to Increase Military Police Numbers

F-FDTL Military Police Commander Abel da Costa alias Niky has reportedly said that he requested the Chief of Staff, Colonel Lere Anan Timor to increase the number of military police for the First Battalion. Niky said that legislation must be established in order for the military police to carry their duties, adding that this is one of the problems in addition to the lack of communications and transports. He stressed that these problems limit the work of the military police and so far they have attended to four cases involving F-FDTL officers adding that PNTL remains responsible for civil cases in the meantime. (TP, STL)

East Timor National Soccer Federation Joins FIFA

The East Timor Football Federation (FFTL) was admitted Monday as the 206th member of FIFA at a congress of soccer's world governing body.

Timor's national football association was formed in 2001 and the world's newest nation was affiliated to the Asian Football Confederation in 2002.

The FFTL, with some 13,000 members in a country of about 800,000 inhabitants, was backed by 198 FIFA delegates, with one vote against. (Lusa)

September 9, 2005

FUN Criticises Fretilin Due to Stress: Alkatiri

It is reported that Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has said that the criticisms made by the President of the newly established group, FUN, Marito Reis against Fretilin and the Government shows that people are highly stressed. At the launch of village elections in Dili, PM Alkatiri said that new organizations such as UNDERTIM and the National Unity Forum (FUN) are only composed of the opposition. He added that Reis as the President of FUN, should not criticise Fretilin and the Government as it is a united forum. In relation to Mari Alkatiri's comments, a member of FUN called Domingos August (aka Deker) said that Fretilin's Secretary-General knows that those who established the forum are not frustrated people and that he is the frustrated person for making such statements, reported the media on Friday. In a separate article, Timor Post quoted FUN President, Marito Reis as reportedly saying that his organisation purports not to bring down the Government but for the Government to recognize its mistakes.

Reis pointed to several traits of the Government in recent years such as hate, vengeance, accusations, intrusion and arrogance but noted that such attitudes have recently reduced. (STL, TP, DT)

PD Should First Clean Its Backyard: Alkatiri

Speaking at the opening of the electoral campaign for village elections with Fretilin members and supporters in Dili, Secretary-General of Fretilin Mari Alkatiri reportedly stated that before criticising Fretilin, opposition parties such as Democratic Party (PD) should first clean their own backyards. Therefore, he said, there is no need for any opposition party to be worried about Fretilin as there is unity within Fretilin itself. "I heard recently that if PD won the election, priority would be given to the ordinary people. If that is the case, then I will congratulate them for being able to perform miracles," Alkatiri added. (TP)

UNDERTIM Will Form Government of National Unity

The Timor Resistance and Democratic National Unity Party (UNDERTIM) has declared that if they win the 2007 General Elections they will form a "Government of National Unity". Vice- President of the party Francisco Salsinha or 'Metin', speaking at a press conference at UNDERTIM's headquarters, reportedly explained that such a Government of National Unity would be "free of discrimination in race and colour, and would aim to be composed of intelligent people who can serve and educate the people well".

He emphasized that UNDERTIM's political stance is that of serving and not reigning over the people, and that the new 'resistance' party is not only open to former resistance and guerrilla members, but to all Timorese.

Responding to doubts as to whether UNDERTIM had completed the registration process and had already prepared a party statute, Metin said that his party has completed this process and that doubts among the population as to the legitimacy of the party are due to misreporting on the part of the media.

He added that the party will choose a party Secretary-General at its first congress, and that UNDERTIM follows a Presidential structure. (STL)

Xanana promulgates four laws

Timor-Leste President Xanana Gusmao on Wednesday promulgated four laws, the Statute of Public Administration, the Legislative Authorization on Penal Matters, Legislative Authorization on Penal Procedure and the Authorization on Civil Procedure. The Acting Chief of the Department of Social Communications for the President's Office, Lusitana Lopes, stated that the President signed the laws on the 4 August, and that they will now be sent for promulgation in the State Gazette, when they will then become applicable as law.

Ramos-Horta Awarded Honorary Doctorate

Foreign Minister Dr. Josi Ramos-Horta received an honorary doctorate in international regional development studies from Toyo University on 7 September in Tokyo. In awarding the doctorate degree, President Tomonori Matsuo of Toyo University cited the major contribution made by Dr Jose Ramos-Horta in struggle for independence until 1999 and democratic governance since Timor- Leste regained its independence in 2002. In the afternoon, Dr Ramos Horta gave a keynote speech at an international symposium on a new paradigm in international cooperation held at the University. UNOTIL SRSG Sukehiro Hasegawa also delivered a keynote speech identifying the contributions made by both the International Community and the people and the leaders of Timor- Leste to make possible the remarkable progress made in laying the foundation for sustainable democratic governance." (Pres, Release, STL)

China Donates Equipment to PNTL

Chinese Ambassador to Timor-Leste Chen Duqing made a symbolic hand over of equipment to the National Police of Timor-Leste, PNTL to Minister of Interior Rogerio Tiago Lobato yesterday. Speaking to the media after the handover ceremony, Minister Lobato said that the donation of equipment was based on the agreement made during his visit to China in 2004.

The equipment donated included uniform, boots and communication materials such as radio and antenna. Moreover, Lobato said that it was important that with such donations provided by China, the budget provided by the Government for purchasing the uniforms for PNTL can be allocated for other expenses. (TP)

September 8, 2005

Gusmco: "National Unity Should Be Strongly Upheld"

Speaking at the launch of the newly founded NGO, FUN (National Unity Forum) at the former CNRT compound on Wednesday, President of Republic Xanana Gusmco stated that all Timorese can be united under the values of democracy, justice, and the respect for human rights. And this, he said, should be strongly upheld. Gusmco further said that for the future FUN can be an open forum for everyone to discuss good ideas and contribute for the national development freely. At the moment, President Gusmco said, people would like to find out what the political parties have really done for the development of the nation, adding that therefore FUN was created with the aim of trying to do things that have not been done properly for the last few years. Meanwhile, the President of FUN Marito Reis, a former prisoner declared that FUN was founded with an objective to gather all Timorese with their strength and capacity to work together in the process of nation building based on what the Timorese aspire. Reis added that FUN in its functions would try to work with all segments of Timorese society such as Government at all levels, private sector, local NGOs and international organizations. (TP, STL and DT)

Truth Commission Receives Jakarta Ad-Hoc Tribunal's Documents

Truth and Friendship Commissioner Dionisio Babo told the media on Wednesday that the work of the Commission has progressed for the last two weeks due to the fact that the Indonesian side had offered the documents of Jakarta Ad-Hoc Tribunal to the Commission. According to Babo, after receiving the documents the Commission started reviewing and analyzing them, adding that there was a need for the Commission to recruit more technical staff with legal background to do the work. However, Babo stated that the Commission has not touched upon the substantive part of their work since there has not been any agreement on the approval of legal statutes and the schedule for their work plan. The Commission, he said, has decided to have a meeting in Bali, Denpasar on 26 and 27 September to discuss this matter further. (Timor Post)

Cuba Continues To Support TL

Cuban Ambassador to Timor-Leste Francisco Monsa Barrata has said that Timor-Leste is an aid priority for the Cuban government. Speaking at a farewell ceremony with President Xanana Gusmao on Tuesday for the Timorese medical students who have received scholarships to study in Cuba, Monso said that on his recent visit home he had the opportunity to meet with the Cuban President Fidel Castro and to discuss the possibility of further assisting Timor-Leste. He reportedly explained that Timor-Leste is currently Cuba's number one priority for assistance, and he hopes that Cuba's assistance in training Timorese doctors will contribute to reducing the high mortality and morbidity rate in this country. 228 Timorese medical students have been granted scholarships to study in Cuba, and 16 Cuban doctors have been working in Timor-Leste for the past two years.

Monso added that the Cuban government plans to send 1500 doctors to the Southern United States to assist in the clean-up efforts following the recent hurricane there. (DT)

Launch of Government Website

It is reported that the Prime Minister Alkatiri has launched the website of the Inspector-General stating that is an important element to demonstrate the government's transparency. "In many of the cases, I have requested that the Inspector-General conduct investigations, some requests are also from the President as well as from some members of the government. This is why we requested investigations as there are many cases," Alkatiri said. He added that when a case is under investigation it does not necessary means there is corruption as some cases only lacked facts. (TP, RTTL)

BPU Detains Former Militias

It is reported that PNTL Border Patrol Unit arrested 3 former Hametin Merah Putih militia members in the border of Motain on Tuesday. RTL quoted a BPU member as saying that the three had entered Timor-Leste territory while searching for firewood in an area where trees are forbidden to be cut. It is further reported that the three peoples were involved in the 1999 violence namely Mariano Barros (35) Lino dos Santos (25) and Batolomeus Godinho (22) from Marobo sub-village of Soelesu in Bobonaro subdistrict.

The three men are in detention in Maliana police station for further investigation. (RTL, TVTL, STL, Diario)

Introduction of International Judicial and Legal Advisors

The formal introduction by UNOTIL of 16 new international magistrates advisers to the Ministry of Justice was reported on RTL news. Vice-Minister Manuel Abrantes said that the international advisors will work in the Courts, the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the public defenders office and the Ministry of Justice. Manuel Abrantes reportedly said that a number of public defenders in the Ministry of Justice would be located in Dili, Baucau, Suai and Baucau Districts. (RTL)

WHO Goodwill Ambassdor Meets President

The World Health Organisation's Goodwill Ambassador for the Elimination of Leprosy Yohei Sasakawa returned to Japan on Wednesday following a four-day visit to Timor-Leste. A press release from the WHO explained that during his visit Mr. Sasakawa met with President Xanana Gusmao, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and Minister for Health Rui Maria Araujo. He paid a visit to Oecussi with the Minister for Health to participate in a congratulations ceremony for 200 leprosy sufferers who have just concluded their treatment.

The Goodwill Ambassador congratulated Timor-Leste for its efforts to combat leprosy, as well as its acceptance of leprosy sufferers within the community, saying that this is a good example for the rest of the world.

The Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation is also currently providing assistance to Timor-Leste for control of parasites, and on 6 September Sasakawa said he was able to visit Manatuto where he met with volunteer staff there involved in the distribution of worming medicine. (DT)

Japan Government Invites Prime Minister

Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Dr.

Josi Ramos-Horta met with the Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura who came to Tokyo from his electoral district in northern island of Hokkaido.

The Japanese Foreign Minister commended the Timorese authorities for having achieved the stability and progress in democratic nation building. He indicated to Minister Ramos-Horta that the Japanese government would like to invite Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri to visit Japan before the end of March 2006.

Minister Ramos-Horta expressed his appreciation to Minister Machimura for having returned to Tokyo to meet with him in spite of his extremely busy electoral campaign.

Minister Ramos-Horta confirmed that Timor-Leste supported the G-4 proposal and Japan's permanent membership in the Security Council. Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta also explained about and asked for Japan's support to the Commission for Truth and Friendship. He also sought Japan's support for UNDP's institution building initiatives to strengthen the capacity of government ministries, parliament and judiciary. He advised the Japanese Foreign Minister that the mandate of UNOTIL comes to an end in May 2006, however, advisory assistance will continuously be needed, especially in the area of governance.

Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta also sought Japan's support for south-south cooperation for advisory assistance. For instance, qualified advisors could possibly be provided from Indonesia, Thailand etc, funded by Japan.

Foreign Minister Machimura fully endorsed the idea of south-south cooperation. (Press Release, DT)

September 7, 2005

Wiranto Statement to CTF

Radio Timor-Leste News reports that the Commission for Truth and Friendship will ask former Indonesian military general Wiranto to give his statement in relation to serious crimes against humanity during the popular consultation in 1999 in TL. Tempo Newsagency Jakarta reported that former General Wiranto is included in the list presented by members of the Truth and Friendship Commission. The Head of the Commission Secretariat, Christio Wahiyono said in Bali, Denpassar Monday that the Timor-Leste side would focus more on the information from the Serious Crimes Unit established by the United Nations, while Indonesia would focus on the data from the Human Rights Commission and the Prosecutor General.

In the meantime Chrstio Wahiyono confirmed the request for the statement is not related to the statute of each person/individual contained in the information like suspects or eyewitnesses because the CTF does not have judicial competence. According to Christio Wahiyono, the CTF wants Wiranto to state the truth in relation to cases of human rights violations in Timor-Leste in 1999. Apart from Wiranto, others named on the list reportedly include the former regional Major-General Adam Damiri and Tono Suratman. The date for Wiranto to give the statement has not been decided yet, because the meeting from 1-4 September focussed only on procedures.

Christio Wahiyono said apart from the officials who would be called, CTF also decided that alternates members are entitled to speak but not to vote. (RTL)

Alkatiri Preparing to "Shut Up" Opposition Liars

It is reported that criticism from opposition parties of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri endlessly continue which caused Alkatiri to yesterday once again launch another attack on the opposition parties, saying that he is prepared to "shut up" the opposition liars. Speaking at a preparation event for the Village Elections in Balide, Dili, on Tuesday, Alkatiri stated that the opposition has begun to lie to the people, but that the opposition does not know what Fretilin is doing for the lives of the people. He added that everyone is proud of the past Fretilin resistance movement, and that this is something that no one can deny. Anyone that does deny this proud Fretilin history is ashamed of the past, according to Alkatiri. (Timor Post)

"Mari Humiliates and Destroys": Guterres

Opposition MP Eusebio Guterres said that Marxist doctrine should not be used as the politics of 1975 no longer exists. He added that the use of such languages only humiliates the people of Timor-Leste.

According to Diario Tempo, Guterres made these comments in response to Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's statement on Monday that 'if Partido Democratico (PD) wins the national elections in 2007 then chickens will grow teeth [sic-"pigs will fly"]. Guterres said that he did not want to comment any further on Prime Minister Alkatiri as his legitimacy is in the hands of the population. He added that the Prime Minister should not name such comments as the declarations are reminiscent of the politics of 1975. which have now passed. "He is humiliating himself because he does not know that there has been great changes in Timor-Leste and there are many people capable of leading this country," said Eusebio Guterres, adding that the Prime Minister should talk more about development, and other issues of concern to the country rather than political development to favor himself for the 2007 elections. (DT)

Government Should Not Ask for Proof

Opposition MP Antonio Ximenes allegedly said that although a ceremony was held to farewell the 200 medical students who recently left for Cuba, many MPs have refused to recognize the selection process, as there was corruption, collusion and nepotism in the process. Ximenes said that the government should not ask the population for proof as the government has the power to establish a mechanism to stop such actions. "If it really happened, the government cannot ask for proof because the government has the power and they must establish a mechanism to detect it," Ximenes said. (DT)

Customs Service Turns Blind Eye to Illegal Trading

It is reported that the population of Dili everyday witness transactions of large amounts of fuel along the foreshore at Lecidere [East Dili City], being freely carried out without any control from the relevant authorities.

When Timor Post asked the Chief of the Operational Division of Dili Port, Natalino Duvel Nunes dos Carvalho, he explained that, according to law, this trade in fuel is illegal as the Department of Ports and Customs has declared that motorboats may not transport fuel. But, according to Carvalho, another matter of concern is the wooden boats transporting fuel, as there is a risk that their boats may catch fire. Even so, Customs has never opposed the wooden boats transporting fuel for the, with the reasoning that the boats pay a fee to do so, adding and this is income for Customs. The Port authorities do not allow the wooden boats to dock at the port, and thus they are forced to unload the fuel on the beach.

Carvalho maintained that this practice is risky, as the port authorities will not take responsibility if something untoward happens. Meanwhile the Director of Customs, Olderico Maria Rodrigues, declined to reply to Timor Post's questions without prior authorization from the Minister of Planning and Finance. (Timor Post)

Former Militia Sentences Reduced

The Court of Appeal decided to reduce the imprisonment of two ex-militia members, Domingos Ameta and Francisco Neto, from 7 to 6 years Timor Post reported. The report argued further that the Court of Appeal decided to reduce their imprisonment due to evidence that shows that the two suspects were not involved directly in the killing of the victim, Antonio Pinto. (TP)

Police Actions Without Authorisation Considered "Criminal"

MP Antonio Ximenes recently is reported to have said that any actions taken by the Police out of working hours should be considered criminal . MP Ximenes was reported in the media as making an appeal to market vendors to stop or, if needed, kill any police or anyone else (sic) who threatened the vendors during hours after dark, Diario Tempo reported. Joana Freitas, one of four vendors whose goods and money werereportedly lost during the incident in Comoro Market on 6 September when street vendors were allegedly forcibly moved from the market area by Police. She requested that her goods be replaced or compensated or she would take the case further by taking the two police officers to the court. Diario Tempo also mentioned that MP Antonio Ximenes had accompanied Joana to Comoro Police Station to report the case as well as appeal to the Police to investigate the incident on Tuesday 6 September. It is reported that, according to the vendor, a PNTL officer had forced her to move from the market area at 3am. A PNTL officer had reportedly told her that the removal of vendors had been ordered by Dili District Administration. (TP, DT)

Civil Society Participates in Seminar

A group consisting of representatives from various NGOs is currently participating in a seminar in Melbourne focusing on the role of women and development. The seminar with the theme: Challenges and Opportunities will run for three days between 9-11 September. According to Mari Angelina Sarmento, the re will be three points of discussion include. One will be on practices and the perceptions of international organisations working with Timorese women, responses from Timorese women on these practices and the impact of the international community on the Timorese women. HAK, East Timor Woman and the Globalism Institute Community and Regional Partnership is organising the event. (DT, RTTL)

September 3-5, 2005

Indonesia Protests Horta's Visit to Kisar

The main headlines of Diario Tempo and Timor Post reported on the response of FM Horta to an alleged protest by Yudhi Krisnandi, member of Indonesian National Parliament Commission I, about the trip of Minister of Foreign Affairs to Kisar island. Dr. Josi Ramos Horta clarified that his trip to Kisar island, in Maluku province, along with other diplomats, was not secret as Indonesian Foreign Ministry and Embassy officials had approved the trip. A spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Crisogno Araujo, confirmed that the trip of Minister Horta and other diplomats was not illegal or secretive as they had visas. He also added that the local authorities at the destination welcomed and treated the delegation well. Araujo confirmed that Minister Horta was on an unofficial trip. (Timor Post, Diario Tempo)

Bianco: The Prime Minister Had Raised the Corruption Issue Spokesman for Timor-Leste Government, Antonino Bianco, is reported to have said that it was the Prime Minister who raised the issue of corruption through the Office of the Prosecutor- General. He added that the whole process commenced with the presentation of a report of the Inspector-General on corruption, which the Prime Minister then forwarded to the Office of the Prosecutor General for criminal investigation. He also stressed that the Government of Timor-Leste does not tolerate corruption as it has negative effects for the national image in the eyes of the international community. (Timor Post, Diario Tempo)

Baptista: UNOTIL Is Ready to Assist the Office of the Provedor

Deputy Provedor Human Rights and Justice, Silvero Pinto Batista has told the media that the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL) is ready to provide assistance to the Office of the Provedor, particularly in the area of human resources. According to Diario Tempo, Provedor Sebastiao Ximenes has participated in seminars in Mongolia and China and taken steps for Timor-Leste to be part of the Asia Pacific Forum. Batista said that his office has also requested UNOTIL to assist on the best measures to improve knowledge of human rights and good governance. (Timor Post, Diario Tempo)

National Election Commissioner, Gomes: Political Parties Violate Electoral Law

In response to the protests and claims by Democratic Party (PD) and Social Democratic Party (PSD) that the Technical Secretariat and Administration for Elections (STAE) has manipulated facts and violated laws, National Election Commissioner (CNE) Faustino Cardoso Gomes is reported to have told the press that political parties have not so far respected the rules and laws on the village elections. This, he said, was due to the fact that whenever there was any problem related to the elections, political parties immediately announced the problem without confirming with institutions in charge of the electoral process. Gomes further said that political parties should not have either presented their protests and claims to the National Parliament but to the institutions in charge of the electoral process such as STAE, CNE and the Court of Appeal. Gomes reminded everyone including political parties involved in the elections to understand the electoral law (No. 2/2004) on village elections and and appealed to everyone to respect that law in order to make the electoral process run smoothly.

(Diario Tempo)

Menezes: Investment Law Has Not Being Applied

Opposition MP Rui Menezes said that the investment law which is important to attract investors has not yet been enforced. Menezes noted that the steps taken by the Minister for Development Abel Ximenes to review the law shows that the Government does not have the capacity to produce a fundamental law to attract investors. He said that the laws were passed and promulgated by the President only a year ago and the Minister is considering changes as the present laws are not of interest to foreign investors. (Timor Post)

PNTL Cmdr Paulo Martins on CPD-RDTL

PNTL Commander-General Paulo Martins congratulated the newly established political party UNDERTIM for holding a successful congress without disturbances. Martins said that PNTL provided security during the party's congress in Dili. Paulo Martins also reportedly said that members of CPD-RDTL have the right to take PNTL officers to court for lowering the RDTL flag in Atauro sub- district provided such accusations are based on facts. "We have taken measures against CPD-RDTL activities as they do not comply with our Constitution. PNTL is prepared to go to court if when CPD-RDTL pursues the case" he is reported to have said. On Monday, Timor Post also reported the PNTL Commander-General as saying that a total of 12 police have been dismissed from duties this year due to problems including physical assault, PNTL officers travelling to the border without authorization and involvement in smuggling goods. (Timor Post, Diario Tempo, Suara Timor Lorosa'e)

Police Training Insufficient: Paulo Martins

Diaro Tempo quoted Paulo Martins as saying that the behaviour of PNTL officers who have physically assaulted people is the result of the training system established during the UNTAET period. "It is because the training had not been sufficient as we all know and there is a need to have police and the body responsible for the training is the United Nations. It is not long before the United Naitons will leave Timor, therefore they must leave a professional Police service. In this situation we will have to improve so that in the long-term the community will trust the police," Martins is reported to have said.

Media Must Be Responsible

Speaking to the media on Friday, PNTL Superintendent Paulo Martins said that the media must be responsible in reporting the truth as they can otherwise create significant problems. (Diario Tempo, Saturday)

Regional Media Reports

Norwegian aid programmes to promote investment of oil profits Norway's experience of investing its oil and gas profits into projects that benefit future generations will be part of its future development aid programme, the government said Friday.

During the coming five-year period, 50 million kroner (8 million dollars) will be spend on promoting good governance and combating corruption in oil rich developing countries.

"We want to contribute so that large oil incomes will be used to reduce poverty in Africa and elsewhere," said Norway's Minister of International Development, Hilde Frafjord Johnson. "That the oil will be a blessing and not -- as has often been the case -- a curse."

Frafjord Johnson did not specify which countries may benefit from the programme, but indicated several were in West Africa. To receive support, the country must approach Norway of its own accord, she said.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Thorhild Widvey, said the programme could also benefit the Norwegian oil industry, and would be good for global markets with "a more stable and predictable oil production in developing countries".

The Norwegian central bank manages the Norwegian Petroleum Fund that was approved in 1990 by parliament. It was created to pay for Norway's future health and pension expenditures through investments outside the Norwegian economy.

At the end of the second quarter the fund was worth 1.18 trillion kroner (180 billion dollars), having passed the 1 trillion mark at the end of 2004.

Earlier this year, leaders from East Timor visited Norway to study the Norwegian experience. Norway also allocated 30 million kroner (4.6 million dollars) to assist East Timor to build up an administration for the oil and gas sector. The project is due to end 2008 and partners include the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. (DPA)

Book/film reviews

Book review: A savage road to peace; East Timor

The Economist - September 3, 2005

This is a powerful and moving reminder of the horrors visited on East Timor, a tiny scrap of land that was exploited and neglected by its Portuguese colonisers for 420 years, repeatedly butchered and raped by the Indonesians from 1975 on, and now enjoys a precarious independence as the newest, and one of the poorest, countries on earth. The slaughter that was visited on East Timor after the Indonesian invasion was, in proportionate terms, one of the bloodiest ever. As many as 200,000 people died, a third of the territory's population.

The memory of the killing haunted the occupation. Indonesians tried harder to develop Timor than the Portuguese ever did, but their guilt made them uneasy. Any attempt by the East Timorese to assert their right to justice, let alone to self-determination, was met with brutal responses, culminating in a massacre in the Santa Cruz cemetery in 1991. When the Indonesian dictator Suharto fell in 1998, his successor offered the Timorese a vote on independence. They seized the opportunity, but the Indonesian army-with the Timorese militias it had spawned-left only scorched earth and ruined buildings behind.

All of this is well recounted by Joseph Nevins, an assistant professor of political geography at Vassar College in New York state. Where Mr Nevins moves on to more troublesome ground is when his book attempts to enlarge the circle of blame for all three atrocities, 1975, 1991 and 1999, beyond where it most obviously belongs-with the Indonesian armed forces and government. He accuses all western governments, but principally those of America, Australia and Britain, of "complicity" in the carnage. Complicity is a slippery word, but there is a degree of truth in what he says.

America, in particular, could have done much more to put pressure on the Indonesians to rein in their dogs of war, and America in effect gave Suharto the green light to move in 1975. All three countries clearly should have raised their voices in angry condemnation-but failed to do so. In 1975 the British ambassador in Jakarta cabled London advising British diplomats to "keep our heads down" when the matter was debated at the UN.

What niggles when reading Mr Nevins, though, is that he never attempts to explore reasons why the West felt it necessary to support Suharto in his occupation. One would not guess from his pages that when East Timor was invaded, it had shortly before been taken over by a communist-leaning government: that Saigon, Phnom Penh and Vientiane had all fallen to the communists earlier that year; that Suharto himself had come to power following dreadful misgovernment and a flirtation with communism in Indonesia, by far the largest country in South-East Asia. Alone, such considerations may not counter the charge of "complicity", but Mr Nevins should at least have tried to grapple with them.

By 1991, and especially by 1999, these explanations anyway carry far less weight. Mr Nevins's accusations are particularly powerful when it comes to the lack of action following the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991. He understates the depth of world concern in 1999, which did, after all, lead to speedy UN resolutions and the mustering of a peacekeeping force under Australian command. It should, of course, have acted much faster, but that has much more to do with bureaucratic inertia than complicity.