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East Timor News Digest 10 – October 1-31, 2006
Melbourne Age - October 31, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Gangs responsible for East Timor's
violence, political intimidation, extortion and crime have been
linked to powerful Timorese figures with political ambitions and
the country's main political parties.
A report says some of the gangs have infiltrated the security
forces while one of the most feared groups has links to former
pro-Indonesian militias and has supporters in Indonesian West
Timor.
The report, commissioned by Australia's international development
agency, AusAID, says many of the gangs appear to be led by former
anti-Indonesian resistance fighters who have loyalties and
enmities within factions of the security forces and political
parties dating back to the independence struggle. Many gangs have
provocative names such as I'll Smash You, Beaten Black and Blue,
Rambo and Crazy. Some members believe they have magical powers
and that by injecting themselves with a medicine they become
invincible and invisible, the report says.
Some of the gangs have taken the names of former militia groups
that murdered an estimated 1200 people and destroyed most of the
country's infrastructure after the East Timorese voted to break
away from Indonesia in 1999. The report says that as many as 70
per cent of young Timorese men are involved in gangs disguised as
martial arts groups.
"Chronic unemployment, which exceeds 50 per cent nationwide but
is higher in Dili... means recruiting is easy from the legions of
unemployed youth who feel socially, economically and politically
excluded," says the report, obtained by The Age. "It was these
disaffected, marginalised youth who comprised the bulk of the
rioting mobs."
But one of the report's key findings is that hundreds of small
youth-based groups are "attempting, in different but positive
ways, to engage and unify their communities".
Ending the gang violence "can only be achieved through a long
process of dialogue and reconciliation, a dramatic improvement in
the economy and a more efficient provision of basic social
services", the report says.
It says a widely feared gang called Colimau 2000 may have a
following in refugee camps in Indonesia. "There have also been
allegations about the group having made contact with militia
leaders in West Timor in order to plan a strategy to destabilise
the country after UN peacekeepers leave; at least one source of
this accusation is the Indonesian military commander in West
Timor," says the report, which was completed last month.
It says other gangs "are affiliated with powerful individuals
with political ambitions, or even opposition parties".
Melbourne researcher James Scambary and assistants Hippolito da
Gama and Joao Barreto were commissioned by AusAid to research the
gangs.
The gangs of East Timor
CPD-RDTL (Council for the Defence of the Democratic Republic of
Timor-Leste): One of the best organised, this group has about
6600 members, with strongholds in Dili and the second-biggest
city, Baucau. It believes the Fretilin Government is
unrepresentative.
Colimau 2000: With a few hundred supporters, this gang rejects
the Government's authority. Mainly made up of illiterate peasants
and former guerilla fighters.
Sagrada Familia: Led by a former guerilla known as L-Sete, or L7,
the group is based in Laga, a district of Baucau. L7 claims he
has more than 5000 followers.
Kera Sakti: A martial arts gang, KS has about 6700 members.
Believed to have endemic rivalries with other groups. Korka:
Possibly the biggest martial arts group, with up to 10,000
members.
Perguruan Silat Setia Hati: One of the biggest and most
controversial gangs, it originated in Indonesia and is perceived
to be close to the two main opposition parties.
Kung Fu Master: Claims it has about 7700 members. Its leader was
killed in a gunfight in July.
Sydney Morning Herald - October 30, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – The East Timorese Government has ordered
a crackdown on activists behind a campaign aimed at denigrating
Australian security forces in Dili and fuelling anti-Australian
sentiment.
Acting Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva has told The Age that
the Government is seriously concerned about a dangerous movement
that has spouted unfounded allegations that Australian troops
were involved in the deaths of two young men in Dili last Friday.
"We will do our best to find out who is behind this campaign that
has made people turn suddenly against the Australian force," Mr
da Silva said.
Malicious rumours about Australia's 1000 soldiers in East Timor
are circulating in Dili as youths in gangs are being paid to
commit acts of violence, according to Catholic Church and United
Nations sources in Dili.
Australia's troop commander in Dili, Mal Rerden, revealed
yesterday that police know the youths involved have also been
given drugs and alcohol. "This is unfortunate – they may do
things they normally wouldn't do and that is a dangerous and
serious thing," he said.
International security forces in Dili believe there is an
orchestrated campaign by unidentified figures to destabilise the
country ahead of elections next year. Military sources say the
campaign to denigrate the Australian soldiers appears to be aimed
at forcing them to leave East Timor.
Mr da Silva said that while the Government strongly supports the
role of the Australian troops, criticisms of their conduct,
including that they have taken sides in the country's bloody
conflict, must be examined.
But he stopped short of backing a call by East Timor's army
commander, Tuar Matan Ruak, for an investigation into the conduct
of Australia's troops. "Rumours are rumours," Mr da Silva said.
"If they are well based we will recommend an investigation. The
Australians have been doing their best under difficult
circumstances."
Amid fears that gangs will begin targeting Australians in Dili,
Australia's Defence Force chief, Angus Houston, defended his
troops, saying they had taken extreme care to avoid bias.
But a sign on the gates of one of Dili's biggest refugee camps
warns Australian troops not to enter, claiming that they provoked
violence and that they shot an innocent 55-year-old man.
Camp co-ordinator Jose da Costa Gusmao told The Age that their
fight is not with Australians in general but with Australian
soldiers who, he claimed, had repeatedly entered the camp and
used violence to arrest people. "They come here acting like
terrorists," he said.
He said the wounded man, Leovegildo Carvalho, was shot when the
office he was in was peppered with bullets after an Australian
soldier fired on a man holding a gun during a confrontation last
week.
Brigadier Rerden said late yesterday he knew nothing about Mr
Carvalho, who was being treated in a Dili hospital. "If there is
any information about an individual who says he has been wounded
in that situation he should hand himself in to the police," he
said.
Up to 10 people have been killed in the past week, and more than
1600 houses have been destroyed since violence erupted in late
April.
"This is a political crisis ... everyone wants to take advantage
of the situation," Mr da Silva said. "Progressively we will find
out who is behind the violence."
Mr da Silva, a member of Fretilin's national political
commission, said he did not believe the country was facing civil
war "because we are all Timorese".
Commission of Inquiry Report
Political/social crisis
Health & education
Economy & investment
Opinion & analysis
Daily media reviews
News & issues
Powerbrokers tied to Timor's gangs
Timor government acts as Australian troops vilified
Timor alert for Diggers
Melbourne Age - October 29, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Australian embassy officials and staff in Dili have tightened their security as unidentified people spread rumours that appear to be aimed at provoking attacks against Australians in East Timor.
Mal Rerden, the commander of Australia's troops in Dili, yesterday described as "completely unfounded" a story in one of East Timor's newspapers quoting witnesses claiming that Australian troops were responsible for the deaths of two young men who were murdered on Friday.
Page one headlines in the Suara Timor Lorosae newspaper said the men were killed by Australian forces. "These stories are being manipulated by some elements ... these groups clearly don't want to have a professional, impartial security force here probably because we are stopping them doing what they want to do," Brigadier Rerden said.
He has ordered his troops to investigate the source of the rumours, which are fuelling anti-Australian sentiment at a time of escalating violence in Dili that has left up to 10 people dead in the past week.
Brigadier Rerden said he was "focusing very carefully" on who was feeding the rumours because it was important they "don't start feeding on themselves". But he added: "I don't think it's the front end of a real threat."
Australian embassy officials have begun removing paintings and stickers on vehicles or properties that identify them as Australian owned.
The waterfront residential compound of Australian diplomats was attacked by stone-throwing youths for the first time last week.
Allegations that Australian security forces have been responsible for killings, or are taking sides in the conflict, are being circulated by SMS messages in Dili. And Australian troops and police in Dili are coming under increasing attack and abuse when they respond to the gang violence that erupts most afternoons.
The violence has prompted MPs to question the way Australian troops are operating in the country.
They have moved a resolution in Parliament asking for the United Nations Security Council to insist that Australian troops be put under UN command. Manual Tilman, leader of one of the biggest opposition parties, said yesterday that obvious "friction" between the Australian troops and other international security forces in Dili had led to an almost unanimous vote for the resolution.
The Howard Government in August won UN approval to keep command of the force for six months after obtaining the support of the US, Britain and Japan.
East Timor's Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta has backed Australia's stand, saying on Friday that it was both "logical and necessary to accept our neighbour's generosity".
East Timor army commander Tuar Matan Ruak wants his government to investigate the conduct of Australian troops in Dili. He told journalists that claims Australians have taken sides in the conflict have damaged the Australian Defence Force's prestige.
Carlos Belo, Nobel laureate and former bishop in Dili, has described the situation in East Timor as "unhuman". He has appealed for people to work towards peace.
Sydney Morning Herald - October 28, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – The commander of East Timor's army has called for an investigation into the behaviour of Australian troops in Dili, including claims they have taken sides in the conflict that plunged the country into violent upheaval.
Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak also called for Australia's troops to be put under United Nations command, saying their mission had obviously failed because six months after they arrived in the country Dili "looks like cowboy city".
Violence has escalated in Dili, with at least eight people killed and many injured in attacks this week, including two youths stabbed to death in a gang attack on Dili's waterfront yesterday.
"I am asking for an investigation so that the prestige of the Australian force can be recovered," General Ruak told the Herald in a rare interview.
"The reality is there have been a lot of accusations made. There are a lot of rumours going around. There is an enormous perception [that Australians are taking sides] and now it needs to be made clear that it doesn't exist."
Australia's commander in Dili, Brigadier Mal Rerden, strongly defended the behaviour of his 1000 troops, saying that in the past few days there had been an orchestrated campaign targeting the Australians to try to force them to leave the country.
"I think there are elements out there who have their own agenda, and there are criminal elements who prefer not to have a neutral professional force on the ground to control them," Brigadier Rerden said.
His force is trying to find out who was behind the rumours that have provoked gangs to throw rocks at Australian police and troop vehicles.
General Ruak said he would make a written submission to the East Timorese Government calling for "state bodies" to conduct the investigation.
Having Australian troops and UN forces under different commands had failed, he said. "One says to go up and one says to go down," he said. "When dealing with a conflict there should only be one commander."
Australia lobbied strongly in the UN to keep command of its troops in Dili, despite objections from many countries. The UN is reviewing the arrangement, which Brigadier Rerden strongly defends.
General Ruak said his command's relations with Australia's commanders had collapsed. He said he had twice been held for up to 45 minutes by Australian troops at checkpoints, even though he was in uniform and carried papers authorising free movement.
Brigadier Rerden said he was aware of one occasion where General Ruak was held for 10 minutes while his identity was checked.
The UN will soon have 1600 international police, including 200 Australians, and 500 civilian personnel deployed in East Timor to help quell violence and organise elections next year.
On Thursday General Ruak issued a statement calling for an East Timorese parliamentary committee to investigate what he said had been a coup to bring down the government of Mari Alkatiri, to force the formation of a government of national unity.
He also said that a UN inquiry into the violence had failed to consider political issues. The inquiry recommended that General Ruak be prosecuted for distributing weapons to civilians.
The Prime Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, has stood by General Ruak, issuing statements reiterating his "full confidence in him and his leadership".
Sydney Morning Herald - October 26, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch – Security forces in East Timor fear violence will dramatically escalate in Dili after the execution of a leader of one of East Timor's biggest gangs. The martial arts gang leader was shot in the head on a Dili street, where for weeks rival gangs have fought fiercely.
An Australian soldier was also involved in a shooting incident yesterday, the Australian Defence Force says, amid violence in Dili in which at least two people died and dozens were injured.
East Timor's army is also preparing to address the nation declaring its troops should no longer be confined to barracks because of the lawlessness, sources in Dili said last night.
The army's top officers will declare that the forced removal from office of former prime minister Mari Alkatiri amounted to a coup and that those responsible should be investigated by East Timorese, sources said. The army was expected to make the address last night but state television went off the air, citing technical problems.
If the army goes ahead with the address it would be seen by Dili's political elite as criticism of the President, Xanana Gusmao, who is strongly supported by the Prime Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta. Mr Ramos-Horta is visiting the Pope at the Vatican.
Such provocative comments by the army's top officers would almost certainly wreck efforts to bring an end to months of violence in the country of 1 million people. The army's move follows the release last week of a United Nations report that recommended the army's commander, Taur Matan Ruak, be prosecuted for illegally arming civilians with weapons when violence erupted in the country in April and May. Since May East Timor's troops have been confined to barracks.
Dili erupted in violence yesterday when Assis Hendrique da Silva, 27, was shot in the head on a street near Dili's airport. Mr da Silva was a "master" of the Sacred Heart martial arts gang, whose thousands of members have been fighting rival gangs on Dili's streets for weeks.
The killer has been identified as a man from eastern East Timor, a gang social worker told the Herald last night. A Timorese witness has said he saw the shooting. The killer leaned out from behind a building and shot at da Silva with a pistol, he has been reported as saying.
"It's crazy here tonight," the social worker said. "Members of the gang believe that the killer is hiding out in a refugee camp near the airport... they want revenge and I don't think anything will stop them getting it."
For 40 minutes late yesterday, Portuguese security forces battled members of the gang as they attended a wake for da Silva. The Portuguese fired rubber bullets and tear gas while gang members pelted them with rocks. Gangs fought running battles at the airport camp most of the day forcing the closure of the airport.
Several sustained attacks by rock-throwing youths were made on Australian and other security forces during the day. An Australian soldier attempting to quell the violence shot at a gun-wielding East Timorese man near the airport, the Australian Defence Force said.
A Defence spokesman in Canberra said the soldier, whose name has been withheld, fired a number of shots in self-defence after another man approached a military checkpoint.
"Initial reports are that the man had a weapon which he raised in a threatening manner and took a firing position," the spokesman said. "That is when the soldier retaliated in self-defence." The man "fled the scene and it cannot be confirmed whether he was injured in the incident", he said.
A foreign businessman in Dili said by telephone last night that street protagonists suddenly appear to have obtained weapons they have not previously produced. "The guns are out again. It's not as bad as in May but the situation is serious," he said.
About 33 people were killed in April and May and 155,000 forced into refugee camps where most remain.
Shots are believed to have been fired at Australian security forces during one of yesterday's battles. The gang social worker said money appears to have been paid to gang members to cause trouble this week. "There's political money up for grabs all over the place at the moment," he said.
Mr da Silva's murder came after the most violent night in Dili for weeks. Twelve houses were set alight in the nearby Comoro area, witnesses said. Earlier gang members had vandalised a Ministry of Education building and seriously injured a security guard.
A employee of CHC Helicopters Australia, a company that flies workers to oil and gas rigs in the Timor Sea, was chased and attacked near the airport. He suffered minor injuries.
MPs fled the parliament in Dili yesterday afternoon after hearing rumours the building was about to be attacked. Four people have been killed and 47 wounded in Dili since the weekend when two men were decapitated after being attacked outside a church.
Agence France Presse - October 25, 2006
Dili – East Timor's Bishop Carlos Belo has reportedly held meetings with a rebel leader and key politicians named in a damning UN report on the country's violence to try to stop the ongoing unrest.
Bishop Belo flew by UN helicopter to a meeting yesterday with rebel leader Alfredo Reinado at a hill in Fohorem, Suai district on the southern coast, a source said today. He was greeted by Reinado, who was wearing combat fatigues, and the two then held private discussions, the source said.
Reinado has been in hiding since he and more than 50 other inmates escaped in August from a prison in Dili, where he was detained following bloody violence which erupted in April and May.
After meeting Reinado, Bishop Belo headed for former prime minister Mari Alkatiri's home for brief talks, the source said. He then went on to visit former home affairs minister Rogerio Lobato.
A UN report into the violence in East Timor in April and May earlier this month called for Mr Alkatiri, Mr Lobato and a series of senior government and security force members to be criminally investigated.
Mr Alkatiri stepped down as prime minister in June amid allegations that he had armed a hit squad and ordered it to kill his political opponents. He has maintained his innocence.
Dili was rocked by the unrest following the dismissal of soldiers who had deserted, complaining of discrimination from their superiors based on whether they came from the east or west of the country.
Some 37 people were killde in pitched battles between security forces during bloody street violence. More than 150,000 people fled their homes and some 3000 Australian-led peacekeepers were sent to restore calm.
The report cleared President Xanana Gusmao of ordering Reinado, then head of the military police who deserted just ahead of the May unrest, "to carry out criminal actions".
Bishop Belo, who shared a Nobel peace prize with now Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta in 1996, arrived in Dili from Mozambique on October 18, and is due to leave on Saturday.
On his arrival, the bishop said he had come "to visit and provide you with hope and peace", and warned the people against being disunited.
Melbourne Age - October 20, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Mick Slater, the commander of Australia's peacekeeping force in Dili, has revealed that he could not arrest East Timor's most wanted fugitive, Alfredo Reinado, during a secret meeting in the mountains last week because he was outnumbered.
"Me unarmed. Him surrounded by 11 heavily armed thugs. Call me a coward... it wasn't a smart thing to do," Brigadier Slater said yesterday. He confirmed that he and two East Timorese, one of them a Government official, had met the Australian-trained Major Reinado after agreeing to go unarmed to a rendezvous point in the country's south.
He said that Major Reinado, who led a mass escape from Dili's main jail in August, "proved yet again he is an intelligent man who is doing some stupid and foolish things".
"He claims that he is ready to come back to face justice and clear his name, but he insists he won't do that until everyone else he believes should face justice has done so," Brigadier Slater said.
A United Nations inquiry released this week in Dili blamed Major Reinado for firing the first shots in a bloody confrontation that plunged East Timor into crisis in May. It recommended that he and at least nine of his men face prosecution over a gun battle in which five people died.
Brigadier Slater said that support for Major Reinado had withered since his escape. "Eventually he will come in," he said. "It will be either of his own free will or he will be forced in... it would be far better if he comes in voluntarily."
Major Reinado has criticised the credibility of the UN inquiry's findings, saying that one of his men, who was recommended for prosecution, was killed during the gun battle.
Brigadier Slater, who commands almost 1000 Australian troops deployed in Dili, said fears that the inquiry's findings might spark new unrest had proven to be unfounded. "People are responsibly accepting the report and thinking through its implications," he said.
The inquiry recommended that scores of police, soldiers and civilians be prosecuted over violence that erupted in Dili, forcing tens of thousands of people into squalid refugee camps.
ABC News - October 10, 2006
An oil company behind allegations that East Timor's former prime minister accepted bribes from oil giant ConocoPhillips, says banking records in Darwin could be destroyed before the case goes to trial.
Oceanic Exploration wants $US10 billion ($A13.4 billion) in damages, for the alleged theft of its oil rights in the Timor Sea. In a case before the US District Court, Oceanic alleges it was granted exclusive rights to oil and gas fields in 1974, but that ConocoPhillips used bribery to steal the rights.
Oceanic specifically claims it paid $US2.5 million ($A3.3 million) to East Timor's former prime minister Mari Alkatiri to award the rights to ConocoPhillips. Oceanic alleges Dr Alkatiri and his family deposited the money in two Darwin banks.
ConocoPhillips denies the allegations and has asked the court for more time to respond. But Oceanic argues under the seven-year rule, the banks may destroy crucial financial records if the case is delayed further.
| Commission of Inquiry Report |
Agence France Presse - October 18, 2006
Jakarta – UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the East Timorese today to accept the conclusions of an inquiry by the world body into deadly violence that rocked Dili earlier this year.
The inquiry's report was released yesterday and called for former prime minister Mari Alkatiri and a series of senior government officials and security force members to be criminally investigated or prosecuted over the unrest.
"Today I urge you as a nation to accept the report's conclusions and recommendations and to act on them in the constructive manner in which they were formulated," Annan said in a statement released from New York.
"We know that a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Timor-Leste (East Timor) can be built only on the foundations of good governance, accountability, human rights and the rule of law."
The inquiry was carried out at the request of Dili, as the government reeled from the worst violence on its soil since it gained independence in 2002.
Its mandate was to clarify the facts surrounding events in April and May that led to 37 deaths, and recommend measures to hold accountable those responsible for crimes committed during that period.
"Once again, the world is looking to Timor-Leste with hope and expectation. If you now live up to the democratic values enshrined in your constitution, your country can yet emerge strengthened from this experience, with a renewed spirit of community and nationhood," Annan added.
The unrest flared following the dismissal of soldiers who had deserted, complaining of discrimination from their superiors based on whether they came from the east or west of the small nation.
Analysts say politicians harbouring decades-old grievances against each other took advantage of the soldiers' disgruntlement to aggravate the tensions.
Battles between security force factions degenerated into bloody street violence involving youth gangs.
More than 150,000 people fled their homes and some 3000 Australian-led peacekeepers were deployed to restore calm.
Reuters - October 18, 2006
Lirio da Fonseca, Dili – East Timor's prime minister stood by the chief of the armed forces on Wednesday, after a UN inquiry called for his prosecution over the arming of civilians during a wave of violence in the tiny nation in May.
Tuesday's report, prepared by a UN appointed Independent Special Commission of Inquiry, recommended that former interior minister Rogerio Lobato, military chief Taur Matan Ruak and several others be prosecuted for illegal distribution of weapons.
"I have spoken with the Chief of the Armed Forces of Timor-Leste Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak and I am reiterating my full confidence in him and in his leadership," Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said in a statement.
"Throughout the crisis the senior command of F-FDTL (East Timor's defense forces) showed zeal and discipline," he said.
The 79-page report also called for a further investigation into former prime minister Mari Alkatiri to determine whether he should face criminal charges. Alkatiri stepped down under pressure in June.
Alkatiri, who heads the dominant Fretilin party in parliament, has been widely blamed for the violence which erupted after fighting within the armed forces spiralled into rioting, arson and looting in the streets of the capital, Dili.
The violence, triggered by the dismissal of about 600 soldiers, left more than 30 people dead and more than 150,000 displaced.
Ramos-Horta said the military leadership had not engaged in any cover up and an international commission had verified that all weapons given to ex-fighters had been surrendered and were accounted for.
Ramos-Horta, who last week urged foreign forces to stay until 2007 elections, described the UN team's work as impartial and independent and said East Timor's courts would be responsible for further investigations and prosecutions.
Australia in late May led a force of more than 3,000 peacekeepers to end the fighting, which pitted ethnic gangs and East Timor's fledgling police and military against one another.
President Xanana Gusmao on Tuesday urged parliament to "quickly take political and legislative or legal actions based on the materials in the commission's report."
But Elizario Fereira, head of the Fretilin faction in parliament, said the legislature was not in the position to take legal action and it should be left to the judiciary.
"We don't have the authority to launch investigations. We only have the power to issue political decisions," he said, adding that Fretilin accepted the report. Alkatiri's Fretilin has nearly two-thirds of the seats in the 88-member body, as well as a number of cabinet posts.
The territory of around a million people voted in a bloody 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, which annexed East Timor after colonial masters Portugal withdrew in 1975. East Timor was run by the United Nations for 2- years before becoming independent in 2002.
The Australian - October 18, 2006
Mark Dodd – A UN inquiry into the causes of deadly violence in East Timor earlier this year has accused President Xanana Gusmao of inflaming tensions which brought the country to the brink of civil war.
The long-awaited UN report has also recommended former prime minister Mari Alkatiri face a criminal investigation over alleged weapons offences.
It found that Dr Alkatiri was aware of allegations of illegal weapons distribution by his interior minister but failed to use his authority to act against the transfer to armed loyalist civilian militia.
"The prime minister failed to use his firm authority to denounce the transfer of weapons to civilians," the report found. "No further steps were taken by him to address the issue." It also recommended further investigation to determine whether Dr Alkatiri "bears any criminal responsibility with respect to weapons offences".
The report, released yesterday, also directly implicates a former interior and defence minister and the country's army and police commanders over the illegal distribution of weapons and arming of civilians.
The 80-page report into the violence, which erupted in April and May, was compiled by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It accused Mr Gusmao of making unnecessarily provocative public speeches that inflamed an already volatile political environment.
"The commission considers that the President should have shown more restraint and respect for institutional channels by exhausting available mechanisms, such as the Superior Council for Defence and Security, before making a public address to the nation," the report said.
"Similarly, the commission notes that by intervening personally with Major (Alfredo) Reinado, the President did not consult and co-operate with the F-FDTL (army) command, thereby increasing tension between the Office of the President and F-FDTL."
Major Reinado remains at large after breaking out of Dili's Becora jail with 56 other inmates on August 30.
The UN report said much of the violence could be attributed to the weakness of the rule of law in the country.
"While recognising that Timor Leste (East Timor) is a fledgling democracy with developing institutions, it is the view of the commission that the crisis which occurred in Timor Leste can be explained largely by the frailty of state institutions and the weakness of rule of law," the report found.
The commission said the Alkatiri government failed to follow legislative procedures in calling out the army to deal with unrest caused by scores of army deserters angered by ethnic divisions within the defence force.
A protest rally in Dili on April 28 to support 600 dismissed soldiers turned into mob violence that left five dead and more than 20,000 people displaced. Ethnic gang violence confined to the capital Dili continued and the death toll climbed to more than 25 by the time an Australian-led peacekeeping force arrived in late May to restore law and order.
The report blamed F-FDTL commander Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak for failing to prevent a confrontation between the army and police that led to the fatal shooting by soldiers of nine unarmed police officers on May 25. It found that army and police weapons were illegally distributed to civilians.
Alkatiri declined immediate comment, but President Gusmao and Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta issued a statement appealing to parties "not to take advantage of the substance of the report".
They called for "maturity and reasoning... with the firm objective of calming the animosities of the people". An emergency cabinet meeting will be convened to consider the commission's conclusions.
Melbourne Age - October 18, 2006
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Former East Timorese prime minister Mari Alkatiri failed to stop weapons being distributed to civilians and should face a criminal investigation, a UN inquiry has found.
The probe also accuses two former ministers in Mr Alkatiri's government and the head of East Timor's defence force of creating a "situation of significant potential danger" and recommends that they be held accountable for the illegal transfer of weapons.
The central findings of the report by a three-member panel set up by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan are potentially explosive in a country in which tens of thousands of people are still living in refugee camps, too afraid to return to their homes.
Violence in April and May claimed up to 40 lives and exposed deep divisions in East Timor's army and police.
The army remains loyal to defence chief Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak, one of the heroes of East Timor's independence struggle, despite the report's accusations that he failed to "exhaust all avenues to either prevent or stop" a confrontation between his troops and police.
Fretilin, the ruling party with widespread support in rural areas, will be deeply unhappy with the findings. Mr Alkatiri is still the secretary-general of the party, which he insists he will lead into national elections next year.
The report says Mr Alkatiri's cabinet failed to follow proper procedures when it ordered the army onto Dili's streets, saying that Mr Alkatiri in particular must bear responsibility.
The report accuses army rebel Alfredo Reinado and his men of "having committed crimes against life and the person" during a gun battle on Dili's outskirts on May 23. Major Reinado led a mass escape from Dili's main jail in August and has been holed up in the country's western mountains.
When told of the findings against him, Major Reinado said: "I did not start anything. There was loss of life on my side as well as the other. What am I supposed to do when I am attacked?"
Major Reinado has been holding secret talks with Australian peacekeeping commander Mick Slater about giving himself up. Asked whether the findings would affect the negotiations, he said: "Ask Mick Slater. He's in charge of everything."
The inquiry found that President Xanana Gusmao, the most popular figure in the country, "should have shown more restraint and respect for institutional channels in communicating directly with Major Reinado" after he and his men deserted the army in May. Mr Gusmao is rarely criticised in public.
The inquiry said there was no information before it that could lead to a recommendation that Mr Alkatiri be prosecuted for being personally involved in the illegal distribution of weapons.
But it found there was information "giving rise to suspicion" the he knew about the illegal arming of civilians with police weapons by former interior minister Rogerio Lobato, who is under house arrest in Dili.
The report accuses Mr Alkatiri of failing to use his authority to denounce "credible information" about the transfer of weapons by members of his government.
It found that Mr Lobato and police commander Paulo Martins bypassed institutional procedures by irregularly transferring weapons within the police force. It names Mr Lobato and former minister of defence Roque Rodrigues as having armed civilians along with Brigadier Ruak.
Hundreds of Australian police and troops and other international security forces in Dili were on high alert last night, fearing the report could trigger violence.
Agence France Presse - October 12, 2006
Lisbon – East Timor's deposed prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, rejected Thursday a report by a conflict-prevention group which recommended that he and President Xanana Gusmao sit out next year's general election to reduce tensions in Asia's newest nation.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group blamed deadly clashes between rival armed factions which swept Dili in April and May partly on a longstanding rivalry between the two men in the report released Tuesday.
The report said internal divisions pose the greatest threat to the elections and that "the most important guarantor against violence might be for the more controversial figures in the capital to sit this election out voluntarily."
It advised Gusmao and Alkatiri "to think the unthinkable – foregoing any role in the 2007 elections so new leaders can emerge."
But in an interview published in daily Portuguese newspaper Publico, Alkatiri said the report's findings were "a simplistic way to understand what happened in the past in East Timor." "I don't want the conflict to be reduced to two people – me and Xanana Gusmao. Or that today's situation be seen as the result of old conflicts," he added.
Alkatiri resigned as prime minister under pressure in June following a wave of unrest in which more than 30 people were killed and an estimated 100,000 people were displaced.
The violence erupted after Alkatiri sacked over a third of its armed forces and it led to the deployment to East Timor of more than 3,200 international peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal.
Alkatiri was replaced as prime minister by Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and East Timor's representative abroad during its struggle to break free of an Indonesian occupation that lasted from 1975 to 1999.
A neglected Portuguese colony for hundreds of years before the Indonesian occupation, East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of income terms but has considerable oil and natural gas resources that are just beginning to be explored.
The Australian - October 12, 2006
Mark Dodd and Sid Marris – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao and his former prime minister Mari Alkatiri have been singled out for criticism in a report from the UN into the violence last April.
The wide-ranging report is understood to be a brutal assessment of the breakdown of control that culminated in an Australian-led peacekeeping force being deployed.
The UN report, expected to be released next week, says the leadership should have done more to solve its political differences and restrain rival supporters and dissident military.
The Brussels-based International Crisis Group believes the report will "name names" and is worried that its release could spark more violence. Former UN representative in East Timor Sukehiro Hasegawa, before he finished his term there, warned there would be "tears" over the report.
In its evaluation of the situation in East Timor, the ICG has advised Mr Gusmao "to think the unthinkable – forgoing any role in the 2007 elections so new leaders can emerge".
But East Timor Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta – who was in Australia yesterday and has talked about the need to encourage a younger generation to develop in politics – talked upMr Gusmao's popularity and the desire of people for him torun again in elections due next year.
"I have been travelling throughout the country since the crisis, every conceivable place you think of – neighbourhoods, even talking with the gangs, the youth – I have not found one single individual in the country that says Xanana Gusmao should not run; quite the contrary," Dr Ramos Horta said.
"As recent as a few days ago, people were telling me we must tell Xanana he has to stand for a second term, but he seems to be determined not to." Dr Ramos Horta said he was confident that the release of the UN report would not lead to further unrest.
"Primarily, for us it is an important report so that we do some soul-searching and look at the weaknesses of the institutions, the responsibility of individuals, so that we learn and do not allow this type of situation to happen again," he said.
East Timor and Australia yesterday signed an agreement covering security in the lucrative joint petroleum development area between the two countries, which would allow co-operation in responding to threats in the area, where both nations share government revenues from petroleum developments.
Mr Ramos Horta said he hoped the East Timorese agreement on sharing revenue from the Greater Sunshine development would go before Parliament next year.
The violence in April grew out of simmering tensions between those from the east, known as Lorosae, and those from the west, Loromonu, which infected the military and police.
The situation was exacerbated by attempts by ambitious interior minister Rogerio Lobato to build up a rival security force under direct control of the Government, rather than the President.
A strike by some soldiers, followed by fighting between rivals, led to a breakdown of law and order that was seized on by street gangs. In May, 1300 Australian troops led soldiers from several countries to restore calm.
That deployment is now down to 950, with the Government planning to reduce it to about 600 by the time of East Timor's elections, next May.
ABC World Today - October 12, 2006
Reporter: Anne Barker
Peter Cave: The Brussels based International Crisis Group has warned that a United Nations report on the political and security crisis in East Timor will be explosive and may touch off another round of serious violence. The UN report is due out within days, and is expected to name those responsible for the recent turmoil.
The Crisis Group, led by former Australian foreign Minister Gareth Evans, has also called on the President Xanana Gusmao to think the unthinkable and step aside from politics in the interests of his nation.
Anne Barker reports.
Anne Barker: It's six months since East Timor first descended into violence, with riots sparked by the sacking of nearly 600 soldiers. In the months since then, around 30 people have been killed, a Prime Minister has resigned and tens of thousands of people still live in refugee camps in Dili.
And as the country still struggles to get back on its feet, the International Crisis Group has warned that the worst period in East Timor's short independent history is not over yet.
On Radio Australia, the group's South-East Asia Director Sidney Jones said East Timor would remain in limbo as it awaits the results of a United Nations inquiry into the recent turmoil.
Sidney Jones: Everyone is waiting to see who is going to be held responsible for different incidents and no one wants to take any moves to, for example, move towards restructuring the security services or look towards prosecuting anybody who was responsible for anything that happened from January until the present, until those findings come out.
Anne Barker: The ICG pinpoints numerous causes for East Timor's crisis, including years of unresolved infighting in the ruling Fretilin Party, the politicisation of the country's security forces and the rivalries between an authoritarian Fretilin and the largely powerless President, Xanana Gusmao.
It's widely expected the UN report will sheet home the blame to as many as 100 senior political and security figures, and recommend many face criminal charges. Sidney Jones says the findings will be explosive.
Sidney Jones: If it suggests that a people in the Alkatiri camp, for example, were responsible for some incidents, they're going to be very unhappy.
If Mari Alkatiri himself is exonerated, people who believe that he or Fretilin more generally were involved in distributing arms to civilians, they're going to be very unhappy even though their own analysis of the situation may be flawed.
There's also the problem that people who are satisfied that the names that the Commission gives are in fact the correct ones, are going to expect that justice be done instantly. And it's not at all clear how justice is going to be done when you've got a very, very problematic court system in Dili.
Anne Barker: Among its recommendations, the report calls on both Xanana Gusmao and Mari Alkatiri, who's still the Secretary- General of Fretilin, to leave politics altogether to allow new leaders to emerge.
Jose Ramos Horta is in Australia this week and says Xanana Gusmao said only recently that he didn't plan to stand again at next year's elections. But he says what the report's authors think is best for East Timor doesn't necessarily match reality.
Jose Ramos Horta: I have been travelling throughout the country since the crisis, every conceivable place you can think of, neighbourhoods, even talking with the gangs, with youth. I have not found one single individual in the country that says Xanana Gusmao should not run. Quite the contrary. As recently as a few days ago people were telling me we must tell Xanana he has to stand for a second term, but he seems to be determined not to.
Anne Barker: It was Jose Ramos Horta who asked the United Nations in June to hold its inquiry into the recent crisis, but unlike many, the Prime Minister says he's confident the UN report won't lead to more violence.
Jose Ramos Horta: I'm confident that we will react to it with serenity, because the vast majority of people don't want violence and the political leaders obviously in the last few weeks have shown responsibility and maturity, so I'm more confident than some observers who have expressed, and legitimately, rightly so, some concern about the possibility of violence.
Peter Cave: East Timor's Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta in Canberra.
| Political/social crisis |
Associated Press - October 23, 2006
Two men were stabbed to death after evening prayers in East Timor, a hospital director said, in the latest violence to disrupt the tiny nation since foreign peacekeepers arrived in May.
Four other people were injured in the fighting on Sunday night between rival gangs in the capital, Dili, Antonio Caleres, director of the Dili National Hospital, told The Associated Press.
Stone throwing between two groups of youths spread to the Aimutin Catholic Church, where windows were smashed before the unidentified men were stabbed, witnesses said. The two men were killed within blocks of the church.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony occupied by Indonesia until 1999, plunged into crisis in April after nearly 600 soldiers were dismissed for going on strike to protest alleged discrimination.
Violence spilled into gang warfare, looting and arson that left at least 33 people dead and sent 150,000 fleeing from their homes.
Calm largely returned with the arrival of international troops and the installation of a new government, but isolated incidents still occur.
ABC TV Lateline - October 10, 2006
Reporter: Tony Jones
Tony Jones: Well, we're joined now by the East Timorese Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, and, as you've seen, he's just come from delivering the Hal Wooten lecture at the law faculty of the University of New South Wales. As we said earlier, he'll be meeting the Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday. Thank you for joining us, Jose Ramos Horta.
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Thank you, Tony.
Tony Jones: I'm sure you're aware of the recent SBS television report, hinting darkly that Australia may have been involved behind the scenes in a coup against Prime Minister Alkatiri. What's your response to those allegations? We've certainly not heard it so far.
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Well, that is absolute nonsense. I was a member of Alkatiri's Cabinet. I was very familiar with his own leadership, in terms of negotiation with Australia on the Timor Sea arrangements. He was the one who successfully secured agreement – two important agreements, which providing us with the normal revenues that making us financial independent. And he's the one who led the negotiations on the second agreement on greatest horizon maritime boundary, and he was praised for that. So, I don't see any other reason – what the reason that Australia would want him out.
No, that's absolute nonsense. I always say, you know when we fail, we are civilised leaders, we should have the courage and the humility to say. So we fail in many respects. We succeed in others. Mari Alkatiri succeeded in many aspects of his governance for the first four years but, on the issues of the military, on the police, the way we handle the problem over the petitioners, we should have handled it two years ago, three years ago – we didn't. The way there were alarms on our police behaviour, abuse by the police – all of that. We failed, and it is the accumulation of unresolved problems that led to the violence in April, May.
Tony Jones: The allegations on the SBS Dateline program, put baldly, is that last year two senior army officers were approached by two Timorese and two English speaking foreigners to encourage them to mount a coup to depose the then Prime Minister Alkatiri. You give no credence to that at all?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Well, that is absolute nonsense. Of course there are many individuals in the country, including the church, the powerful church – we must respect the church that, way back in May 2005, mounted a month long protest, wanting the dismissal of Prime Minister Alkatiri. So, there is strong native home grown resentment towards our government, towards Dr Alkatiri in particular. So, that is not new at all. But, from there, to say that some English speaking individuals well, maybe, who knows? They could be from any country. How many English speaking countries are there in the world? But to immediately point the finger at Australia or any other neighbour of ours, it's just plain wrong. I'm familiar with – I would have known, you know, and I know there was no involvement from Australia, the US or Indonesia or anyone in our troubles.
Tony Jones: In the same interview Mr Alkatiri suggests a motive. He says that he was moving against Australia's interests by commissioning an independent feasibility study into having a pipeline to take gas from the Sunshine oil fields directly to East Timor and to build an ENG – LPG plant in East Timor. Do you know anything about this?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: That's – that's absolute nonsense. Well, yeah, he has not moved on his independent commission – I move in on the independent commission. I have secured the agreement from the Kuwaities to pay for the independent commission. The Australian side, both the government as well as Woodside, Konoko Phillips, they all agree with these independent study to establish the technical feasibility, the commercial feasibility, but beyond the technical feasibility and the commercial feasibility of a pipeline going either direct to Darwin or Australia, we have the Timorese – we have to be realistic to wonder whether there are not legitimate concerns on the part of Woodside, Konoko Phillips, about sovereign risks. If I were an investor from Australia or from the US and I have to decide to put an investment in Darwin which is rock solid stable and in my own country, East Timor, well, what would be the choice? Not so difficult. So we are the ones who have to be smart and find maybe some other incentives to lure the investment into our country, in spite of the sovereign risks, rather than start blaming some outside entities.
Tony Jones: So, you are – by the sound of it, you would accept that a pipeline to East Timor is not really feasible?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: No. a) I want the pipeline to come to East Timor. Why not? Far closer to East Timor. But that is my desire. My desire doesn't mean necessarily that this is the best option. That's why we say let's have an independent study, neutral from East Timor and Australia, that determines is it technically advisable? Most people say, yes, it's possible to do that. But being technical adviser doesn't mean necessarily there are no risks. We don't know yet the content of the subsoil between Australia and East Timor. But, beyond that, building a pipeline to Timor and building an entire infrastructures non existent in Timor to accommodate the gas plant and all of that could be immensely cost. So, we have to see and that's why we decided, all along, Dr Alkatiri in the past and myself, let's accept and go for independent study and then accept their recommendations. And so I already decided, have told the Timor Sea authority and others, my colleagues, the minister for energy, with the Kuwait offer, to move fast on this study.
Tony Jones: Now, what's going to happen in your Parliament with a ratification of this oil and gas deal? It hasn't been ratified yet in East Timor or in Australia, as it happens. Are you going to wait until this feasibility study is completed before finally ratifying the deal?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: No, it doesn't have to wait for that. I have already scheduled for discussion in my own Cabinet and then I hope that some time in November it will be voted in our national Parliament. This Greater Sunrise agreement – we began negotiations under the Alkatiri leadership, Fretilin leadership, way back, some three years ago. We cannot run the risk of being thoroughly discredited internationally – that we negotiate an agreement lasting several years, with many, many top experts on all sides involved. We brought in Norwegians, Americans, Portuguese, Malaysians, Singaporeans – advising us. And then, in the end, we say, "Sorry, but we signed agreement with the Prime Minister but now we change our minds." We are not kids, we are not children. We would look absolutely irresponsible. We would not be trusted in the region and internationally if we start negotiation or agreement – we have signed agreement and then have second thoughts and say, "Well, sorry, we are not going to ratify this."
Tony Jones: It's estimated that East Timor's share of the royalties will be more than $US20 billion over the next two decades. Do you have a specific economic plan of what you're going to do with those royalties?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Well, Tony, if, obviously, I were the Prime Minister beyond May 2007 -
Tony Jones: We'll come to that question in a moment, because I know you made a statement about that today. We'll see whether you're going to stand by it.
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Yeah. Well, what I say is that we have the money from – we have $700 million in a petroleum fund. We are financially independent, although we still have considerable assistance for our economic development. But our budget is almost 100 per cent funded by the Timor Sea resources. What should we do with it? My belief, the belief of all my colleagues in the Cabinet and in the country, we should use the money from the Timor Sea to combat poverty. And how you do it? Well, you can do it two ways. Line up everybody from one end of the island to another and start to distribute cash. I'm not going to do that. We have to invest more in education, in health. That is part of development. We have to invest more in infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, a new port that we badly need, housing for the poor. For centuries our people don't have housing. Well, the other day I was telling my Cabinet we must quickly develop a master plan to build housing for the poor of the country, for the widows, for the veterans, for civil servants, and most people agree with that. So, in the next few weeks, we will do that, and also I have asked the World Bank and IMF to advise my government to review the entire fiscal policy, to review the entire tax system, to make it more attractive for investors, both foreigners and local. We have a cumbersome tax system. We have a very complicated bureaucracy and regulations that really hamper efforts to inject money into the economy. So, in the next few weeks, we might see some significant changes in the way we govern the country.
Tony Jones: One of the problems, obviously, for small countries handling large sums of money in the past, and there are plenty of examples of this, is the corruption and maladministration means these large sums of money can be frittered away. How are you going to prevent that from happening?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Well, one thing I call a party congress in Dili the other day, talking to the nation. I said, "I, Jose Ramos-Horta – I can accept any charges against me as an incompetent Prime Minister, but no one would ever be able to accuse me of stealing the money from the people." So fighting corruption is one of our priorities and fair to say from my predecessor Dr Alkatiri, he was also very, very serious on these issues. At the top leadership level of my country we are committed to that. The important thing is that we give incentives to the civil servants, so that they don't feel the need to steal $50, $100 here and there to feed their children. And as soon as I took office I called in the Inspector-General. He is the one who conducts inspection into the practice, the behaviour of state institutions and the government leaders, and I told him, "Don't waste time with petty corruption of individuals in the bureaucracy who have – who might get $10 here and there to feed children. Pay attention to us, the big fish. If there is corruption, serious corruption, it always starts from those in power. We are the ones who enable corruption, by closing our eyes or by, unfortunately, being directly involved." If we in the leadership level – we are very are tight in this, we are able to prevent Timor from falling into the corruption trap of many other developing countries.
Tony Jones: OK, Jose Ramos-Horta, you've just laid out a plan for a number of years hence and yet you are actually saying, and said so today, on the PM program that you're not even going to run for Prime Minister in the next election, next year. Are you serious about that?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Yes, I'm dead serious about that. I'm an individual, primarily with sentiments, with feelings, and I sincerely believe that the new generation of our country should take the reins of the government of the country.
Tony Jones: But what if that new generation and indeed the new party, which you are now endorsing and spoke to very passionately not so long ago, ask you to reconsider that position and to run as Prime Minister because they need an experienced hand, not an inexperienced young person?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Well, first I have to say I am not involved with any party whatsoever yet, at least. I work with all of them. I seek to support them in creating level playing field for all the parties to have the same chances in the coming election, 2007. If and that is a big 'if'- in an extreme scenario where out of a million or so people in my country they can't find someone else for a president or for prime minister, then I might – and I emphasise "I might" consider. I gave more than 30 years of my life for the country to be free. There are many, good young leaders in the country. I'm impressed with many of them. People in their late 20s, their 30s and after all, what we, the older generation have shown to them. Well, many admire us for what they achieve, but the recent crisis, you know, is our responsibility and should they continue to trust us? Or they should be courageous, have a chance, take the leadership and we and President Xanana stand behind them and give them a chance, support them. That is my preference.
Tony Jones: Finally I have to ask you, are you preparing for possible bad news from the UN inquiry? By which I mean, are you worried that political allies of yours, are you worried that senior military people that you've associated yourself with could be implicated in the violence by the UN report?
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta: Well, there are some aspects of the report, I presume, that will not constitute news. The killing of the police civilians, civilian police elements in Dili – that was in broad daylight, everybody knows who did it. That was done by the military. The distribution of weapons everybody knows. On the part of the government, at least one person acknowledged that the former Minister of Interior – but what is not known is whether it is true or not the allegations that Dr Alkatiri actually directly or indirectly was involved. I doubt – I've said back then and today I emphasise it again. But the problem is that there is a certain perception readiness in the country to judge a particular individual in a certain fashion, and if the report turns out to be different from their perception, that expectation, that's when they might be angry. But I hope that all of us accept the report with honesty, with humility, because I believe the report will be very enlightening to us about our mistakes, the weakness of the institutions, including of the United Nations, and then let the judiciary take its course. If there is criminal evidence against particular individuals, then let the Prosecutor General of the court do their job.
Tony Martin: Jose Ramos-Horta, we are out of time. We could probably speak longer on these subjects. I'm sure others will be talking to you about them very soon. We thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us tonight. DR Jose Ramos-Horta: Thank you.
New Matilda - October 4, 2006
Carmela Baranowska – When the Australian Federal Police (AFP) fired tear gas towards the refugee camp, the young men who had launched the initial attack with stones and bows and arrows had already fled. But they had run away from the refugees in the opposite direction and not towards the camp. Some but not all of the young men living inside the camp had reacted by throwing rocks in retaliation. These small details are important, as will become apparent later.
Next door to the most expensive hotel in East Timor, in a park which has seen both Portuguese and Indonesian citizens sit and relax, live some of the capital's most destitute residents. They have been sleeping under tarpaulins as refugees for the past four months. Despite repeated requests to the UNHCR, they have not been provided with proper tents, as has happened in most of the other camps where the UN agency's name acts as both universal signifier and logo.
A steady stream of diplomats, UN bureaucrats, opposition politicians and Portuguese school teachers sit and drink espressos and eat pasteis de nata in Hotel Timor's chic bistro. But the refugees – or in aid-speak, 'internally displaced people' – who live in a parallel geographic world, have nowhere to go. Their houses have been burnt down and their possessions stolen.
While schools, the public service and government all function by day, by night many public servants, members of parliament and even government ministers return to sleep under tents. People are beginning to question whether the four-month-old crisis will ever end – and importantly, how East Timor's leaders will resolve the present impasse.
Dili is in limbo. Its leaders and many of its residents have staked all of their hopes on the release of the report of the International Special Inquiry Commission into the events of April and May 2006, which is due in the next week. Not everyone will be satisfied, and unconfirmed reports of guns secretly moving across the Indonesian border to the Western districts have been doing the rounds for the past few weeks. The situation remains unstable, despite the fact that East Timor has dropped off the international media's radar.
On Thursday 28 September, when the AFP, the Portuguese Guardia Nacional Republicana (GNR) and Malaysian police launched their joint attack on the refugee camp, it was hot and life in Dili was going on in its usual soporific late afternoon way.
The Malaysian police, bearing sawn off semi-automatic rifles, repeatedly attempted to stop me from filming. It was laughable really, and in the end they had to give up. They turned their attention to knocking down makeshift tables and kicking over chairs while some refugees sat and impassively watched the arrest of young men.
Malaysian police called the East Timorese 'dogs' and AFP officers described East Timor as 'this fucking nation' according to refugees I spoke to immediately after the attack. The GNR told the refugees they were there 'to maintain calm and security.' Unfortunately they only spoke Portuguese and not one Tetum- speaking translator was working alongside any of the police forces.
Other refugees were vocal in their criticisms. They claimed that the wrong young men were arrested. They wanted to know why tear gas was fired so close to a refugee camp, where most of the residents are women with small children. "What have we done wrong?" a young woman asked me, "it was the young men who came here and provoked the attack by firing bows and arrows. The police haven't done the right thing here."
"The only thing the Government knows is how to divide the people," another woman told me. "They don't know how to look after the people, all they're interested in is money. People have no rights. Some people were just sitting quietly. We're only ordinary people here. Our possessions are all gone and we're still suffering."
Twenty-eight young men were arrested on 28 September. Three days later they were all released. The first time I visited this camp was in mid-June, when I sat and watched the local news with Elizaria, a high school teacher in her late 40s who is from the Eastern tip of East Timor. Alfredo Reinado, the renegade police military commander, was beginning to hand over his weapons to Australian soldiers in Maubisse. Elizaria was happy that Reinado no longer seemed to be a threat but she told me sadly that she could not return home as her house had been burnt down.
Now, four months later, Reinado is on the run again. According to sources, he freely travels around the western-most part of East Timor. He is still armed, as is the 'Rai Los' group (led by Vicente da Conceicao, who claimed on ABC TV's Four Corners that Alkatiri ordered him to set up a hit squad to wipe out opponents), which is based in Liquica and staying at the coffee estate of the President of the Social Democratic Party, Mario Carrascalao.
Elizaria no longer works as a high school teacher as she does not feel safe in her school. Her 20-year-old son was wounded by gunfire during an attack by ex-East Timor National Police officers on 1 September at the camp opposite the hotel. He is waiting to be evacuated to Australia and the bullet is still lodged in his back. Elizaria visits him everyday in the hospital.
"Young people are traumatised," she told me. "That is why they are involved in these activities. I feel very sad and I often feel like crying because our leaders are not interested in our plight."
Today I visited Elizaria and her son in the hospital. Dili's National Hospital has also become a refugee camp. In the past few months it has been attacked by different gangs. Some people no longer felt safe seeking treatment there. There is no running water and the families of patients must queue at the front gate and fill their buckets and containers with water from a pipe which runs continuously. Up to 10 days ago even the city's taxi drivers were too afraid to enter its main entrance. Now East Timorese security guards stand at the different entrances but if there is a sustained attack they will be helpless to stop it.
For Elizaria and her son and the other refugees in the hospital, these conditions are now a reality of everyday life.
[Carmela Baranowska has been filming in East Timor since March 1999. She was the only Australian journalist continuously living in Dili during the May-July 2006 crisis.]
SBS Dateline - October 4, 2006
With their leaders continuing to bicker over their political differences, there's no end in sight to the troubles of the hapless East Timorese. The conflict goes on, albeit sporadically these days, though just last week, the ruling Fretilin Party's headquarters in Dili were torched. But what about the ordinary East Timorese? They're among the poorest people in the world, and after the recent violent upheavals, some 150,000 of them are surviving in refugee camps. David O'Shea spent some time with them.
Reporter: David O'Shea
Jose (Translation): This is a drawing of the East Timorese flag.
These children are trying to forget the trauma of fleeing their homes. For the past five months, 'home' has been a refugee camp at Dili airport. This is Jose, a refugee who's volunteered to help keep the children busy.
Jose: Sometimes we feel very sad because we do not know in an uncertain time, we do not know when we can go home. That sometimes makes us feel a bit sad about it, but with this kind of activity, we can minimise the fear and the stress or depression.
There are still almost 60 camps for 150,000 internally displaced people in East Timor. Many have had their homes looted and burned. They fled here with nothing, they're going nowhere, and they're getting by as best they can.
John Boscoe, Refugee (Translation): The tents are too hot, so we built these. They don't keep the rain out, but they're not as hot.
John Bosco fled to the airport with his family back in April at the first sign of trouble. He's been here ever since. John offers to show me what life is like for the refugees here.
John Boscoe (Translation): We've got no beds or anything. When it happened, we ran away. We had to leave everything behind. Since then, we've asked friends for help. We've got a few things from our friends. It's like this for us every day. Good morning. Morning!
The refugees here are mostly easterners and have been threatened by mobs from the west.
John Boscoe (Translation): This is our life. We want to go out, but we feel threatened, so we just stay in our tents. Although it's hot, we stay here because we're afraid.
Girl (Translation): When things are better, we'll go home.
Reporter (Translation): But it's not better yet?
Girl (Translation): There are still disturbances in our neighbourhood.
Reporter (Translation): Every night?
Girl (Translation): Yes, every night.
John says that when he and some friends tried to go home they were attacked, and one of them was stabbed. But worse than the fear is the feeling that the refugees are pawns in a political game.
John Boscoe (Translation): Even those people, our brothers, the ones who behave brutally, burning and looting, even they know that they're being used. We in the camps are also being used, we're also victims. We have suffered too much. If the government want to kill us all they can take us to a field and shoot us. Better to die than suffer.
Arsenio Bano, Minister for Labour and Community Reinsertion: All of these are maps that we identify different camps.
The government minister responsible for managing the camps is Arsenio Bano. He says the refugees won't go home until East Timor's leaders show some unity.
Arsenio Bano: We need to have a common understanding or effort by everyone in this country that we are sending one message of how to be able to calm down the situation, because it is not only a sectarian problem – it is most likely a politically motivated problem which makes it so difficult to handle from the humanitarian aspect.
Outside of Dili we pass thousands more displaced people. I've joined the United Nations World Food Program on a field trip to assess humanitarian needs in the east of the country. It's not only the refugees who are suffering here. Life for most East Timorese is a struggle at the best of times and aid agencies were warning of widespread malnutrition even before the current crisis.
Rasmus Egendal, WFP Emergency Coordinator: At WFP we've done some surveys and we estimate about 350,000 people on average in any given year do not have access to enough food to meet their minimum kilocalorie requirements. That means they don't have enough food, they don't have money to buy enough food or the household doesn't produce enough food.
This family is like many others in East Timor. They have no land to farm, so they rarely eat vegetables, beans or eggs. The father ekes out a living selling fish, but the family only gets to eat fish once or twice a month. The 'blonding' of the children's hair indicates significant protein deficiency and all of them are stunted.
Rasmus Egendal: That child there is seven years old – she probably has the height of a 5-year-old. They don't get enough food, they don't get the right kind of food for them to grow at a normal level.
According to the World Food Program, almost 10% of East Timorese children die before their first birthday. Of those who survive, close to half are underweight or stunted and 12% are severely malnourished. Emergency coordinator Rasmus Egendal says there are long-term consequences for the country if malnutrition is not eradicated.
Rasmus Egendal: Their growth is stunted, their mental development is not as it's supposed to be, so many kids die. When they go to school, they don't have the same capacity to develop, so for a nation like this that is struggling to come back after this bumpy period it's been through, that's a serious problem.
Is this the rice? The rice. They already ate once today?
Translator: Lunch and dinner.
Rasmus Egendal: What do they eat with this?
Translator: No more, only this – only rice.
Rasmus Egendal: What is in this pot? It's empty. OK. So do they eat any vegetables with this?
Translator: No, only this.
Even those with land to farm are doing it tough. Like farmers all round here, this family is feeling the effects of two years of bad harvests. This young mother is pregnant with her second child. Egendal wants her to visit the local clinic where she can pick up dietary supplements and doctors can monitor the baby's growth.
Rasmus Egendal: She doesn't go if she doesn't have a problem? OK, so that doesn't work very well in terms of growth, so she doesn't really understand how to go.
Whether she understands or not, it costs money and time to reach the clinic and her main concern is finding enough to eat each day.
Rasmus Egendal: We can't do anything about the poor agriculture and we don't want to provide free food, but we can do a supplementary program, so the mothers – they go to the clinics, and you bring some support to the children and the pregnant women and also the mothers that are still breastfeeding.
Egendal has brought me to see the local health clinic. It's doing its best to provide for the needs of locals here in the east, as well as the influx of refugees from Dili. This young woman's first child died and she's now pregnant with her second.
Reporter (Translation): How many months are you?
Woman (Translation): Six months.
Rasmus Egendal: Does she understand about children. Does she understand what she has to do?
Translator: Yes, she understands.
Rasmus Egendal: Every month?
Translator: Yes, every month.
Rasmus Egendal: Every month to the health clinic to weigh, to measure the child.
The World Food program says the current crisis is making a critical situation even worse.
Rasmus Egendal: If anything should happen, if there is some sort of generalised violence or any kind of shock, these people can very quickly get into a situation where the acute malnutrition raises to a level where the kids are at risk of dying or getting diseases.
This woman is 1 of 300 Cuban doctors brought into East Timor by former prime minister Mari Alkatiri. She says she was shocked to see the level of poverty here.
Cuban Doctor (Translation): Out of 1,000 children, almost half will be under-nourished. Almost half of them have malnutrition problems. It's disconcerting to find so many under-nourished children.
She has found the Timorese have been through so much, yet expect so little.
Cuban Doctor (Translation): They don't know any better, they think life's like that. Living in those conditions without the minimum... It's hard to see them not knowing life could be better. Sometimes you feel impotent. You don't know how to help. Often there are no resources, so it's hard.
On the way back to the capital, we find more displaced people. Instead of fleeing to a refugee camp, these people moved onto their family's land.
Rasmus Egendal: 10 people sleep in here. 10 people sleep in this house? That's a lot. And their house was burned?
Woman: No, just broken.
Rasmus Egendal: OK, just broken. Just imagine if they are here when the rainy season starts.
Back at Dili's airport, the refugees are also worried about the rainy season, now just a few weeks away.
John Boscoe (Translation): Even now, many children are dying. When the rainy season starts it will be worse. It's dry now, but when it rains it becomes a catchment area. This place is like a dam that holds water from upstream.
Five months after the violence started, three months after a new prime minister was installed, and despite the presence of international peacekeepers, the outlook is still grim for these families. It has left many in despair about East Timor's leaders.
John Boscoe (Translation): They are not capable of fixing this problem and they are not capable of running the country. So independence – what for? But I am very emotional, so I say that because we have suffered enough. Life is too hard. We have lost too many family members. It's too hard.
Radio Australia - October 2, 2006
The U-N mission in East Timor has been thrown into disarray with the appointment of the new mission chief revoked. Antonio Macarenhas Monteiro was appointed as Timor's new UN envoy earlier this month to replace the outgoing Sukehiro Hasegawa. That leaves Timor without a U-N head of mission and the timing couldn't be worse, with more violence on the streets of Dili this week.
Presenter/Interviewer: Linda LoPresti
Speakers: Finne Reske-Nielson, UN's acting envoy in East Timor
Reske-Nielson: I'm actually not in the position to tell you anything about that, because these are decisions that have been made in New York and I only have the same information that you have in terms of what the situation is regarding the appointment of the new special representative secretary-general. As you know, Mr Hasegawa, ended his assignment here last Friday and the secretary-general then asked me to assume the functions as acting special representative pending the appointment of the substantive UN representative, that's all I can share with you at this point in time.
Lopresti: Well if asked, would you consider being Timor's UN permanent envoy?
Reske-Nielson: I have no comment to make on that, because it is the perogative of the secretary-general to make the appointment and he's asked me to be the acting special representative and I've taken on those functions as of last Friday.
Lopresti: All right, well let's talk about the situation in Timor. Mr Hasegawa's in his final press conference warned that Timor could be sucked into a black hole of conflict, given the violence early this year and the continuing tensions in Dili. And just this week, there was more tension on the streets of Dili with riot police being called in to use tear gas to disperse groups of youths. How do you see the security situation in Dili at this time?
Reske-Nielson: Over the past few days, we have seen an increase in the level of violence and the security situation remains fragile and volatile, especially in Dili. We've seen a situation where there's been violent confrontations between rival factions and this is I suspect in part gang related and in part linking with the political situation in the country.
Lopresti: There's still a situation where there are tens-of- thousands of East Timorese in refugee camps still too afraid to return home. What is the UN doing to ease that situation?
Reske-Nielson: Well, first the immediate concern is to ensure that sufficient humanitarian supports provided to these people in the camps that we still have dotted around Dili in the Dili area. And that humanitarian support has now been provided for several months and that is proceeding smoothly and all the basic needs are taken care of.
As regards the finding a solution to this problem, we are engaged in consultations with the government and all the other players in order to help facilitate a dialogue hopefully leading to reconciliation both at the leadership level and at the community level.
Lopresti: Isn't your view that the UN has lifted its game in Timor, given that it did come under some criticism for its handling of the violence early this year, even by Kofi Annan. Do you believe now that the UN is actually taking a greater role, a greater responsibility?
Reske-Nielson: If we go back to the beginning of the year, the decisions that were made by the Security Council were that the UN mission should be more or less phased out at the end of its regular mandate in May. But following the events of April and May, the Security Council has of course since decided to upgrade the mission significantly and to give it a much broader mandate than the previous mission had. So I don't think there's any doubt that we have lifted our game in Timor.
lopresti: Now next year, Timor will hold presidential and parliamentary elections. How involved will the UN be in that election process to ensure that there is a new culture of democratic governance in East Timor?
Reske-Nielson: The mandate that we have been given by the UN Security Council is to provide technical and logistical support, including policy advice to the electoral process and we have also been authorised to verify or certify the elections and the way this is being operationalised, is that we will have a rather large electoral component under the new mission which will compromise well over 400 electoral advisers and United Nations volunteers that would provide the logistical and technical support.
At the same time, it is expected that there would be an independent certification team compromised of internationally renowned electoral experts who will be charged to monitor the electoral process and at the end of each phase certify that it has been conducted in accordance with internationally accepted standards.
Lopresti: And given that Mr Hasegawa has departed from his role as the UN envoy in Timor, and given that Mr Monteiro's appointment has been evoked. Do you expect to be in Timor next year for those elections?
Reske-Nielson: Well I expect to be here, because I have been in this country since the beginning of September when I was appointed by the secretary-general as deputy special representative for a one year period, with particular responsibility for the electoral process.
Agence France Presse - October 1, 2006
Dili – Unidentified men set the Dili headquarters of East Timor's main political party Fretilin on fire today, but there were no casualties, a member of the fire brigade said.
The fire partially gutted the office building and spread to three nearby homes, sending plumes of thick black smoke into the air.
"The fire started around 7.30am (2230 Saturday GMT) and spread from the Fretilin office to three houses," a member of Dili's fire brigade, Juvencio Madeira, said. Madeira said no-one was injured in the fire.
Fretilin is the ruling party in East Timor and former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, who stepped down after a breakdown in law and order in May, is its secretary-general. Alkatiri's replacement, Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, does not belong to any political party.
| Health & education |
Prensa Latina - October 5, 2006
Dili – East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao expressed on Thursday his gratitude for the Cuban medical and education cooperation in his nation and pleaded for its continued development and expansion to other fields.
While receiving the credentials of Ramon Hernandez Vazquez, first Cuban ambassador to this nation, Gusmao warmly recognized that the island has sent over 280 medical staff members to help out.
He also appreciated that the Caribbean nation offered scholarships to 508 East Timorese youngsters, technical cooperation to train 60 students in medicine in the Asian state and teachers to eradicate illiteracy.
The president lamented his absence at the 14th Summit of the Non Aligned Movement in Havana and sincerely wished President Fidel Castro a swift recovery.
In addition, Gusmao reaffirmed the willingness of his people and government to foster friendship, cooperation and solidarity ties with Cuba.
| Economy & investment |
Associated Press - October 12, 2006
Canberra – East Timor's parliament will next month consider ratifying a revenue sharing treaty with Australia covering Timor Sea energy resources that would remove one of the stumbling blocks to the development of a major oil and gas project, East Timor's prime minister said Thursday.
Under an accord signed in January, Australia and East Timor will equally share revenue from the seabed Greater Sunrise oil and gas field. Australia plans to ratify the deal after it has been endorsed by East Timor's parliament.
"I have scheduled the treaty for discussion in the Cabinet, maybe next week or the week after, and definitely then it will be brought to the parliament in sometime in November for ratification," East Timor's Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta told reporters after meeting his Australian counterpart John Howard.
Ramos-Horta has previously said he didn't anticipate any difficulty in getting the parliament to ratify the treaty.
Australian energy company Woodside Petroleum Ltd. owns and operates 33.4 percent of Sunrise, located 150 kilometers 150 (93 miles) south of East Timor. Its partners are ConocoPhillips with 30 percent, Royal Dutch Shell PLC with 26.6 percent and Japan's Osaka Gas Co. with 10 percent.
Greater Sunrise – the largest known petroleum resource in the Timor Sea – includes the Sunrise and Troubadour fields, which together hold about 8 trillion cubic feet of gas and about 300 million barrels of oil and may be worth up to US$40 billion ( billion).
The Sunrise partners are yet to decide where the gas will be processed, with Woodside favoring the Australian port city of Darwin and the East Timor government pushing for it to be processed in its country.
Australia and East Timor also signed a security agreement covering the Timor Sea oil and gas fields on Thursday. The security pact will allow each country to conduct surveillance operations and to respond – separately or cooperatively – to any threats to offshore oil platforms and facilities in the area.
| Opinion & analysis |
Asia Times - October 31, 2006
Mario de Queiroz, Lisbon – After centuries of Portuguese colonialism and more than two decades of Indonesian military occupation, instability and violence continue to plague East Timor, simultaneously one of the world's newest and poorest nations.
Since East Timor won independence in May 2002, grave uncertainty has marked the future of the small, resource-rich island nation. Violent clashes that started this April and peaked in June are now kicking up again, indicating that the island's long struggle for freedom has now morphed into a violent fight for power among competitive armed groups.
Last week rival groups of marauding youths primitively fought one another with knives, machetes and bows and arrows, set fire to houses and, significantly, attacked the 1,600-strong foreign peacekeeping contingent, which landed in May and is made up mainly of Australian troops, with smaller contingents of Malaysians, New Zealanders and Portuguese. At least four people have died in the latest surge in violence.
That augurs ill for those who hoped foreign intervention and the July 8 appointment of former Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta would quell the violence and help to reconcile competitive groups inside the police and military. Rather, the recent disturbances have been interpreted by Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, the current commander-in-chief of the armed forces, as an attempt to overthrow the new government.
He says the main objectives of the violent gangs are "the collapse of the executive branch, the dissolution of parliament, and the establishment of a government of national unity". Matan Ruak, a Ramos-Horta loyalist, was a legendary guerrilla leader who fought against the occupying Indonesians for 25 years.
Rioters have recently targeted international peacekeepers, notably after Australian troops shot tear gas last week into an improvised refugee camp, which injured a child near the airport in Dili, the capital. Australian troops also reportedly opened fire that same day when a man approached them in a perceived threatening manner. The director of the Dili hospital, Antonio Calere, told Portuguese reporters that four people were killed and 47 injured last week. Two Portuguese soldiers and one Australian were among the injured.
The United Nations Office in East Timor (UNOTIL) has since called for the replacement of Australian troops with UN police officers, who would be led by Antero Lopes of Portugal and include soldiers from Portugal, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Acting Police Commissioner Lopes told the Portuguese press that the violence last Wednesday reached the worst level since June, when more than 20,000 Timorese fled the capital for the nearby hills.
Ramos-Horta said by telephone from Rome – where he was visiting the Vatican to invite Pope Benedict XVI to visit East Timor – that "different groups in Timor are trying to manipulate the foreign military forces, alternately accusing the Portuguese and the Australians".
"Members of a group that was neutralized by the Australians accuse them of supporting the other side, and members of a group neutralized by the Portuguese accuse the Portuguese of favoring the other side. It's a never-ending story," said Ramos-Horta, who concurrently serves as the country's defense chief.
"The Australian, New Zealand, Malaysian and Portuguese forces went to East Timor at the request of the presidency, parliament and the government. In general, the troops have behaved in an exemplary manner. Incidents have occurred, but they have never been deliberate," he said.
That's not necessarily how the UN Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste, which was established to investigate the causes and culprits of the recent violence that led to at least 40 deaths and triggered the ongoing crisis, views the situation. Released last month, the UN inquiry recommended that some 90 high-ranking Timorese officials and others be investigated and, if the evidence warranted, prosecuted in local courts. One top official named by the UN commission: army commander-in-chief Matan Ruak.
Ramos-Horta said in the interview that the armed forces and Matan Ruak had already "presented public apologies" after the UN special commission issued the results of its investigation. "It is very rare for a military force anywhere in the world to show such integrity, courage and humility, an attitude that will help cure many wounds in our society," he stated.
In late June, East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao asked for the resignation of prime minister Mari Alkatiri and defense minister Roque Rodrigues, and named then-foreign minister Ramos-Horta to both posts. The reason given for the move was alleged discrimination against the Loromunus ethnic group from the western part of the island by the Lorosae from the east, who significantly have much greater representation in the armed forces and police.
But analysts in Portugal and Australia say the problem is not so much ethnic as economic. They point in particular to the competitive interest for political control over the country's vast oil and natural-gas reserves. Once brought online, those reserves are expected to lift significantly the country's gross domestic product per capita of about US$400 and help solve the country's endemic unemployment.
"We do not have a middle class in the real sense of the word, nor any significant private sector, and I say that because no country develops without a private sector and a middle class," Ramos- Horta said. "As everyone knows, this takes many years to develop. Sometimes people forget that we are only in our fourth year of independence."
For his part, Matan Ruak has said a parliamentary investigation commission should be set up "to guarantee a rapid return to peace". The aim of the commission would be "to determine the objectives and strategies" of the violent groups "and identify the moral and intellectual authors behind the crisis – and, above all, to hold them accountable".
Ramos-Horta said it was "only natural" that the UN would call for further investigations. "It is the responsibility of the attorney general to determine whether or not that is necessary," he said, adding: "For my part, I continue to have full confidence in Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak."
Unfortunately, not everyone else that matters is in agreement. Major Alfredo Reinado, who deserted the armed forces with a group of his military followers in June, is still holed up in the jungle. Ousted prime minister Alkatiri is still disgruntled and politically powerful. And the prognosis from the streets is for more violence in the weeks ahead.
[Inter Press Service.]
Bangkok Post - October 28, 2006
Matthew B Arnold – With America's adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan faltering and United Nations peace-keeping missions stretched thin and struggling from Haiti to the Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the world is looking for proof that "interventionism" can produce positive results, especially for the longer term.
The world's intercession in East Timor has often been hailed as the best example of a successful intervention by the international community acting through the United Nations which, following a referendum in East Timor that voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999, took stewardship of the world's newest country until 2002 when it gained full independence.
However, after over five years of relative calm, East Timor was wracked anew by political violence in April and May this year that left over 100,000 East Timorese displaced and prompted nearly 3,000 foreign troops, led by Australia, to be rushed back to the freshly chaotic country.
The political violence first erupted after the dismissal of hundreds of members of the army, who had complained of ethnic discrimination.
This initial catalyst for domestic tension soon evolved into an internal power struggle within the ruling Fretilin party, prompting clashes between various security forces and running street battles involving mobs of youths.
Ultimately, the crisis provoked mass protests, which led to the resignation of the prime minister.
Following the violence, the East Timor government asked the UN to conduct an inquiry into the incidents of April and May. The report detailing the UN's findings was released in the middle of October and argued that "the crisis... can be explained largely by the frailty of state institutions and the weakness of the rule of law."
The report went on to call for the further investigation of the ex-Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and the future prosecution of the former interior and defence ministers and the defence chief for illegal weapons transfers to civilians involved in the violence.
How it came to be that the world's newest state, and ostensibly a successful example of interventionism by the international community, required what was essentially a second intervention, yields some important lessons.
The frailty of state institutions and the weakness of the rule of law can largely be seen as a testament to the inconclusiveness of the world's initial intervention in East Timor starting in 1999.
The world simply left East Timor half finished. In typical haste, it was overly quick to declare "mission accomplished" and downgrade its presence in and commitment to the new country after its full independence, by withdrawing peace-keeping forces prematurely and overly diluting the UN's post-independence mandate.
As a first step towards improvement of future interventions, the international community through the UN, needs to revise its unworkably short time-frames.
As an East Timorese political activist explained, "The UN and 'the internationals' have an unrealistic time-frame... they think they can implement very complicated ideas like the rule of law in a couple years, it's impossible."
Furthermore, the international community's failings in East Timor, and it can be argued more broadly, stem from the fact that the purposes of multilateral interventionism are still largely not agreed upon by the international community. The current UN mandate is "consolidating stability, enhancing a culture of democratic governance, and facilitating dialogue among Timorese stakeholders", which is rather broad and vague when one considers how continued interventionism might actually be implemented in any degree of workable detail.
As one prominent East Timorese lawyer explained recently in the capital Dili, the "biggest problem is that the UN doesn't have a clear idea of what it wants to do". This can't really be blamed on the UN itself, but rather the conflicted interests of the major powers, who view intervention as serving different purposes from mere "stabilisation" to a deeper interaction of actual "state building" with all the accusations of colonialism which that entails.
This idea of conflicted mission purposes leading to operational ambiguities was echoed by a staff member of the UN mission who confided that the UN and its major donors still "haven't yet connected peace operations with development operations". Namely, the initial military interventions are relatively easy, especially in small countries like East Timor, but making the longer-term transition to peaceful and sustained development, guided by a competent government and based on the rule of law and democracy, is much harder to do.
What is evident is that whatever problems the international community may have in its approach to intervention, a stronger and longer-term presence in fragile new states like East Timor by the UN is mandatory to those countries' peace and development.
Without the renewed participation of the international community following April and May's violence, it is most likely that East Timor would now be facing "the more dire reality of war, not just law and order issues", as one prominent local political commentator contended. When the UN is present and has the strong support of at least a couple of the major powers, it has done a relatively good job of interventions, at least for the short term.
However, while it is easy to blame the international community for the domestic tumult of a particular country, ultimately that country's leaders must bear most of the blame for its turmoil.
The International Crisis Group, a well regarded think-tank, concluded that East Timor's present disorder was compounded by "the in-bred nature of a tiny political elite" which played a strong role in producing a "dysfunctional government".
East Timor has elections scheduled for May 2007 and the frustration with political instability and stagnant development is palpable on the streets of Dili. One local exclaimed that "all of this reflects the inexperience of those who hold power", while another highlighted in exasperation that East Timor is "not even a whole island, just half of an island" and it is still plagued by seemingly disproportionate amounts of trouble.
That East Timor is a small, seemingly manageable country is a fair point. If the international community, in partnership with the East Timorese leadership, can't get it right and demonstrate that voluntary, multilateral intervention and state-building can produce positive results even in a very small country, what hope is there for larger, especially chaotic countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo? The international community can produce positive results. It just needs to follow through with what it started with a strengthened sense of commitment, a clarified understanding of the UN's purpose, and a lengthened, more realistic time-frame. That would enable a complete transition from initial peace-making to longer-term, sustained development.
[Matthew Arnold is a visiting scholar at Chulalongkorn University.]
Courier Mail (Australia) - October 21, 2006
Tim Johnston – East Timor used to be the poster child for international intervention, but a report published this week by a group of United Nations investigators illustrates just how shallow the veneer of success was and just how difficult getting the country back on track is going to be.
The report investigates the spasm of violence that rocked the country in April and May this year: the police and army fought pitched gun battles with each other, and the civilians they illegally gave guns attacked ordinary people, and in one case burned down a house with six people inside, four of them children.
By the time Australian troops had flown in and imposed a semblance of law and order, at least 38 people were dead, 69 injured, 1650 houses burned and almost 150,000 people driven from their homes. And all this in a country with a population two thirds the size of Brisbane.
It is a murky story of rampant political opportunism, the settling of old scores and the sullen anger of a disappointed and frustrated population. And the result is a schism that has split society down the middle and will be extremely difficult to heal.
But Jaoquim Fonseca, the human rights adviser to the new Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, remains optimistic. "This provided a big political lesson to the people," he says, and not one they are going to forget in a hurry. "The consequences of this crisis are very real for ordinary people." He says that in future East Timorese will take a more cynical view of politicians and politics.
The UN report, by an international commission of experts, is scathing about almost every one of Timor's small political elite. It recommends that the then interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, and the head of the army, Taur Matan Ruak, be prosecuted for handing out weapons to civilians, and that the former prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, be further investigated.
East Timor has weathered problems before, but it has relied on President Xanana Gusmao and the influential Catholic Church to be mediators, and this time they are both seen as having taken sides.
It wasn't supposed to be this way. After the trauma of escaping from Indonesia in 1999, the international community – with a huge contribution from Australia – nurtured the infant nation, providing millions of dollars worth of aid, training and assistance. But it was only a matter of months after the bulk of the international advisers left that the country all but collapsed.
The immediate tension was a split between eastern residents and those from the west, but Fonseca says that was merely the way much deeper problems bubbled to the surface. "The systems were not strong enough, so that when the people were confronted by these issues, their national identity as Timorese was not strong enough to overcome the division," he says.
A recent report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), headed by former foreign minister Gareth Evans finds slightly different roots in the clashes of personality and politics among Timor's elite, many of whom have disliked each other since the 1970s.
But many East Timorese say that although these provided the friction that finally ignited the conflagration, the real fuel was much more basic: East Timor is still one of the poorest countries in Asia. It will take generations to build the economy, and after this week's report it seems they are going to have to do it without much of the political elite, almost all of whom have been tarnished.
Both the UN and ICG reports are scathing about Lobato. The ICG says he had been building up the police force into a personal militia, trying to divide society to create a personal power base regardless of the risk to the country's fragile democracy.
His contribution after a demonstration outside Government House was particularly unhelpful. He arrived at police headquarters wearing body armour, yelling "kill them all". The police then issued him with a machinegun and 2000 rounds of ammunition, although there is no indication he used it.
Lobato is under arrest and being prosecuted. Ramos Horta says the head of the army has accepted the findings of the commission, but one of the most violent rebels is still hiding out in the hills, heavily armed and trying to dictate terms.
The UN special envoy to East Timor has said the country is not a failed state but a democracy trying to find its feet, and Fonseca agrees, saying that although the upcoming trial process will be difficult, it is something the young nation has to go through in its search for a mature identity.
Canberra Times - October 20, 2006
The East Timorese Government was handed a heaven-sent opportunity this week to begin the long overdue process of healing the rifts so vividly exposed by last May's wave of violence.
But to the dismay of many, Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, appears to have put loyalty to the military ahead of the long- term interests of East Timor, and with it the possibility that the yawning gulf between the ordinary people and the governing elites can be bridged.
A United Nations Special Commission of Inquiry – established at the direct invitation of Ramos-Horta when he was still senior minister and minister for foreign affairs – delivered its report on Tuesday, with one of its findings being that the chief of the country's armed forces, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, be prosecuted for his role in the violence that killed more than 30 people and displaced more than 150,000 people from their homes in Dili.
Also recommended for prosecution were former interior minister Rogerio Lobato, renegade army major Alfredo Reinado and umpteen other rebel soldiers, civilians and security force members suspected of direct involvement in the violence. Shortly after the report was issued, however, Ramos-Horta issued a public statement saying he had full confidence in Ruak and his leadership. He went further, saying that "Throughout the crisis, the senior command of F-FDTL [East Timor's defence force] showed zeal and discipline."
Ramos-Horta's defence of Ruak, while disappointing, is not surprising insofar as the defence force, for historical reasons, plays a substantial, even pivotal, role in East Timorese politics. But what is extraordinary is that Ramos-Horta, who has largely appeared be above the factional cronyism that characterised the administration of his predecessor, Mari Alkatiri, should now be implicating himself in the worst aspects of an incestuous political culture that has brought Asia's smallest and poorest nation to its knees barely four years after its independence.
The UN commission is well aware of the fragility of East Timor's state institutions and the weakness of the rule of law. This might explain why it chose to reserve judgment on the role of Alkatiri. Instead, it called for further investigations by Timorese authorities to determine whether the former prime minister should face criminal charges over the transfer of defence force weapons to civilians who used them to commit assorted crimes and violations of human rights during the worst days of the crisis.
Whether the country's legal system is sufficiently independent to investigate one of the country's most powerful politicians remains unclear. Certainly, the Parliament, which is dominated by the powerful Fretilin faction (and the one which Alkatiri controls), seems unwilling to take a leading role, with the head of the faction, Elizario Fereira, saying on Wednesday that legal action should be left to the judiciary.
As for the role of President Xanana Gusmao during the troubles – during which time he appeared to remain largely above the fray – the UN commission cleared him of allegations that he'd ordered Reinado "to carry out criminal actions" but he was criticised for his failure to show "more restraint and respect for institutional channels in communicating directly with Reinado after his desertion".
Under the constitution, Gusmao's ability to directly shape future events in East Timor as president is limited – his response to the report was to call on the Parliament to "quickly take political and legislative or legal actions". Fereira's comment showed this is likely to be a forlorn hope because the country's judiciary, like East Timor's other institutions, simply has not had the time to develop the robustness of the legal systems associated with democracies that carefully observe the doctrine of the separation of powers.
East Timor's inability to abandon the most corrosive aspects of its colonial heritage, as well as the legacy of the armed struggle for independence that led to the creation of an expensive and unnecessary army and which simply exacerbated political and ethnic rivalries, are at the heart of its malaise, and only the country's elites can rectify them.
Earlier this month, the International Crisis Group issued a report on East Timor, in which it iterated the need for reforms in the security sector before the country's political crisis could begin to be resolved. But the authors were insistent on the need for "enormous political magnanimity on the part of a few key actors".
The recommendations of the UN represent an ideal means of strengthening East Timor's fragile foundations: "Justice, peace and democracy are mutually reinforcing imperatives. If peace and democracy are to be advanced, justice must be effective and visible."
That the country leaders seem, at this early stage anyway, to be reluctant to embrace hard truths, is regrettable. The East Timorese themselves, who were promised so much at the time of independence, have every right to feel aggrieved.
Sydney Morning Herald Editorial - October 19, 2006
Reports on violence in East Timor have tended, in the past, to be followed by inaction. The findings of various United Nations, Indonesian and East Timorese inquiries into the mayhem around the country's birth remain, frustratingly, gathering dust in judicial archives rather than being used as foundations for specific criminal investigations and prosecutions, except in a number of minor cases. But the latest such effort, on the riots and armed conflict in April and May this year, looks more promising.
The UN's special commission of inquiry has reported this week in a timely way, so it can be taken into account and acted upon well before elections towards the middle of next year. The report is comprehensive and full of sound observations and recommendations. The initial response from the President, Xanana Gusmao, who gets some criticism himself, has been receptive rather than defensive.
The report singles out several leaders for investigation. Notably, the former interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, the former defence minister, Roque Rodrigues, and the defence force chief, Taur Matan Ruak, are cited for allegedly transferring arms illegally to civilians. There is no evidence the former prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, had such involvement, but the commission suspects he knew about Mr Lobato's arming of a civilian hit squad and did not act.
All three civilian leaders have stood down and Mr Lobato and Mr Alkatiri are already subject to judicial investigation. The President must address the position of Brigadier-General Ruak, as painful as this might be with a fellow former commander of the anti-Indonesian resistance. Likewise, the President has even more of a duty than before to bring back to justice the fugitive army major Alfredo Reinado, who escaped from prison with his followers in August, and whose group is accused by the commission of homicide.
The President himself is mildly rebuked for talking directly, outside "institutional channels", to Reinado after his desertion, but is cleared of suspicion that he ordered or sanctioned criminal acts by Reinado. That at least leaves Mr Gusmao, still the most respected figure in East Timor's leadership, with his reputation more or less intact, and he should reconsider his much-mooted plan to retire at the elections.
The same can't be said for the institutions of state. The commission concluded that their fragility and the weakness of the rule of law were the underlying factors in this year's crisis. Work has already started to rebuild the police and, as the commission suggests, respect for the law will be reinforced by providing independent judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers to help deal with the cases resulting from the events of April and May. The case for deep UN assistance in the running of the elections is made even more strongly.
Associated Press - October 10, 2006
Dili – East Timor violence could return to East Timor ahead of general elections next year, a conflict-prevention group warned Tuesday, recommending that the country's president and former prime minister sit out the polls to help reduce tensions.
Asia's newest nation is still in political limbo after rival armed factions clashed in the streets of the capital in April and May, killing more than 30 people and sending 150,000 others fleeing from their homes.
Foreign troops were deployed to restore order and a transitional government was installed until new polls could be held, but no one has yet been brought to justice for the bloodshed.
Much depends on an assessment by a UN Independent Special Commission of Inquiry, which will name individuals it deems responsible, though it has no authority to prosecute. The findings were supposed to be released Saturday, but publication has been delayed until later this month amid fears it could trigger more unrest.
In its latest evaluation of the situation in East Timor, the International Crisis Group, or ICG, advised President Xanana Gusmao and former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri "to think the unthinkable – foregoing any role in the 2007 elections so new leaders can emerge."
Foreign efforts to help Dili create independent institutions and overcome divisions in the military and police will fail "unless the two are willing to get past mutual distrust and discuss how to overcome the security forces' polarization," the think tank said.
East Timor's brief lapse into chaos was sparked by Alkatiri's decision in March to fire 600 soldiers, or around a third of the army, who accused the military leadership of discrimination. But it goes back much further to allegiances formed when East Timor was under Indonesian rule.
The ICG said Gusmao's public comments had soured the atmosphere by drawing "on wells of bitterness and personal betrayal." His power struggle with Alkatiri and intervention has made it "almost impossible to get members of the political elite into the same room, let alone work out a common strategy for resolving the crisis," it said.
At the peak of the violence, police and army factions fought gunbattles in the street as gangs roamed Dili burning and looting and hunting down perceived opponents with machetes. An estimated 100,000 people remain displaced, half of them in the capital of the world's poorest nation, measured per capita.
The ICG report, "Resolution of the Crisis in Timor Leste," says that internal divisions pose the gravest threat to elections and that "the most important guarantor against violence might be for the more controversial figures in the capital to sit this election out voluntarily."
It does not make any recommendations on the role of Jose Ramos- Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who emerged from the crisis as the head of the transitional government.
Calm returned shortly after the arrival of foreign peacekeepers, but underlying problems have not been resolved and a long-term UN peace force is seen as key to maintaining order.
East Timor broke from 24 years of brutal Indonesian rule in 1999 in a UN-sponsored referendum.
Its future, the ICG said, lies in the hands of less than a dozen key players whose political will and creativity is needed to put East Timor, once a UN success story in nation building, back on track.
Agence France Presse - October 10, 2006
East Timor will need to tackle security sector reform to get back on track after deadly unrest earlier this year, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report.
The tiny four-year-old nation descended into chaos in April and May after the government's dismissal of more than a third of its armed forces, who deserted their barracks complaining of discrimination.
Protests degenerated into battles between rival factions of the military and police and rival street gangs, killing more than 30 people according to the ICG toll. More than 3,200 peacekeepers were deployed to restore security.
"Resolving the crisis will depend on comprehensive security sector reform and better oversight of the courts," the report from the Brussels-based think tank said.
"But with elections due in May 2007, it will also depend on reform within the dominant party, Fretilin, and on the willingness of key political actors to sit down together and agree on solutions," it said.
Robert Templer, ICG's Asia Program director, said that the "crisis escalated in part because there were no checks on individuals with personal interests and private power bases. "The way out is through institution-building precisely so that the actions of individuals will not carry so much weight."
The roots of the crisis, the report said, lay partly in tensions within Fretilin before and during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. The East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.
"Ideological and political disputes in the 1980s and 1990s, particularly between Fretilin central committee members and (now President) Xanana Gusmao, then commander of the guerrilla army Falintil, carried over into the post-conflict government," it said.
Another seed was planted when Falintil fighters were demobilised in 2000. A new defence force absorbed some but left others unemployed and resentful as the international community focused on the creation of a new police force.
"That many of the police, vetted and retrained, had worked for the Indonesian administration, was more salt in the wounds of the ex-fighters," the report said.
Rivalry between the largely powerless Gusmao committed to democratic pluralism and a ruling party with authoritarian tendencies was another factor, it said.
Former interior minister Rogerio Lobato – who now faces weapons distribution charges – was singled out by the ICG for his manipulation of the tensions.
"As interior minister, he controlled the police force, encouraged rivalry with the defence force, most of whom were personally loyal to Xanana Gusmao, and created specialised police units that effectively became a private security force," the ICG said.
"The police under him were in charge of law and order, border patrol, riot control and immigration. It was never clear what the role of the defence force was."
The report comes ahead of the release of a UN-appointed Independent Special Commission of Inquiry, which is expected later this month and will likely name those behind the worst incidents of violence this year.
It warned that the release of the UN report could trigger demands for instant justice which Dili courts are ill-equipped to provide.
Reuters - October 10, 2006
Ahmad Pathoni, Jakarta – Giving jobs to some 600 military rebels whose dismissal triggered deadly violence in East Timor this year is crucial to resolving a crisis there, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report on Tuesday.
The ICG said the critical situation that began with widespread violence in May was not over and the release of a United Nations inquiry into the violence, due this month, was potentially divisive and could lead to fresh trouble.
A series of protests dissolved into chaos and violence, mostly in and around East Timor's capital of Dili, in May after then-prime minister Mari Alkatiri sacked 600 mutinous members of the young country's 1,400-strong army.
"Leaving close to 600 soldiers outside the system is a time bomb, even if they are mostly disarmed," said the ICG, a Brussels-based conflict prevention group. The leaders of the violence should certainly not be allowed to return to the security forces but either military or civilian jobs needed to be found for others who were not involved, the report said.
An estimated 100,000 people were displaced in the violence, which led to the deployment of a 2,500-strong international peacekeeping force before a degree of order was finally restored. Even after it arrived, there have been sporadic outbreaks of arson, and clashes between gangs of youths.
The roots of the violence are complex, with elements of political and regional rivalries involved.
Prime Minister Alkatiri resigned under pressure in June. He was replaced by Jose Ramos-Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and East Timor's representative abroad during its struggle to break free of an Indonesian occupation that lasted from 1975 to 1999.
Ramos-Horta was seen as acceptable to the international community as well as many in Alkatiri's Fretilin party.
The ICG said the upcoming report of the UN inquiry into the violence was expected to name those responsible and recommend prosecutions and would be "explosive" because it would cover the most sensitive cases, including the killings of unarmed police by soldiers.
"The UN, the government, security forces and community leaders all need to have responses ready, including proposals for prosecutions that will ensure fair and reasonably speedy trials," the report said. Charismatic President Xanana Gusmao and rival former prime minister Mari Alkatiri may need to consider forgoing any role in the 2007 elections to resolve the political impasse and allow new leaders to emerge, the ICG said.
A Portuguese colony for hundreds of years before the Indonesian occupation, East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world in income terms but has considerable oil and natural gas resources that are just beginning to be exploited.
New Matilda - October 4, 2006
Helen Hill – If accurate, recent revelations by John Martinkus about East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao are disturbing but not altogether unexpected.
While Abilio Mesquita's allegations that Gusmao was involved in destabilising Dili may be no more accurate than those of Vicente 'Rai Los' da Conceicao (in Liz Jackson's story on ABC TV's Four Corners) that former Prime Minister Marm Alkatiri was arming civilians, they illustrate the depth to which hostility and distrust among political leaders has fallen, the way the Australian media has fuelled the conflict, and the very detrimental impact that the crisis has had on the country.
East Timor 's initial success at establishing local institutions relied on the ability of its three main leaders, Gusmao, Alkatiri and current Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, to work together. While there are political differences between them, policy-wise they are minor, quite legitimate in a democracy, and smaller than the political differences, say, between John Howard and Australia's Labor State Premiers.
Gusmao, Alkatiri and Ramos Horta all have particular abilities their country needs at this stage in its development – Ramos Horta has exemplary diplomatic skills; Alkatiri a deep knowledge of economic development, policymaking and financial negotiation; and Gusmao a legendary ability to communicate with the people and mobilise them.
Recall the debate between Australia and East Timor over their maritime boundaries. Each of these three leaders fell foul of Australian authorities during that period – Gusmao by describing Australia as "a country which steals from us then organises conferences regarding transparency and anti-corruption;" Ramos Horta using the words "bullying" and "blackmail" to describe Australia's actions; and Alkatiri accusing Australia of an "unfriendly act" when it withdrew from the maritime boundary mechanisms in the World Court and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Yet all three, realising the importance of working together, were able to reach a "creative solution" to the problem. They didn't win all they could have through international law, but it was a creditable achievement far more favourable to East Timor than the Australian Parliament wanted. It was further consolidated by Alkatiri's establishment of the Petroleum Fund in July 2005 to ensure that all profits are invested in infrastructure for the development of the country.
The pressure from Australians over the Timor Sea could have split the three Timorese leaders, instead it brought them together, and the majority of the population behind them.
There were, however, other events in Timor's short history that threatened their relationship, and the country's stability. The December 2002 riots, during which shadowy elements, hiding behind the cover of a student demonstration, looted and burnt Dili causing two deaths, served as a wake-up call to Gusmao and Alkatiri.
Another event which could have threatened their relationship was the demonstration by elements of the Catholic Church in March 2005. Starting as a protest against religious education being voluntary, rather than compulsory, it was immediately supported by the opposition Parties and escalated into a call for the dismissal of the Government by large crowds of people demonstrating in the streets for weeks. However, the three political leaders and supporters of the Constitution remained united and eventually the issue was resolved through negotiation and dialogue.
But dangerous precedents were set. One was the involvement of foreign embassies, much to the disgust of Ramos Horta. The other was that respected figures saw it as legitimate to change a government by mobilising people in the streets, rather than through elections.
The Australian media have always wanted to emphasise the differences between Gusmao and Alkatiri – one was a saint, the other the devil. In reality both are ordinary but talented East Timorese trying to do their best for their country under extremely difficult circumstances. (Sadly, several Australian journalists have also fallen for the tactics of renegade soldier Alfredo Reinado, helping to turn him into some sort of folk hero, despite his admissions of guilt.)
It is well known Gusmao sent a copy of Liz Jackson's Four Corners program to Alkatiri demanding his resignation. This film is widely ridiculed in East Timor as it was shot in the garden of a leading opposition politician. The legitimacy of East Timor's leaders has been undermined by these events and Gusmao and Ramos Horta are now reluctant to make public statements.
If there is any element of truth in John Martinkus's article, and Gusmao was involved in destabilising Alkatiri's Prime Ministership, it is unlikely he did so on his own and the issue of outside involvement becomes a key question.
Meanwhile, the unrest continues in East Timor and people all over the country are calling for reconciliation at the highest levels to bring about peace in the streets. There were hopes that Kofi Annan's appointment of Antsnio Mascarenhas Monteiro, as head of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), would provide an opportunity for this to begin.
As a former President of Cape Verde, the most democratic and economically successful country to emerge from Portugal's former colonies, he would be senior enough to command the respect of the East Timorese leaders. He has also experienced some of the very same problems with development policies that they are now facing.
However, after accepting the post on 21 September in New York, Mascarenhas Monteiro found there were rumblings of opposition to his appointment. On 25 September he announced his withdrawal from the post: '... there were reservations about my name on the part of parties engaged in East Timor and I was no longer interested in serving there,' he said. 'The functions of a representative of the UN Secretary-General in East Timor are very broad and must be exercised with the goodwill of all the parties involved.'
The following day, East Timor's new Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Luis Guterres expressed regret at Mascarenhas Monteiro's decision.
Then, on 29 September Mark Dodd wrote in the The Australian that Mascarenhas Monteiro's commission was actually revoked by the UN because he supposedly does not speak English. "It appears no one at the UN had bothered to ask whether Mr Monteiro, a lawyer, could speak English," wrote Dodd, who is the only journalist anywhere in the world to claim that this is the reason behind Mascarenhas Monteiro's failure to fill the position.
East Timor is now immobilised as it waits for the release of two UN reports, one by the Special Commission of Inquiry on the circumstances leading to the recent crisis, the other a report from the Secretary-General on arrangements between UNMIT and the international security forces.
Sadly, Australia is not playing a constructive role in the latter, having forced a postponement of the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force by insisting that Australian troops remain under national command (green hatted) rather than under the UN (blue hatted). Australia has the support of the USA and the UK, and although East Timor has been persuaded to change its position on this issue, most other countries, including ASEAN members, remain unconvinced.
Photos taken on Sunday of Australian troops driving their tanks onto a reef in a favourite swimming spot outside of Dili have not helped Australia's 'hearts and minds' campaign among the East Timorese. Nor have the events in the Solomon Islands, which East Timorese are watching closely, fearing a RAMSI-style operation under Australian command in their country would be far too interventionist.
While all East Timorese political Parties need to look to their own internal governance and their processes for promoting the next generation of leaders, there is an urgent need for Gusmao, Alkatiri and Ramos Horta, who have been working together for independence for over 30 years, to get together and re-establish a working relationship for the good of the country.
[Helen Hill teaches sociology of the Asia and Pacific Region at Victoria University. She is the author Stirrings of Nationalism in East Timor: Fretilin 1974-78 (Otford Press, 2003).]
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We will not capture Commander Ruak: Rerden
The Australian Stabilisation Forces Commander, General Rerden has denied information that his men had detained F-FDTL Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak. Rerden said there was a checkpoint where Brigadier General Taur had to wait for 10-15 minutes because the Australian forces at the checkpoint are not aware of or do not know him. The Australian Commander continued to state that the hold up was also due to the number of cars in front of the vehicle of the Head of Timor-Leste's Defence Force. But as soon as he was identified as the Chief of the country's forces he was allowed to continue on his trip. Rerden said he would meet with F-FDTL Brigadier General to discuss the concerns the Timorese armed forces are facing. He further said he rejects the quest for an investigation into Australian forces services, adding it is unnecessary because it is not a military procedure. If the population or government receives any information in relation to any illegal action, the Australian commander said it should be directed to UNPOL to investigate with the army's full support. Malcolm Rerden pointed out that his men have been working professionally and impartially, stressing the Australian and New Zealand forces were in the country at the request of the Timor- Leste government to bring peace to the people. Despite the crimes, Rerden said everybody detained by the Australian Forces are treated equally and anyone detained by them has never been dropped in the middle of the road or late at night. Except in zones considered neutral, the detainees are likely to be taken to detention centres under the responsibility of UNPOL.
During the press conference held on Monday at the Australian forces headquarters, Malcom Rerden said they would continue to search for Alfredo Reinado and those who escaped from jail on August 30. He said his forces would defend themselves if Alfredo shot at them as stated earlier, adding that the forces are already located in the area where Alfredo Reinado is hiding. Malcolm Rerden is replacing commander Mick Slater who has left the country. (STL, TP)
Major Alfredo must contribute to peace: Ruak
F-FDTL Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak has appealed for Alfredo Reinado to cooperate and contribute to the peace of the nation through justice. Ruak said he has not been in touch with Alfredo but he is aware that Australian Forces commander Mick Slater and Bishop Belo met with Alfredo, which is a step forward. In the meantime, Alfredo stated he is ready to appear in court when the time comes, stressing there should be no short cuts to the cases and that the incident of 28 April should be resolved before proceeding to the cases of May 3. Reinado further said he would take full responsibility for any action of his members. Two prisoners who fled with Reinado have reportedly returned to prison.
MP Clementino Amara (KOTA) said Taur Matan Ruak's appeal may help decrease the violence between youths since he is well known among youths from the resistance period. (STL, TP)
Reactivation of F-FDTL
Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Ramos-Horta said he cannot comment on the demands of F-FDTL Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak in relation to the behaviour of the Australian Forces services in the country. Ramos-Horta said in order to improve the security situation he would need to first consult with all members of the government including the F-FDTL commander and the President of the Republic to reactivate the national armed forces. He said F-FDTL already has the political conditions to reactivate following the report of the COI, which indicates that the accusation against F-FDTL about carrying out a massacre is false.
In relation to allegations of discrimination within the national army, Lieutenant Colonel, Falur Rate Laek told the Notable Commission that he used the words 'loromonu did not participate in the war' sometimes when he was angry. Falur said even to the veterans he used to say 'how much did you fight in the jungle?' And these terms were also used when they joked with each other. A press communique issued by the Commission noted that when Lieutenant Colonel Falur speaks, sometimes he doesn't know when to stop and this could be a problem when people who do not know him but despite this he has a good heart and good intentions.
Lere stated that the selection process in Aileu did not look into age or education. They focused mainly on the state of health and the veterans who did not participate in the selection process did so of their own accord because they wanted to retire and rest. The Commission will further meet with other members of the defence forces to cross check the data received. (STL, TP)
President of parliament appeals to population to trust police
Francisco Guterres 'Lu-Olo', President of the National Parliament said following the crisis and six-month halt of PNTL, the institution began to focus on law and order. Lu-Olo said the Ministry of Interior had already set up permanent posts in the area of Comoro and Becora as a first phase. He said in the second phase, there would be more posts established around Dili, adding it is important to note that PNTL has been reactivated following a screening process. The President of the National Parliament pointed out that there are already enough police to work with UNPOL and their services are crucial since they know the ground better and can assist the international police in operations. He appealed to the people to trust and cooperate with the national police. (TP)
Ministers must explain absence of police
Francisco Guterres 'Lu-Olo' said the National Parliament will request Prime Minister Ramos-Horta and Minister of Interior, Alcino Barris, to respond to the continued absence of Police Posts in the neighbourhoods. Lu-Olo said the government had promised the establishment of these posts, which is not evolving, leading to loss of lives almost on a daily basis. The President of the Parliament said the people have asked for the reactivation of PNTL and F-FDTL because they do not trust the international forces. He further said the NP is not planning to ask for F-FDTL intervention. Therefore, the UN forces should be under one command.
A 50-year old man by the name of Antonio Morais has allegedly told the National Parliament that he and the two people that died in Pantai Kelapa, Dili, last Thursday night, were captured by the Australian police during the fighting between the youths of Aimutin and Comoro Market. Morais said they were taken in separate cars and while in the car he remembers the Australian military rubbing some kind of medicine smelling like petrol on his face which made him lose consciousness/ not allowing him to think clearly and he could not speak. He said the forces dropped him near the ocean, by Comoro riverbed. Morais continued to state that he woke up the next day (Friday) in shock but after sitting for a while realized what had happened and starting walking towards Comoro Pertamina. As he was nearing Pertamina he saw the mutilated bodies of his two colleagues. And he stated that he doesn't know who killed them but he remembers the three were taken in separate cars by the Australian forces from Mercado market. (STL, TP)
Brigadier Taur request investigation into forces
F-FDTL Brigadier General, Taur Matan Ruak wants the government to establish an investigation into the behaviour of some Australian soldiers during the security operations in Dili in the past months. Ruak said he would not like to point out the mistakes and rather leave it to a commission of inquiry to release the results. He further said, soon he would send another proposal for consideration even though the government has not responded to his earlier proposal on the establishment of a commission to investigate the behaviour of Australian troops in Timor-Leste. He said the proposal is not to ask the Australian to leave the country but to help or improve their behaviour. The General said F-FDTL has been marginalized for committing errors therefore he doesn't want the population to have bad feelings towards the Australian forces. He also said he is not happy that the security situation in Dili cannot be overcome with the presence of many UN police, turning Dili into a "Cowboy City". And detaining those not involved in the violence. According to Timor Post, many people have expressed ill feeling towards the Australian forces. This daily gave an example of a youth who refused to give his name that he was detained by the Australian forces in front of his house late at night, taken and dropped in Caicoli. (TP, STL)
Nobel laureates to participate in peace discussions
Prime Minister Ramos-Horta has given his trust for the National Events Commission to organize the national program with the theme 'Peace Gathering,' scheduled to commence on November 12 and conclude on December 10. There will be many events such as ritual and traditional ceremonies at the district and national level. The program of 10 December would culminate in Tasi Tolu with the participation of representatives of all organizations and the government. Seven Nobel Laureates would also be invited to participate in the event. (TP)
Request for one command
In an extraordinary plenary session on Thursday, the National Parliament discussed a Resolution concerning "The Security System in Timor-Leste" which recommends that the international forces presently in the country should be under a unique/one command. MP Francisco Carlos (Fretilin) said the aim of the resolution is to bring all the international forces in the country under the command of the United Nations, noting that despite the number of forces, violence continues. Carlos pointed to the recent problem in Comoro where GNR did not participate because they do not cover that area. He also said the Australian Commander, Mick Slater assured that the situation would be under control following the release of the COI report. But in the past three days, violence has increased. The resolution passed with 43 votes in favour and 6 abstentions.
In the plenary session the Parliament also approved a Resolution concerning "The strengthening and Guarantee of court Independence". This document passed with 42 votes in favour, 2 against and 4 abstaining. The President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres 'Lu-Olo' said a Commission composed of 7 MPs has been established to listen to the opinions and analyse the COI report and its recommendations. Guterres said he heard information about F-FDTL proposals for a Parliamentary Commission but has not formally received a letter from the head of the Defence Force.
MP Manuel Tilman (KOTA) said violence in the capital Dili, especially in Comoro on 24-26 October is a strategy of some nations for sending more troops from Australia. Tilman said on Tuesday, 24/10 the UN Security Council re-evaluated the situation in Timor-Leste which remained calm until two days before discussion. Other reasons he said, were that some local leaders are receiving the support of an NGO, that martial arts groups are taking advantage of the situation to put on a show of importance, and that violence might be aimed at killing all the leaders. So those who are not in the government can have the opportunity to be in charge of the nation. He is of the opinion that to resolve the problem he proposes to first identify those involved in fighting in the IDP camp in the Jardim, opposite Hotel Timor, Airport, Obrigado Barracks and Comoro, adding a leader is managing the youths for rock throwing. (TP, STL)
'Fretilin Mudanca' rejects dialogue
Fretilin 'Grupu Mudansa' has rejected the proposed dialogue by Fretilin Central Committee due to the conditions presented to them. According to a press statement signed by Vitor da Costa, of 'Grupu Mudansa' the conditions can only be achieved during the dialogue and not before as proposed by Fretilin Status Quo. The three points proposed to the 'Grupu Mudansa' demand acceptance of the Court of Appeal decision, acceptance of the results of the COI report, and that 'Grupu Mudansa' must cease their activities. Therefore, Vitor said his group would focus on moving ahead and concentrate on the extraordinary congress as planned. (STL)
Australian aid to prosecutor general's office
The Australian government through its aid agency AusAid has donated office equipment to the Prosecutor's General office worth US$25 thousand dollars. Robin Scott, AusAid advisor for the development and cooperation in Timor-Leste, said the donation would help the Public Ministry to continue its work since some of the equipment was stolen and damaged during the recent violence. (TP, STL)
Combined team to investigate escapees The Ministry of Justice has established a Commission to investigate the 57 prisoners who escaped Becora jail on August 30. The Vice-Minister of Justice, Isabel Ferreira, heads the team, which is composed of members from HAK Association, UNPOL, and UNMIT human rights unit. The Commission was established following a dispatch by the Ministry of Justice to investigate if prison guards were involved in the escape of the prisoners. To fulfil the recommendations of the COI report, the Ministry of Justice has requested UNDP to recruit more international judges, prosecutors, defenders and interpreters. The Ministry has also established a team to look into equipment needed by the court and the jail.
Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen said UNMIT and the International Community would continue to support Timor-Leste's judicial system. According to Reske-Nielsen the country's court is still fragile as per the recommendations of COI, hence the international community must provide assistance.
Domingos Sarmento, Minister of Justice said some recommendations of the COI report in relation to the judicial system that it still is weak, are not in pursuance with the RDTL Constitution and are based on rumours (STL, TP)
Parliament must issue resolution recommendations
The Human Rights Monitoring Network issued a statement welcoming the COI report and urged the competent bodies to continue with the legal process as recommended by the commissioners. The group wants the National Parliament to take immediate action with a resolution on the recommendations. The statement says the resolution would be a step to strengthen the Public Ministry to carry out criminal investigations on those allegedly accused as per the COI report and also investigate other cases involving the shooting of a woman and man in different parts of Dili. FNJP wants Rogerio Lobato's case to be delayed by the court and handed over to a special panel. PSD issued a proposal to the Parliament plenary session on Monday to establish an Ad-Hoc tribunal to process the trial for those responsible for the recent crisis. Jose Reis, Fretilin Deputy Secretary General said the party's Central Committee will convene to politically discuss the report of the COI. According to Reis, the report has not included many factors, adding he will not reveal further until the discussion is concluded. (TP, STL)
Priest laments assault on the church
Dili Diocese spokesperson, Fr. Domingos Soares, who is also known as Domingos Maubere, has lamented the actions of some groups for destroying the church in Aimutin, pelting and killing a churchgoer. Fr. Domingos appeals to the population to respect each other and to sit and talk if they have any problems rather than opt for violence. The priests said the church does not blame the youth who are following orders, adding he heard there are allegations of people paying five dollars for throwing rocks and seven dollars for injuring one and twenty dollars for killing. Therefore he appealed to the authorities to investigate the organized groups behind such allegations. (STL)
Australian police unable to confront violence
Political and military observer, Julio Tomas Pinto said the government of Timor-Leste must do an evaluation on the international police, especially Australian police and military for not taking any action in many incidents they have participated in. Tomas said the recent disturbances of rock throwing in Aimutin, both the military and police of Australia only observed. They did not take any prevention to the violence, and it shows they do not have the capacity to help the people of Timor-Leste, said Pinto. He also said the Australians came not to face violence and it is likely that due to their respect for human rights, they do not want to use violent methods. (TP)
Pacific Island Forum
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health, Rui Araujo is participating in the South Pacific Forum as an observer. The Minister is also taking the opportunity to meet with Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase to extend Timor-Leste greetings and Prime Minister Ramos-Horta's message. Araujo would also take the opportunity to meet with leaders of other pacific nations as well as discuss further academic training for Timorese in Fiji. (TP)
COI report
One of the dailies, STL, published the Secretary General's message to the people of Timor-Leste following the release of the report. Furthermore, today's newspapers focus on reactions to the COI report. Aderito de Jesus, human rights advocate, is of the opinion that leaders of the nation should stop the political process and prioritise the judicial process so as not to lose focus and so that the people will regain their trust in the judicial system and the rule of law. De Jesus agrees with the recommendations of the report that a special panel must be established to process the cases, due to the weakness of the country's court. Ivo Valente, Deputy Prosecutor General, said the Public Ministry has already established an investigation team composed of two international prosecutors who would carefully read the report, adding that the cases would be recommended to the court following the gathering of sufficient evidence. Coordinator of 'Fretilin Mudanca', Vitor da Costa said an extraordinary congress is urgently needed to change leadership for 2007, since the names of the current Secretary General and President of Fretilin have been stained due to their involvement in the crisis.
Timor Post today published some of the recommendations and this is the second day that STL published the full summary of the report in Tetum language.
Prime Minister Ramos-Horta reportedly said the government and the United Nations are ready to provide assistance with provision of Prosecutors and judges to the court to process those responsible for the crisis. Ramos-Horta said the decision would be up to the court whether to establish a new court, adding that the government and the UN is willing to assist the court with 2-3 prosecutors and judges in order to help gain the trust of the people. He said that the government and the leaders would not interfere in the course of the process. The Prime Minister also said according to his own evaluation of the recommendations of the COI, the commander of F-FDTL, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak is not criminally accountable for the crisis.
The International Forces have increased checkpoints and the checking of vehicles following the release of the COI report. According to a motorist, the forces are doing a good job and should continue checking vehicles for the people to feel safe.
President Gusmao Presents State Program
President Gusmao has presented the state agenda for 2007 with the Presidential elections scheduled for March and general elections for April 2007. The President asks the media to work together and to contribute to pacify the situation with constructive information and asked them to be cautious with sensitive information in relation to the current environment hence asking the population for peace to implement the program. Another program of the State is the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Nobel Laureates on December 10 with a mass in Taci Tolu with the participants of Nobel Laureates from other nations at the invitation of the State. President Gusmao further said he has launched a commission to gather all the traditional elders (lia nain) of the 13 sacred houses to follow with the tradition, which he said has not been observed following the end of the invasion. He said he has been criticized for this but would like to follow the ancestral traditions. It is believed that the recent crisis is partly the result of not following in the tradition of putting back the swords to rest, which were taken and used as protection during the war. There would be cultural events and another part of the program will start on 12 November and conclude on 10 December with the scheduled mass. (TP)
COI identified fragility of judicial system
Ralph Zacklin, one of the Commissioners involved in the investigation of the crisis in Timor-Leste, during a teleconference yesterday organised by UNMIT specifically for the national media, urged the people to thoroughly read the report. He said that the Commission found that the fragility of the judicial system is due to the lack of human resources and a lack of its independence due to political interference. He said according to data gathered, the Commission did not have evidence that highlighted the involvement of opposition parties during the crisis. Ralph Zacklin pointed out that one of the recommendations includes monitoring of the implementation of the recommendations and stressed that the Commission had completed its mandate. During the teleconference, he asked the cooperation of everybody to disseminate the report, available in English, Tetum, Portuguese and Indonesia languages, throughout the country.
The Secretary General of FNJP, Vital dos Santos said he agrees with the recommendation of the COI that a special panel must be established to process the authors of the crisis.
In the meantime, Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro, said he does not need a deputy to work with him on the cases based on the COI report as per the recommendations, however, he said he does need assistance with administrative services in some areas within the Public Ministry. Monteiro further said that the Public Ministry would try to process all the cases by the end of the year as recommended in the report. (STL, TP)
Laureate winners meet again
Soon after arriving in Dili, Bishop Filipe Ximenes Belo met with his Nobel Laureate co-winner, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta but the topic of the meeting has not been revealed. According to his itinerary, Belo is scheduled to meet with the National Parliament, the President of the Court of Appeal, President Gusmao, and F-FDTL Commander, Taur Matan Ruak. (TP)
Court must continue to investigate report: Gusmao
All the daily newspapers today reported on the release of the report of the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry. The official hand over to the National Parliament was broadcast live on national television and radio followed by a live broadcast of the appeal by the President of the Republic, the President of the Parliament and the Prime Minister to the population to accept and receive the report calmly. Timor Post published the names of those claimed to have some responsibility for the crisis as per the report.
In his appeal, President Gusmao said to those responsible for crimes that the time has come to stop violence and reflect on what has been good and bad for the Timorese people. He also appealed to the political parties not to use the substance of the report for political interests. The President praised the work of the Commission and the criteria opted for the careful use of phrases such as 'reasonable suspect'. He said it is the task of the court to conduct further investigations as per the Commission's recommendations.
Political and military observer Julio Tomas Pinto said the court would decide if those people whose names have been published in the COI report are guilty.
MP Manuel Amaral (KOTA) said the national sovereign state including the UN must assume responsibility, if the report does not have an impact on the stability of the country, noting that they have stated at the conclusion of the commission that the UN would help resolve the crisis.
Tight security was noticeable around the government building when the report was handed in to the National Parliament reported TP. (TP, STL)
Ramos-Horta congratulates former PM
Prime Minister Ramos-Horta has praised the work of the first Constitutional Government such as Mari Alkatiri and Armindo Maia for working hard in establishing a curriculum for primary and pre-primary schools. Ramos-Horta said this curriculum is the first established by the Timorese. The book has been successfully developed with the assistance of UNICEF, Portugal and Brazil and was launched on Tuesday by the Prime Minister at the former Chinese school. (STL, TP)
Establishment of security posts
Minister of Education, Rosalia Corte-Real said the police has informed her that permanent police posts are being established in troubled areas. Corte-Real hopes that schools can resume their activities next week, noting that schools have been affected by constant problems in the areas of Comoro, Becora and Bidau Masau. (STL)
COI report still not ready: Reske-Nielsen
Acting SRSG, Finn Reske-Nielsen told the media on Monday, following his meeting with Prime Minister Ramos-Horta that he could not give the specific date for the release of the COI report, adding that it was still being translated, but it would be soon. Finn Reske-Nielsen said that UNMIT is working hard with UNPOL and the international military forces to control the situation when the report is released, adding that the UN is aware of the government's stand following two weeks of meetings with its members.
According to Timor Post, MP Clementino dos Reis Amaral said the Acting SRSG appealed to leaders of political parties to educate/encourage their members not to create disturbances when the report is released. He said that the crisis can be overcome if the Timorese maintain stability and allow time for justice to proceed through the investigations carried out on the subjects mentioned in the report. STL reported Reske-Nielsen as saying the leaders must be prepared to receive the report. STL also reported on the meeting between Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen and Longuinhos Monteiro, Timor-Leste Prosecutor General, who told the media afterwards that the meeting was in relation to preparation for the release of the COI report. (STL, TP) Petitioners Return Questionnaires About 519 petitioners have returned the questionnaires handed to them by the Notable Commission.
According to Pedro da Costa, a member of the Commission, the response to the questionnaire has been very positive and outlines a way forward to resolve the problems within the Defence Force. Da Costa said since the mandate of the Commission ends on 30th October, the report must be submitted and a decision made on the subject. (TP)
New judges must learn Tetum language
MP Alexandre Corte-Real (UDT) said part of the contract for new judges is to learn Tetum since it is one of the two official languages used by the population. Corte-Real said another area the international judges should have thorough knowledge of is in the crimes that have been committed in Timor-Leste during the recent crisis. (STL)
Political parties ready to participate in elections
President of the Court of Appeal said 13 political parties have registered to participate in the 2007 elections. He said the latest party to register was the Republican Party, adding each party must have a minimum of 1500 members to be entitled to register. He said those parties who have not yet registered but are represented in the National Parliament are UDC/PDC, Klibur Oan Timor Aswain(KOTA) and the Liberal Party. In 2001, 16 political parties participated in the elections. (STL)
ICG report contrary to reality
Prime Minister Ramos-Horta said the report of the International Crisis Group is contrary to the reality in Timor-Leste where thousands of people including political parties have expressed their views that President Xanana Gusmao should continue in office for another mandate. On Mari Alkatiri, Fretilin's Secretary General, Ramos-Horta said it was not up to the ICG to decide but it is the people's decision on who should lead the party in the elections.
In a separate article, the Prime Minister reportedly said that Australia is prepared to continue to provide assistance to Timor-Leste at least until December, adding that the Australian government would maintain their forces in the country with impartiality. During his recent visit to Australia, the Prime Minister met with his Australian counterpart and, among other issues, discussed the exploration of the Greater Sunrise oil.
STL reported the Prime Minister as saying he would ask an Australian expert to investigate Timor-Telecom's rates, which are considered very high. He said he would discuss the prices with the company and request lowering of the rates – especially the internet rate – to enable youth to have access. Speaking to the IDPs in Becora on Friday, he stressed that he wants the youth to have access to the internet to broaden their education and knowledge of the technology. (TP, STL)
Shooting between F-FDTL-PNTL result of manipulation
STL reported in a separate article that during his visit to Becora, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta told community members currently taking refuge in the nuns' compound, that F-FDTL and PNTL had harmonious ties but they were destroyed by some members of the government. Ramos-Horta said the shooting between the two institutions was the result of manipulations. He said he is not certain who is responsible. The Prime Minister said the government is now working hard to restore the PNTL, adding once all the United Nations police are on the ground and the screening of PNTL officers is complete, permanent posts will be established in the entire neighbourhood. (STL)
Ximenes-Longuinhos ready to try authors of crisis
President of the Appeals Court and the Prosecutor General made a joint statement on Friday (13/10) saying that the court is ready to process the authors of the crisis based on recommendations of the report of the Independent Special Commission of Enquiry. Ximenes said their statement is based on Timor-Leste's Constitution and it is the competence of the Public Ministry to take penal actions if there is evidence against the accused of any alleged crimes. He told the media that the court would then proceed and make a decision on the case in an objective and impartial manner according to the law and facts.
On the same occasion, Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro, appealed to Major Alfredo Reinado and his group to return to prison, as the court decision on their recapture is still valid. Monteiro refused to comment whether he has been in telephone contact with Alfredo but STL reports that Monteiro and Brigadier Mick Slater met with him near Alas, Manufahi District. The contents of the discussion have not been revealed.
Meanwhile, Tomas Pinto, military political analyst said the UN must provide security to the judges to proceed with the cases of those responsible for the crisis. Pinto added that it is important that the judges work in an environment free of terror. (TP, STL, DN)
Man stabbed to death
A 50-year-old man living in the IDP camp opposite Obrigado Barracks, Caicoli, was fatally stabbed by an unknown person while returning from church on Sunday. According to Timor Post, Benjamin was walking towards Obrigado Barracks after attending the morning mass when he was stabbed. UNPOL police closed the area for about two hours, reported TP. (TP)
CNE will have own budget: Pessoa
The Minister of State, Ana Pessoa said the National Electoral Commission (CNE) will have its own budget but legislation first needs to be established for the Commission to proceed with its work. Pessoa said that there are no problems with STAE, noting it has started its work. She added that the focus now would be on CNE. The Minister of Justice Domingos Sarmento is of the opinion that the votes must be assembled in the districts for counting, adding that the decision would be from the Parliament. (TP)
Recommendation of ICG against convention
MP Clementino Amaral (KOTA) said the report of the International Crisis Group, which recommends that among other leaders, former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and President Gusmco should not be involved in the 2007 elections, is against the Political and Civil Rights Convention. Amaral further said the recommendation is not appropriate because everybody is still waiting for the result of the COI and it would not be democratic if the group already has access to the report. The Chairman of ETPA, Cecilio Caminha said the recommendation is good but the government of Timor-Leste had already adopted and approved the convention, therefore its citizens have the right to vote and be politically active if they wish. Other political leaders are of the same opinion, saying no one can stop them from being active in politics. (STL)
UNPOL would stop violence
Acting Police Commissioner, Antero Lopes reportedly said during Thursday's press conference that the United Nations police will mount security in Dili, the districts and sub-districts in time for the release of the COI report. Lopes said at the moment there are 648 police from 13 nations and 200 more police are arriving from 20 nations next week and the police would not tolerate more violence. Lopez said UNPOL would take a firm stand on those people committing violence. On the issues of guns, Lopes said a total of around 232 guns, have not yet been handed in by the PNTL officers, noting 100 out of this number are pistols. During the press conference, Antero also said that President Gusmco has never interfered in the work of the international forces in detaining Major Alfredo who is currently in hiding. He said UNPOL has identified that the case of Colmera has affiliation with the stabbing of the STAE staff, saying soon police will detain those involved in the crime, adding it is not related to the recent crisis.
Acting Commander for the Joint Stabilisation Force, Lieutenant Colonel Rerden said the Australian and New Zealand forces continue to collaborate with UNPOL in providing security to the population. In a separate article, Commander Rerden said the International Forces have recaptured two prisoners who escaped with Major Alfredo's group.
At the same press conference, Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen said the COI report will be released sometime in the next 8 days, adding many political parties have requested UNMIT for the quick release of the document but said it is not possible as the translations are not yet complete. Reske-Nielsen further said UNMIT has consulted with all Timorese leaders and civil society to receive the report with humility and serenity. The Acting SRSG said he welcomed the joint appeal by the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Parliament, to the population to be calm and to continue their daily activities. (STL, TP)
Dialogue based on political proximity
Maria Domingas Fernandes Alves, coordinator of the Commission of the Dialogue and Community Reintegration said the scheduled dialogue would first analyse the political proximity in order to create an environment of understanding. Alves said the commission would only facilitate the return of the population to their homes and that the objective and focus of the dialogue is on the youth. She said it is a difficult and complex task to try to convince the youth to participate in the dialogue, adding it would need to begin from the grassroots level. In the meantime, a member of the same commission, Joao 'Choque' da Silva said despite the difficulties the commission is facing it is time for the Timorese youth to forgive each other. He said that the Timorese have forgiven the Indonesians and today many Indonesians are living in Timor-Leste, so why can't the Timorese forgive each other? (STL)
Fretilin rejects delay of report
Fretilin Central Committee has demanded the hand over of the COI report to the National Parliament to avoid growing expected incomprehension and lessening the credibility of the Commission. Speaking during a press conference in Dili on Wednesday, Jose Reis, Deputy Secretary General of the party stressed that a letter had been sent to the Acting SRSG of the UN in Timor-Leste, Finn Reske-Nielsen asking the UN to present the English version of the report to the Parliament by 12 October. Reis said the translation of the document could be left for last, adding that delaying the report would not contribute to diminishing the current situation. He also appealed to all members of Fretilin to welcome the report regardless of the results, adding Fretilin rejects violence and wants to contribute to peace and stability of the nation. He said the result of the investigation on the recent crisis would be a lesson for Fretilin, for the nation and for the people, and if some leaders have been condemned, the people must accept it. Jose Reis further said those people involved in the crisis must be tried, as it would also be a lesson for the new generation.
In the meantime, Director of HAK Association, Jose Luis Oliveira said screening the SBS documentary film on 'the downfall of a prime minister' could be seen as exciting the people and as a way to make them accept the film as the truth rather than the results of the investigation of the COI. Oliveira said viewing one part of the documentary is not correct as it could confuse the population and he suggested showing the documentary by David O'Shea in order to balance the story and let each person make their own conclusion. Jose Reis responded that the showing of the documentary was to share information with the population, and to stop many rumours and not to cover up those involved in crimes.
In a separate article, Major Alfredo Reinado said he doubts those people involved in the crisis will abide by the results and recommendations of the COI, noting that what has been anticipated is to act on those still in government and those in possession of guns. (STL, TP, DN)
Results of COI May contradict PDHJ
Provedor Direitus Humanus e Justica (Provedor for Human Rights and Justice), Sebastico Ximenes said his office is still investigating the incidents of April and May therefore it would be a while before the results of the investigation are released. Unlike the COI, Ximenes said, his office operates with very limited resources and needs time to speak to those involved including eyewitnesses noting that some have fled to the districts. He hopes the COI report would not contradict the report of PDHJ. (DN)
International community concern with situation: Guterres
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Luis Guterres said the international community is concerned with the situation in Timor-Leste, therefore the nation must be responsible to them. Guterres said the presentation of the credential letter from the Swedish Ambassador shows that the international community continues to be interested in the country and to follow the situation. The Swedish Ambassador presented his letter of credential to President Gusmao on Wednesday. (STL, DN)
Youth must stop violence and focus on independence: Dr. Murphy
Dr. Dan Murphy, Director of Lanud Clinic said the conflict between neighbourhoods has increased and he appeals to the Timorese to stop violence and hatred between each other and focus on peace and strengthening independence rather than face losing it. He said the number of people seeking medical assistance has increased with doctors treating people with knife, and rama ambon (slingshots) wounds. Dr. Murphy said two people are under medical treatment following rock throwing in Comoro, and one was shot through the throat by a rama ambon and needs to be treated at the national hospital but is refusing to go there due to the situation in the hospital. (DN)
PNTL active
About 50 PNTL officers are now on the ground working with the International Police, UNPOL, said Vice-Minister of Interior, Jose Agostinho Sequeira. Sequeira said a total of 75 police were supposed to be active by now but 25 are still under training and will join UNPOL next week and be part of the operations and take up the permanent posts, once more UNPOLs arrive. He said following allegations of a threat to the spouse of the Administrator of Maubara, Liquica sub-district, investigations will be carried out regarding the Liquica PNTL commander to ascertain the truth and to take measures. Sequeira said the two Administrators have presented their complaints and the Interior Ministry is waiting for the PNTL commander's report. (DN)
Screening of documentary incites ethnic crisis: Isac
MP Leandro Isac (Independent) said Fretilin's political campaign through the screening of a documentary film entitled "the downfall of a Prime Minister" on the crisis, could inflame the military political crisis the nation is currently facing. Isac feels that showing the film does not contribute to peace and it shows that Fretilin wants to incite the people and deepen the ethnic crisis. He said as a historic party, Fretilin must treat the people equally or face the consequences of falling. (STL)
Arrival of more Police According to the Vice-Minister of Interior, Jose Agostinho Sequeira 'Somaxo', about 140 more UN police arrived in Dili on Monday from Philippines, Bangladesh and El Salvador. Sequeira said more police from Portugal, New Zealand and Pakistan will arrive next week and once they are all on the ground they will maintain security around Dili and some in permanent posts, adding that two more posts have been identified, one being in Hera. He said some countries have provided between 10-20 police officers. (DN)
Indonesia company to implement project
A national broadcast project will be implemented by an Indonesian company, due to its experience and interest in finalizing the project by April 2007, reported Diario Nacional today. Minister of Finance and Planning, Madalena Boavida and Wahyunddin Bagenda, Director of PT. Len Industry (Persero) signed the agreement Tuesday in Dili. Portugal donated 1,2 million euros to secure six stations in the districts of Lospalos, Baucau, Dili, Maliana, Suai and Oecussi. The government has also allocated a budget from the fiscal year 2006/2007 for the districts of Aileu, Manufahi, Ainaro, Liquica, Ermera Manatuto and Viqueque. According to Antonino Bianco, Minister for the President of the Council of Minister, the main aim of the project is to disseminate electoral campaign information and information to the people throughout the country. Bianco said it is also an investment to secure the development of Timor-Leste. (DN)
Worker stabbed
Anastasio Fernandes da Costa, a STAE employee, was stabbed for allegedly being the brother of a person accused of killing a youth in Colmera on Monday. According to a STAE staff member, who did not want his name revealed, a group of unknown people went to the office in search of Anastasio who was absent from work. Despite pleas from his colleagues not to return to work due to accusations that his younger brother was allegedly involved in the killing of Santino, he turned up to work on Tuesday. Around 3:00 pm on the same day, a group of people assaulted him at his office and stabbed him, leaving the vicinity only when the victim was unconscious. He was taken to the hospital and under went emergency operation. In the meantime, the body of Santino has been taken back to his village for burial. (DN)
Youth killed in Colmera
An 18-year old youth died of stab wounds from an unknown group in Colmera, Dili yesterday. According to media reports, the youth went to one of the supermarkets to buy paper foil and was attacked as he was leaving the supermarket on his bicycle. It is also reported that the group had already threatened to stab or cut one of his ears off before he went into the supermarket. According to family members, Santino had not done any harm to anyone and was simply doing his work, as requested by the owner of the restaurant in which he worked. UN Police arrived at the scene but no arrests were made as the attackers had already fled the scene. (STL, TP)
Railos is frightening people
A communique issued by Fretilin Central Committee and reported by the media said Vicente Railos is scaring the people in Timor- Leste because soon the COI will release the investigation report. The document further said that Railos has verbally abused and beaten the wife of the Administrator of Maubara, Liquica sub- district accusing her of denying knowing about the distribution of guns by the local authorities to kill the petitioners and him. According to the Administrator's report, Railos has threatened to kill both, Liquica and Maubara Administrators, abuse his wife and burn their homes if former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri is not jailed following the release of the COI report. Railos has also stated he is not worried if they want to present their complaints to 'their ministers' as he has the support of 'number one' and is in control of Liquica police, said the communique. According to the report of Maubara Administrator, Felix da Costa, on the evening of September 29, Railos and his group including some members of PNTL forced their way into his house with a pistol during his absence and made accusations against his wife. Railos has rejected the accusations as false and said some people were trying to manipulate the truth that some members of Fretilin distributed guns to civilians. He added that the accusation is a manipulation by the Maubara Administrator because he is now involved with the security group which has been formed by the Vice-Minister of Health, Luis Lobato. Railos further said he is awaiting the report of COI and rejects violence. (STL, TP)
Fretilin wants COI report this week
MP Elizario Ferreira (Fretilin) made a political statement during the Parliament's plenary session on Monday (9/10) that the report of the COI must be presented to the National Parliament by October 12. Ferreira gave the deadline stressing that Fretilin wants a path that safeguards justice and prevents any political conspiracy. He said Fretilin is also prepared to receive the outcome of the result of the Commission and the consequences if its members have been involved in the crisis. MP Lucia Lobato (PSD) said it would not be possible to have the report by the demanded date as it is being translated into three languages, stressing it is imperative that everybody welcomes the result of the investigation and the recommendations in order to help with the justice process. MP Rui Menezes (PD) said the National Parliament must follow up on the report with legal measures as a way to find a solution to the political crisis. Menezes said the report should not be treated like CAVR where the recommendations have been ignored.
In the meantime, F-FDTL Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak told the media on Monday that he is prepared to go to court to respond to any accusations against him in relation to the incidents of April and May 2006. Ruak reiterated he had already stressed his willingness to accept any accusations and refused to comment if any members of the armed forces were involved in the incidents, adding only that we need to wait for the report of the Commission. (STL, TP)
Court not scared to process Rogerio
In response to some concerns raised by MPs and civil society that the court should not be scared to process Rogerio, the President of the Court of Appeal, Claudio Ximenes said the Court is processing Rogerio Lobato's case according to the law, and in an independent and impartial manner. Ximenes said he had stressed over and over again, in the Parliament, that the court is not scared to process former Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato nor make a decision depending on the law and based on facts and evidences. He said the court would not bow to pressure from anyone for the decision it has to make, adding any court decision will contribute to Timorese being able to live peacefully especially now during the crisis. Ximenes did not reveal the process trial of Lobato saying he is not in charge of the case. (TP)
UN Secretary General still searching for new SRSG
Jose Luis Guterres, Minister of Foreign Affairs said the Office of the UN Secretary General is still searching for a new SRSG for Timor-Leste. Guterres said the Secretary General is consulting with various nations to elect the new person to head the new UN mission. He also told the media upon his arrival from New York that the UN has agreed on a total of 1600 police which would all be in Timor soon. (TP)
Alleged plot against Alfredo, Salsinha, Tara and Railos
Major Tara told the media during a press conference on Friday that he received information that on October 1, the President of the National Parliament who is also Fretilin's President, former Prime Minister and another person from the west met to organize a plot against him, Railos, Salsinha and Major Alfredo. Tara said the meeting between the Fretilin leaders also discussed the hiding of weapons in Sare, Ermera District with the aim to kill the above-mentioned people. He said he wanted to share this information with the public to let them know that the leaders are the ones instigating the problems in Dili. He said he is also sharing the information for their security and safety purposes. The coordinator of FNJP questions whether the recent burning of a small business in Ermera by an unknown group could have been organized by some of the leaders, due to its support to the petitioners. In the meantime the President of the Parliament, Francisco Guterres refused to comment on the above except to say to wait for the Commission of Inquiry report.
Following his meeting with the petitioners' group, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta said based on the information he received from the petitioners on the scattered weapons still in the hands of civilians, the Australian troops are now in Ermera not only to provide protection to the population but to the petitioners as well. The Prime Minister said the Australian forces are continuing to try and locate the illegal guns, but said it has been difficult due to the geographic distance and the bush density of the country. A member of the petitioners who refused to give the name said the government must work with the international forces to disarm those in possession of illegal guns because gunshots are still being heard. He said some groups are still ignoring the pledge of the government for disarmament. (STL)
COI report
The Bishop of Dili Diocese, Dom Ricardo da Silva appealed to the Timorese to await the report of the Commission of Inquiry with calm and tranquillity as it is the positive step for the people to find the truth and justice. Dom Ricardo said once the report is released, the people should not continue with the violence because what everybody wants is truth and justice. He said this is the only way for Timor-Leste to move forward.
The Secretary General of FNJP Vital dos Santos said the four sovereign state institutions should not depend on the Commission of Inquiry report to kill the process of justice.
Benevides Correira Barros, President of Timor-Leste Lawyers Association (AATL) argues that the result of the report of the Commission should not be submitted to the National Parliament for approval as it comes from an independent body.
Fretilin will welcome the result and recommendations of the Commission, and is prepared to follow up with the recommendations for the sake of the people, said Francisco Lu'Olo Guterres, President of Fretilin and the National Parliament. Director of LABEH, a national NGO said the civil society has welcomed the appeal of the President of the Republic, President of the Parliament and Prime Minister and will continue to provide information to the public to receive the report of the Commission.
MP Manuel Tilman (KOTA) said the people must receive the report of the COI and if not, it is the duty of the President of the Parliament, as representative of the people, to explain the document, adding, the three must welcome the report. (STL, TP, DN)
Fretilin prepares for elections
Fretilin convened its first regional meeting in Lospalos in preparation for the 2007 general elections. The documentary film of SBS about the crisis in Timor-Leste was shown following each meeting session. According to Jose Reis, Fretilin's Deputy Secretary General, the meetings will continue in other parts of the country like in central, north (Dili, Liquica, Ermera and Bobonaro) south (Aileu, Ainaro, Manufahi, and Covalima) and Oecussi enclave in two weeks time. (STL, TP, DN)
Timor will not forget Kofi Annan's contribution
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Lums Guterres said the people of Timor-Leste will not forget the great contribution of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan gave for the independence and freedom of the country, Timor Post reported, citing the information accessed from the 61st session of the UN General Assembly. According to this daily, the Foreign Minister delivered a few words in Tetum, thanking the head of the UN and other leaders for their support during the crisis period, ending his speech with "I pray to God to continue to protect you, your government and your people". (TP)
Judges should be jailed if Rogerio is not tried: Tilman
The courts of Timor-Leste must be brave to bring to trial Fretilin's Vice-President and former Minister of Interior, Rogerio Lobato, or detain the judges, said MP Manuel Tilman (KOTA). Tilman said the jail of Becora should not be for only a few people but should be for everybody, including the judges. He said the judges should not dissolve the cases based on threats, but he believes the Timorese judges are brave to carry the process forward. He said international judges representing the Timorese, in the case of Rogerio, must obey Timor-Leste penal code. (TP)
Petitioners ask commission to be just
Questionnaires were distributed to the petitioners group yesterday as part of the investigation process. Members of Notable Commission, namely the Minister of State, Ana Pessoa, Fr. Antonio Goncalves, Vice-Minister of Interior, and Agustinho "Somoxo" Sequeira met with the petitioners. A total of 33 questions have been compiled for the group. Salsinha Gastco, the petitioners' spokesperson, said that although he still has some reservations about the commission he hopes that it will be just and impartial and that it will provide a result. Gastao reiterated that his group wants to find a solution and not create instability. (STL, TP, DN)
Report will weigh down the leaders
During a joint statement yesterday the President of the Republic said the results of the Independent Special Commission of Enquiry would weigh down some people including the leaders, civilians, many citizens, the forces, police and the State. Speaking on behalf of the sovereign state, President Gusmao appealed to the people to welcome the results and the recommendations of the Independent Special Commission of Inquiry in order to help the state to flourish in the security sector, respect human rights and put an end to the violence in order to prevent occurrence of another crisis. The appeal was made with the Prime Minister Ramos-Horta and President of the National Parliament, Francisco Lu'Olo Guterres, at the Palace of Ashes in Dili. In the meantime, human rights advocate, Aderito de Jesus said it is imperative that the population understand the report of the commission therefore he urges institutions like the church and civil society organisations to explain to the Timorese people the result and recommendations of the document. In a press statement, Acting SRSG, Finn Reske-Nielsen expressed gratitude to the State of Timor-Leste for appealing to the people to welcome the Special Independent Commission of Enquiry report, which will be released sometime this month. (STL, TP, DN)
Youth prepared for national dialogue
Youth representatives from the east and west met with President Gusmco to hold a national dialogue. The youths want the establishment of a Commission to be in charge of the dialogue and headed by the former advisor for Gender and Equal Promotion, Maria Domingas Alves. One youth representative, Joco Choque, said it is preferable that the dialogue be held before Christmas, as it would enable those living in IDP camps to return to their homes or districts if they wish. (TP, STL, DN)
MTRC facilitates IDPs return to districts
The Ministry of Labour and Community Reinsertion is facilitating the return of people living in IDP camps to the districts. The Ministry is providing humanitarian assistance, logistics, education and health for those people who wish to return to their districts or to areas they want to settle. The program is being supported by local and international NGOs and in coordination with the heads of village in the districts. The IDPs in Obrigado Barracks camp have received around 4,028 bags of rice. Each person is entitled to 8kgs or 1 bag of rice per family of 9 people. According to one IDP from the Barracks, many other organizations and the government have distributed food and non- food items. Although there have been incidents of rock throwing, the displaced people in this camp have not retaliated because they do not see it as a way of resolving the problems. (TP, DN)
Bebonuk community asks for police post
A group of people from Bebonuk met with the President of the National Parliament to present their complaints about the constant attack on the community in the area by unknown people. Jose Martins, the head of the group, would like the police to set up a post there urgently to reduce the attacks. Meanwhile, Francisco Guterres, President of the Parliament said he would follow-up with the government, especially the Ministry of Interior, which has promised to set up 6 permanent police posts as addressed to the Parliament a few months ago. (TP)
Gusmao and Ramos-Horta visit GNR headquarters President Gusmco and Prime Minister Ramos-Horta visited GNR headquarters in Caicoli on Thursday and held talks over one hour with the Portuguese elite police. The issues discussed were not revealed, reported the media. The Leaders also visited the medical clinic and other assets currently used by GNR. (STL, TP, DN)
Relocation of IDPs
The government has decided to relocate IDPs to new areas and assist those wishing to return to their districts, reported the media today. Deputy Prime Minister and spokesperson, Rui Araujo said the government is yet to decide on the area for the transition housing to enable IDPs to settle temporarily. An inter-ministerial team headed by Prime Minister Ramos-Horta will prioritise the move of the people from the camps of the hospital, airport, Hera-Metinaro, and Colmera garden. According to Araujo the team will visit the camps to identify their main problems and offer the options prepared by the government including the return to the districts. On a related issue, the Minister of Public Works, Odete Vitor said the government is studying how to facilitate the reconstruction of private properties affected during the crisis. On the affected State properties, she said the government has not made a decision for rehabilitation. The Council of Ministers made the decision to implement the project for the rehabilitation and construction of properties of the population on Wednesday.
In a separate article, the priest of Motael parish Antonio Alves urged the government to urgently act on the refugees as the wet season is starting. Alves said he is sad that none of the leaders were present at the launch of the book titled 'Refugee'. The book is based on the feelings of the displaced people and information collected from 6 IDP camps and supported by the Dili Diocese Commission for Justice and Peace, Catholic Relief Services, Caritas Australia and ICMC. (STL, TP)
Discussion for reintegration of petitioners
Prime Minister Ramos-Horta said the government is discussing the re-integration of the petitioners with the head of the Defence Forces. According to Ramos-Horta many members of the petitioners group want to rejoin F-FDTL and he agrees that many of them are not at fault and have not committed any crime or wrongdoing. The Prime Minister said the competence rests on the commander of F- FDTL, but the government will discuss how to resolve the problem case by case. He said petitioners will receive humanitarian assistance for up to two months and if there is no political solution, there is a legal solution as they have the right to assistance from the government. The PM was scheduled to meet another group of the petitioners today in Gleno, Ermera District. (TP, DN)
MP disagrees subsidy with PM
MP Ozorio Florindo (Fretilin) disagrees with the statement made by Prime Minister Ramos-Horta on subsidising the political parties equally. Florindo said he does not know how the Prime Minister made his decision, adding that the subsidy should be based on the political parties' representatives in the Parliament. (STL)
Groups with guns in Ermera
MP Jose Buras (PD) told the Parliament plenary session on Tuesday that many groups carrying guns are wandering in Ermera District. Buras said it is not yet known whether the burning of houses and the killing of a child in that area are related to the groups. He said there have been cases where those responsible for the crimes have fled the area, leaving the international forces to detain those not involved in the acts. On the recent shootings in Bobonaro District, according to Antonio Mauluta, a PNTL officer stationed in that area, the action was carried out by the group Colimau 2000, when the leader of the group was denied participation in the program "cash for work" because he wanted to get the money without working. (STL, DN)
PNTL cadets working with international police
Deputy Minister of Interior, Somoxo, said the police currently working with the International Police are the new police recruits who successfully went through the recruitment process and remained in the police academy during the crisis. Therefore, they should not be confused with the police that were already active and who are still under investigation. In the meantime, Diario Jornal reported that Francisco Lu'Olo Guterres, President of the National Parliament, said the action of the International Police, especially the Australian police with the IDPs is still controversial because in times of conflict rather than capturing the suspects the police capture those defending themselves. (DN, TP)
Public hearing on proposed electoral laws
Commission A of the National Parliament in charge of constitutional affairs, freedom and liberty rights, is holding a public hearing today with all entities on the proposed electoral laws, laws for the National Parliament and proposed laws for the Independent Electoral Commission. The audience is scheduled to continue tomorrow and next week. (DN, STL)
Veterans want investigation on UNTAET
About 1,100 veterans of Falintil CPD-RDTL demanded that the Special Independent Commission of Inquiry also investigate UNTAET for disarming Falintil in Aileu following the 24-year struggle. According to Antonio Aitahan Matak, CPD-RDTL Coordinator General, with the UN resolutions passed, the UN must be responsible for the crisis in Timor-Leste and should not blame the government of RDTL nor the F-FDTL institution. He said the CPD-RDTL veterans representatives are Mariano Lequi-Hare from sector I, Hadsolok Ramelau, from Ainaro, Domingos Kuboy, Sector II, Vivake(matebian) Daniel Mota, Sector III and Nakroma of Bobonaro. (STL)
PM Welcomed Translation of Report: Finn Reske-Nielsen
Prime Minister Ramos-Horta has welcomed the initiative of the Special Independent Commission of Inquiry to translate the report of their findings into Tetum, Bahasa Indonesia, and Portuguese languages, Deputy SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen told the media yesterday, following a meeting with the Prime Minister. Reske- Nielsen said Ramos-Horta is happy that the translation of the document will enable everybody to access the report in the languages they feel comfortable with and understand its content. The Deputy SRSG said the Commission's report was scheduled to be released on October 7 and will probably be delayed due to the translations. In a separate article, MP Francisco Xavier do Amaral (ASDT) suggests that the Parliament must make public the report and explain to the population the role of the Special Independent Commission of Enquiry in order to enable them to understand it as it will be a lengthy process. (DN)
Court must condemn authors of April 28: Alfredo
In an interview with Timor Post yesterday, Major Alfredo said the judges and prosecutors should not be scared to condemn the authors of the April 28 incident, alleging some F-FDTL commanders were involved and abused their power, which was not in accordance with the Constitution. Among other issues, Alfredo says he wants justice, adding that he is an eyewitness to many things but he has remained silent up until now. (TP)
Delegation madrid club meet PR
The Madrid Club, headed by former Latvia Prime Minister, Valdis Birkavs met with President Xanana Gusmco yesterday and discussed the implementation of the project on the national dialogue. Birkavs said the team is in the country to share some of their experiences with the Timorese, adding any decision would solemnly be from the Timorese people. The Madrid Club is composed of over 60 former Presidents and Prime Ministers. (STL, TP)
Delay of report due to translation
At yesterday's press conference held at Obrigado Barracks UNMIT's Acting SRSG, Mr. Finn Reske-Neilsen, said, according to Diario Nacional, that the delay of the Special Independent Commission of Inquiry report is due to the time it will take for translation of the document into Tetum, Indonesian and Portuguese languages. Rieske-Nielsen said the release of the report would be this month, covering three main areas – the truth behind the events of April and May, identification of the responsibility of the main events and those involved as well as recommendations to safeguard the security and investigation process for the Prosecutor-General. This daily also quoted acting SRSG as saying that the important process is for the commission to disseminate the truth and not create impunity. He said the Commission came about based on the response of the Secretary General to a request by TL's then Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, to establish an independent enquiry commission to determine the facts and recommendation that can be continued.
Finn Rieske-Nilsen is confident that the government, civil society, and political parties have the sense of responsibility when the result of the commission is released and national institutions are responsible to proceed with judicial actions. He said the differences the Timorese are facing should be stopped in the ballot boxes and that peace should prevail.
Speaking to the media, acting SRSG Finn Rieske-Nielsen said the people of Timor-Leste must elect leaders with capacity in the 2007 elections, appealing to the population to exercise their conventional rights to vote and choose the leaders they believe would lead the nation. The UN will provide about 400 technical supervisors to oversee the general election process to ensure it is in accordance with international standards, said Rieske- Nielsen, adding he hopes the Parliament will soon approve the electoral laws for the political parties to start their campaign for the nation.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta appealed to the population not to enter into a panic state that there would be conflict following the release of the Special Independent Commission of Inquiry report. He said everybody must welcome the report, as it is the truth about the crisis that occurred in the country. The Prime Minister said the report, is the result of the Commission's work and it is the truth, impartial and must be welcomed by everybody. He said if the Timorese do not want it, in future people would be hesitant to work in the country. But above all, he said, it was the Timorese who asked for it and therefore, the people must be humble, honest and accept the results of the report. He said the results will not only point to individuals but to failures of institutions like PNTL that led to the crisis.
Antero Lopes acting UN Police Commissioner also spoke during the press conference and said that UNPOL will establish a Special Unity to strengthen security for the nation. Lopes said UNPOL will work together with members of PNTL who are still not authorized to carry weapons. He said another 50 UN police would arrive during this month. (STL, DN, TP)
Government to establishes consultative body
Following the regular meeting with the President of the Republic, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta told the media, that President Gusmao has recommended the establishment of a joint consultative body with the UN to better coordinate the work of the UN in Timor- Leste. Both Ramos-Horta and the President have said that they would like the President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres to be a part of the structure. On other topics, Ramos- Horta said he consulted with the President about the US$1million the government allocated to help those affected by the crisis and said a decision will be reached on Wednesday's inter-ministerial meeting. On economic dynamics, the Minister said the President suggested a tax reduction and possible discontinuation of some taxes for investors, an issue he has already discussed with the World Bank and IMF. The proposal will be presented to the National Parliament on October 20. Another issue discussed with the President is the national dialogue scheduled for this month which would be headed by President Gusmco, Club Madrid and a Lutheran Bishop from Oslo and supported by the European Commission and Norway. (DN, TP)
IDP's present complaints to NP
About 30 IDPs from the Comoro Airport and Jardim Colmera met with the President of the National Parliament, Francisco Guterres to present their complaints about UNPOL actions. The IDPs told Guterres the Australian and Malaysian police acted in an improper manner by using tear gas against those inside the camp at Colmera, composed mainly of young children, elders and some sick people during a fight between an unknown group and the IDPs. They also complained that the Australian police detained the IDPs from Colmera who tried to defend themselves from attacks by unknown groups. The President of the Parliament told the group he would raise the issue with those responsible for security. He also told the concerned IDPs that he's waiting for Australian Force commander, Brigadier General Slater to capture Major Alfredo who fled prison together with some of his followers, adding he must be in prison. On the request to speed up PNTL return, he said the screening process is slow but it is important that the Ministry of Interior and UNPOL are working together and are planning to establish for permanent security posts.
In a separate article, Diario Nacional reported a member of PNTL shot and injured a man in Bobonaro District community following some disputes between villages on the cash-for-work program. Franselino Napoleao, 37 years old is now receiving medical treatment in Maliana hospital. (DN, TP, STL)
Ruak not aware of attack: Leandro
MP Leandro Isac, said F-FDTL Brigadier General, Taur Matan Ruak was not aware of the attack on his residence by Abilio 'Mausoko' as reported on the website Timor online. Isac said if the General learned of the attack he would not have left his two children in the house to go experience the ordeal of the shootings between his bodyguards and Mausoko's group. (STL)
Census organized by STAE unconstitutional
MP Joco Goncalves said the census program currently being organised by STAE is unconstitutional because the constitution says an 'independent body will oversee the census and election and the law will determine the competency of the body/organization". He further added that the body/organization for this activity is the NEC (national electoral commission) which was established previously to oversee the chefe suco and council of village elections, and he questioned whereabouts of NEC. (STL, TP)
PD national congress
Partido Democratico (PD) concluded its first national congress on Sunday with the re-election of Fernando 'Lasama' de Araujo and Mariano Sabino as President and Secretary General respectively of the party. According to Lasama, one of the aims of the congress was to delineate the development program for the 2007 elections. Prime Minister Ramos-Horta, PSD President, Mario Carrrascalao, ASDT President, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, President PMD, and some members of the Diplomatic Corps were in attendance. (TP, STL, DN)
I maybe dumb but I have not distributed Guns
Speaking on the final day of the PD congress, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta said he accepts any kind of criticism, even asking him to step down because he is dumb. But he reiterated that, though he may be dumb, he has not distributed any guns, rocks or slingshots. He says the reason he sits and communicates with all the different parties is to see the best path for Timor-Leste.
The Minister appealed to the youth not to be scared to speak out or feel that they lack experience. He held up as an example, some of the members of the PD who were all young people with lots of experience and who were involved in the clandestine movement during the occupation. Ramos-Horta pointed out that his generation belongs to the past and with their experience they are willing to be the backbone of the youth. (TP)
Alfredo warns anyone trying to detain him
In response to Prime Minister Ramos-Horta's statement that the international forces would try and dialogue with Alfredo for his surrender, rather than have more bloodshed, Alfredo said that no one, including the international forces, should bother him because he has been 'quiet' in his place and is not hiding from anyone, because this is his country and he has not stolen anything from anyone. On the dialogue, Alfredo said he proposed it but up until now it has not happened but he still sees it as a way to resolve problems. He said he would not surrender and warned anyone trying to detain him, to try and see as he is not a threat and does not need security. (TP)
President Gusmao prepares to respond to accusations
Addressing the fifth Legislative Session of the National Parliament on Friday, President Gusmao said he is prepared to respond in court to accusations as being the promoter of the crisis for his personal interest. Gusmao stressed that he will not run away from his mistakes if there is evidence to prove it. He said everybody should rest because he would not need a lawyer and he cannot afford one due to their high fees. He said he has had many experiences with trials of which he remembers well in terms of political maturity during the seven years he spent in an Indonesian prison. On the issue of guns, the President said over 119 guns still have not been registered by the former guerrillas and 231 have not been returned by police, making it a total of over 300 guns still among civilians. He appealed for the Commission of the Parliament in charge of Defence and Security to look in to this problem to find out who has not been handing in their guns as well as the entry of illegal guns. Gusmao said the action to verify is to avoid all sorts of speculation and secure an environmental of trust among the population. MP Francisco Branco said the problem of 'east and west' started following the President's message in March. (TP, DN, STL)
Ramos-Horta new budget would assist parliament Prime Minister Ramos-Horta said he would discuss with the President of the Republic and the National Parliament to the new budget in response to the demands of the Parliament regarding the lack of transport for them to travel to the districts to be in contact with the electors. He said apart from the vehicles, the Parliament also requires economists and legal advisors and more staff to carry out the work of the Parliament. The Prime Minister also said with the current budget, the government will provide budget assistance to all political parties for the 2007 elections. He said the assistance will be given once the electoral law is in place. (DN, TP)