Political/social crisis

East Timor president lambasts ruling party

Financial Times (UK) - March 30, 2007

John Aglionby, Dili – Xanana Gusmao, East Timor president, on Thursday accused the ruling Fretilin party of corruption, arrogance and mismanagement that had put the fledgling country on a path of violence and economic stagnation since its 2002 independence.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Gusmao, whose job is largely ceremonial, said the young country's governing elite had built a record that compared unfavourably even with Indonesia's brutal 24-year rule, which came to a bloody end in 1999 following a United Nations-sponsored referendum.

Indonesia used to kill and lie but the economy continued to function," Mr Gusmao said. "Now we're independent it doesn't any more. Now the roads aren't repaired. The schools are rehabilitated but they're not done properly. Buildings are built for the ministries but the people are continuing to suffer."

The road near his house "has to be repaired twice a year, every year". "They fill a hole and then three months later it's bigger than it was before. How could that be if the government was doing its job properly?"

Mr Gusmao will step down from the presidency in May. His successor is due to be elected on April 9 with Jose Ramos-Horta, the country's Nobel laureate prime minister, seen as the favourite among eight candidates.

Mr Gusmao, who stepped down from Fretilin in the early 1980s, announced this week that he intended to join a new party that will oppose Fretilin in parliamentary elections later this year.

He said his country would never recover if Fretilin's current leadership retained power. "[Fretilin] is rotten down to its hands, which are always demanding money, and its mouth, which is always just saying: 'Yes sir, yes ma'am,'?" he said. "Its heart and its body are still healthy though."

The former guerilla leader said a UN mission that arrived after a massive breakdown of law and order last year should not be needed past mid-2008 if the East Timorese could settle their differences.

Mari Alkatiri, the Fretilin leader, was forced to resign as prime minister last August after an upsurge in violence left at least 37 people dead, forced 150,000 to flee their homes and triggered the collapse of the police and much of the military.

Mr Alkatiri dismissed Mr Gusmao and his new party, the Council for East Timorese Reconstruction, as "a pack of liars". He accused them of fomenting the violence that led to his forced resignation.

Reinado fired on Aussie troops first: Brigadier

Australian Associated Press - March 16, 2007

East Timor's fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado fired on Australian troops before they shot back, killing five of his supporters, Australia's military commander in the country says.

Brigadier Mal Rerden yesterday said Australian troops, who had Reinado surrounded at his mountain base earlier this month, did everything they could to convince him to surrender.

But when the rebels began firing their weapons, the Australians had to make a snap decision, and that was to return fire, Rerden said.

"Reinado's group had used their weapons and were threatening," said the brigadier, who also heads the International Security Forces in East Timor.

"In these life and death situations, split second decisions are to be made," he said when asked if his elite troops had any choice but to return fire. "Even with night vision we can't distinguish an arm and a leg at 50 metres, it's not realistic."

A separate source said one of four Black Hawk helicopters used in the raid at the south-coast town of Same was hit by small arms fire and had to land prematurely.

Rerden said his troops had acted entirely within their rules of engagement, and had given Reinado, who escaped, every chance to surrender. Troops had even used a loud-hailer calling on the rebel and his supporters to surrender.

Rerden described the March 4 raid, which involved four helicopter gunships, armoured cars and scores of heavily-armed SAS troops, as one of "minimal force necessary in the circumstances".

He said the Australian force would co-operate fully with a United Nations police investigation into the Same deaths and had already submitted its own report to the UN and the Timorese government.

Dubbed Operation Astute, the Australian hunt for Reinado is ongoing, with "wanted" posters issued on Thursday for the rebel leader and five other men. Rerden, eager to limit any negative fallout from the Same deaths, has been dedicating some of his time to local press briefings aimed at dispelling what he said were false claims about the Australian operation. Those false claims included that an unarmed civilian was killed.

Rerden described Reinado's interview this week on the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program as showing "exactly the images I expect of a fugitive – worn, gaunt, lacking food, under stress".

He said there would be no compromises where Reinado was concerned, and that a proposal by his lawyers for his surrender under certain conditions was unacceptable. The proposal has also been rejected by East Timor's government.

Reinado had only one option, surrender and be jailed, Rerden and UN mission chief Atul Khare told Timorese journalists when they asked if they would take up an offer of mediation by the Catholic Church.

Reinado's lawyers have proposed a surrender based on several conditions. Under their proposal, the rebel leader would face a reduced number of charges, including attempted murder and revolt against the state, but excluding illegal arms possession and desertion from the army.

Reinado was a leader in last year's factional fighting among the military and police, which spilled into Dili's streets in violence that killed at least 37 people and sent about 155,000 fleeing to refugee camps.

UN admits to talks with Major Reinado's lawyers

The Australian - March 14, 2007

Mark Dodd, Dili – The UN has admitted holding talks with the lawyers for East Timor army fugitive Alfredo Reinado after twice denying it was involved in negotiations to secure his surrender.

Asked on Sunday and on Monday whether Atul Khare, the head of the UN mission in East Timor, had been involved in talks with Major Reinado's lawyers about a possible deal, UN spokeswoman Allison Cooper said he had not.

But presented with evidence obtained by The Australian, the UN has now admitted holding talks with Benevides Correia Baros, president of the East Timor Lawyers Association, who is representing Reinado.

Reinado, an Australian-trained East Timorese army officer, was commander of the country's military police unit, but deserted last May. He is wanted for alleged involvement in political violence.

In a statement released late on Monday evening, Ms Cooper said Mr Baros, in his capacity as Major Reinado's lawyer, met Mr Khare last week. During the talks, the UN chief told Mr Baros that Major Reinado had to face justice.

"All actions taken by UNMIT (the UN Integrated Mission in Timor Leste) in relation to Alfredo Reinado have been consistent with its mandated task to support the Government of Timor Leste (East Timor) and all relevant institutions to consolidate stability," Ms Cooper said.

But it is understood the Australian Defence Force is uneasy about any UN role involving Major Reinado. The ADF regards the UN's admission that it has been involved in talks as a breach of an undertaking it gave last week to stay clear of dealings involving the country's most wanted man.

Canberra, which is uneasy about the prospect of Australian troops becoming mired in East Timor's political problems, is believed to share the ADF's concerns about the UN action.

"A perception other parties are prepared to negotiate with Reinado could undermine the ongoing operation to secure his arrest," a Western diplomatic source in Dili said.

Last May, Major Reinado and 20 heavily armed military police fled into the hills in support of 590 soldiers who were protesting against alleged discrimination within the ranks of the East Timor Defence Force.

He faces treason charges for his involvement in last year's political violence, notably a gun battle with government soldiers on the outskirts of Dili that left five dead and 10 injured.

He was arrested last year but in late August led a breakout from Dili's Becora prison with 56 other inmates and has since been on the run.

Earlier this month, Major Reinado looted 25 automatic weapons, two-way radios and bullet-proof vests from two police border posts before retreating to the southern town of Same.

That led President Xanana Gusmao to ask the Australian-led peacekeeping force in Dili to make an arrest.

Dili on edge as anti-Australian sentiment rises

Canberra Times - March 9, 2007

A measure of calm has returned to the streets of Dili after the violence which erupted again last weekend in the wake of the failed attempt to capture fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado. Some fear this is merely the calm before a bigger storm. And calm is a relative term. In this calm, residents feel relatively safe during the day but still dare not venture outside at night when gangs rule many of the streets of the Timorese capital.

Early in the week a prominent Australian businessman had a narrow escape when his vehicle was set upon by a stone-throwing mob of youths near the Australian embassy compound. As he accelerated away, one of the attackers fired a sharpened steel arrow from an improvised slingshot. The arrow smashed through a window, narrowly missing his head before piercing a column on the side of the windscreen.

The violence is being accompanied by a growing anti-Australian sentiment, so much so that the Australian Government began pulling people out of the country this week after raising the travel warning.

"We strongly advise you not to travel to East Timor at this time because of the volatile security situation and the high risk of violent civil unrest. The situation could deteriorate further without warning. Following recent deaths there is an increasing likelihood that Australians and Australian interests may be specifically targeted," the warning says.

Australians arriving at Darwin airport this week, like Richard Neves, say people are taking extreme precautionary measures in East Timor and are expecting more trouble in coming weeks. The principal of Dili International School, Lyndal Barrett, says the anti-Australian sentiment hit home during the week and she was heading home.

"My local cafe, where I go for pizzas, was stoned [on Monday night] with all East Timorese standing out the front throwing rocks through the doors saying 'Aussies go home, we hate you'," she says. "There have been reports of cars and taxis being pulled over and asked if the occupants are Australian. Just that whole feeling of yes, we hate Australians."

Dili resident Ivo Rangel says the sentiment seems to have grown with the death of two students late last month, shot by Australian soldiers after steel arrows were shot at them. This was compounded by the deaths of five of Reinado's men last weekend during a failed attempt to capture him.

Rangel says he cannot speak for all East Timorese, but he thinks President Xanana Gusmao's orders to crack down on protests have helped reduce the violence, at least for now. He says some people are concerned that police appear to have little control over the gangs that run wild in Dili.

"They were just standing there and watching. I am sure they were probably afraid or scared or they don't have enough police accessories that they can use I don't know. "But in many cases people say the police are just standing and watching," he says.

People see the police cannot stop violence, so they do not trust them, he says, and they feel the local forces, the FFDTL, have more of an impact in stopping the gangs.

American Dili-based aid worker Diane Francisco says it is tough to tell how widespread anti-Australian sentiment is.

"I think in general the people of East Timor are happy to have assistance from the UN and Australian forces to keep law and order and hopefully get things back on track, but they are not the people out demonstrating and throwing rocks," she says.

Deakin University senior lecturer Dr Damien Kingsbury believes most Timorese are still very favourably disposed towards Australians, but people with political agendas are manipulating elements of the community. Political agendas are behind only some of the violence. There are also street and martial arts gangs, with names like Cold Blooded Killers, Provoke me and I'll Smash You and Beaten Black and Blue, and opportunistic violence, like muggings.

East Timor watcher from the ANU Janet Hunt says some of it is based on historical conflicts and underlying tensions in a country heavily traumatised by decades of violence.

East-west tensions were blamed for much of last year's violence, but Kingsbury thinks that divide no longer exists and was always a bit artificial. Francisco agrees, saying she sees people from each coast in gangs now.

One potential flash point is the chase of Reinado. Last weekend's failed raid resulted in the death of five of his supporters and prompted violent protests in Dili that created fear of a repeat of last year's riots in which 37 people died and 150,000 were displaced.

Reinado, who walked out of jail last August, is wanted for leading an attack last May that killed five and left 10 others injured. He has warned that if anything happens to him, "people will violently rise up in their thousands".

Kingsbury, though, does not think Reinado will have much impact on future violence in East Timor. He was unlikely to try to wage a guerrilla war, because he was just protesting against what he perceives as injustices against him and does not have much support, although the Movement for National Unity Justice and Peace or MUNJP which Kingsbury believes was behind last weekend's angry protests might react when Reinado is caught or killed. The nation was on edge again mid- week when former interior minister Rogerio Lobato was jailed for seven and a half years after being found guilty of arming gangs to kill opponents of the Government in last year's riots.

Kingsbury says the sentence likely placated the MUNJP. If there had been anger over it, it would have spilled over by now. The next catalyst could be the presidential elections, a month away. Their fairness is seen as crucial to the nation's long-term stability.

Hunt says she predicted a bumpy 2007 in the lead up to April's presidential elections and the parliamentary poll that comes up to 90 days later. "It will be up and down. I expect outbreaks of violence until after the parliamentary elections," she says.

Blogs from the country this week paint a picture of a country on edge, waiting for something to happen. Squatter at Dili-gence says the violence was having a broader effect.

"Many government departments are not really operating well as local staff are not showing up for work and a number of expats are choosing to leave," Squatter says.

"The Ministry of Education is a bit of a mess and suffering from looting, trashing and a bit of burning. An education ministry warehouse next to the main offices is a smouldering wreck with all contents burnt and the roof caved in." Tumbleweed in Asia, a woman who normally works in Dili, posted this week that it was horribly painful to "watch Timor slide back once again into chaos".

Fat Old Sod, a man aged over 40 writing on Xanana Republic Gazette, talks about the SMS security tree, where people warn each other of trouble hotspots as they emerge so they can be avoided. He tells of a warning last week to avoid the street in front of his home after the local thugs began gathering nearby. He says he would never call the cops himself the one time he did, officers turned up shouting out for who called them while the "perps" stood nearby. "If the locals knew we ever called the police we would be burnt out overnight," he says.

One anonymous resident fears East Timor will eventually fall back into Indonesian hands after several failed UN missions. "In six years of being here I've not seen any improvement, it's moving backwards!! Six years of UN presence has done little or nothing," the person writes.

Kingsbury disagrees. "East Timor is heading in the right direction, albeit from a low base. But that still leaves the country in a fairly parlous state," he says. He says the history of post-colonial states, and East Timor in particular, mean the problems are regrettable, but not that surprising.

Francisco says things are calm now, but no one knows how long that will last. "There are a lot of unknowns and the people are certainly on edge and the events of last weekend were pretty dramatic and put us back on high alert, but the reality is that since the peak on Saturday the violence has been steadily decreasing," she says. "If you spend any length of time in Timor you quickly give up the practice of speculation you are usually wrong. But I think that we are all expecting that there will be periodic flare-ups of violence between now and the elections and immediately following the elections in April. I think that if Reinado is captured or apprehended some time in the next few weeks we'll have incidents surrounding that."

Despite that, she is optimistic East Timor has a positive future. "If you're not optimistic, you shouldn't be here," she says.

Protests after Australian troops kill East Timorese youths

Green Left Weekly - March 7, 2007

Vannessa Hearman – Australian soldiers fired on three youths in Dili on February 23. One youth died at the scene – a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) near Dili Airport. The others were injured; one later died in hospital.

An Australian Defence Department statement claimed that the soldiers had fired in self-defence on two occasions, which occurred when they "responded to a disturbance" at the IDP camp. The youths allegedly fired at the soldiers with steel arrows, which were "potentially lethal weapons", the ADF statement said.

Brigadier Mal Rerden, Commander of the Joint Forces in East Timor, has claimed that "attacks against international forces" were orchestrated to try to destabilise the country. On February 24, the Australian newspaper reported Rerden said, "We are aware that some elements do think that the future of East Timor is better served by not having international elements who are neutral and impartial operating in the country."

On February 25, a funeral convoy of a few hundred people took place in Dili for the two slain youths. The route took them past the Australian embassy and cars and trucks were adorned with banners, some of them reading, "Australian Army, get out".

UN police have been arresting people for organising what they term "illegal demonstrations". The UN News Service reported that two protesters were arrested on February 20 "for organizing an unauthorized demonstration, while UNPOL [UN police] is on alert for another demonstration planned for the capital on [February 21]". It is unclear which demonstrations are being targeted by the police.

Pre-election rallies by Fretilin have been occurring in many parts of East Timor, such as in Baucau, Gleno (Ermera District), Oecussi and Same. In Oecussi, more than 10,000 people rallied in support of Fretilin, whose presidential candidate is Francisco Guterres (Lu'Olo), the parliamentary speaker. Fretilin has complained that these rallies are being attacked or threatened by provocateurs.

President Xanana Gusmao's go-ahead for Australian soldiers to arrest Major Alfredo Reinado, who deserted the Timorese Defence Force last year during the country's crisis, shifted attention from the killings of the youths to the Australian Defence Force operations against the rebel soldier and his supporters.

Reinado and his supporters had been allowed to remain "holed up" in various places, including Ermera and Same, following their escape from Becora Prison last year. Gusmao's decision came after February 25 raids on police stations in Maliana and Suai districts in which police weapons were stolen.

The IDP camp killings came amid increased crackdowns on gang activities in Dili. During February, more than 100 arrests were made. On January 31 alone, 47 people were arrested in one night. Weapon searches were also conducted by UN Police and Australian troops. On February 20, six houses were burned and one person killed following a dispute in Kampung Alor, Dili. In response to the recent increase in unrest, 5000 people have left their homes and four more IDP camps have been created to cater for the increased numbers of the internally displaced.

Some of the increased unrest has been blamed on shortages of rice. On February 20, the UN announced that UNPOL was investigating the theft of 700 bags of rice from a World Food Program warehouse. Following the theft, the WFP suspended the rice distribution program.

To ease the rice shortages, the Timorese government began selling rice "lent" to them by the WFP on February 23. Estanislau da Silva, the agricultural minister and deputy prime minister, rejected allegations from anti-Fretilin Catholic priest Domingos Soares that the government was hoarding rice supplies and providing it only to Fretilin supporters. Da Silva said rice shortages were due to the timing of harvests in Thailand and Vietnam and that the country had sufficient potato and maize supplies to avoid starvation.

On February 22 the UN Security Council passed Resolution 1745, extending the mandate of the UN mission in East Timor for a further 12 months and boosting UN police by 140 during the period before and after the April 9 presidential election. The "United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste" was created in August last year following the country's crisis. Its mandate will now expire on February 26, 2008.

Confirmed presidential candidates so far are Lu'Olo; current prime minister Jose Ramos Horta; lawyer Lucia Lobato; MP Joao Carrascalao of the Timorese Democratic Union party; Fernando de Araujo, an MP from the Democratic Party; Manuel Tilman, an MP from Association of Timorese Heroes (KOTA) party; and Avelino Coelho da Silva from the Socialist Party of Timor.

On February 8, Suara Timor Lorosae reported that Coelho's key policies include "defending the economy for the people, as it is the main factor for social injustice in the country". He promised that if he won, he would pressure the government and the parliament "to define the investment policies and become partner in the investment process with the population".

Gangs on anti-Australian rampage in Dili

Sydney Morning Herald - March 6, 2007

Lindsay Murdoch in Dili and agencies – About 20 youths attacked the Dili Club, a restaurant-bar owned by an Australian and popular with foreigners, roughing up patrons before United Nations police arrived. No one was seriously injured.

Security alerts sent to foreigners in the East Timorese capital yesterday warned that gangs were roaming the streets looking for Australians. Embassies last night issued warnings that foreigners were likely to be targeted and that their citizens should not leave their homes after nightfall.

UN police arrested 15 people in 24 hours for violent offences. They also dispersed 500 people trying to protest outside the fortified Australian embassy.

In an attempt to stop the sharply escalating violence, the East Timorese President, Xanana Gusmao, last night increased the powers of security forces.

In a televised address to the nation, Mr Gusmao announced that Australian and New Zealand soldiers and UN police now had sweeping additional powers, including stopping and searching anyone and entering homes.

The sudden increase in security powers came after the former prime minister Mari Alkatiri blamed Australian soldiers for failing to capture the rebel leader Alfredo Reinado because they did not ask local people for help.

Mr Alkatiri said he had advised the Australians when they surrounded Reinado and up to 150 heavily armed men in the mountain town of Same last week that they would need the support of locals to capture him.

"Timorese know the terrain much better than the Australians," Mr Alkatiri said. "But they did not ask for co-operation from the locals."

The Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, said in Jakarta yesterday that the Government was planning to evacuate Australian embassy staff and their families who wanted to leave. Mr Downer said he had authorised the voluntary departure for non-emergency staff from the embassy.

"The deteriorating security situation in East Timor is a matter of serious concern to the Australian Government," Mr Downer said. "The security situation is volatile and there is a high risk of violent civil unrest. There is an increasing likelihood that Australians could be specifically targeted."

After the failed attack by Australian soldiers on Sunday, Reinado fled further into the central mountains. In a 90-minute gun battle, Australian troops killed four of his men. The Australian troops used night vision equipment and were backed by helicopters and armoured carriers.

Since leading a mass escape last August from Dili's main jail, where he was being held on murder and rebellion charges, Reinado, a former major in the Timorese army, has used the media to taunt and mock the Australian and other security forces trying to capture him. But he has not contacted any journalists since the attack.

The commander of Australia's 800-strong contingent in Timor, Mal Rerden, declined to comment yesterday on what he referred to on Sunday as an "ongoing operation" to capture Reinado.

Mr Downer said he did not want East Timor's most wanted man killed – just caught. "That is the challenge for us, not to kill him," he said.

Timor erupts as rebel flees deadly raid

Sydney Morning Herald - March 5, 2007

Lindsay Murdoch and Mark Forbes in East Timor – Security forces in East Timor were bracing last night for escalating violence after Australian soldiers killed four Timorese men in a botched raid to capture the rebel leader Alfredo Reinado.

After Reinado humiliated the Australians early yesterday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, who is in Indonesia, warned that the soldiers would capture the rebel dead or alive. "Every effort will be made to capture him alive, but I think the best advice I can give Major Reinado is to surrender. He can hide in the jungle for only so long," he said.

The United Nations yesterday ordered police in East Timor's provincial towns to the capital, Dili, to reinforce the more than 1000 UN police already deployed there.

As dusk fell last night, Reinado's supporters were again gathering across the city, after riots earlier in the day. People enraged by the raid had also rioted in the towns of Gleno and Ermera.

The rebel leader humiliated the soldiers when he and some of his men escaped from a hilltop base during a 90-minute gun battle. Australian personnel were last night hunting Reinado on foot in East Timor's rugged central mountains.

He fled the base in the town of Same as dozens of soldiers, backed by two Black Hawk helicopters and three armoured personnel carriers, launched an attack in darkness early yesterday.

But the Australian-trained rebel knew they were coming and had sent at least six phone messages to journalists and diplomats. "We are on alert to take any kind of attack," he said shortly before the assault.

Reinado and an unknown number of his men managed to escape even though the Australians were more heavily armed, had the benefit of night-vision equipment and had blockaded the base for six days.

Gastao Salsinha, the commander of 700 soldiers sacked from East Timor's army last year, told the Herald from a village where he was hiding yesterday that after his escape he and his men had now "dedicated our lives" to fight for the rights of East Timor's 1 million people. "How can the Australians come here and create instability?" he asked.

Salsinha said he escaped with two bodyguards and seven youths as the Australians stormed the base firing automatic weapons, but did not say how. He said he did not know what had happened to Reinado, but would not be surprised if he had been wounded in the fierce battle.

The rebel leader's escape emboldened his supporters, who chanted "long live Reinado" as they fought running battles with UN police on the streets of Dili.

Rioters trashed cars and two government buildings in Dili and Gleno, a small town in East Timor's coffee-growing western mountains where Reinado grew up. His escape will also boost the popularity of the former head of East Timor's military police, already a cult-hero figure throughout the country. Banners and placards declaring him a hero were put up yesterday in many of Dili's suburbs.

The Howard Government, fearing widespread violence, possibly even civil war, flew a 100-strong contingent of SAS troops to East Timor less than 24 hours before the attack, which had the approval of the Timorese Government. Australia already had 800 soldiers in the country, serving with 120 New Zealanders in what is called the International Security Force. The force's commander, Mal Rerden, said in Dili that soldiers killed the four Timorese men because they were armed and "posed an unpredictable threat."

"We don't have him," a grim Brigadier Rerden told journalists, referring to Reinado. "We are continuing the operation to capture him."

Brigadier Rerden denied the operation had been botched, but declined to give details. "Any operation is a series of phases – this operation is ongoing and it will succeed," he said.

Brigadier Rerden said his troops had cleared Reinado's base and captured some prisoners. He declined to say how many.

Since Tuesday Reinado had been mocking the Australian soldiers dug in at the edge of Same, saying he had a comfortable bed and could watch television while they were sitting in the bush getting bitten by mosquitoes.

In telephone conversations with the Herald, Reinado repeatedly warned that East Timor would plunge into civil war if the Australian troops attacked him. He told the Timorese Prosecutor- General, Longuinhos Monteiro, on Saturday that he would surrender on the condition that he would be able to take care of his own security in Dili while waiting to testify at a specially convened tribunal about his role in violent upheaval last year. The government in Dili rejected the condition.

Wanted on charges of murder and rebellion, Reinado has been on the run since he led a mass escape from Dili's main jail last year.

Only hours after yesterday's attack, East Timor's President, Xanana Gusmao, appealed for calm in a televised address to the nation, saying "the interests of the state are bigger than any one person or group".

Mr Gusmao asked Brigadier Rerden to mount an operation to capture Reinado after he had led a raid on police border posts last weekend and seized 25 high-powered weapons and other military equipment. He promised Reinado that if he and his men surrendered "the state will look after their dignity".

"But there is no other way... the only way is to hand over their weapons and surrender."

Brigadier Rerden also made a new appeal for Reinado to hand over his weapons and surrender. He said if Reinado did not surrender the consequences would be his responsibility.

Mr Downer denied the failure to capture Reinado and increased unrest on the streets of Dili threatened plans to hold elections next month for a new Timorese president.

"You can't have a situation in the face of the strongly expressed preference of the Prime Minister, President and president of the parliament, where a renegade former military officer is able to raid police stations, take weapons from police stations, which they have done, and basically build an armed compound," Mr Downer said.

Speaking on his arrival in Indonesia yesterday for a counter- terrorism summit, Mr Downer said a written request for Australian troops to apprehend Reinado had come signed by Mr Gusmao and the Timorese Prime Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta.

Gusmao invokes emergency powers to quell unrest in capital

Associated Press - March 5, 2007

Guido Goulart, Dili – East Timor's president invoked emergency powers on Monday to quell unrest after hundreds of young men blockaded roads with burning tires and concrete blocks, demanding that foreign troops pull out. Australia said it would evacuate nonessential government workers and the US issued a travel warning.

Security in the tiny Asian nation deteriorated after international forces backed by helicopters launched a pre-dawn raid Sunday on the mountain hide-out of fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, killing four of his followers and sending others fleeing into the jungle. Reinado, heavily armed and wanted on murder charges, was among those who escaped.

"The state will use all legal means, including force, to stop violence and prevent destruction of property and killing, and to restore law and order," President Xanana Gusmao said in a national address, giving peacekeepers and police the right to carry out arrests and searches without warrants. He also granted them special powers to break up public gatherings.

East Timor, which broke from Indonesia in 1999 after 24 years of occupation, was plunged into crisis a year ago when factional fighting broke out between police and army forces. The clashes spilled into the streets, where looting, arson and gang warfare left at least 37 dead and sent 155,000 people fleeing their homes.

Relative calm was restored with the arrival of more than 2,700 foreign peacekeepers and the installation of a new government headed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta, but dozens of people have been killed in recent months primarily in fighting between rival gangs.

There also has been an increase in looting, robbery, arson, assault and attacks on vehicles, raising concerns that a presidential election scheduled for next month could turn violent.

Much of the recent anger has been directed at Australian troops, who killed two Timorese men in a clash last month and led the deadly raid against Reinado. Rock-hurling protesters demanded Monday that international forces go home.

Hundreds blocked roads across the capital in support of the rebel leader, one holding a banner that said, "We, the young people, are prepared to die alongside Alfredo."

"The situation in Dili is tense," said UN police spokeswoman Monica Rodrigues. "There are many groups, the majority of them youths, demonstrating in support of Alfredo."

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said nonessential government staff would be evacuated and that Australians were at a greater risk of being attacked after last month's shooting. "The security situation is volatile and there is a high risk of violent civil unrest," he said in a statement.

Downer renewed calls for Reinado to surrender, saying that Australian forces would otherwise capture him.

The United States has advised its citizens to avoid the town of Same, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Dili, where the raid was conducted.

Reinado, who deserted the army with around 600 other soldiers early last year, escaped from jail in August. He threatened to launch a campaign against the government after Sunday's raid, according to one of his aides, Gastao Salsinha.

"This attack shows that the government has no capacity to solve our problem," said Salsinha, who is also on the run after surviving the assault. "Now it's ordering international troops to attack and kill our members."

[Associated Press reporter Anthony Deutsch in Jakarta contributed to this article.]

Rebel soldiers raid police station in Timor, officials say

Associated Press - March 2, 2007

Dili – Rebel East Timorese soldiers raided a police post and seized a large haul of automatic weapons, the United Nations and local officials said Monday, raising fresh security concerns in the tiny nation ahead of elections in April.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties in the raid on Sunday led by rebel commander Maj. Alfredo Reinado in Maliana district, which is close to the border with Indonesia, said UN spokeswoman Alison Cooper.

Reinado and an unknown number of other men stole 23 automatic weapons, said Antonio da Crus of the country's border police, which joined foreign troops in searching for the attackers.

Reinado deserted East Timor's army last May with hundreds of other troops, triggering violence between rival security force factions that saw international troops arrive in East Timor and led to the downfall of then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

He escaped from jail last year after being arrested by Australian soldiers. Since then, authorities have tried to persuade him to give himself.

Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, who on Sunday announced he would run for president in April, said the raid "was a serious crime and there could now be no more dialogue" with Reinado.

Some fear the April elections could exacerbate tensions in the country, which remains wracked by political divisions and gang violence.

East Timor, home to just under a million people, won independence from years of brutal Indonesian occupation in 1999 following a UN sponsored referendum that was itself marked by violence.

Truth & Friendship Commission

Indonesian military general blames UN for East Timor mayhem

Deutsche Presse Agentur - March 30, 2007

Jakarta – Top Indonesian military officer claimed Friday that violence in East Timor was triggered by widespread cheating from United Nations body overseeing the territory's historic 1999 vote for independence.

Retired major general Adam Damiri, the Indonesian military commander in East Timor during the 1999 rampage, testified to the Indonesia-East Timor Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) at public hearings in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Damiri said the violence surrounding East Timor's vote for independence was due to the "incredible disappointment" with the result by pro-Indonesia supporters because of "widespread cheating" from the UN Administration Mission for East Timor [UNAMET].

"If we look into the facts and data and evidence, as well as confessions from witnesses of the cheating... so that the most responsible for the violence in East Timor is UNAMET," Damiri was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara after the hearing.

He said he had expected at least 60 per cent of the population would have voted to remain a part of Indonesia.

The carnage, in which at least 1,500 were killed, began just after voters in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony invaded by Indonesia in 1975, voted overwhelmingly for independence in a UN-run referendum on August 30, 1999.

Former Indonesian officers and local militia members have previously accused the UN mission of pressuring Timorese to vote for independence.

Damiri also questioned the assertion that more than 1,000 people died during the widespread violence. "There is no fact that the number of victims was 1,000. It's not more than 100," he asserted. "If there is data saying 1,000 that is nonsense."

The commission aims to establish the truth behind the violence and clarify the history of the two countries, as well as to investigate the actions of militias and of the Indonesian military as it withdrew from the territory.

The commission has been criticized by human rights groups because it lacks the authority to prosecute senior members of the Indonesian Armed Forces for allegedly ordering military-backed militias to massacre Timorese civilians and to raze entire villages.

Several senior Indonesian army and police generals have been acquitted of any involvement in the violence in trials in Indonesia, and the Jakarta government refused to hand over any suspects to a UN-run tribunal in East Timor.

East Timor became an independent nation in 2002 after being administered by the UN for more than two years, and is scheduled to hold its second-ever presidential election on April 9.

It remains to be seen whether the commission will find the truth behind the rampage, which was played out on live international television.

Damiri also denied the Indonesian military had armed the militia gangs, saying that the weapons could have been home-made guns or arms left over after Portuguese colonial rule that ended in the mid-1970s. "The Indonesian Armed Forces never gave arms to anyone, including the militias," he said.

Indonesia occupied East Timor for 24 years, and as many as 200,000 civilians died during that period. Jakarta denies committing any atrocities during the occupation and has claimed the violence in 1999 was not organized by its armed forces.

The commission's first hearings were held on Bali last month, during which civilian victims testified to being attacked by Indonesian army soldiers and militias.

The panel's 10 members include legal and human rights experts, academics and religious leaders from both Indonesia and East Timor.

It will submit its findings to both governments, and can recommend amnesties for perpetrators if they are found to be "fully cooperative" with the commission.

Rape was weapon in Timor violence: campaigner

Australian Associated Press - March 29, 2007

Karen Michelmore, Jakarta – An East Timorese woman has told how she was repeatedly raped by a pro-Indonesia militia member in the months after the nation's historic 1999 referendum "because the pro-independence won".

Esmeralda dos Santos today testified before the East Timor- Indonesia Commission on Truth and Friendship that the man kicked and beat her for a month, trying to abort the child she had conceived during the rapes.

Also today, human rights campaigner Galuh Wandita told the forum that Indonesian security forces and militia members had committed hundreds of rapes in 1999.

The commission is holding public hearings in Jakarta this week as it works to establish a conclusive truth about the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence. It's hoped the forum will aid reconciliation between the two nations.

"My hopes for the future are that I don't want this to happen to my children," she told the hearing. "What I experienced, it should stop here. I don't want this to happen to my children. I don't want this to happen again."

Up to 1,500 Timorese died, tens of thousands were displaced, and buildings and homes smashed and burnt across the country when militia linked to the Indonesian army went on a killing and arson spree.

Dos Santos was a teenager living in Suai when she fled to the local church compound in the days after the 1999 vote because "every night we were being terrorised by the militias and the TNI". TNI is the name of the Indonesian Armed Forces.

She said she saw about 500 others seeking refuge when the church compound came under attack by militias on September 6 – a week after the independence vote. "There were many people who died as a result of the shots," dos Santos said.

She said the Indonesian army took her to the local high school, with three other young women, where a militia member raped her "almost every day and night for a week". "At the time they said that they committed the rape because the pro-independence won," she said.

Eight days later, dos Santos, who had never left her village before, said she was taken to a town in West Timor, where she was held captive by the same militia man who continued to rape her.

"When I was raped I was already pregnant... he wanted to abort the pregnancy. For one month I had been beaten and kicked because he wanted to abort my baby, and I ran away. I ran away in November back to East Timor."

Wandita told the commission traumatised women were forcibly taken from the Suai church to a number of locations and raped by Laksaur, Mahidi militia and members of the Indonesian security forces.

"Indonesian security forces were not only negligent and failed to guard their safety, they also took part in the commission of these crimes," the human rights campaigner said.

She said most human rights organisations in East Timor and Indonesia had refused to cooperate with the commission because they feared it would recommend amnesties for perpetrators of serious crimes.

"This means that there is a great risk that the CTF (the commission) can become a vehicle for impunity," Wandita said.

"I hope this commission will recognise how important acknowledging the truth is for our nation's journey towards democratisation.

"In Indonesia the truth is usually avoided and compromised for political interests. Most of the women survivors whom I have met... are simple peasants with no particular political beliefs or agenda. They became victims when violence was allowed to dominate. There is no justice for them, their lives are still very difficult."

Channel 9 crew helped UN influence Timor vote, hearing told

ABC News - March 29, 2007

Geoff Thompson – The former head of Indonesian military intelligence has cited an Australian 60 Minutes television crew as an example of the United Nations trying to influence the outcome of East Timor's independence referendum in 1999.

Major General Zacky Anwar Makarim is a former member of Kopassus and chief of Indonesian military intelligence.

Speaking at a hearing of the Commission of Truth and Friendship in Jakarta, he named a Channel Nine 60 Minutes crew led by the late Richard Carleton in a list of examples of alleged United Nations' bias towards a pro-independence outcome in the 1999 referendum.

He accused the crew of joining Australian election observers in the town of Liquica and actively guiding voters to choose independence.

Major General Zacky said UN officers let the activity continue until it was stopped by what he called "protesting locals", a reference to local militias.

Ex-general blames UN forces for 1999 Timor Leste carnage

Jakarta Post - March 29, 2007

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – An ex-Indonesian Military (TNI) officer has told the Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship that the TNI complied with Indonesian law at the time of Timor Leste's 1999 referendum.

"We (TNI) were there in Timor Leste to make the referendum a success," Maj. Gen. (ret) Zacky Anwar Makarim, who was the deputy head of the East Timor referendum task force, said Wednesday.

"The central government at the time ordered us to suppress any potential clashes because we knew that unrest was going to happen despite the result," he said at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

He said he never received orders from B.J. Habibie, the Indonesian president at the time, to destroy residential areas and facilities.

Habibie said Tuesday that former UN secretary general Kofi Annan had prematurely announced the referendum's result, prompting violence in the area.

Zacky, who was a member of the Army's Special Forces Command, added that the now defunct United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) was mostly to blame for the violent clashes.

"UNAMET, which was not neutral, triggered the unrest by recruiting only those who were pro-independence, released false reports on the brutality of Indonesian soldiers and police and only transferred its members who were ill-behaved," he said.

"Some of them were found hanging out with Free Papua Movement (OPM) members in Papua. Moreover, a member of UNAMET raped a girl in Timor Leste but only got transferred as punishment."

Zacky also claimed that UNAMET failed to respond promptly when Indonesia wanted to send more troops to the territory in 1999. "They (UNAMET) allowed more soldiers to enter the area belatedly, so a violent eruption was hard to control."

Zacky's statements were echoed at an "alternative" public hearing, held by several human rights NGOs at the same hotel. The NGOs accused UNAMET of having a patchy record during the time it ran East Timor's administration.

Earlier in the day, the commission heard the testimony of former pro-integration militia leader Eurico Guterres. He has served 10 months of a 10-year prison sentence given to him by the Supreme Court for his role in the violence following the referendum.

Guterres said that Timor Leste unity should be promoted. "For me, Timor Leste's independence or integration is not an issue. It's how to unite East Timorese, who have been against each other since Portuguese colonization," he said.

Guterres, who is serving his sentence at Cipinang Prison in East Jakarta, said that he became an Indonesian citizen by choice. "I'm ready to face death row if Timor Leste's people want to bring me to their court and sentence me so," he added.

The joint commission, which does not have the power to bring any of its speakers to court, plans to make recommendations to both countries after it has gathered testimonials from victims, witnesses and actors in the event.

Militia commander says sorry to Jakarta

Australian Associated Press - March 28, 2007

The only Indonesian jailed over the violence surrounding East Timor's historic 1999 independence vote has apologised to Indonesia for the unrest that tainted its international image.

Pro-autonomy militia commander Eurico Gutteres also called on the people of East Timor to unite and move past the violence of the past, in order to build a strong independent nation.

He said he hoped to one day travel to the tiny nation to personally apologise to victims' families, adding he was ready to face justice in East Timor.

"Let us leave the past behind, let's look to the future," Gutteres told an East Timor-Indonesia commission into the 1999 violence.

"Leave behind all the egos, all the hatred we have accumulated over 24 years. I hope there will be no more deaths, no more victims, no more tears in this independence... build on this independence so it can be a strong independence."

The East Timor-Indonesia Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) is holding a series of public hearings as it seeks to establish the truth behind the violence before and after the 1999 poll, in order to aid reconciliation between the two nations.

Some 1,500 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced when pro-Indonesia militia linked to the Indonesian army went on a killing and arson spree across the tiny nation.

In 2002 Gutteres, the former head of the Aitarak militia, was sentenced by a special Jakarta human rights court to 10 years' jail for his role. He began serving his sentence in May last year.

He was accused of causing dozens of deaths by allowing his militia gang to go on a rampage after the overwhelming vote in favour of independence.

Gutteres on Wednesday said he did not kill anyone, but accepted responsibility for the deaths.

"I didn't kill people," he told the packed hotel conference room. (But) what I have been accused of, and found guilty of... in my capacity as the vice commander, I am responsible for the actions of my men."

Outside the hearing, he told reporters he did not expect to receive amnesty for his testimony.

In an at times rambling but passionate address to the commission, Gutteres described the violence that shook East Timor eight years ago as a "tragedy of humanity", and said people on both sides – pro-independence and pro-Indonesia – were killed and committed violence.

With distinctive long curly hair, and dressed in a black suit and bright red tie, Gutteres also read an "open letter to the nation of Indonesia" apologising for tarnishing its image in the international community.

"On behalf of the pro-integration (East Timorese) and their families, we extend our apologies from the deepest depths of our heart to the Indonesian nation," he said.

But he said Indonesia was not without blame for the carnage, saying the governments of Indonesia and Portugal, as well as the United Nations, were at fault for handing East Timor the divisive vote without first ensuring the environment was secure.

Gutteres said all three should apologise to East Timor "for the neglect of the situation and their irresponsibility".

He was also scathing in his criticism of the CTF as a body to seek the truth, saying it should be expanded to investigate the litany of violent episodes in East Timor outside 1999. "If the CTF... only limits itself, the truth, reconciliation and friendship – we will never find it."

Indonesia's Habibie blames UN for Timor violence

Reuters - March 27, 2007

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – The Indonesian president who allowed the East Timor referendum on independence said on Tuesday the mayhem that followed the vote could have been avoided had the United Nations not declared the result earlier than agreed.

B.J. Habibie, who has lived in Germany since his term ended in 1999, made the statement during a closed hearing in Jakarta held by a truth commission set up by Indonesia and East Timor in an attempt to uncover events surrounding the bloody August 1999, referendum. His comments were relayed by commission officials. The vote showed East Timorese overwhelmingly wanted to end Indonesia's occupation of the tiny former Portuguese colony.

The United Nations estimates that about 1,000 East Timorese were killed in violence after the vote blamed largely on pro-Jakarta militias backed by elements of the Indonesian army.

Habibie did not speak to the media after the hearing but the commission held a news conference describing the testimony.

An Indonesian commissioner, Achmad Ali, said Habibie had blamed the United Nations, which organised the vote, for stirring up the situation by declaring the results on Sept. 4, 1999, three days ahead of schedule.

"He said that if the scale of violence that had occurred was 100, it actually could be minimised to 10 if Kofi Annan did not break his promise. The agreement with Kofi Annan actually was that before Sept. 7 there would be martial law," he said. Annan was UN Secretary General at that time.

Asked about how Habibie felt when his policy to allow a referendum ended with violence, Ali said: "He regretted it. He said he cried and wondered how it could happen like that."

Commission co-chairman Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said Habibie had denied that Jakarta had a scorched-earth contingency plan for East Timor if it voted to leave.

On Monday, the opening day of the commission's second series of hearings, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Carlos Belo – Catholic bishop of Dili from 1996 to 2002 – said Indonesian soldiers had taken part in violence against church and clergy across East Timor before and after the freedom vote.

The current hearings running until Friday are also to hear testimony from victims, from three Indonesian generals connected with operations in East Timor in 1999, and from the only Indonesian incarcerated for his involvement in the violence – militia leader Eurico Guterres.

Seventeen other men indicted by Jakarta prosecutors over the 1999 chaos received acquittals at various court stages. All were Indonesian soldiers, police or government officials.

Critics say the commission is toothless because it lacks the power to punish those responsible for abuses.

Mainly Catholic East Timor became fully independent in May 2002 after a UN transitional administration that followed 24 years of often repressive Indonesian occupation.

Timor's UN-sponsored vote for independence a fraud - Soares

Australian Associated Press - March 26, 2007

Karen Michelmore, Jakarta – East Timor's United Nations- sponsored vote for independence was a fraud, Dili's former mayor and alleged militia organiser said today.

Domingos Maria das Dores Soares accused the world body of "hypocrisy, cheating and collusion" in the August 1999 referendum which offered East Timorese a choice between autonomy within Indonesia, or independence from it.

Soares, a former district head and alleged organiser of a pro- autonomy militia group, was speaking at the landmark second public hearings of the East Timor Indonesia Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) in Jakarta today.

"I can read from the actions of this administration, most of them were Australians, stating the case for the plan to force one alternative – that is independence at all costs," Soares said.

The CTF is holding public hearings as its seeks to establish a conclusive truth about the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote.

About 1,500 people died when pro-autonomy militia, backed by Indonesia's military, went on an arson and killing spree.

At the previous hearing, Indonesia's former foreign minister Ali Alatas said he did not believe there had been significant fraud in the 1999 vote.

But Soares said the widespread violence that followed was evidence it was unfair, adding he still felt anger.

"(Those) who conducted the referendum with fraud, they caused everything that has happened," he said. "If the referendum had been won by the majority of citizens... it would have been strange if the minority created so much unrest and destruction."

Nobel Prize laureate and former East Timor Bishop Carlos Belo also today recounted his experience during the chaos, including the attack on his own residence two days after the result was unveiled, September 6, 1999.

Bishop Belo said he was inside when militia started shooting and throwing molotov cocktails at his windows, and was soon evacuated to the residence of the police chief Timbul Silaen.

"There were shots from outside 'get out,' get out'," Bishop Belo told a packed conference room at a Jakarta hotel.

"I saw glass was shattered and scattered on the floor. I heard molotov cocktails hitting the windows and the doors."

He said he took a bottle of water from the fridge to try and douse the flames, but failed.

"The young people (in the room) were yelling Mr Belo get down on the floor... if not you will die," he said. "The flames were spreading so fast, all the way to the ceiling."

Four people are believed to have died in the attack, and Silaen was later acquitted of crimes against humanity and failing to control his subordinates carrying out the attack, at a human rights tribunal hearing in Jakarta in 2002.

Bishop Belo said when he arrived at Silaen's house, the police chief said he was "acting on orders from above". "I was told by the police chief Timbul Silaen that all was ordered from the superiors," Bishop Belo said.

"(The police chief said) 'We had to do that because the people, if there is something, they always run into the church. They have to learn not to go to the church but to look to the government'."

Later, under questioning, Bishop Belo declined to elaborate on the remark.

The commission will hear from 18 witnesses this week, including former Indonesian president BJ Habibie in a closed session tomorrow.

Balibo 5 inquest

Balibo five a closed book: Indonesia

Australian Associated Press - March 2, 2007

Karen Michelmore, Jakarta – The Indonesian government today declared the case of five Australian journalists' deaths in East Timor more than 30 years a closed matter.

It also said it had not received any request from Australian authorities about a warrant issued yesterday for Indonesian politician Yunis Yosfiah during an inquest into the 1975 death of one of the five men, who all died in the town of Balibo.

The New South Wales Deputy Coroner yesterday issued the warrant after Yosfiah failed to respond to several requests that he testify at the Sydney inquest.

Yosfiah, a former special forces commander and Indonesian government minister, has been named at the inquest as the person who ordered the attack on the journalists.

"For the Indonesian government it's a closed case," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Kriastiarto Soeryo Legowo told reporters. "It's a closed case. We don't see any new facts. We believe they were victims, they were killed in the process of a gun fight at that time. But at the moment, we don't see new evidence to justify the reopening of the case."

He said the arrest warrant had no jurisdiction "at all" in Indonesia, and did not involve the Indonesian government. "The warrant was issued for Mr Yunus personally so the Indonesian government is not linked," Legowo said. So it is nothing to do with the Indonesian government. We have not received a request from the Australian authorities, be it the state of NSW or the federal government."

He would not speculate on the possible response to any request should one be made. "But again I would like to explain here, that actually for the Indonesian government it's a closed case and we are sticking to our position," he said. "We don't see any new evidence that could become the basis to reopen this case."

Yosfiah, currently a member of the Islamic United Development Party (PPP) in Indonesia's Parliament, yesterday laughed off the warrant. "Let it be. How can they do that?," he said. "Ask the Indonesian government. Remember I'm an Indonesian citizen."

Asked if he was concerned about the arrest warrant, he said: "No, why must I worry? I don't feel guilty."

In 2001, Yosfiah denied the allegations and said he had never met the journalists, when questioned by an Indonesian parliamentary commission. At the time he reportedly said he had been stationed in Balibo in 1975 as a captain, and wanted to visit Australia to "explain the whole thing".

Former cabinet minister wanted for Balibo deaths

Radio Australia - March 2, 2007

A former Indonesian cabinet minister implicated in the deaths of five Australian and British journalists in East Timor in 1975 is remaining defiant in the face of calls for his arrest.

An Australian coroner has issued an arrest warrant for Mohammed Yunus Yosfiah after hearing evidence that he was seen shooting at the journalists in the town of Balibo 32 years ago.

Presenter/Interviewer: Linda LoPresti

Speakers: Former Indonesian cabinet minister Mohammed Yunus Yosfiah

Yosfiah: I'm very relaxed, first because I do understand what the case is. Secondly, I know and I have explained many times before that I never met those journalists and the third is how could they ask me to be arrested as an Indonesian. From there, what is the law system?

Lopresti: Indeed, there is no requirement for you to come to Australia to give evidence. But this inquest has heard testimony that you were seen shooting at the five journalists in Balibo, in Ocobter, 1975. What is your reaction?

Yosfiah: I talk many times to some journalists. Please open the file that I have talked many times before to journalists. I don't want to answer many time the same answer to the same question, it come from different sources. I want to suggest to you, can I?

Lopresti: Yes.

Yosfiah: I want you to find out some information about what's the problem in East Timor right now.

Lopresti: Yes, Mr Yosfiah, what is happening in East Timor now is a separate issue to what happened in East Timor in October, 1975. I would like to ask you about what you know about those events?

Yosfiah: It seems to me those people who always talking that they are eyewitness. Actually they have political interest to get protecting, political protection about their case.

Lopresti: Mr Yosfiah, that's another story that we're also following.

Yosfiah: Yes, I know, but may be there some background. Because why, those people are giving information about me. Now they live in Portugal. They live in some in Australia.

Lopresti: Well, the inquest has heard testimony from someone that said that you were shooting at the journalists in 1975. I'm sure you're aware of that.

Yosfiah: I think for that answer, to answer that, please open the file that I answer many times before.

Lopresti: Mr Yosfiah though, are you considering giving evidence to this inquiry in Australia?

Yosfiah: Well, I have said it many times. Please open the file, the whole information that I have released, please.

Lopresti: But, because this warrant of arrest has been issued today. I'm asking you today whether you're considering coming to Australia to give evidence?

Yosfiah: No.

Lopresti: Why is that?

Yosfiah: Why? Because I already give many information according to the Balibo five.

Lopresti: But, why not tell you're side of the story? Why not explain what happened from your point of view?

Yosfiah: I give the information many times about that, even to the Australian ambassador in 1999.

Lopresti: Mr Yosfiah, why do you think your name continues to be mentioned in regard to these killings in Balibo?

Yosfiah: You find the answer for that.

Intercept confirmed journalists' deaths

Melbourne Age - March 1, 2007

Hamish McDonald – Within seven minutes of an Indonesian army radio message being intercepted in Darwin, saying five Australian journalists had been deliberately killed in East Timor in 1975, it was translated and sent to prime minister Gough Whitlam, senior ministers and officials.

Within another hour, Royal Australian Navy radio operators and linguists at the Shoal Bay listening station were stunned to get a telephone call from the Prime Minister's Department in Canberra. "Is this report true?" an aghast official asked.

This was the evidence given yesterday at the Sydney inquest on the five journalists by retired navy linguist Robin Dix, who was on duty at the Defence Signals Directorate base at Shoal Bay on October 16, 1975.

Another former intelligence official, colonel Geoff Cameron, told the inquest that he wrote an internal Defence Department memo two days after the killings, naming captain Yunus Yosfiah as leading the Indonesian special forces attack on the East Timorese town of Balibo and holding direct command responsibility.

These accounts were different from those of Mr Whitlam and his ministers, who said then that they were trying to confirm the deaths, and decades of official public denial by Canberra about its knowledge of the Indonesian involvement.

Mr Dix, fluent in Indonesian and six other languages, said that on the afternoon of October 16, specialist radio operator Martin Hicks called him over to his place at Shoal Bay where he was listening to Indonesian military messages. As Mr Hicks wrote down a message, Mr Dix translated it: "Five Australian journalists have been killed and all their corpses have been incinerated or burnt to a crisp."

Mr Dix, 67, gave the Indonesian language text to the NSW Coroners Court, saying the word used for killed, "dibunuh", indicated deliberate intent. "I will never forget it," Mr Dix said. "I remember it word for word."

Within seven minutes, Mr Dix had given the translated message to petty officer Helen Louer, who sent it by secure channels to Defence Signals Directorate headquarters in Melbourne, from where it would have been immediately given to DSD's customers. These included the prime minister, defence minister and foreign minister and their department heads.

Within another hour, Mr Dix's Shoal Bay colleague, Ray Norton, received a telephone call, and handed the receiver over, mouthing the words "PM's Department".

"Is this report true?" asked the voice at the other end. "You are on an unsecure (or open) line," Mr Dix said he replied. "Goodbye." He hung up, and heard no more from the department.

The intercept was not among those produced by DSD for the inquest, Crown counsel Mark Tedeschi, QC, said.

Mr Dix's evidence conflicts with other testimony that intercepts gradually confirmed the deaths from October 17 on.

The head of the Prime Minister's Department at the time, John Menadue, said yesterday he could not recall anything like this intercept. "It just does not ring any bells with me," he said.

Mr Menadue said there were officials in the department cleared to receive highly classified intelligence, though Mr Whitlam generally had worked directly with the Foreign Affairs Department on Indonesia and East Timor. Mr Whitlam could not be reached for comment.

Coroner issues arrest warrant for Indonesian politician

Agence France Presse - March 1, 2007

Sydney – An Australian coroner on Thursday issued a warrant of arrest for a retired Indonesian cabinet minister in an inquiry into the death of five journalists in East Timor 32 years ago.

The coroner said that while the arrest warrant for Mohammed Yunus Yosfiah had no jurisdiction outside Australia, it was an indication of how crucial he was to the inquiry into the deaths of the men known as the "Balibo Five".

The inquest has heard testimony that Yosfiah, then an officer in the Indonesian army, was seen shooting at the five British and Australian television reporters as he led an attack on the East Timorese border town of Balibo in October 1975.

Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch stressed that issuing the warrant did not mean Yosfiah had done anything wrong.

"It's an indication of how seriously I regard the necessity of having him here," she told Glebe Coroner's Court in Sydney. "It is probable that he will not appear to be examined unless compelled to do so."

She said four letters asking Yosfiah to appear had been sent to him via the Indonesian Embassy in Australia without success, and that the Australian government had made a separate request for him to give evidence at the inquest.

Jakarta maintains the journalists were killed in crossfire during a skirmish ahead of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor, but their families insist they were murdered and there was a cover-up.

Yosfiah, who rose to hold the post of Indonesia's information minister in the late 1990s and is now a retired general, has admitted leading the attack on Balibo but denied involvement in the deaths of the journalists.

"This is not the first time – and I do not think it will be the last time either – that they are attacking me. My answer remains unchanged," Yosfiah said last month, adding that he had "never seen those journalists."

The inquest is specifically examining the death of one of the Balibo Five, British journalist Brian Peters, at the request of his sister.

Peters and fellow Briton Malcolm Rennie were working for Australia's Channel Nine in East Timor when they were killed, while Australians Greg Shackleton and Tony Stewart and New Zealander Gary Cunningham were working for Channel Seven.

Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony, a month after the killings, and East Timor achieved full independence only in 2002.

Presidential electons

Political parties clash in East Timor

Associated Press - March 30, 2007

Dili – Gangs from rival political parties scuffled and threw rocks in East Timor, injuring at least 20 people, authorities said Friday, in what was believed to be the first violence directly related to next month's presidential elections.

Two of those hurt were police officers, said Geraldo da Silva, of the emergency unit in Viqueque hospital, about 135 miles from the capital Dili.

The unrest broke out Thursday night following a campaign rally by presidential candidate Jose Ramos-Horta, said local police chief Gaspa da Costa.

His supporters brawled with youths aligned with the rival Fretilin, the left-leaning political party of ousted Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, da Costa said. It was not clear what triggered the dispute.

Eight presidential candidates are midway through two weeks of campaigning. Rallies and speeches are scheduled across 13 districts until a blackout period two days before nationwide polling on April 9.

East Timor, which became Asia's newest nation in 2002, descended into chaos one year ago after Alkatiri dismissed 600 soldiers, a move that split the armed forces into factions and later spilled over into gang warfare. At least 37 people were killed and 150,000 others fled their homes.

The deployment of thousands of international troops helped curb the worst of the violence, and while there have been isolated incidents since then, Thursday's was the first since campaigning began.

The UN police force in the country said in a statement that Ramos-Horta supporters were attacked, but did not say by whom. Fretilin spokesman Filomeno Aleixo said the party did not instigate the violence, but denied involvement.

"Whoever was involved in this incident should be brought to justice," he told The Associated Press.

East Timor voted to break free from 24 years of Indonesian rule in 1999. The country was administered by the United Nations, and until last year's crisis, which led to the overthrow of the government, had been considered a major success in nation- building.

Gusmao's party 'a nest of liars', says former PM Alkatiri

AdnKronos International - March 28, 2007

Dili – The political tension is rising in the East Timorese capital, Dili where President Xanana Gusmao has accepted the leadership of a new party that has been labelled as "a nest of liars," by former prime minister, Mari Alkatiri. "We have to be aware of CNRT because CNRT lies to people," Alkatiri told journalists without elaborating, during a visit to a refugee camp on Wednesday.

CNRT stands for 'Conselho Nacional Reconstrucao Timor' or the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, and is the latest party to have joined the political fray in East Timor.

The new party's name is a deliberate reference to the former CNRT -- the National Council of Timorese Resistance – a non-partisan body formed by Gusmao in 1998 and which won the vote for independence from Indonesia in the 1999 referendum.

Although Gusmao has accepted the leadership, the president will not assume the new role until a new president is elected in the election slated for April 9.

"I am ready to lead CNRT. I will be leading CNRT to help people to live in a calm and peaceful condition," Gusmao told reporters gathered at Dili's Palacio das Cinzas Caicoli, on Wednesday.

Gusmao's decision is an open challenge to Alkatiri's Fretilin, the biggest party in parliament. The parliamentary election will be held soon after the new president is installed.

Speaking to Adnkronos International (AKI) on the heated political climate, Martinho Gusmao, spokesperson of the National Election Commission (NEC) regretted Alkatiri's latest remark.

"Those leaders who like to insult others during their campaign, show that they have no intellectual quality or capability of leadership," he told AKI.

He added that NEC will pay attention to what is going on and will verify if candidates and representatives who insult each other are violating the code of conduct that was recently signed. (Fsc/Ner/Aki)

Reinado sends voting advice from East Timor hideaway

Melbourne Age - March 27, 2007

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado has again humiliated Australian troops hunting him in East Timor's mountains, this time releasing a letter telling his supporters how they should vote in presidential elections.

In the letter, Reinado urged his supporters not to vote for Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, saying his government had failed since he took charge amid violent upheaval last June.

Reinado, the former head of East Timor's military police who has been hunted since a botched attack on his base by Australian soldiers on March 4, also told his supporters not to back former guerilla fighter Francisco Guterres, the candidate of the ruling party Fretilin. He said Mr Guterres had failed as president of East Timor's Parliament.

Australian troops have been unable to find the swaggering rebel in the country's central mountains, despite the fact he has met several media groups, including a team from ABC's Foreign Correspondent program.

United Nations officials have warned that Reinado, a cult hero to many Timorese, poses a series threat to the presidential elections set for April 9. But in the letter given to a journalist from the Timor Post newspaper last weekend, 39-year- old Reinado said he had no intention of disrupting the election.

Eight candidates have nominated to replace President Xanana Gusmao, who plans to nominate for the more powerful prime ministership at general elections midyear.

Reinado said he looked forward to dealing with the new president.

Last month Mr Gusmao ordered that Reinado be hunted down after he and a group of heavily armed men raided a police border post and seized high-powered weapons.

Reinado, who fired the first shots in violence that plunged East Timor into crisis, has been on the run since he led a mass escape from Dili's main jail last August. He is wanted on charges of murder and rebellion.

The election will be the first since East Timor achieved independence in 2002. Mr Ramos Horta, the most high-profile candidate, has promised to liberalise investment laws, boost ties with Australia and Indonesia and improve the lives of the country's mostly impoverished people.

Socialist to contest East Timor's presidential election

Green Left Weekly - March 21, 2007

Max Lane – On April 9, East Timor will hold its second presidential election, which will be followed by parliamentary elections. The East Timorese political system combines a president, who is commander-in-chief of the army and who has veto powers over legislation, with an executive cabinet headed by a prime minister who is elected by the parliament.

There are nine presidential candidates, compared to two at the last elections. They include Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo from Fretilin, current prime minister Jose Ramos Horta, Socialist Party of Timor (PST) general-secretary Avelinho Maria Coelho.

While the formal campaign period is scheduled to start on March 23, the PST held a public meeting to launch Coelho's candidacy on March 13 in Dili. Coelho (also known as Avelino da Silva) spoke under the slogans "We have unfurled the banners of justice, and of the oppressed" and "End the crisis, develop the country, bring prosperity to the people". As well as more than 500 Timorese activists and supporters, diplomats from the Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian and Portuguese legations attended.

In polls issued the previous week by the Dili newspaper Suara Timor Loro Sae, Ramos Horta has been topping the polls and Coelho has been coming in second. I spoke to Coelho by phone about his campaign and the political conditions in East Timor.

What conditions did you have to meet to be nominated as a presidential candidate?

I had to be nominated by 5000 citizens and show full documentary proof of that. The PST campaigned and collected 10,000 signatures. We decided to try to get signatures from around the country, with a minimum of 500 from each district. We collected 2500 signatures in Dili. It was a major advance for the building of our party.

What sets the general framework for your campaign?

East Timor is in a general crisis. It is marked by new divisions within society as well as a food crisis ... It is the political elite, the leaderships of the government and parliament, who must take responsibility for these developments. They have allowed an economic system to develop where everything is based on cronyism. As a result, personal conflicts among themselves over their own immediate interests become a source of conflict among the nation itself, among the people. This disease has even spread into the armed forces and the police.

There are a whole range of policies that are deepening a social crisis. The decision, for example, to make Portuguese the national language, apart from reflecting a racist outlook, is also contributing to youth unemployment. And this will get worse. There are now thousands of young people studying in the universities in Indonesia. They will soon return as professionally trained people in their twenties but they will not speak Portuguese, so they will be officially unemployable. There has been absolutely no thought given to this issue.

Hundreds of young people have been sent to Cuba to study too, but there is no work being done here to establish the infrastructure to ensure they will be able to work when they return.

So you are campaigning for a change in language policy?

Yes, we would prioritise Tetun as the working language, with Indonesian as a supplementary working language. This means all the graduates from Indonesian universities, including in law, could start working straight away instead of being idle. It is also part of rebuilding a sense of national dignity and throwing off dependence on foreigners. We would cut right back on the money being spent on so-called foreign experts.

You see foreign domination as still a major problem?

Yes, almost all of the projects financed by the government are going to foreign companies, with some local person as the local partner. Even fishing is being dominated by a Thai company while our fisherpeople are left without a livelihood. If you are not connected to some official you have no chance. The small handicraft enterprises are also closing one after the other. The worst area is in agriculture.

We have a food crisis. We have become dependent on the import of rice. There are shortages and prices are skyrocketing. There are all kinds of rumours as to what is happening to imported rice. Cooperatives, which should be the basis of our agricultural production, are collapsing. We must invest in agriculture; we have the money but we are not investing it.

You mean oil and gas money?

Yes, but the money is not being used. It is being saved somewhere -- it is not clear to the people where, or how or who is managing it. So we are not using this money to invest in agriculture, while foreign investors are being cajoled to come in. Our policy is to use the oil money immediately for agricultural and industrial development. We should also be able to lower the very high taxes that ordinary people pay, while the rich and foreign investors pay almost no tax. And to press for foreign investors to come in without any policy to prepare Timorese people to be able to work in the sectors that foreigners develop, if it happens, is the same as pawning the whole country.

But will you be able to do much as president in the East Timorese system?

I am also confident that the Socialist Party will increase its representation in the parliament. But the key thing is that as president it would be possible to speak directly to the whole people. Our fundamental priority would be to promote direct participation in politics by the whole people. Every kind of people's organisation must be supported and developed. There must be mechanisms – that is organisations – that allow for every single person to become involved in the decision-making process and in keeping watch over the implementation of decisions.

This is the only way we can create a culture of political leadership in the service of the people and the nation rather than in the service of friends and family. It is also the only way to get rid of crony and thug politics. The parliament has already passed a law providing a pension for life for members of parliament. Meanwhile there is no pension for veterans of the guerrilla struggle, just medals. We need proper pensions for our civil servants as well. But we are for repealing the lifelong pension for members of parliament.

The factionalism of the political elite seems to be extreme now?

Yes, and it has developed very sharply in the armed forces. There has been a long history of internal conflict in the army going right back to 1975. This exploded again in 2006 over issues related to facilities, promotions and other personal interests, but it was put forward as if it was about defending the nation and state. Then [former PM Mari] Alkatiri supported the army high command while [President] Xanana Gusmao and Horta supported the "petitioners" who were raising grievances. Now the situation seems to be reversed. Xanana and Horta seem to be close to the army leadership and have ordered the Australian forces to go after the "petitioners" and the other dissident group under Alfredo Reinado.

So will they keep going after Reinado and the "petitioners'?

Now they seem to be offering an amnesty to Reinado if he surrenders his weapons. They realise they are losing support in the western districts. There is a lot of anti-Xanana graffiti now in the western parts of Dili. Xanana is not standing for president, instead it is Horta. But if Horta doesn't win it will be the end also for Xanana and his proposed new party. Meanwhile, Fretilin is less and less popular, especially given the failure of the government's rice policy. Many youth are looking for an alternative and some look to Reinado, especially in the western areas. If Xanana and Horta can't win back that support they will be wiped out in the coming elections.

How do you assess the role of the Australian forces in these developments?

I hope you and others will call on the Australian government to make sure the Australian forces only play a mediating role here. They shouldn't be taking sides in domestic Timorese political struggles.

[Max Lane is a lecturer in Southeast Asian Studies at the University of Sydney.]

East Timor rebel looms over presidential poll

Agence France Presse - March 20, 2007

Dili – A fugitive East Timor rebel leader, who has eluded a manhunt by crack Australian troops, is at the centre of fears that unrest could mar the country's landmark presidential election next month.

The renegade soldier, Major Alfredo Reinado, has refused to surrender as the April 9 vote nears, casting a long shadow over impoverished East Timor's first presidential poll since it achieved independence in 2002.

"The population supports Major Alfredo and he is capable of prolonged resistance," says Jose Luis Oliveira, a local rights activist. "But if the Australians kill him, it could trigger civil war."

Reinado has been a persistent problem for East Timor's government and is said to have a band of armed followers, support from disaffected youth and the backing of an ethnic group living in the nation's west.

The fugitive was criticised for his role in unrest last year that killed at least 37 people, displaced 150,000 and led to the dispatch of Australian-led international peacekeepers.

Reinado has been on the run since the Australian troops attacked his mountain hideout earlier this month in a failed bid to capture him. Five of his armed supporters were killed during the offensive, which triggered rowdy protests.

The troops then launched a, so far, fruitless manhunt for the rebel, who for many young people in East Timor has come to symbolise their daily struggle against endemic unemployment and grinding poverty.

"Maybe it's politics that is the cause of our crisis, but also we don't have anything. There's no work, not enough food – that's why young people are in the streets," school teacher Maria da Silva Benfica said in Dili, the capital.

East Timor endured a violent transition to freedom after 24 years of occupation by nearby Indonesia ended in 1999. Most of the population was displaced and the majority of its infrastructure destroyed.

The UN has tried to help rebuild the country, but unrest continues to pulse through the fledgling nation, a former Portuguese colony.

"There are rhythms of violence here that are inscrutable. The place can go to hell one day and right itself the next," said a commentator who works for an international organisation, but wished to remain anonymous.

The unrest scarring East Timor has complex causes and is not down to just one man, according to Rebecca Engel, an academic researcher working for a local non-governmental organisation.

"You can't attribute the violence to any one thing – but people know they can get away with it," she said. There was a need for "respectful engagement, communication and information exchange" with the country's citizens, she said, and its problems needed a more coherent response from local leaders and the international community.

The eight candidates contesting East Timor's presidential poll have already signed a code of conduct designed to ensure the vote is fair and peaceful.

East Timor's Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, considered the favourite to win, has played down Reinado's ability to disrupt the poll and said that he must give up his weapons.

East Timor extends voter registration over fears of violence

Associated Press - March 14, 2007

Dili – Street violence and worries about renegade soldiers are disrupting preparations for next month's elections in East Timor -- polls seen as crucial to the tiny nation's future – an official said Wednesday.

The voter registration deadline for the polls has been extended to Wednesday next week from Friday this week, said Faustino Cardoso Gomes, president of the National Electoral Commission.

Gomes said security concerns in parts of the capital, Dili, and in the south were a reason for the extension, along with higher- than-expected voter registration in some areas. "There has been a problem in terms of security in some places," Gomes said in explaining the extension.

UN electoral officials recently pulled out of the southern town of Same because Australian troops there are hunting a band of rebel soldiers led by renegade Maj. Alfredo Reinado Reinado was a leader in last year's factional fighting among the military and police, which spilled into Dili's streets inviolence that killed at least 37 people and sent about 155,000 fleeing to refugee camps.

International soldiers largely restored peace, but gang battles still often break out in Dili.

Election officials hope to ensure the April 9 presidential election and parliamentary elections later in the year are fair, so they do not trigger more violence in this fledgling democracy that endured a bloody separation from Indonesia in 1999.

Timor announces 8 candidates to stand in presidential election

Associated Press - March 9, 2007

Rod McGuirk, Dili – East Timorese election authorities said Saturday that all eight candidates had been approved to contest this divided nation's presidential polls next month.

But an official warned of a potential for fresh violence during a three-day appeal period that ends Tuesday in which members of the public can challenge in the East Timorese Supreme Court any of the candidates' right to stand.

President Xanana Gusmao, long regarded as a uniting force in his fledgling democracy but who is himself coming under increasing public criticism, is stepping down after the April 9 poll that will choose the nation's second president since it broke away from Indonesia in 1999.

His successor will be called on to steer the nation away from the brink of political and civil collapse.

The eight candidates who were nominated to replace him had all passed the Supreme Court registration test, government election official Tomas do Rosario Cabral said Saturday on the deadline for the announcement.

The field includes Gusmao's sole opponent at the last poll in 2002, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a founder of the dominant Fretilin Party.

The candidates also include Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, a close Gusmao ally, as well as Fernando Lasama, a candidate despised by Fretilin and a supporter of fugitive military commander Alfredo Reinado.

Observers had feared the rejection of any candidate Saturday could have been a flash point for new violence. But the capital Dili, scarred by weeks of gang warfare, remanded relatively calm Saturday.

Martinho Gusmao, a Roman Catholic priest and member of the National Electoral Commission which oversees the election process, said security was at risk during the appeal period.

Gusmao, who is not related to the president, said he was pleased that official presidential candidates were eligible for UN bodyguards.

"A few days ago, three candidates came to the president and asked him for security guarantees," Martinho Gusmao said, adding that no state security was provided.

East Timor, one of the world's newest and poorest nations, was plunged into crisis a year ago when factional fighting broke out between police and army forces, leaving dozens dead and sending tens of thousands fleeing from their homes. The arrival of 2,700 foreign peacekeepers helped restore order, but tensions have flared in recent weeks, raising fears that presidential elections could be violent.

Opinion & analysis

Witch hunt

The Bulletin - March 26, 2007

Paul Toohey – A failed effort to heal an injured child has led to the machete killings of three East Timorese women branded as sorcerers.

Nelson Ximenes didn't grow up like other kids. His back was crooked and bent. Sometimes his head would slump forward and it was an effort for him to hold it up. He was always shorter than the other kids, but he kicked the football around and was accepted in his village.

In December last year, Nelson, 16, started to run high temperatures. His stomach became swollen. He saw shadows, off to the side of his vision. He knew what these black shapes were. They were witches, flitting about, making him die. They had cursed him and were visiting him at night, watching his life fade, thrilling to the power of their magic.

Nelson told his parents what he was seeing. He could even put names to the shadows. They were three women: Madalena Maria de Jesus, 72, Florencia Lopes, 47, and Regina Ximenes, 23. They represented three generations – a grandmother, her daughter and granddaughter. Witches. They were near-enough neighbours who lived in a tiny village on a hilltop above Nelson's similarly tiny village, Vatuguili, about an hour's drive west from the East Timor capital, Dili.

Representatives from Nelson's village climbed the steep hill and demanded the witches undo their spell. The women declined. With good reason. To have accepted the occult repair job would have been an admission that they were witches. East Timor dresses itself up as a Catholic nation, but animism and sorcery run deeper than all that.

The three women were put in an impossible situation. To act or not act was equally a sign of guilt. Friends of Nelson gathered. On the evening of January 6, they drank palm wine, strong as whisky, armed themselves with machetes and knives and climbed the hilltop. Sometime after 9 o'clock, they cut down Madalena, Florencia and Regina in their little rattan-walled shack and set it alight.

The witches were dead, but not dead enough. Nelson succumbed to his illness, 14 days later, on January 20. No one had thought to call a doctor.

By then, 10 small-time vigilantes had been arrested for murder, including Nelson's father. It was straight out of Transylvania. Or maybe it just is what it is – straight out of East Timor.

Getting to Vatuguili is pretty simple. Cross a dry river bed, follow a rocky track and there you are. But the back villages of East Timor are not signposted. When the business is investigating witchcraft, child guides cannot be bought even with American dollars. No one wants to know. "We all know they were witches," says Joni dos Santos, a young man who wears magic in the form of geomet-rical scarification points on his forearms, probably roots he's implanted under his skin to ward off bad magic.

Joni knows the way to the place where the witches were burnt, but says he can't come with us. He has to look after his goats. Joni points the way to Vatuguili and we find it all right. The village chief, Anaklito da Costa, steps out of his threadbare cabin. Where were the witches burnt? Up there, he says, indicating a place that looks to be up in the clouds.

I ask Anaklito whether he thinks it's cruel the way the people of his village killed the women. Three times he gives an irrelevant response about how the police came to make arrests. But I ask the question in so many ways he can no longer avoid it. He finally sighs: "This question you should ask every Timorese."

I ask what happened to Nelson's body. Anaklito points to a spot no more than 20m away: "There." He shows us Nelson's grave, behind a pig-proof fence. He is buried in the front yard of his family home. He says Nelson's dad is in jail for witch-killing but his mum is home, inside the rickety shack.

Nelson's mum, Paulina dos Santos, comes out, dragging four children behind her. Describing Nelson's descent to death, Paulina says: "First, his stomach was swollen. He couldn't eat, couldn't drink. The boy told us about nightmares he had. He always sees the shadows of the three women. And the boy told us he wanted the witches to come here and make him better. One group went to tell them to come, but they refused. Everyone got upset and they went and killed them."

Why did the witches curse him? "We never have problem [with them]," Paulina says. "We are distant relatives of theirs. We don't know the reason they did this."

Had the people around here always thought of the three as witches, or did they only become witches when Nelson became ill? "Maybe, maybe not," says Paulina, shifting uncomfortably. "People here, we know witches. We don't see what witches do, but we know what witches are. If you think someone is a witch, she or he is dangerous."

No one can describe the type of magic the witches used on Nelson. That would be admitting to personal knowledge of bad magic.

Paulina says Nelson was born "like a normal baby. When he was about nine months old, he fell down. The boy's grandmother" – the ancient betel-mouthed woman sitting on a bench, watching and cackling – "went up to see an old lady to come and give the boy a massage". Instead, Florencia, one of the witches, offered to heal the baby. Paulina says Florencia cracked little Nelson's backbones and left him disfigured. Doctors in Dili said they couldn't repair the damage done by Florencia.

It became somewhat clearer what had happened here. It wasn't Nelson whose cards were marked; it was Florencia who had long ago been targeted for destruction, for damaging Nelson's back. In the years that followed, Florencia and her mother and daughter were watched closely for any signs that they were practising witchcraft. They had indeed been seen carrying "magical things". When Nelson started dying, it was decided to break the spell by destroying the coven on top of the hill.

We'd met a policeman along the road who'd investigated the case. He told us what he thought had happened on January 6. "The villagers were half-drunk. They were saying, 'We have to kill the witches'." They climbed the hill and called out to Agustino Karion, husband of the younger woman, Regina. It seems he knew this was coming – his bags were already packed. He was given the opportunity to take his and Regina's nine-month-old son out of the house. Another child, a 10-year-old girl called Natalina, younger sister of Regina, was also allowed to run.

"The old woman was killed in the kitchen with machetes," says the policeman. "When they started to kill the older lady, they [her daughter and granddaughter] were trying to get to the kitchen to help her. But then people started to kill them, in the doorway. He [Agustino] just stood there, doing nothing. He didn't try to stop them – didn't cry. Strange."

Strange, too, that the witches' several next-door neighbours didn't hear the women scream or beg. Not a sound until the hut went up in flames.

When the murderous band had done their business, they headed back down the hill, Karion and his baby son in tow. "After it happened that night, he was with the group, sitting there cooking and eating bananas." Police questioned him but couldn't arrest him for the crime of not helping his wife.

The old woman Madalena had been a widow for years; Florencia's husband disappeared in 1999, during the militia upheavals. Karion has fled inland with his son, to live in an even more remote village. Natalina – who told police there were no magical objects in the house, just traditional medicine – is now in the care of nuns.

The dead women were simple people who grew corn and had a few goats. Their entire life possessions would have run to a few clothes and some pots and dishes. Each would have likely owned a crucifix or a picture of Jesus. They chewed betel nut to keep hunger at bay. After autopsies in Dili, their remains were carried in bags back up the mountain, where they were buried in a shared grave marked by three unpainted wooden crosses which look, in context, more like vampire stakes. The grave is only metres from the charred remains of the house in which they were cut down.

It is beautiful up here. The bougainvillea is blooming, the oleander is in flower. Normally in remote Timorese locations, villagers come outside to say hello to strangers. Not in this place. The people stay indoors, possibly scared, possibly ashamed.

Timor food crisis

ABC Country Hour (Darwin) - March 20, 2007

Stephen Skinner – Timorese people are starving on our doorstep. That's the blunt report being received in Darwin by former Territory Government agricultural scientist Rob Wesley-Smith, who's better known as a long-time East Timor activist.

There's a chronic shortage of rice in East Timor at the moment, and that's one of the major reasons behind recent riots and the ongoing looting of warehouses.

Rob Wesley-Smith is in almost daily contact with people in East Timor, and has made countless visits over the past 30 years. Combine that with a couple of decades as a Top End tropical ag scientist – including rice research at Tortilla flats near Adelaide River – and Wesley-Smith knows what he's talking about when it comes to food security in East Timor.

"There's reports coming in from all over the country that people are hungry. It is the normal hunger season that they have every year but on top of that the rains are late this year, the first corn crop that was planted died off, and people are so disrupted with their lives at the moment that they're not growing the food that they need, so all these factors compound on each other and people are starving. For example at Atauro I heard the other day, one meal every two days, and no work that requires the expenditure of energy."

Rob Wesley-Smith says the East Timorese became dependant on rice during the long Indonesian occupation, to the point where the country can't grow enough rice to feed itself – about half the supply has to be imported each year. He says that dependence has become worse since the elections mayhem eight years ago.

"There's developed with the UN being there a bit of a cargo cult mentality. The people got liberated from an oppressive regime and they expect that the world must come in and help them, and so far that's happened. There's always been the World Food Program or the Government to provide food.

"There must be more emphasis on people growing their own food. Everyone must have a kitchen garden or a pot plant at home where they grow some herbs or something like that, and that education is not there. Even in Indonesian times they had lots of extension officers in all the districts, now there's almost none."

A team of experts from the United Nations has just arrived in East Timor to do a two-week assessment of the latest rice and maize crops. Country director for the World Food Program is Egyptian-Canadian Tarek Elguindi, and he already knows the news will be bad.

He says the food shortage crisis has been compounded by difficulty in importing rice. For example Indonesia and the Philippines have been competing for limited supplies in Asia; Australia's rice crop has been hit by the drought; and it's been dangerous, slow and uneconomic for cargo ships to unload at Dili's port.

Tarek Elguindi says one positive thing has been that with the help of the Australian Government, for the past couple of years pregnant women and young children have been receiving priority help under a food safety net program.

Violence-ridden East Timor on the eve of elections

Japan Focus - March 12, 2007

Jeff Kingston – East Timor is an ill-starred land that has endured more than its share of violence, neglect and deprivation. Since February 2007 there has been a renewed surge in violence, initially due to gang turf battles and increasingly aggressive clashes between gangs and international peacekeepers. After the Australian police shot three protesting IDPs (internally displaced people) near the airport on February 23rd, killing two of them, street confrontations and demonstrations grew more menacing.

At the request of President Xanana Gusmao, on March 4th Australian troops surrounded and tried to capture a renegade soldier, Major Alfredo Reinado, killing five of his troops but failing to capture the fugitive who had escaped from prison last summer. Subsequently, death threats were made against the president, his relatives had their houses attacked and ransacked, and anti-Australian sentiments have surged. With the prospects for a restoration of peace uncertain, international peacekeepers, once warmly welcomed, are now the target of violent elements.

It is hard to imagine a less promising environment for the upcoming presidential elections. The dream of independence realized in 2002 has turned into a nightmare. In 2006, only four years after it gained independence, violent clashes erupted yet again on the streets of Dili, East Timor's capital. The troubles began in February with a small-scale mutiny in the military over pay and promotion grievances. That ignited a simmering feud between President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

After the prime minister dismissed the mutineers, violence flared between military units and subsequently involved the police. The clashes were linked to the political conflict at the top, but were also driven by ethno-linguistic tensions between easterners and westerners that many observers attribute to political machinations.

By June, roaming gangs had torched and looted their way around most of Dili and driven many easterners out of their homes into the refugee camps where many still remain.

At that time the loss of life was relatively small, 37 – but the violence undermined the fragile sense of stability that had slowly emerged in the wake of the Indonesian military's bloody farewell in 1999. This is a society that still bears the scars of losing nearly 200,000 people to the famines and killing caused by Indonesia's 24-year occupation.

It is hard to exaggerate the extent to which the lawlessness and violence today reflect a deeply traumatized society and the legacies of Indonesia's brutality and systematic disregard for human rights and good governance. History is not destiny, but East Timor suffers from collective post-traumatic stress amplified by the fact that many of those who migrated into Dili face bleak prospects and no longer have recourse to the traditional support and mediation mechanisms common in rural villages. Certainly the Timorese are making choices, but their options, inclinations and habits are powerfully shaped by their collective trauma and endemic poverty.

In June 2006, Australian security forces arrived and restored calm. Prime Minister Alkatiri was forced to resign under pressure from President Xanana Gusmao over allegations that he and Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato had distributed weapons to a hit squad targeting political opponents.

In July, Nobel Peace Prize-winner Jose Ramos-Horta – founder of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, the spokesman in exile for the resistance throughout the 1975-99 Indonesian occupation and a candidate for president in the April 9 elections, became prime minister after serving as foreign minister under Prime Minister Alkatiri. Then, in the following month, Japan sponsored a resolution that established UNMIT (United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste [East Timor]).

The resumption of the UN presence in East Timor reflects widespread recognition that the world body had declared "mission accomplished" too soon back in 2002, and prematurely left East Timor to its own devices just three years after attaining self- determination in the 1999 referendum. UNMIT reflects the desire to assure the political stability that could allow this impoverished new nation to get on with the unfinished business of nation building and overcoming the legacy of colonialism, war and deprivation.

Meanwhile, East Timor's moribund justice system creaks under the backlog of cases from the crimes associated with the final bloody months of Indonesian rule in 1999, and now faces a public demanding accountability for high-ranking perpetrators involved in the fresh crimes committed in 2006.

Escalating gang violence adds to this disturbing portrait of a nation on the brink. With presidential and parliamentary elections approaching, the downward spiral threatens to derail this fragile democracy.

Omens

At the close of 2006, there were ominous signs of East Timor's continuing crisis. An ongoing drought, for one, undermined already low morale and led to more rice shortages and hunger.

Anxiety also fed on the ominous omen of the birth of a one-eyed pig with an elephant-like snout. Then, when a lake outside Dili suddenly turned blood red, many saw it as a harbinger of violence in 2007.

These omens reflect and feed anxieties in a society with good cause for fear. In 2006, the promise and hope of self- determination that had buoyed sentiments through four lean years went up in smoke – along with more than 2,000 homes. Small confrontations escalated out of control, unleashing a pent-up malevolence fed by bitter disappointment over post-independence realities.

Dili once again witnessed indiscriminate killing and felt the arsonists' torch as the settling of scores, and the certainty of impunity, unleashed a pent-up malevolence fed by bitter disappointment in post-independence realities. As things went from very bad to far worse, neighborhoods were "cleansed" and ransacked, driving an estimated 150,000 people into refugee camps across the island – a staggering 15 percent of the entire population.

Dispossessed

Despair peered at me through the chain-link fence separating the airport from a refugee camp of nearly 8,000 internally displaced people (IDP). From behind this forlorn facade of despair, angry IDPs threw rocks at security personnel and their vehicles guarding the air terminal. Visitors walking off the tarmac dashed to the safety of taxis with shattered windscreens and scarred bodywork amid a cacophony of projectiles pinging off metal.

My taxi driver explained that the government had declared the next day the deadline for the IDPs to leave the airport refugee camp.

It is a sign of the desperation in Dili that this miserable, flood-prone tent encampment along the fringe of the runway is deemed worth fighting for. It's more telling that those being asked to leave have nowhere to go.

The internally displaced were being encouraged to return to their homes or extended families, as the government worried that having settled in, the IDPs were becoming far too comfortable, with running water and regular meals at state expense.

Luiz Viera of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) told me that the government did not want to build alternative IDP sites because it feared sending the wrong message. The camps have become a tangible symbol of the government's failure to protect the public, and its inability to ease fears that violence will erupt again. Building new camps could be seen as a sign that the government was resigned to this situation.

Viera pointed out, however, that returning to their homes was not an option for people who had been driven from them, often by neighbors and gangs. Some of their houses have been burned down, others have been occupied, and fear remains a formidable obstacle to resuming life as it was.

Although the number of refugees has declined to around 100,000, Viera said his organization is braced for an influx this year, reflecting widespread pessimism about election-related violence.

Kerry Clarke from Oxfam said that the "fear factor" that prevails among IDPs, many of whom have lost everything, has become part of East Timor's social fabric. In her view, the east-west divide was "whipped up out of the blue" for political purposes, but now it has become reality because most of the IDPs are easterners, and dealing with their situation has become a divisive political issue.

UN Redux

There are good reasons why the collective mantra in the UN these days is to promise less and deliver more. There is a consensus in Timor Leste that the UN left too soon. Finn Reske-Nielsen, who served as Acting Senior Representative of the Secretary General for UNMIT until mid-December 2006, spoke on December 18 of a collective naivete about the difficulties of nation building and over excessive confidence in progress made when the UN oversaw the transition to independence in May, 2002. "The fundamental problem was that everyone, including me, underestimated the time required to guide post-conflict Timor to a stable and firm footing. We were way too optimistic in 2002."

At the time, he pointed out, with crises building in Haiti, Sudan and Lebanon, Timor Leste did not get the sustained assistance it needed. According to him, Secretary-General Kofi Annan publicly acknowledged that the UN had left too soon. The establishment of UNMIT in August, 2006 is, he said, recognition of both the UN's earlier failure and its responsibility to address the unfinished business of nation-building.

Timor Leste has regained international attention, but one wonders for how long and if resources will be adequate to the myriad long-run challenges facing one of the poorest nations on earth, one that has slipped down on virtually every UNDP indicator on the Human Development Index. (For a synopsis of the most recent HDI see: www.laohamutuk.org/reports/06HDIslips.htm). Reske- Nielsen confessed that the fact that Timorese are worse off now than they were when the UN first arrived is an embarrassing development and powerful motivation to make the most out of this second opportunity to get things right.

Augustinho de Vasconselos, a Presbyterian minister in Dili, told me that in both 1999 and 2006 his neighbors had targeted his house, setting it on fire and looting his possessions, mistakenly believing that he is an easterner, or so they claimed. For him and for the nation, reconciliation must be based on accountability. Those who commit crimes must acknowledge their wrongdoing and be punished or else the cycle of impunity and violence will swirl out of control. But, even though he knows who attacked him-the same people in both instances-the police have not arrested the perpetrators and the prospects for justice are remote.

This is a bitter pill to swallow even for a man of the cloth who was one of the commissioners directing the work of the Commission of Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) and who continues to work on disseminating the report's findings. Looking at the anger flashing in his eyes and the resentment this reflected, one better understands how impunity is driving society to the brink.

Many people are seeking mediation by traditional and religious leaders, but this is not slaking the people's thirst for justice. By failing to prosecute perpetrators the government has sent the wrong message and encouraged young people, emboldened by impunity, to resort to violence and illegal activities. The political leadership has set the tone through its expedient approach to human rights violations and overly zealous concern for reconciliation. Father Martinus Gusmao, Director of the Justice and Peace Commission in the Catholic Diocese of Bacau, warns that the government is also stoking vigilantism, because, "What people can't find in the courts they will find on the streets in the form of dark justice."

Dili's gangs

I was surprised when Jaime Xavier Lopez, the head of Sacred Heart, a notorious martial arts group, told me to meet him at the government's Office of Cadastral Surveys and Property where he has his day job. Or had, since he is now imprisoned.

He is well-educated, soft-spoken and unassuming, not quite what I expected from a gang boss. According to him, Sacred Heart has 6,000 members and 10,000 students enrolled in a four-year course of training. One eye locks on me while the other wanders off as he denies that his martial arts group has links with prominent political opposition parties. He does admit, however, that many members may have overlapping memberships. Lopez complains that some rioting gangs wear Sacred Heart's distinctive uniforms trying to discredit it, but acknowledges that in some cases its members engage in violence, but only for self-defense. The police see this differently, explaining why he is in jail.

The omnipresence of martial arts groups and gangs in Dili reflects the bankruptcy of the judicial system and contributes to a cycle of retaliations and police confrontations. Arrested gang members know that in no time they will be back on the streets. International police officers express frustration that there is no law banning the carrying of dangerous weapons like machetes, darts, knives or slingshots. The gangs know the rules of engagement for the international police units and act accordingly, pushing street melees perilously close to the edge.

Gangs are thriving because a culture of impunity prevails. Law enforcement is lax, the prosecution is overwhelmed, there is no witness protection program and the courts barely function.

Only the Portuguese police units inspire fear among criminals. They are a scary looking beefy bunch, bristling with menace and weapons. I was told that if these Portuguese officers need to get out of their air conditioned patrol vehicles, they find some heads to bang as a matter of principle. Their no-holds barred approach to policing is lamented by human rights activists, but for many, they are a welcome pit bull to cope with the breakdown of law and order.

A US Embassy source says that gang violence is escalating and gangs have become a much more visible and menacing presence on the streets since the middle of 2006.

An Australian federal police officer agrees that the situation on the streets has worsened considerably since UNMIT assumed responsibility for security in August. He was withering in his criticism of the UN bureaucracy and endless red tape that impeded effective policing.

This officer says the gang violence has reached a new stage that it shows signs of coordination. Whereas previously gang attacks seemed random, they are now being choreographed. He noted an evening when three melees broke out simultaneously in different areas in Dili in a move that seemed designed to test the responses and capabilities of the over-stretched security forces.

There is concern that political parties are mobilizing and funding gangs in preparation for the upcoming elections. The source of the gangs' cash, mobile phones and motorbikes is uncertain, but suspicions focus on political parties. For example, Korka, one of the largest "martial arts groups", has ties with the ruling Fretilin party.

According to some estimates, as many as 70% of Dili youth are gang members. Many unemployed youth with no prospects join for status, reputation, money and illicit thrills. The emergence of a youth gang culture is yet another symptom of deep social malaise and a further impediment to stability.

There is a proliferation of gangs that distinguish themselves by scarification of upper arms with razor blade cuts in numerical patterns such as 77, 21, and 55 while some of the martial arts groups favor distinctive tattoos. These martial arts groups distinguish themselves from gangs by their organizational hierarchies, training and discipline, and many members hold regular jobs, but some members are also involved in violent confrontations with gangs and security forces.

The gangs maintain checkpoints in Dili where they shake down citizens and check for gang membership by having people roll up their sleeves. One young woman who studies in Australia was home for the holidays and described a harrowing experience of being stopped by drunken, metal bar brandishing gang members who told to take her jacket off so they could check her arms. She escaped on her motorbike when they lurched into the road to wave down a potentially more lucrative passing car.

I was told by several people never to walk around at night, especially alone. Japanese NGO workers spoke of their embassy requiring all nationals to return home by 8 PM unless they had informed others and had their own car and driver. They were strongly advised not to ride in taxis under any circumstances for fear of kidnapping or random violence.

This self-imposed curfew makes Dili eery in the evening; the gangs control the nights. The fear of gang violence creates a culture of intimidation that haunts all of Dili's residents.

Human rights and justice

"How can we talk of human rights in East Timor? Respect for human rights requires the proper context and we do not have that." Thus spoke Joaquim da Fonseca, a young thirtyish man with piercing eyes and long hair pulled back above a strikingly angular face and the slight frame of an ascetic. He has the air of a poet, speaks enigmatically like a philosopher and works as the human rights adviser in the Prime Minister's Office where he has been learning the political ropes since he accepted the post last summer. Leaning back in his chair he observed that the transition from being an NGO activist to government actor has been frustrating and it is clear where he would rather be.

Fonseca admits feeling more influential as an outside critic where there are many channels to exercise influence. Inside government he is isolated by his lack of political ties and constrained in what he can say because of his position. He rues the weakness of his office in the face of other ministries all asserting competing agendas and claims on limited resources. In trying to promote human rights issues at cabinet meetings, he confesses frustration at hearing the "echo of one hand clapping."

Blatant political manipulation of the justice system discredits it in the public's eyes. Fonseca laments that, "Equality before the law is not fully observed. Those with political importance are given privileged treatment."

I arrived in Dili shortly after the proceedings against Rogerio Lobato, the Interior Minister under PM Alkatiri were postponed. The postponement was taken as a barometer of the ruling political elite's willingness to prosecute their own. Political interference in the trial was expected and the postponement was all the proof anyone needed. Rumors that one of the witnesses was attacked and fled Dili only add to speculation about a conspiracy.

Lobato is accused of providing weapons to hit squads for use against political opponents and Dr. Alkatiri's ouster from office on June 26, 2006 is popularly ascribed to his knowledge of, and acquiescence to, this weapons transfer. President Gusmao threatened resignation after seeing damning evidence of Dr. Alkatiri's complicity.

In March 2007 the former Interior Minister was found guilty and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. In addition to the weapons transfer charges Lobato, still deputy chairman of Fretilin, was also found criminally negligent in the deaths of nine policemen, killed by soldiers in Dili, on May 24, 2006. He is appealing the ruling.

Given that Lobato's conviction occurred amidst surging violence and turmoil in Dili, it is not clear that the troublemakers or their paymasters are paying attention. Perhaps in time, a restoration of basic security on the streets will give the public a chance to absorb the symbolism of the ruling elite convicting one of its own. Certainly it is a precedent that many would like the judiciary to build on.

Fonseca says that, "The number one human rights problem affecting Timor Leste is the lack of justice and accountability. It is so serious that it weakens public administration." There is no deterrent to crime and so it spirals out of control because, "The culture of impunity has entered into the consciousness of the people."

The problem of establishing a judicial system from scratch is being overtaken by events and burdened with a growing backlog of cases. Fonseca asserts that the breakdown of law and order in 2006, vigilante justice and the escalation of gang violence are symptomatic of a failed judicial system. Time is running out, he says, and "The government has to give more than lip service to justice and human rights."

Commission on Truth and Friendship (CTF)

In an attempt to get Indonesian perpetrators to add their testimony to the record, the CTF was launched in the summer of 2005 with Indonesia covering two-thirds of expenses. (1) Political leaders in both nations hope that by establishing a common, conclusive truth about what happened in Timor Leste in 1999, Indonesia and Timor Leste will be able to put the past behind them and move forward without further recrimination. However, there is widespread concern among Timorese that the CTF emphasizes reaching closure, has no judicial mandate and ensures impunity for ranking perpetrators. Under its terms of reference, the CTF can make recommendations for amnesty that must be approved by the Timor-Leste Parliament.

The CTF's mandate was extended for a year in 2006. In its first twelve months it did not hold a single public hearing, called no witnesses and failed to issue a progress report on its review and evaluation of the evidence presented by the CAVR or the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) that issued numerous indictments and operated under UN auspices. The lack of transparency and progress has sparked widespread criticism of the CTF and many critics see no reason to continue with a charade aimed at providing Indonesian perpetrators immunity from prosecution.

Finally, in February 2007 the CTF held its first of five landmark hearings and there are plans to call some seventy witnesses in a series of hearings planned through June, 2007. The first high profile witness to testify was former Indonesia Foreign Minister Ali Alitas, long the most prominent apologist for Indonesia's occupation of Timor Leste during the Suharto era. He claimed he was unaware of evidence that the Indonesian military was behind most of the 1999 slaughter and blamed Australia for being overzealous in sending troops to calm the strife. Performances like this-hedged and misleading-and significant differences in the type of questioning by commissioners from both nations suggest a disappointing outcome. The question is how to establish the truth if those testifying are less than brutally honest.

General Wiranto, General Kiki Syahnakrie, General Sadam Damiri, General Tono Suratman and militia leader Enrico Guterres (2) are also expected to take the stand and face high expectations from the Timorese side to come clean about their responsibility. Disappointment is likely.

The post-mortem on the first session indicates that the Timorese commissioners are disappointed in the exercise. Commissioner Aniceto Guterres from Timor Leste described the session as "imperfect" and characterized some of the Indonesian questioning as "stupid". There are strong doubts about whether the truth alone will be enough to promote reconciliation without prosecution of those responsible for human rights abuses and other crimes.

The Timor Leste commissioners face significant political pressures at home and know that the findings of the CTF and its recommendations for amnesty will come under critical scrutiny. The Church, the CAVR Secretariat, and civil society organizations have repudiated the CTF and thus if it is to have any credibility it must come up with the goods-truthful and comprehensively forthright testimony by the witnesses-considered in light of the evidence collected by the SCU in its indictments and the rulings of Indonesia's ad hoc Human Rights Court.

Critics believe that the ten-member commission's main task is to improve bilateral relations rather than find the truth and promote justice. John Miller of the East Timor Indonesian Action Network refers to the CTF as a "whitewash" while Father Gusmao dismisses it as an exercise in "collective amnesia." He says the problem is not that Timor Leste needs state-sponsored reconciliation with Indonesia, rather Timorese people need justice for the crimes committed and this means holding perpetrators accountable for their actions and choices.

Fonseca, the Prime Minister's human rights advisor, says the arguments in favor of the CTF are deeply flawed and it is a "farce". It will not produce conclusive proof or credible accountability and he believes that the TNI (Indonesian military) will emerge as the only beneficiary. The leadership in Dili, he says, has frankly admitted that the CTF is a political tool to achieve reconciliation and does not serve justice in any way He adds that the global political situation does not favor accountability for serious violations of human rights, pointing to the watered down human rights bodies of the UN.

Patrick Walsh and Reverend Vasconselos from the CAVR believe that the CTF will not close the window on justice because the public rejects it; there is no popular support for a rush to closure, especially given a lack of credible accountability by those deemed most responsible for the most serious crimes.

The CAVR notes that the Indonesian Supreme Court recently ruled that it is contrary to international law to grant amnesty for crimes against humanity. The CAVR has also issued a critique of a proposal circulating in Dili's Parliament concerning amnesty that involves the establishment of the Commission for Truth and Social Harmonization. (3) The CAVR Secretariat, inter alia, asks, "Will the prospect of amnesty help or hinder the restoration of law and order in Dili?"

The Asia Foundation's Kim Hunter also doubts that the CTF will deliver the truth and without that it is hard to imagine it promoting real friendship. She suggests that the CTF is inadvertently useful in keeping the issue of accountability alive and high on the radar screen of public discourse, confounding government efforts to reach premature closure.

The problem with truth commissions despite their proliferation is that the findings and process don't promote reconciliation. Public opinion polls in South Africa, arguably the most famous and 'successful' truth commission, indicate that two-thirds of the public was angrier about the past after the process concluded. (4) The search for a unifying TRUTH is elusive, opens old wounds and raises expectations that finding out what happened to whom and why will lead to consequences for the perpetrators.

Amnesty in exchange for testimony is not always acceptable to those affected by the crimes and must meet very strict criteria or runs the risk of discrediting the process. The CTF's conditions for amnesty are not clear and the granting of immunity may spark recrimination rather than contribute to a healing process. There is also a danger as in Guatemala that the results of truth commissions will be ignored and drop off the political agenda. (5)

Timor Leste is a new state and has limited capacities, enormous problems and competing agendas. The CTF can only help the Timorese turn the page if it sheds more light on the planning by Indonesian military commanders, their Timorese militias and Indonesian government officials for the referendum in 1999 that led to the widespread violence, what they knew about this violence as it escalated and how they responded to the situation as it evolved.

Truth commissions often disappoint because they do not usually individualize responsibility; the investigations and indictments prepared by the SCU have fingered individuals who will be testifying at the CTF. To the extent that the CTF process 'trumps' the SCU process and the CAVR recommendations, justice, human rights and reconciliation in Timor Leste stand to suffer. Under such circumstances it is hard to imagine a social consensus advocating harmony and creating greater trust within Timor Leste and with Indonesia. (6) In this sense the CTF may make a limited contribution by adding the testimony of the Indonesian perpetrators to the record without recommending immunity.

There should be no rush to closure on a tight timetable according to political dictates; it is clear that such an initiative is doomed because it is out of sync with public opinion in Timor Leste and does not reflect the Timorese desire for accountability.

President Xanana Gusmao may be right that given all the current problems associated with poverty and inadequate governance, finding something approaching justice in a courtroom is neither a priority nor viable, at least for now. The window on justice remains open and the immediate task is to assemble as complete a record as possible to prepare for the time when the constellations of opportunity, circumstance and political will come into alignment.

Truth commissions are imperfect because they emerge from imperfect situations and flawed compromises and thus can be most helpful as a step in a longer process rather than serving as an end to the search for justice. In the case of Timor Leste, given the current reluctance of the international community to back an international tribunal, the choice is not between the CTF and trials, it is the alternative to doing nothing. On its own Timor Leste cannot force the Indonesian government to prosecute its own perpetrators nor ensure their extradition to face trial in Dili. What it can do is place the onus on the international community to eventually support an international tribunal by demonstrating good faith and exhausting available alternatives such as the CTF.

Prospects

Timor Leste demonstrates that there are no quick fixes in nation building or in addressing the problems of post-conflict nations.

PM Ramos-Horta recently chided the UN for its hasty downsizing in 2002, saying that, "...even a Manhattan take-out restaurant needed at least a year or two to establish itself; it was reasonable to think it would take much longer to build a nation."

Timor Leste stands at a critical juncture as it faces spiraling violence and lawlessness. There are no illusions that the elections in 2007 will resolve Timor Leste's problems, bolster faith in democracy or even make the streets safe at night. Political leaders face a deeply skeptical public and share with the UN a crisis of credibility. Achieving independence in 2002 was a dream come true that has, by 2007, morphed into a nightmare. The struggle for self-determination was a unifying experience that focused on ousting a common enemy. Now the Timorese are grappling with long suppressed divisions and competing agendas in the course of nation building.

The leaders who led the struggle for freedom now face tasks and demands to which they are not accustomed and in some important ways may not be well-suited. The shining promise of independence has not delivered a better life for many who face grim circumstances and their frustrations can be seen in the piles of burning tires and barricades sprinkled around Dili on the eve of presidential elections. The political leadership also faces the problem of reining in their own inclinations honed as freedom fighters and also those of opportunists who are swelling the ranks of political parties. This is a fragile transition era in which impatience for results vies with the need for patient institution building and cultivating of good governance.

[Jeff Kingston is Director of Asian Studies, Temple University Japan Campus and a Japan Focus associate. He is the author of Japan's Quiet Transformation. Social change and civil society in the twenty-first century.]

Notes

(1) The official website is: www.ctf-ri-tl.org/. Also see ETAN website for critical commentary on the CTF: http://etan.org/timor/default.htm.

(2) Guterres was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for his role as a militia commander involved in the death and destruction that engulfed Dili in 1999. He was sentenced in 2002, but was free on appeal until he began serving his sentence in 2006. The tardy imprisonment is seen as symbolic of Jakarta's reluctance to pursue justice against those responsible for crimes committed in Timor Leste.

(3) Communication Pat Walsh Feb. 23, 2007. Draft Law (30/1/5) on Truth and Clemency; Comments from STP/CAVR (12/02/07)

(4) For this statistic and an assessment of truth commissions see Jonathan Tepperman, "Truth and Consequences", Foreign Affairs (March/April 2002), vol. 81, no. 2, pp. 128-145.

(5) Ibid.

(6) For a discussion of how truth commissions can nurture trust see Alexander Boraine, "Transitional Justice: A Holistic Interpretation", Journal of International Affairs, (Fall/Winter 2006), vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 17-27.

Let's develop a Marshall Plan for the pacific

The Australian - March 9, 2007

Dennis Shanahan – It used to be a proud boast of Australian troops on the ground in East Timor in the latest security assignment that they had never fired a shot. Not one; not into the air and certainly not at people.

Other UN forces were considered trigger-happy and some all too ready to fire unnecessary warning shots. All of that has changed and Australian troops have reverted to the role they had before East Timorese independence: muscling up to rebellious factions and shooting, in anger and fatally. It adds to the image of politics being played out in East Timor (and elsewhere) at the point of an Australian gun.

It is a sad commentary on events in East Timor that Australian soldiers, so long a symbol of safety, independence and security, are being subjected to anti-Australian protests in Dili. This is not to criticise the military serving in a difficult and political hothouse atmosphere. Australia's professional soldiers are undoubtedly among the best in the world in a variety of ways but, good as they are, they are not the sole answer to the arc of instability that stretches from East Timor in the northwest through Papua, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and now Tonga.

The problems in this arc are obvious: tiny nation-states unable to survive economically; high unemployment, especially among young men; disproportionate military influence in a democracy; endemic corruption; Third World standards in services such as water and power; and a susceptibility to international crime and terrorism.

But what were problems in Indo-Pacific states for decades have undergone a dramatic strategic reassessment since 2001. Failing states are a strategic global concern in the war against transnational crime and terror. What's more, Australia's long- dormant view of the Pacific has changed under the Howard Government from one of benevolent paternalism and neglect to one of active intervention, which has led to the downfall of governments and more troops and Australian Federal Police officers being committed to the Pacific than to Iraq and Afghanistan combined.

The success and basis of Australia's military intervention in East Timor and the Solomons were based on the military view of a "big footprint". A relatively large mass of highly professional soldiers simply scares the daylights out of local roughnecks and ruffians and restores order. Unfortunately, that has been the beginning of the long-term problem for Australia, not the solution.

Australian troops have had to return to East Timor and the Solomons. Unrest in East Timor, uncertainty in PNG, guerilla war in Bougainville, coups in Fiji and social disorder in Tonga have been temporarily quelled by an Australian presence but never entirely resolved.

That's the point; we can't simply keep returning our soldiers and federal police to war zones or areas of civil disorder and rely on their professional capabilities to restore calm. The fact is Australia is the South Pacific superpower and the brutal reality is the Government has begged off further troop increases in Iraq and possibly Afghanistan on that basis.

On his recent trip here, US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Peter Pace said he believed Australia had "made an enormous contribution to Iraq" and thought "Australia should be very proud". But his second observation was that Australia had taken on the role of a regional power, relieving the US of such a duty in the South Pacific. It was a complimentary remark about a complementary role.

This, then, is the reality: Australia's neighbours are unstable; Australia is the power in the region most capable of delivering assistance; Australia is getting strategic credit for its role in the Pacific; and it is in Australia's interests to have stability. Furthermore, although military and police intervention are necessary to establish order and build a climate for the construction of a modern, working and economically viable democracy, it is not enough. If Australia is the main power in a region of instability and economic failure, it has to behave like one: it is time for Australia to develop a Marshall Plan in the South Pacific.

Although necessary, the military commitment is expensive and will remain so each time it is made. The European Union as a group and individual nations, such as France, are providing aid to the South Pacific. But there needs to be a sympathetic framework to stop endemic corruption and inefficiency wasting millions in aid.

As with the aftermath of the tsunami in 2004 when Australia set up a $4 billion reconstruction fund for Indonesia – a fund with tight fiscal controls and Australian oversight – there is surely an argument for a similar arrangement with the Solomons, Fiji, PNG and Tonga, and to a lesser extent, because of its potential gas income, East Timor.

When the Treasury is rolling in money to the extent that $6 billion can be found almost overnight for Brendan Nelson's Super Hornet fighters or $10 billion can be offered for a once-only deal to the states that share the Murray-Darling Basin, the funding of a regional future fund can be found.

Not only can and should it be found, but the longer-term savings and advantages for Australia make it a worthwhile investment for the 21st century.

Yes, good governance is a priority, but asking nations to provide a corruption-free environment without putting the individuals in place and training them beforehand is unrealistic. Australia was sympathetic to Indonesia after the tsunami and now has an extensive aid-reconstruction system that is not as demanding as the World Bank or as wasteful as a UN program.

Australia has been right to insist on conditions with Indonesia and negotiate with East Timor on gas rights, but there has to be a place for trying to replace military expenditure with funding for professional training, long-term loans and infrastructure.

Just this week the Australian defence forces spent more than $10 million recovering a crashed helicopter and the body of an SAS trooper who had been assigned duties during the latest unrest in Fiji, a sad and costly by-product of our readiness and requirement to intervene in the Pacific.

As Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Robert McClelland said recently: "A short-term military response to the manifestation of these problems only applies a Band-Aid. A longer-term commitment isrequired to address the underlying problems."

Instituting a Marshall Plan for the Pacific instead of an additional $6 billion for fighters may be a longer-term commitment.

Manhunt: The raid on Reinado

Time Magazine - March 8, 2007

Roy Callinan, Same – A few hours before dawn on Feb. 26, East Timor's most wanted man, rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado, drove into the small town of Same, 50 km south of Dili, with about 70 armed supporters. Many residents of the town sympathized with Reinado, who has been a focus of anti-government feeling since he led a mass desertion from the Army last April. When he and his men took over a house on a hill overlooking the town, groups of young men wrote VIVA ALFREDO on walls, held a sit-in at the crossroads about 100 m below the house, and set up roadblocks on the streets leading up to it.

But East Timor's government was determined not to leave Reinado alone. Since he escaped from Dili's prison last August, the former military police commander – jailed over a rebel attack last May that left five East Timorese soldiers dead-had been flitting from one jungle hideout to another, giving interviews to journalists in which he vented his hatred for the "communist" government, and negotiating with officials and Australian peacekeeping troops over his terms for facing justice.

Then, last week, he and his men visited a police post on the border with Indonesia and left with 20 automatic rifles, along with ammunition and two-way radios. President Xanana Gusmao immediately authorized Australian troops-who make up half East Timor's 1,550-strong International Stabilization Force-to arrest him.

Six days later, five rebels were dead and one wounded, Reinado was still on the run, and East Timor's streets had become battlegrounds as thousands of the rebel leader's supporters staged angry protests, threw rocks and torched houses. Dili, the capital, was relatively quiet as Time went to press, but unrest triggered by the failed raid could resume with redoubled violence if Reinado is caught. Meanwhile, he continues to taunt the government, and has threatened to derail the April 9 elections- the country's first Presidential poll since independence in 1999.

Several hours after Reinado arrived in Same, Australian troops set up a cordon of checkpoints and roadblocks around his hilltop compound. Helicopters buzzed over the town and armored personnel carriers rumbled up the roads. "They were blocking the people," says Patricino dos Reis, a resident who sympathizes with Reinado. "It shocked us that they would carry out an operation while all the people were still in the town."

Reinado told journalists he would fight to the death. "If you bring all the forces and point guns at me," he warned, "I will shoot you." Gusmao and the commander of the ISF, Australian Brig. Mal Rerden, called on Reinado to turn himself in. "The purpose of this operation is not to kill anyone," said Gusmao. "It is to force them to hand in all the weapons they have and to surrender."

On March 3, more than five days into the siege, Reinado demanded a face-to-face meeting with officials. Soon after, East Timorese Attorney-General Longuinhos Monteiro, accompanied by Prime Minister Jos Ramos-Horta's personal secretary, walked up to the crossroads near the compound. But they returned from the negotiations empty-handed. Reinado reportedly told them he would testify at a tribunal investigating the gang violence sparked by his rebellion, but only if his own men were allowed to protect him. The Attorney-General refused his demand.

Later that afternoon, a Black Hawk helicopter began circling the hilltop. In the guesthouse at the crossroads, owner Elfrida Barros gathered her five children around her in bed. "I was thinking that the big helicopter will bomb us and kill us all," she told Time. Around midnight, she and other residents heard the sound of tramping boots. As soldiers moved toward the compound, the Black Hawk was joined by a second helicopter. At about 1:45 a.m., they landed in the corn patch tended by Jos Francisco and his family, 50 meters below the rebel compound. Francisco says he saw dozens of heavily armed soldiers emerge from the Black Hawks. Then he heard a loud explosion from the house followed by gunfire from the rebels, who were screaming obscenities in the local Tetum language. The Australians charged up the hill, killing two of the rebels. (A platoon of New Zealand troops also took part in the raid.)

Reinado's men deny shooting first, saying a machine gun in the helicopter fired into the house, forcing them outside. Ramos- Horta has claimed that one or more of the rebels fired at the approaching soldiers and were shot down. Barros and other residents say they heard pistol shots before the heavier weapons began firing.

Nelson Galucho, who was stationed in the compound's garden, says Reinado did not give the order to shoot until another rebel, Deolindo Barros, was killed. But less than 30 minutes after the gun battle began, the Australians – for reasons as yet unknown -- stopped firing and pulled back, allowing Reinado and his surviving men to escape through the thick rainforest on the western side of the hill. Behind them they left the bodies of Barros, Natalino Pereira, Maranes Henrique and Calisto Tilman. The body of a fifth, unidentified man was found two days after the raid, but it was unclear whether he had died of wounds or exposure. Galucho's younger brother Nikson, a former military policeman who deserted with Reinado and was reportedly devoted to him, was shot in the leg, head and hand but survived.

At first light, a troop helicopter landed on the hilltop and loaded the bodies on board; they were taken to the shipping container that serves as a morgue at the hospital in Dili. The Australians also took Nikson to the hospital, where he is in a stable condition and under arrest. Deolindo Barras' sister spent two days trying to locate her brother's body before it was brought to the morgue in a black body bag by Australian soldiers. Barros – who left a pregnant wife and three children – was very close to Reinado, she told Time, "like a bodyguard."

"We don't have him," Rerden told the press in Dili, but he denied that the raid was a failure. As for the dead rebels, they were shot because "they posed immediate threat to the lives of the ISF members involved."

Gusmao said the hunt for Reinado would continue and again called on him to give himself up. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said of the rebel leader, "His continued activities are a threat to the security of East Timor, and it is preferable that that threat be neutralized. The objective is to take him into custody and that is an objective we will go on pursuing."

Meanwhile, news of the raid sparked violent protests, including an attempt by several hundred people to mass outside the Australian embassy. Demonstrators threw rocks at cars, set tires alight, and burned down several houses, including those of the Attorney-General and relatives of Gusmao. On March 8 Gusmao declared a state of emergency and put local troops back on the streets. Hearing of the development, rebel Nelson Galucho laughed and said: "The country's been in a state of emergency since last year." His leader, he says, has vowed to "liberate" the people of East Timor.

The spreading anarchy is triggering despair among many Timorese. "What has happened over the past year has destroyed the claim that this is a nation-building success story," says Laurentina Barreto Soares, a researcher with the UN Development Program. "Whoever wins the election could face even tougher problems than Xanana has."

One of those presidential candidates is Ramos-Horta, who says it's unfair to dismiss his country as a failed state so soon. "There is no civil war or bombs bursting on the streets," he says. "These are just growing pains of a young country." His main rival, Fernando de Araujo, leader of the democratic party and, like Gusmao, a resistance hero, disagrees. "We are a new country, but we are not a new society," he says. "Our people can see with their own eyes what has happened. It has been five years and what is there to show for it? Almost nothing."

[With reporting by Hannah Beech and Marcelino X. Magno/Dili.]

Lobato's conviction plays to East Timor's opposition

Crikey.com - March 8, 2007

Damian Kingsbury – The decision by East Timor's courts to convict and jail former interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, on charges of manslaughter and arming gangs last year should come as a welcome sign that this small, teetering state can still pull back from the brink. In particular, gangs that have been responsible for most of the recent violence and destruction should in part be placated.

Lobato was sentenced yesterday to seven and a half years on five charges, including four charges of manslaughter and one of unlawfully using firearms to disturb public order. The sentence was handed down by a panel of three international judges, which should strengthen its sense of impartiality, even if it begs the question of capacity of local judges.

While the sentence substantiates claims against Lobato that he was directly involved in last year's violence, the term of the sentence might be considered by some to be too light.

In particular, the questionably named National Movement for Unity, Justice and Peace (MUNJP), which has been behind much of the recent violence, might question the perceived leniency of the sentence given the multiple convictions for manslaughter. Questions will also likely be again asked about the circumstances in which charges against former prime minister Mari Alkatiri were dropped.

However, the MUNJP has its own political agenda of outright opposition to the Fretilin government, and includes among its senior figures some of whom are linked to opposition parties.

Chief judge Ivo Rosa's assessment that Lobato had behaved in an anti-social and anti-democratic way could also be levelled at a few other of East Timor's political actors. East Timor prosecutors dropped charges against Alkatiri, citing a lack of evidence. In exchange, Alkatiri agreed to cooperate with further investigations into the violence. In this, the already unpopular Lobato can be seen as the government's 'fall guy', even though responsibility for last year's civil unrest appears to have extended well beyond his personal reach.

The question now will be the extent to which Fretilin tries to limit the fall-out from Lobato's conviction in the face of the impending elections. In this it will have to balance a desire for as much distance as possible from the convicted felon with a need to ensure he does not now discuss more freely what he knows about who gave what order to arm the hit squads.

A half-decent opposition in East Timor should be able to make great political capital out of this. And that would be a lot smarter politics than letting the gangs potentially derail an electoral process that together they now look like having a chance of winning.

East Timor's broken promises

Time Magazine - March 8, 2007

Hannah Beech, Dili – Every day, the fancy jeeps cruise past Palmira Pereira's shack on the northern coast of East Timor. Sometimes, the passengers inside the air-conditioned vehicles raise their hands in greeting, and Pereira, or one of her 10 children, waves back.

But the occupants of the cars-owned by the government, the UN or other organizations that are helping to run this infant country, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002-have never stopped to meet the Pereiras.

If they did, they would find a family that has not eaten rice in three months because of shortages that have nearly tripled the price. The younger children are already showing signs of malnutrition. "I love our country very much, but independence has given us nothing," says Pereira, her voice softening as she tries to soothe her hungry infant. "We are starving. Life was better during Indonesian times."

Pereira's wistful recollection of 24 years of brutal Indonesian rule shows just how little progress East Timor has made in its five years of freedom. As the nation prepares for its first post-independence presidential election on April 9, East Timor's 1 million people are ranked by the UN as Southeast Asia's poorest.

Eight politicians have announced their candidacies, ranging from populist former resistance fighter Fernando de Araujo to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and current Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta. But even as such democratic rituals play out, the capital Dili has erupted into a battleground for gangs, internal refugees and supporters of a former army commander turned rebel, Alfredo Reinado.

Last spring, tensions within the army spread to the civilian populace, sparking riots in which dozens died. On March 3, Reinado's forces engaged in a firefight with Australian-led peacekeepers. Four people were killed, but Reinado escaped. Earlier this week, mobs loyal to him thronged Dili's streets, burning tires and threatening to torch government buildings. "It can be hard to understand how things have gotten so bad so quickly," says Lucia Lobato, another presidential candidate. "Without a major change in leadership, I have no confidence that things will get better."

After the disasters of Somalia, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, tiny East Timor was supposed to prove that nation building was a feasible exercise. An independence referendum in 1999 forced the Indonesians out, but not before departing soldiers and sympathetic local militias practically leveled the country in a paroxysm of violence that claimed hundreds of lives. All in all, up to 200,000 East Timorese are believed to have perished during the Indonesian occupation.

Determined to help reconstruct a country that had been birthed in such chaos, the UN set up shop in 1999. A constitution was written, universities were built. Charismatic former guerrilla commander Xanana Gusmao was elected President. Boasting pristine beaches and untouched coral reefs, the Catholic country-a legacy of centuries of Portuguese colonialism-was trumpeted as a future tourism destination. In 2004, the UN's troops began withdrawing (though peacekeepers returned after last spring's violence), and East Timor was hailed as the little nation that could. The euphoria lasted long enough for World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz to visit Dili last year and proclaim: "It really is a remarkable story. In just a few years, the people of [East Timor] have built a functioning economy and a vibrant democracy from the ashes and destruction of 1999."

Just weeks later, East Timor again descended into conflict, and the country still simmers with strife. What went wrong? In reality, the simple narrative of East Timor's success hid a far more complex story line. Yes, the Timorese cherish independence. But no amount of freedom masks the fact that nearly 45% of the country lives on less than $1 a day.

When the international community began decamping in 2002, thousands of jobs associated with its presence disappeared. The current government, run by the political party Fretilin, a key resistance force during the Indonesian occupation, hasn't improved the economic situation much. Although Fretilin's reputation is burnished by the brave ex-guerrillas and former exiled activists among its ranks, many members of East Timor's government are woefully inexperienced. "For many of these people, this is the first real job they ever had," says the head of the opposition Social Democratic Party, Mario Carrascalao, who even as the Jakarta-appointed governor to East Timor in the 1980s and early '90s spoke out against the excesses of Indonesian rule.

Nor is it any secret that the fierce determination that makes a good resistance fighter can prove disastrous in a democracy where conciliation and flexibility are paramount. Opposition parties snipe that Fretilin has become more concerned with internal squabbles and retaining power than with the nation's welfare.

Case in point: Fretilin's elite-many of whom were educated in Portuguese and spent decades in exile in countries like Mozambique where it's also spoken-imposed the European tongue as East Timor's official language. Yet less than 10% of the population understands Portuguese. The decision, largely acquiesced to by an international community that sympathized with Fretilin's reluctance to adopt the language of East Timor's former occupier, excluded an entire generation of Indonesian- educated citizens from government service. "The current leaders have decided that their own history is more valuable than ours," says Antsnio da Conceicao, who was trained in Indonesian and English and now works as a consultant for AusAID, the Australian government's overseas aid program. "But we younger people, we fought for independence, too. How can we be turned into second- class citizens?"

Other divisions are festering, too. Even though the country was hardly riven by ethnic hatred like, say, Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia, tensions between the half-island nation's eastern and western populations exploded in the spring of 2006 after then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri fired nearly 600 army troops predominantly from the country's west. In protest, Commander Reinado later deserted, claiming that westerners were being discriminated against by eastern army officers. The dispute sparked weeks of fatal mob unrest that sent some 15% of the population fleeing to the hills. (On Wednesday, ex-Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato was sentenced to 71/2 years in jail for abetting the violence.)

Other effects of the crisis linger. Today, tens of thousands of people from the country's east still live in makeshift refugee camps around Dili. Late last month, Australian-led peacekeepers, who were invited back to East Timor nearly a year after they had jubilantly ended their mission in 2005, clashed with a group of armed men from these camps, resulting in the deaths of two refugees. With Reinado still on the run, Australian Prime Minister John Howard talked tough on Monday, calling for the renegade soldier to "be neutralized."

The lawlessness of Dili's streets is exacerbated by gangs of unemployed youth, many of whom belong to rival martial arts clubs that have turned certain parts of the capital into no-go zones. The spreading anarchy is, in turn, triggering a sense of despair among many East Timorese, who realize that the fledgling nation's honeymoon is over. "What has happened in East Timor over the past year has destroyed the claim that this is a nation-building success story," says Laurentina Barreto Soares, a researcher with the United Nations Development Program in Dili. "Whoever wins the presidential election could face even tougher problems than Xanana has."

Presidential candidate Ramos-Horta, who is an early favorite despite the nation's mounting woes during his tenure as Prime Minister, says it's unfair to condemn East Timor to the dust heap of failing states after just five years of independence. "It can take five years for a Chinese take-away in Manhattan to break even," he says. "How can we dismiss East Timor as a failed state when it's not even been given enough time for a restaurant to turn a profit?" Ramos-Horta, a Fretilin founder who is now an independent, is right in that East Timor is no Afghanistan or Iraq. "There is no civil war or bombs bursting on the streets," he says. "These are just growing pains of a young country."

Still, there is palpable discontent in East Timor – and that could boost Ramos-Horta's main rival Fernando de Araujo, the leader of the Democratic Party, which holds the second-largest number of parliamentary seats after Fretilin. Imprisoned for six years by the Indonesians for his pro-independence activities, de Araujo shares a similar resistance-hero status with current President Gusmao, who is not running for re-election. (Gusmao, however, may form his own party and could conceivably end up as Prime Minister after parliamentary elections later this year.) Yet de Araujo is deeply critical of the old guard with which Gusmao has surrounded himself. "We are a new country, but we are not a new society," says de Araujo, whose party membership is largely under the age of 40. "Our people can see with their own eyes what has happened. It has been five years and what is there to show for it? Almost nothing."

Afonso soares was supposed to be one of East Timor's bright hopes. The 22-year-old son of a vegetable vendor from the eastern town of Baucau had done well enough in school to earn a place at Dili's Universidade da Paz in 2002, the same year his homeland gained independence. Soares chose to study law, believing that a strong legal system was a key institution for the young nation.

But all that changed last April, when the army revolt ignited clashes between Dili residents from the country's east and west. "Before the crisis, east was where the sun rose and west was where the sun set," says Soares. "Now, differences between these two groups, which I never even knew about growing up, have been politicized." In late April, Soares' home was burned down by mobs, as was his mother's vegetable stall. Today, he lives in a camp for 2,825 internally displaced refugees near Dili's waterfront, sharing a small tent and one bed with six others who must sleep in shifts. His mother's source of income destroyed, he can no longer afford university. "My dreams have died," Soares says. "We have no jobs, no education, no homes." The former law student admits to knowing people in the camps who get drunk on palm spirits and throw stones at peacekeepers and passersby. "I don't do it myself," he says. "But life is so frustrating, it's hard to calm down."

The sense of frustration is also shared by many in East Timor's nascent middle class. Aderito de Jesus Soares (no relation to Afonso) does have a law degree, one from New York University no less. Before his nation's independence, he served as a crusading human-rights lawyer in Indonesia and helped draft East Timor's constitution. Yet today Soares doesn't practice law at home. Like most people of the post-'75 generation, Soares was educated in Indonesian and English. The country's courts, however, operate in Portuguese.

Indeed, the language obstacle is so great that every single one of East Timor's judges, prosecutors and public defenders failed a competency evaluation in 2005. While they undergo 212 years of linguistic training, the courts are being run by a dwindling group of international legal experts. In August 2006, for instance, not a single civil or criminal trial hearing was scheduled because of a lack of staff. Even though corruption is becoming a concern in East Timor, no cases of graft have been brought to trial since independence.

Today, with so few Portuguese-speaking judicial employees available, police are having to release suspects because the courts cannot schedule hearings within 72 hours, as required by law. "The justice system is being seen as enabling the criminals," says Katherine Hunter, head of the Asia Foundation in Dili, which works on governance and legal issues. "That creates a growing sense of impunity that makes the situation on the streets much more fluid."

Like many talented East Timorese who have grown disenchanted with the state of their homeland, human-rights lawyer Soares has decided to leave. He plans to pursue further studies in Australia next month. "Linguistic ability is becoming the priority in hiring, not judicial expertise," Soares says. "How can you build a competent civil society with limitations like these? I don't want to participate in such a system."

But he's among the lucky few. Others like Avelina Gomes, whose children's school in Dili has been shuttered for a month because it is located in a no-man's land between two gang territories, can't just pick up and leave. "I'm so worried about my kids' education," says Gomes, who works as an administrative assistant at a government office. "There's no sign that the school will reopen, and the security situation is only getting worse."

Some members of Fretilin do acknowledge that divisions have widened under their leadership. "Our biggest mistake was pretending we are not a traumatized people," says Minister of State Administration Ana Pessoa, who is a senior member of the ruling party. "By focusing almost exclusively on the physical reconstruction of this country, we didn't pay enough attention to people's mental states. People's irrational fears helped trigger the crisis last year, but we didn't understand it well enough to take it seriously."

For his part, Ramos-Horta is urging his countrymen to look ahead, speaking glowingly of the country's economic potential. Revenues from offshore oil and gas reserves increased nearly ninefold to $351 million from the 2003-04 fiscal year to the 2005-06 fiscal year. The reserves, which are located between East Timor and Australia, are to be developed by international and Australian companies, who will hand over half the royalties to Dili. "We could have 10% growth rates and a shortage of labor in a few years," predicts Ramos-Horta.

Entrepreneurs are also trying to develop East Timor's once prized coffee plantations. But all the talk of future earnings means little to Dili resident Linda Ricardo, who lined up one day last month from 5 a.m. in hopes of securing a few sacks of rice in the afternoon. "The government does nothing," she says. "The situation is hopeless."

Fretilin's pledges of concern were undermined last month when Deputy Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva denied reports of famine in the countryside, insisting that not a single person in East Timor had died of hunger since independence. "Every day I have people coming to my door who are slowly starving," says Bishop of Baucau Basmlio do Nascimento. "Are you saying these people do not exist?"

Even if the April presidential election is supposed to give these citizens a voice, many are so disenfranchised that they see little point in participating in the democratic process. Back in her shack on the northern coast of East Timor, Pereira just laughs when asked which candidate she will choose to lead her country. "When I am asked to vote for President, I will just close my eyes and pick one," she says. "The leaders don't care about people like me, so why should I care about any of them?"

[With reporting by Marcelino X. Magno/Dili.]

East Timor still has a choice not to become a failed state

Melbourne Age - March 6, 2007

Damien Kingsbury – The assault in East Timor by Australian troops on outlaw Major Alfredo Reinado and his gang in Same, and the worsening of violence and destruction in Dili, has highlighted that political conflict in East Timor is a long way from over.

There are numerous factors contributing to the continuing troubles, but underpinning them all is a failure of East Timor to function under rule of law.

This failure goes to the heart of East Timor's politics, and the failure of its leaders to move from traditional to civic methods of law and state organisation. As a result, incidents such as the attack on Reinado are understood not as the imposition of rule of law, but an attack against dissent.

It is clear that while there is indeed significant dissent in East Timor, from a range of groups, Reinado acted well outside any conceivable legal boundaries. Not only had he been responsible for the killing of five people last May, but after his arrest he escaped from prison.

If Reinado had a legitimate case in his defence, it should have been presented to the courts. His decision to take a more quixotic path, and the inevitable confrontation, clearly showed that he hoped that populist appeal would trump legal process. The consequent fallout has been serious, but it may mark a shift in how law is understood in East Timor, and this is critical to its future.

Under Portuguese colonial rule, civic law applied only to those few under its direct rule. Most East Timorese continued to live under traditional law. Traditional law implies a strong relationship between individuals, their village or clan, the land and their ancestors.

Under such law, while most disputes were resolved before they reached the point of violence, some were not. In such cases, a person acted, and then sought adjudication on the legitimacy of the action. This is in part reflected in the outlaw actions of Reinado, who has sought legitimacy after the act.

The Indonesian interregnum did nothing to further respect for the rule of law. From 1975 until 1999, Indonesia presided over mass deaths and institutionalised brutality. Indonesia's reluctance since then properly to prosecute perpetrators of these crimes, and East Timor's necessary acceptance of this failure, has further left a strong sense that civic law has no meaning.

This failure of civic law in East Timor has been further compounded by wider institutional failure. East Timor's police have been widely criticised for incompetence, corruption and brutality. Under pressure last year, the police force entirely collapsed. Reinado was recently accused of raiding police stations and stealing weapons. Reinado claimed, believably, the weapons were freely given to him by police, and that some of those police joined him.

There is also public awareness of corruption at senior political levels, and a related sense of elite impunity. When the charge against former prime minister Mari Alkatiri of arming gangs was dropped because of "insufficient evidence", it led to rioting. Given the perception of judicial compromise and incompetence, this further illustrated to many the failure of civic law. In large part, judicial failure has strengthened Reinado's popular appeal.

Institutional failure can in part be blamed on the United Nations inadequately doing its job in East Timor. In part it can also be blamed on Indonesia's poor training and education of the few East Timorese it employed in institutional positions. But most importantly, East Timor's institutional failure is the responsibility of its own political leaders.

In a hierarchical society in which patronage and personal loyalty remain dominant, political leaders had a joint responsibility to lead their people towards full civic statehood. This meant explaining how traditional forms of justice translate into civic justice, and shifting respect for one system to the other. It also meant that political leaders also needed to respect the agreed rules of the civic game.

As traditional societies transform, political equality and civic law replace patronage and traditional law. In freeing societies to think and choose for themselves equally, political leaders have to abandon patronage and win back following through ideas, policies and commitment.

However, in the transition between patronage and political equality, there is a moment in which leaders are politically exposed, having let go of one system but not quite established in the other. Very few of East Timor's political leaders are prepared to face this vulnerability, especially if their competitors do not do the same. As a result, nobody moves, except through gangs, leading to social breakdown.

Reinado romanticises himself as a people's hero resisting an unjust government. But despite such appeals, he has more in common with the film Rambo, in which a claimed initial injustice legitimises subsequent gross excesses. Building a state requires rule of law, not "Rambo justice", and gang violence cannot substitute for free and fair electoral competition.

East Timor's political leaders together must make clear, in actions as well as words, that they are fully committed to the need for equal and consistent rule of law, and that they will abide by the rules of the political and legal game.

If they do this, East Timor may yet have a future. If they do not, East Timor will almost certainly become a failed state.

[Damien Kingsbury is director of the master's in international and community development at Deakin University. He is co-editor, with Michael Leach, of East Timor: Beyond Independence, soon to be released by Monash University Press.]

Spying game keeps its peace

Sydney Morning Herald - March 3, 2007

Hamish McDonald – It was the week the Balibo inquest cut to the chase. After 15 days of hearing from those outside the intelligence tent, some of its former inhabitants were brought into the open. But only with the greatest nervousness by the present-day masters of the intelligence community, despite the passing of more than 31 years since the Balibo Five journalists died.

On Monday morning, the familiar faces of the regular court transcribers and attendants were gone, replaced by Defence Department staff from Canberra, rigging up their own recording system.

At the bar table, Alan Robertson, counsel for the Commonwealth, led a bevy of lawyers, backed by intelligence officials at the back of the court holding briefcases full of secret documents.

A deputy state coroner, Dorelle Pinch, suddenly a lone figure of NSW jurisdiction in her own court, agreed to new rules proposed by Robertson and backed by Mark Tedeschi, QC, heading the state lawyers and police assisting the inquest.

Robertson passed Pinch two sworn letters from Clive Lines, acting director of Australia's most important foreign intelligence collection agency, the Defence Signals Directorate, whose business is to eavesdrop on electronic communications and decipher them.

In confidential annexures, which Pinch was asked to hand back to the Federal Government's lawyers, Lines gave his reasons why the DSD's "sources and methods" used to track the events of Balibo in October 1975 were still relevant to the agency's present capabilities.

This argument met a lot of scepticism among observers, not least Desmond Ball, the Australian National University professor who had turned the world of "sigint" (signals intelligence) into his academic vocation.

The crisis in the Portuguese colony of East Timor erupted in 1974 just as the public learned about the Enigma secret of World War II, that the Allies were cracking the German ciphers generated on portable electro-mechanical devices. When the Indonesian army launched a covert invasion of East Timor on October 16, 1975, to squash the independence bid of the left-leaning Fretilin party, its signal technology was not much advanced from the Enigma: similar Hagelin cipher machines for messages sent in morse code on high-frequency radio transmissions.

The scene at DSD's listening station at Shoal Bay, Darwin, would also have been familiar to anyone at Britain's famous wartime sigint headquarters at Bletchley Park: metal towers with aerials strung between them, radio operators with headphones transcribing morse code on pads, decrypters at work, and linguists translating the product. The main difference would have been the banks of electronic computers.

Both DSD and its targets, like the Indonesian military, have moved on a generation, points out Ball, to satellite data transmissions and ever more powerful computerised encryption or decryption – and everyone knew it.

The agency's worries therefore could not be the technical details, or the fact it attacks Indonesian ciphers – but the embarrassing content of 1975 intercepts. "It's very silly of DSD," Ball said. "All they are doing is keeping it open. The more they try to break out [from open court], the more questions persist."

Still, Pinch accepted the secrecy. "I accept that the prejudice to Australia's national security and defence interest [from disclosure of DSD sources and methods] is real and is current," she said.

Through the week, former DSD staff and Canberra intelligence analysts were cross-examined in limited public hearings, with Robertson and Tedeschi calling a pause when questions and answers veered towards touchy subjects. These were handled in closed court, with Pinch giving a tight summary of general points later to the public. Written statements by the witnesses, when they were put on the public record, were heavily blacked out.

The context of the blacked-out words and Robertson's objections suggested that DSD was protecting the "secret" that it engaged in decryption of foreign military signals, its ability to identify who was talking to whom in 1975, and from where.

It also appears to be blocking anything on whether it could pick up the short-range field radios of the units attacking Balibo. If it could, that would have required an aerial in direct line of sight, either aboard a submarine off shore, an aircraft overhead, or even an American spy satellite.

Even so, the court heard electrifying evidence in the open from the navy linguist Robin Dix, a bearded 67-year-old who served 15 years with DSD after his 20 years in the navy.

On September 22, 1975, Dix was working as an Indonesian instructor at HMAS Harman, the defence communications base at Canberra, when his commander ordered him to Shoal Bay. The same day he was on an RAAF Hercules transport, wedged in with supplies for the cyclone-damaged city.

Over coming weeks Dix and his colleagues worked up to 18 hours day tracking the Indonesian build-up to invasion. "We just worked until we were too tired to work any longer, then we would sleep on makeshift beds," he said.

Some hours after the Balibo attack, at dawn on October 16, Dix was called over by a radio operator, Martin Hicks, to his console, where he was writing down an Indonesian military signal. Dix read over his shoulder and translated: "Five Australian journalists have been killed and all their corpses have been incinerated/burnt to a crisp."

"I will never forget," Dix said. "I remember it word for word."

Within seven minutes Dix took the translated signal over to the processing section, for Petty Officer Helen Louer to telex by secure line to DSD's then headquarters in Melbourne's Albert Park. From there it would have gone instantly to an inner circle of "customers" in Canberra, including the prime minister, the defence and foreign ministers, their department heads, and intelligence agency chiefs.

No more than one hour later, Dix's colleague Ray Norton at Shoal Bay got a phone call, and handed over the receiver to Dix, mouthing the word's "PM's Department". "Is this report true?" a voice said. "You are on an unsecure line. Goodbye," Dix replied, and hung up.

The Dix evidence contradicted the narrative that DSD has presented to the previously known inquiries into the Balibo deaths, conducted by the former Federal Government lawyer Tom Sherman in 1996 and 1999, and by the former inspector-general of intelligence and security Bill Blick in 2000-02.

The intercepts DSD produced to these inquiries showed the commanders at Balibo reporting late on October 16 or early on October 17 the finding of dead "white men" after the attack, and that the bodies had been burnt. Over the following days, other intercepts identified the dead as journalists and Australian.

Dix's recalled intercept conforms more with inquest testimony from Timorese who'd been conscripted into the Indonesian force, that the attackers knew who the victims were, immediately after occupying the town if not before (from monitored Fretilin broadcasts).

The mystery deepened when a retired senior army intelligence officer and Defence Department official, Alan Thompson, told of an internal inquiry ordered by then defence minister Kim Beazley in 1986.

At DSD in Melbourne, Thompson was shown a file of 20 to 30 documents said to include all intercepts relating to the Balibo Five. He recalled one intercepted exchange of signals.

An Indonesian officer reported in words to the effect of: "We have dead Europeans. What do we do?" "Burn them" or similar words went the reply, said Thompson, who recalled his personal shock at seeing them, and his impression that the officer making the report was "panicky".

Dix and Thompson could not find these intercepts in material shown to them in court, suggesting DSD is showing the inquest processed intelligence in much more muted language than was in the "raw" intercepts.

Even this toned-down material shows that very early on Canberra knew the journalists had been killed, that Indonesian forces were responsible, and that the bodies had been deliberately burned.

This exposes the pretence of ignorance by the then prime minister Gough Whitlam and his successors. They have argued the pretence was necessary to protect DSD's capabilities, in the way Churchill sacrificed convoy PQ17 to protect Enigma. James Dunn, a former DSD linguist and East Timor activist, adds it was also to avoid having to put Jakarta "on the spot".

But so far the intercepts revealed to the inquest do not include anything specific that should have alerted DSD and its Canberra clients that the journalists were at risk.

Two or three weeks earlier was a notice to troops "not to worry" about any white men found with Fretilin as they would be Portuguese communists. Just before the attack, commanders discussed what should be shown to Indonesian journalists gathered in Atambua, the nearest big town in West Timor. But not included was a reported exchange that referred directly to the Australian journalists at Balibo, and contained an order from the overall commander in Jakarta, Major-General Benny Murdani, that "we don't want witnesses".

Nor an intercept that George Brownbill and Ian Cunliffe, staffers of the Hope Royal Commission on the intelligence services, said they were shown at Shoal Bay in March 1977, saying: "As directed/in accordance with your orders, we have located and shot the Australian journalists. What do we do with the bodies and personal effects?"

When it resumes on May 1, the inquest may step closer to one outcome that even now Canberra will be dreading: a recommendation for war crimes prosecution of the Indonesian commander at Balibo, captain Mohammad Yunus Yosfiah, now a recently retired general and information minister and still an MP.

Whether the bereaved families get the "closure" of knowing that everything relevant has been scrutinised, in the archives and memories of the intelligence community, is a question still out there.

East Timor's big, rich Beijing buddy

Melbourne Age - March 3, 2007

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Street gangsters have a favourite place on Dili's waterfront. Just past the fortified Australian embassy residential compound, they run to hide behind a high fence on a building site with an unending supply of rocks.

Most people driving along the beach road are too busy looking out for rocks coming their way to notice a sprawling complex being built on the site overlooking the waters of the Wetar Strait.

The architect's plans on a billboard at the front of the complex look like a luxury resort hotel in Bali, with coconut palms, fountains and garden walkways.

But the building due for completion by September will be the home of East Timor's Foreign Ministry, one of the country's most impressive buildings and the first of three to be built as part of a "charm offensive" by China.

As the fledgling Government in Dili has struggled to recover from violent upheaval last year, which left dozens dead and almost 3000 buildings destroyed, China has pushed ahead with Dili's biggest-ever construction projects.

Dili-based diplomats are watching curiously how the country with the world's biggest population is spending many millions of dollars to establish an economic, diplomatic and strategic foothold in one of the smallest nations on Australia's doorstep.

They say China is looking to East Timor for a source of raw materials and energy supplies and wants to develop close ties with Dili as part of a strategy to expand Beijing's influence in South-East Asia.

Diplomats say China is also keen to use close ties with Dili to limit Taiwan's ambitions in the region.

As well as the Foreign Ministry, China plans to build a new presidential palace and its own embassy, all overseen by Chinese engineers and built by Chinese and Timorese workers.

China has wooed East Timor's leaders with all-expenses-paid trips to China, established tentative relations with East Timor's army, including donating equipment such as tents and uniforms, and has paid for at least six army officers to be trained in China.

While China is a small donor compared to Western countries such as Australia, last year it sent 500 tonnes of rice and 50 tonnes of cooking oil to Dili at a time when it was desperately needed.

China has also agreed to build houses for East Timor's soldier veterans on Dili's outskirts.

The building of a presidential palace on a former heliport in central Dili is embarrassing for Australia, which has just spent millions of dollars building a warehouse complex on the site for its 800 soldiers deployed in the country.

Australia has been asked to move the building several hundred metres to make way for China to a build a palace for whoever wins presidential elections due on April 9. Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta said the land had been allocated previously for presidential accommodation.

Work is set to start soon on a grand new Chinese embassy on another waterfront site. The building will dwarf most other diplomatic missions in East Timor, with space for more than 150 staff. China has also given East Timor an embassy building in Beijing.

Australian academic Kate Reid-Smith has raised the possibly that East Timor could eventually become China's newest satellite state in South-East Asia, noting a "remarkable philanthropic shift" in China's involvement in South-East Asia.

Ms Reid, a Chinese linguist who has researched China's role in East Timor, said that the two countries' emerging relationship seriously undermined the sphere of influence of long-time neighbouring maritime powers Australia and Indonesia.

Australia, she said, had continued to take the status quo for granted while China had been "quietly building its rapport" in the region. Ms Reid said that East Timor was "more than aware of its geographical bargaining chip".

If China secured working control of East Timor's sea lanes, the capacity to isolate Australian and Indonesian territorial and military assets, considered strategic threats to Chinese interests, would open a regional Pandora's box, Ms Reid said.

But Mr Ramos Horta said that despite concerns among Western countries that China was emerging as a world power, Beijing should not be feared.

"I do not see how China should be seen as a rival," he said. "Demographics dictate that the Chinese have to create jobs for their millions of workers who come on to the market every year. That means continuing to expand their economy, and expanding their economy means stability in the world... China needs stability in the region and the world for its own economic expansion."

China's ambassador in Dili, Su Jian, agreed to be interviewed for this article, but had to leave the country before a meeting could be arranged.

An official at the embassy said China wanted to encourage Chinese companies to invest in East Timor. "Chinese companies are not familiar with Timor Leste (East Timor)," the official said. "The opportunities here are good but the infrastructure is not."

PetroChina, one of China's largest state-owned energy companies, has financed a seismic study for oil and gas across East Timor.

The official said China had focused on buildings to help East Timor "because that is what we are good at".

China moved quickly to woo Dili, becoming the first country to establish diplomatic ties the day after East Timor formally gained independence in 2002.

But the communist giant has moved with equal speed to expand its political, economic and security linkages throughout the world, including small African and Pacific nations, creating a shift in the international balance of power, experts say.

East Timor media monitoring

March 29, 2007

Compiled by the UMNIT Public Information Unit

Presidential candidates start insulting each other

Silveiro Pinto, the Assistant to the Director of Provedor Direitos Humanos said that some presidential candidates tended to insult others when giving out their programs, as reported by PDHJ.

He also said that insulting may not educate the voters but showing their incapability.

"We already met the president of CNE to explain the issue',"Pinto said. (TP)

Government transferring US$20,000 to candidates

The Interim Prime Minister, Estanislao da Silva, during the Press Conference at his office (Wednesday28/3) in Fomento, stated that the government has transferred US$ 20,000.00 to each candidate by bank transfer. He also stated that other funds have been allocated to CNE to pay its officers.

He added that the assistance provided by UNDP is US $80 million and had been transferred. In addition, the plan of government is that CNE will get 15 cars to facilitate its activities during the election period. (TP)

Xanana is ready to be the prime minister

The Former Commander of Falintil and recent president of Timor- Leste, Kayrala Xanana Gusmco told Journalists on Wednesday (28/3) at Xanana Reading Room in Lecidere that he is ready to run for Prime Minister if CNRT are victorious in the legislative election. (DN)

Thomas Cabral: STAE remain impartial

Answering the statement of Father Martinho, the Spokesperson of CNE about the STAE's impartiality, Thomas Cabral, the Director of STAE, reportedly said on Wednesday (28/2) that STAE remains impartial and transparent. (DN)

Ballots papers will be printed in Dili

The Director and Secretary of STAE, Thomas Cabral, at the STAE office on Wednesday (28/03) reportedly said that the ballot papers will be printed in Dili and the ISF will provide major security for this. (DN)

Avelino in Vemasse: 'Don't use violence to solve problems'

The presidential candidate, Avelino Coelho from PST faced provocation from unidentified groups on his fifth day campaign in the Sub-district Vemasse, Baucau on Wednesday (28/03).

In answering the provocation, Avelino said that people have the right to hear the other presidential candidates' programs because people want to exert their fundamental right to elect a good president to serve and rule this country. (DN)

Tilman in Ermera: 'I will reconstruct the PNTL and the F-FDTL'

The presidential candidate of KOTA, Manuel Tilman at his sixth campaign in Gleno, Ermera District on Wednesday (28/03) said that if he is elected he will rebuild the PNTL and F-FDTL institutions professionally to deal with any kind of violence in the country. (DN)

Horta in Viqueque: 'I will pay attention to the veterans'

The presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta at his sixth campaign in Viqueque District on Wednesday 28/03 presented one of his programmes, namely that he will pay attention to all veterans who resisted for 24 years during the occupation period. (DN)

CNE Approved symbols used on the ballots papers

At the Press Conference held at the CNE office in Quintal Boot, Dili (Wednesday 28/3) the Spokesperson of CNE, Father Martinho Gusmco, reportedly said that currently CNE has approved the symbols being used on the ballot papers of presidential candidates. (DN) Joaquim: 'CNE is competent to deal with the electoral process'

In answering to the statement of the spokesperson of CNE, Father Martinho Gusmco, who said that CNE is not competent to talk with the Government about financial aid, the NP member of Committee A, Joaquim dos Santos, at National Parliament on Wednesday (28/03) stated that CNE has the right and is fully competent to do everything necessary for the success of the election as stated in their job description, including coordinating financial issues with the existed government. (DN)

One week into campaign and situation in Dili remains calm

The presidential candidates' campaigns have been going for one week in Dili and across the districts and sub-districts. The situation in the capital remains calm, and no significant conflicts or incidents have taken place. (DN)

Former Bishop Belo calls for reconciliation in Timor Leste

The Former Bishop Belo on the Truth and Friendships Commission between Republic Indonesia (RI) and Timor Leste in Jakarta on Monday 26/03 called for reconciliation in Timor Leste to create peace in the country.

"As a Timorese I say that reconciliation is best and very important for Timor Leste and it must start from within Timor Leste itself." (STL)

Railos: even if Rogerio imprisoned for 50 years, the crisis would not be resolved

Even if the Ex Minister of Interior Rogerio Tiago Lobato were sentenced to 50 years prison, the crisis would not be resolved, Vicente da Conceicao Alias Railos told journalists when attending the National Conference of CNRT at Xanana Reading Room Lecidere on Wednesday 28/03.

Railos added that the best alternative is to make Maputo's Group disappear (Alkatiri's group in Fretilin) by gaining victory in this election. (STL)

Government allocated URP at Dili Port security Station

The Ministry of Interior, Alcino Barris said that starting from yesterday the Unidade Reserva Polisia (URP) had been deployed to at Dili Port Security station to guarantee the security of all businessmen's goods.

"Actually we are ordered here by the Ministry of the Interior. We call for all businessmen exporters and importers for not to doubt the security because we will guarantee security,"said the Commander of URP Andre Martins at Dili port on Wednesday (28/03).

He added that they also will coordinate with UNPOL if any disturbances occur outside of Dili Port and that people who want to enter Dili port will have to bring complete documentation. (STL)

March 27, 2007

Alfredo will not submit himself

On Sunday (25/3) via his mobile, Alfredo told Lusa that he will not submit himself and that he wants to be free as a human being. He also said that until now he still keeps in touch with Leandro Isaac, an MP member who plans to resign from National Parliament. (STL)

Timor needs strong leadership, welcome to CNRT

The spokesperson of CNRT Eduardo de Deus Barreto alias Dusae said TL needs strong leadership and that he welcomes that in enriching democracy and to corroborating National Unity demanding good and strong, when asked for President Republic Kayrala Xanana Gusmao to lead this party at Palacio das Cinzas Caicoli, Dili. (STL, DN and TP)

Fretilin created crisis, not CNRT

The member of National Parliament from Partido Democratica (PD) Juliao Mausiri reportedly said that Secretary General of Fretilin Mari Alkatiri could not blame the crisis on CNRT since it is a new party. (STL)

Using symbols of parties on the ballot papers is legal

The Court of Appeal through the collective judges decided that the alteration of the law which was approved by National Parliament on 21 March 2007 is not against the constitution.

According to the opinion of Court of Appeal, constitution is not closed for adding any symbol on the ballot papers. So all candidate have to choose their own symbols to put on their ballot papers. (STL)

Illegal weapons circulated in Ermera

The Community Leader Ernesto Fernandes alias Dudu (former Commander of Falintil) reportedly informed that since the military and political crisis in this country last year, illegal weapons circulated in Ermera up to the present.

He added that these illegal weapons were commanded by some political parties, and those who are holding the weapons are familiar to him. (STL)

PSD will build a new prison if the win the presidential election

Mario Viegas Carrascalao, the president of PSD pointed out the important issue in Lucia Lobato's campaign in Liquica on Friday 23/03.

Mario said that if PSD wins the presidential and parliamentary election, PSD will build new prison for those who are involved in corruption and crimes. (STL)

PSD's militants threaten in Viqueque The president of PSD of Viqueque District, Miguel Soares Pinto reportedly told STL on Monday 19/03 when he attended the ceremony of presidential candidate Lucia Lobato that currently there are some political parties going to threaten PSD's militants in Viqueque District, especially in Uatolari Sub-district. (STL)

Xanana Gusmao: 'I am ready to lead CNRT'

The representatives of Conselho Nacional Reconstrucao Timor (CNRT) on Monday 26/03 presented CNRT's petition to President Republic Xanana Gusmao at Palacio das Cinzas Caicoli Dili.

Xanana told the representatives from 13 Districts that he is ready to lead CNRT forward as a president of the party when he finishes his duty as president of RDTL to help compete inthe legislative election. (DN and TP) Lu-Olo in Gleno: 'There will be no rebels when I win'

Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo on his presidential campaign in Ermera (26/3) said that when he wins i the election there will be no more rebels. He promised to create peace and stability not violence. (DN)

Father Martinho: live not to insult for a good leader

The spokesperson of CNE, Father Martinho Gusmao, reportedly said that the leaders who like to insult others in their campaign, show that they have no intellectual quality or capability of leadership. He added that CNE has to pay attention to the presidential candidates and representatives who insult each other and to those who have violated the Conduct Code who signed by them. (DN)

Xanana's ready to be the President of CNRT

Xanana is ready to run for CNRT's president after leaving his position as the president of republic in response to the petition of CNRT committee organized at Palacio das Cinzas Caicoli, Dili (Monday 26/3).

Xanana said that he will be leading CNRT to help people to live in a calm and peaceful condition.

Even though CNRT is not registered at the Court of Appeal yet, in the mean time the party will run its first national congress. (TP)

Lasama: promises Catholic Church to hold primary school (TP)

In his speech on Monday (25/3) in Gleno-Ermera, the PD's presidential candidate, Lasama, promised after he is elected as the president of republic that the primary schools will be held by the Catholic Church to give early moral education and good character to the children of the country.

Lu-Olo: 'Alfredo has no long journey as mine'

Lu-Olo on his fourth day of presidential campaign in Gleno, Ermera (Monday 26/3) said that Alfredo's did not journey as he did during the resistance period for 24 years in response to Alfredo's remarks that Lu-Olo should not run the county.(TP)

Mari Alkatiri: 'CNRT come to lie'

The Secretary General of Fretilin Mari Alkatiri said that we have to beware of CNRT because CNRT lies to people.

He added that CNRT enhanced the conflicts and it could not resolve conflict. Alkatiri told to journalist when he visited and campaigned to the IDP camp at Obrigado Barracks Caicoli Dili on Sunday 25/03. (DN)

Use government's facilities to campaign

The campaign of Presidential candidate Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo in Ossu-Baucau, Dili and Laclubar-Manatuto, the militants of Fretilin used Government Facilities to campaign, the spokesperson of Commissao Nacional das Eleisoens (CNE) Father Martinho Gusmao told journalist at CNE office Kintal Boot Dili on Monday 26/03.(DN)

March 23, 2007

Presidential candidates start campaigning today

The 8 presidential candidates today (Friday, 23/03/2007) start their political campaign to give self-confidence to voters before the Election Day (9/4/2007).

Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo started his campaign in Viqueque-Ossu, Avelino Coelho in Manatuto, Francisco Xavier do Amaral in Aileu, Manuel Tilman in Aileu, Lucia Lobato in Liquiaa, Jose Ramos Horta in Dili, Joao Carrascalao in Ermera and Fernando de Araujo Lasama in Suai-Covalima. (TP)

Horta: I don't believe Alfredo will provoke the election

Ramos Horta said that Alfredo's situation will not be permitted to give a negative effect to the process of election. (TP)

Members of Electoral Observers EU Arrived In Dili

The 28 members from Observation Mission of European Union (EU) arrived in Dili (22/3) yesterday.

The Observation Mission from EU is led by Javier Pomes Ruiz from Spain, a member of EU Parliament.

The EU mission is to observe the presidential election. The mission consists of 7 electoral experts and 28 long-term observers. (STL)

Justice Commission held meeting with Gangs Leader Bairo

The Justice and Peace Commission of Dili Diocese held a peace meeting with representative of Gangs Leaders in areas of Dili yesterday (22/03) at CRS, Bebora.

The meeting was led by President of Justice and Peace Commission of Dili Diocese, Father Cyrus V. Banque and was participated by the representatives of gang leaders from Bairo Lahane, Tasi Tolu, Kampung Alor, Lahane Oriental, Aimutin, Aitarak Laran, Bebonuk, Fomento and Manleuana. (STL)

Rogerio's lawyer officially registers an appeal

The Lawyer of former Interior Minister, Rogerio Lobato officially registered (No 443/PDD/2007 and process No. 82-2006 cases) or submitted appeal to Dili District Court on Thursday (22/03) as the response to the decision of Tribunal. After submitting the appeal, Rogerio's lawyer, Paulo Remedios demanded the Court of Appeal to observe or study the appeal by applying East Timorese law and not Portugal's law. (STL)

Horta: Petitioners' problem must be resolved

The independent presidential candidate, Ramos Horta (22/3) at Palacio das Cinzas promised that he will solve petitioners' and Alfredo's problem when becomes the President of Republic. (DN)

Eric Tan: 3400 Police officers to guarantee election security

The DSRSG of UNMIT, Mr. Eric Huck Gim Tan at a Press Conference (22/3) at Obrigado Barracks spoke about the security plan for upcoming presidential election.

To guarantee security for the event, there will be 3400 police officers deployed; consisting of 1000 UNPol and 2400 PNTL which had followed the triaging process of evaluations.

The 3400 police officers will be allocated to all polling stations throughout the districts, sub-Districts and Sucos.

He added that the principal tasks of UNPol and PNTL is to secure all the electoral equipment at the station center, provide security to voters and to respond to any incidents that might be occurred. (DN)

Claudio Ximenes has no comment

The presidential election law which was amended on some articles from National Parliament (PN) a few days ago has been sent to Court of Appeal by Xanana Gusmao on Thursday (22/03) in order to get a decision.

Claudio Ximenes, the President of the Court of Appeal has refused to comment on the revised electoral law saying he needs to further study it and would then present it to the National Parliament

He said that the State should analyze then inform publicly whether the law is constitutional or unconstitutional before sending it to the Court of Appeal. (DN)

Father Martinho Gusmao: Using Attributes in Ballot papers, against Law

The amendment to some articles of the electoral law as using political symbols on ballot papers is against the law and could delay the upcoming election, said Father Martinho Gusmao, the spokesperson of CNE. (DN)

COMEG sends 1036 observers for presidential elections

The legal Officer of COMEG (Joint Monitoring of General Election), Jose Edmundo Caetano reportedly on Thursday (22/3) in Vila Verde-Dili said that COMEG is going to deploy 1036 observers to observe the upcoming presidential election which will be started from the campaign to the announcement of the result.

The observers will be allocated to the following districts: Dili (84 observers), Baucau (115 observers), Lautem (94 observers), Manatuto (62 observers), Viqueque (74 observers), Manufahi (42 observers), Ainaro (56 observers), Aileu (47 observers), Ermera (108 observers), Liquiaa (52 observers), Bobonaro (104 observers), Covalima (64 observers), and 134 as National Observers. (DN)

President calls on Horta to facilitate problem at STAE and CNE

Xanana Gusmao called Ramos Horta on Thursday 22/03 to his office due to insufficient facilities of infrastructure being faced by STAE and CNE.

The decision made was that about 70 cars of ministries will be lent to STAE and CNE to run their activities. (DN, TP and STL)

March 22, 2007

Five presidential candidates rejected the approval of Article 38

The members of National Parliament (NP) who approved alter or Amendment law 7/2006 on the article 38 regarding the use of political symbols on ballot papers shows that the sovereignty organs are being manipulated.

Avelino Coelho as the representative of the four other candidates stated that all the presidential candidates reject such an article since it is considered as a manipulation.

The joint declaration was represented by Dionisio Babo (Ramos Horta), Joao Goncalves (Lucia Lobato), Rui Menezes (Fernando Lasama) and Abilio Lima (Francisco Xavier). (STL)

Rogerio's Lawyer has not submitted the appeal

The time for Rogerio's lawyer to submit an appeal is nearly finished by Wednesday (21/03) Rogerio's lawyer did not appear to register the appeal which may mean the decision made will be executed.

As stated by law, it should take 15 days, but if Rogerio's lawyer has not submitted the appeal within that time, the District Tribunal can implement the decision made of seven and half years of imprisonment for Rogerio. (STL)

Presidential candidate rejects UNPol guard

Avelino Coelho, a presidential candidate from Socialist Party of Timorense (PST) rejected UNpol guard since he has never needed protection before.

The purpose of UNPol guard within UNMIT policy is to provide security for the presidential candidates. (STL)

Horta: Party's attributes may delay election process

Ramos Horta said that the new article regarding the use of political symbols on ballot papers being presented by Fretilin which has been approved at the plenary session could delay the upcoming election.

The president of republic questioned the idea of amending an article that is already in existence. (DN and STL)

Electoral campaign starts tomorrow

Based on the schedule of CNE, the first electoral campaign will start tomorrow, Thursday 23/03/2007 as the official day.

The eight candidates will campaign according to the settled schedule to compete in the upcoming presidential election on 09 April 2007.

Jose Ramos Horta will start his first campaign in GMT Dili, Lu- Olo will be in Viqueque-Ossu, Avelino Coelho in Manatuto- Laclubar, Lucia in Liquica, Francisco Xavier do Amaral in Bobonaro-Maliana, Joao Carrascalao in Gleno-Ermera, Fernando de Araujo Lasama in Covalima-Suai and Manuel Tilman will be in Dili at University Dom Martinho. (DN)

Jose Reis: Election, the Major Justice

The State Secretary of Region I, Jose Reis, reportedly on Tuesday 20/03 in a District Seminar in Vemasse-Baucau, said that the general election will help to achieve justice in the country, so good conditions are preferred so that all people can take part in the democratic process. (DN) Registration and Electoral card and Passport May used to vote

Father Martinho, the Spokesperson of CNE reportedly (Wednesday, 21/3) in Quintal Boot said that the registration card of UNTAET, the former electoral card and the current electoral card produced by STAE can be used to vote in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

Another possibility is using a Passport if a person has none of these three cards. Voters who have none of these cards and no Passport will have no right to vote.

Tilman: Indigenous for president

We must vote for indigenous villagers who were not able to leave their homeland rather than vote for strangers who came to enrich themselves with our resources, said Manuel Tilman, one of the presidential candidates with a monarchical background on the PPT Conference on Wednesday (21/3). (TP)

March 21, 2007

Three candidates haven't submitted campaign schedules

In three days the candidates to be President of RDTL will start their campaign. Until yesterday the CNE received only five campaign schedules of five candidates. The other three candidates, Lucia Lobato, Manuel Tilman and Avelino Coelho haven't submitted or represented their campaign schedules to CNE yet.

CNE had not announced the campaign schedule of the presidential candidates because of the three candidates. The other five campaign schedules of presidential candidates at CNE are therefore considered as temporary schedules. (STL)

Horta: the situation benefits the election process

According to the meeting of High Level Committee, the security situation in the country before the presidential election will enable all the Timorese to give their votes on the Election Day.

The high level weekly meeting held at Palacio das Cinzas (20/3) was participated in by SRSG Atul Khare and his Deputy Fin Rieske Nielson, Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak, Brigadier General Mal Rerden, Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro, Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta and President Republic Xanana Gusmco.

The spokesman of High Level committee, Jose Ramos Horta reportedly said that the meeting was talking about logistical assistance which prepared for the elections. The upcoming election is the great preoccupation of the Electoral Commission. He said that each Ministry has to send an officer to assist CNE to work on the process.

Answering to the additional security and situation, he added that the State and government are evaluating the reinforcement of UNPol in Dili. To ensure the upcoming election is well organized it needs collaboration among PNTL, UNPol and F-FDTL. (STL)

PSHT and 77 in conflict again, 3 houses burnt, 1 destroyed

The members of PSHT and 77 (seti-seti) were in conflicts\ again yesterday afternoon at 1:00 pm in Kampung Baru, Comoro. Three 3 houses of PSHT were burnt and 1 house and 2 kiosks in front of the Comoro church were destroyed. The initial conflict came from provocation between members of two groups by throwing stones at each other. None of the suspects were arrested. (STL)

Timorese overseas have right to vote

The Chairperson of East Timor People Actions (ETPA) Cecilio Caminha Freitas reportedly said that East Timorese who live overseas have the right to vote. Furthermore, he said according to article 35 law of presidential election, they have right to vote. In fact, the Government and STAE have to give them a means to vote by creating polling stations via all embassies abroad. (STL)

Horta: 'The state's decision on capturing Alfredo has not changed'

In the 6th High Level meeting at Palacio das Cinzas, which also discussed Reinado, Ramos Horta said that the decision has not changed. If Alfredo does not submit himself and give up the weapons, the ISF will continue searching for him. (DN)

Local electoral observers getting training

Officers of the Provedor de Direitos Humanos e Justisa (PDHJ), other civil societies and university students took the training to be observers on the presidential and parliamentary elections that was held in the PDHJ office, Caicoli Dili from 15 to 21 March 2007. This information was gathered by DN on Tuesday 20/03 through a press conference.

The training was aimed at improving the knowledge of the local observers during their monitoring of the elections. (DN)

Xanana's Party to have National Conference on 28 March

The Congresso Nacional ReconstruC'co Timor (CNRT) is planning to hold its national conference on 28 March 2007.

Duarte Nunes, Secretary of National Committee of CNRT (20/3), at his office in Bairo dos Grilhos, said that on 26/3 the Committee will present a proposal to Kayrala Xanana Gusmco to resign as president and become the president of CNRT to compete in the parliamentary elections. They will ask Xanana to run the party mutually. (TP)

Horta: We will reinforce security in capital

UNPOL reported that the volume of violence from 17/03 has decreased significantly.

Ramos Horta said that Timor Leste will reinforce security in the country, especially in Dili for the upcoming presidential election on 09/04/2007 in order to avoid provocations and disturbances. (TP)

President Candidates can utilize any symbols

The Vice President of NP, Jacob Fernandez said that all presidential candidates can utilize any symbols in their campaigns for democratic competition in the upcoming presidential election 09/04/2007.

March 20, 2007

Benevides: 'I have no intention of accusing Fretilin'

Answering to the statement of Jose Reis, the Vice Secretary General of Fretilin who said that Fretilin will bring him to Tribunal, the lawyer of Alfredo Reinado, Benevides Correia Barros, responded that he has no intention of accusing Fretilin for having weapons.

He said that currently the State, UNMIT and ISF consider his client a threat to the upcoming election. Benevides said that other civilians who are armed should also be considered as a threat for the election.

"I have no intentions to accuse Fretilin, I am just using the comparison of other armed civilians," said Benevides (19/3) in Hudi Laran. (TP)

People rush to get electoral cards

The District Administrator of Dili, Ruben stated that at the present people in Dili are enthusiastically registering and to running to get their electoral cards before the deadline of registration (21/3).

Ruben also added that some additional places were opened to attend to registrations with queuing started at 07.00. (STL)

89 PD sympathizers affiliated to Fretilin

Francisco de Araujo, previously the chief of Aldeia (sub-village) of Vatuu, in Atauro Sub-District, Dili affiliated with other 89 sympathizers of PD, even though he was elected under PD's banner.

Mr. Araujo said that they did it for home sweet home – being away from Fretilin was like a "Prodigaal Son." They promised voting for Lu-Olo for next president, and the First Lady of Timor-Leste is an Atauro woman. (STL and DN)

Situation in Dili remains normal

After the President's resolution, the situation in the capital city remains calm. Public and private transportation, schools and public institutions are working as usual after the presence of F-FDTL in Dili to control some offices of ministries. (DN)

ISF's operation, Mal Rerden: 'ISF still respects ET culture'

Responding to some people's concern that ISF's operation in Same dishonored East Timorese culture, the Commander of ISF, Brigadier Mal Rerden reportedly stated in a Press Conference on Monday (19/03) that the operation of apprehending Reinado and his group in Same did not denigrate the Timorese culture. He said that ISF soldiers had cross-cultural training in Timor-Leste culture. (DN)

March 17-19, 2007

Horta: I will not tolerate those who keep weapons.

The Prime Minister, Ramos Horta appealed in a Mini Dialogue with FOSCAPA (Catholic Youth of Aileu Parish) to avoid holding weapons for the good of the nation, or else the international community will always be in Timor-Leste.

He added that F-FDTL and PNTL are the only institutions who have the right to have and to hold weapons. (TP, 17/3)

First day of presidential campaign, 3 candidates to 3 districts

While waiting for the campaign schedule from CNE, three presidential candidates, Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, and Jose Ramos Horta have targeted first places to campaign.

Lu-Olo will start his first campaign in Ossu, a sub-district of Viqueque District and his birth place.

Meanwhile, the candidate which has the major opportunity to win the upcoming Presidential Election 09/04/2007, Jose Ramos Horta will start his campaign in the Gedung Matahari Terbit (GMT), Dili.

The ASDT candidate, Francisco Xavier do Amaral will start his campaign in the soccer field of Maliana, capital city of Bobonaro District.

The other five candidates – Avelino Maria Coelho, Manuel Tilman, Luccia Lobato, and Joao Viegas Carrascalao – had not confirmed their first places of campaign yet. (STL, 17/3)

8 presidential candidates sign code of conduct

The 8 Candidates of PR for 2007/2012 period are ready to compete in the upcoming presidential election on 09/04. The Code of Conduct has been signed by the candidates as the basis to run the campaign and during the election process.

Faustino Gomes, the president of CNE reportedly said the constitution granted the citizens' the right to take part in the process of elections. He highlighted that candidates should demonstrate their efforts and capacities pacifically for the success of the upcoming election.

Any misconduct occurring during the campaign will be reported to STAE, CNE and the court. (STL, 17/3)

No negotiation for justice: Ramos-Horta

Prime Minister Ramos-Horta has reportedly said that the Government and the State will not negotiate the issue of justice in relation to Alfredo Reinado's case as it is the competence of the judges.

Ramos-Horta further said, despite the letter he received from Alfredo's lawyer on the proposed peace solution, the position of the President of the Republic, President of the Parliament and the Government remains the same, that is for Alfredo to hand in the guns and himself and let the court make the decisions. (STL and DN, 19/3)

Fretilin demands Alfredo to respect campaign

The Assistant Secretary General of Fretilin, Jose Reis reportedly appealed to Alfredo Reinado to respect the campaign in order to create stability in the country. Reis demanded that Alfredo, as a Timorese, respect the justice of people and the candidates.

Reis calls for Reinado to respect the campaign and its significance towards Democracy and Justice for all people. (STL)

Leandro: Mau Hu (spy) for who collaborates with Australia

The member of National parliament Leandro Isaac reportedly demanded to all people not to collaborate with ISF, unless they want to be considered as Mau Hu (spy) and suffer the consequences of being Mau Hu as in the 1999.

Leandro said that the people of Timor Leste are now anti Australian Forces, emphasizing that Mr. Rerden is not the Commander of F-FDTL. He said the Australian Forces are disliked because they took away the sovereignty of the country. (STL)

Arm illegal weapons, UNPOL-ISF arrested 6 in Ermera

United Nation Police (UNPOL) with International Security Forces (ISF) on Sunday approximately 11:00 am arrested 6 people with armed with illegal weapons in Ermera Village.

The Spokesman of ISF, Major Ivan Benetives, reportedly told TP that UNPOL and ISF arrested 6 people because of possession of traditional weapons. Major Ivan didn't say which types of weapons they were holding or which group the six people belong to. Major Ivan that further information needs to be confirmed with UNPOL.

On the other hand, the Commander of PNTL Ermera District, Jacinto Assuncio, said that though UNPOL and ISF did not confirm, he heard that the six people have been arrested because of traditional weapons and now have been detained in Dili. (TP, 19/3)

March 16, 2007

Mal Rerden: 'People who support Alfredo, against law and order'

The Commander of International Stabilisation Forces (ISF) Mal Rerden said that the people who join, support or cooperate with Major Alfredo Reinado will be working against the laws of Timor Leste.

Rerden said that Alfredo Reinado is a fugitive and people who join or cooperate with him will be breaking the law. He said Alfredo's attitude is complicating ISF's operation. Rerden appealed to all Timorese to cooperate with the ISF to apprehend Reinado and his group of supporters. (DN)

Atul Khare: 'Alfredo Reinado has to choose 2 options'

The Special Representative for the Secretary General (SRSG) Atul Khare has said that Alfredo Reinado can choose two options which have been presented by the Government of Timor Leste, the United Nations and the ISF. He said the first is for him to submit himself peacefully to the judicial process and the second is to be arrested by the ISF.

According to Khare the UN mission in Timor Leste will not waiver from these two options as the mandate of UNMIT does not permit the UN to create the impunity in this country. (DN)

UE sends 32 observers to Timor Leste The Ministry of Cooperation and Foreign Affairs reportedly held a Ceremony to sign an Intendment Accord it and the European Union regarding electoral observers for the 2007 elections. The Accord was signed by Minister Jose Luis Gutteres and the Representative of European Union n Timor Leste Gugliemo Colombo.

Minister Guterres said that the Accord will ensure international observers may observe the Presidential and Parliamentary elections and to ensure that the election will be free, fair and transparent. Mr Colombo said that EU will send 32 observers for the Presidential Election and 60 for Parliamentary election across all 13 districts including Dili. The members are from 27 nations within the European Union with experience as independent observers. (DN)

State demands Alfredo surrenders

The Government of Timor Leste is maintaining its position demanding that Alfredo Reinado disarm and submit himself to justice. The Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta made the comments at a press conference on yesterday at the Government Palace.

Horta declared that the decision of Government has been clear and that there is no dialogue. He said that the position of Government is clear which is that Alfredo has to disarm and submit himself to justice. (TP)

F-FDTL will be allocated to all unsafe places in Dili

The Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence and Security Jose Ramos Horta has announced that the decision of State, which is supported by the President of Republic Xanana Gusmco, to deploy the F-FDTL to provide security in Dili has been taken in consultation with the United Nations. Horta said the F-FDTL is able to provide security.

According to Horta, the F-FDTL will be allocated to trouble spots and prevent those who are indulging in violence to create daily disturbances in the Capital. Horta said maintained that the F- FDTL can perform security tasks despite some organisations expressing their concern. Horta said the State will find the way how to ensure cooperation between the F-FDTL and PNTL and the ISF and UNPOL. (TP)

If the state accepts the conditions, Alfredo Reinado will surrender

The Lawyer for Alfredo Reinado has guaranteed that if State accepts the proposal for surrender without reservation, his client will disarm and submit himself to the justice. Benevides Correia Barros made the comments at the Hotel Timor yesterday.

Benevides said that if State doesn't agree this client will not surrender. Benevides added that under the proposal, Reinado wants home detention, akin to Rogerio Lobatoand Mari Alkatiri and State has to maintain security for him. (TP)

Alfredo prefers to die than be imprisoned

The lawyer for Reinado Benevides has told local media, that his client wants a peaceful resolution. He said that without a thorough investigation, his client would prefer than go to prison. Reinado is insisting upon house arrest. (STL)

Major Rerden: Alfredo is no more a threat for security

Commander of the Australian-led international forces, Brigadier Mal Rerden declared that Alfredo is not a significant threat for security. He said that Alfredo supporters are becoming weaker and less able to seek support. The ISF is continuing their operation to apprehend Alfredo and his members. In order to accomplish the mission, Major Rerden, has asked for community support by providing information about where Alfredo Reinado and his supporters may be hiding. (STL)

Bishop Alberto: Honest figure able to be president

Dili Diocese Bishop's said that the next East Timor president will be an honest figure. Among those eight registered for the upcoming Presidential Election, he said the winner should be a person of honesty if the people are to trust that person to represent them. He said such candidates should be be honest and seek unity. (STL)

March 15, 2007

Pinto: 'Presidential election is solution for the crisis'

The Military Analyst and Observer from Universidade da Paz, Julio Tomas Pinto said to DN on Wednesday (14/3) that the presidential election will give a solution for the crisis, since it will have a new president to run the country.

He also said that this election is the program of State that would be a solution for the crisis and need full support and commitment from all people to have a successful election.

Furthermore, he said that problem being faced at the present is the security problem. Many people will not vote without a security guarantee. (DN)

Mal Rerden: "Alfredo used Australian uniform"

The ISF Commander, Brig. Gen. Mal Rerden said that he is not preoccupied with the Australian Defense Force uniform worn by Alfredo.

He added that the plan of ISF will not change and the ISF will continue to track down Reinado. (DN)

Some leaders supporting violence

Clementino dos Reis Amaral, the Vice President of Committee B for Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security Section of NNP said that violence in Dili is supported by some leaders. Information gathered in Bairopite indicated that the area remained calm when the ISF is on duty, yet when they leave young men to 'inflame' the situation.

It is suspected that there are some people supporting the youth for their individual and political interests and blaming others.

Amaral said in some areas the youth have begun to behave peacefully and forgive each other through the oath in church. They promise that they will not contribute to the violence.

Difficult to arrest Alfredo in the base of guerrilla

The ISF Commander, Brig. Gen. Mal Rerden said that it will be difficult to arrest Alfredo without cooperation of community.

Pedro da Costa, an NP member from PST noted the example of Xanana who for 24 lived among the enemies and was not arrested by the Indonesian Army because he base support. Furthermore, he said, the ISF has no idea about the terrain conditions and no cooperation from the local people which brings ISF to difficulties in arresting Alfredo.

Pedro Gomes, another NP member from ASDT said "I do not agree with them (ISF) saying that it is difficult for them to arrest Alfredo, because they have modern equipment, planes and helicopters, so they have access to arrest." (STL) Leandro being targeted by ISF, involved in Alfredo's activities

The ISF raid is not targeted only at Alfredo and his members, but also towards Leandro Isaac, an NP member who is directly involved in the activities of Alfredo.

Leandro is suspected for his direct involvement before the raid in Same on Sunday (04/3) on Alfredo and his members.

"I do not know where I am now, people brought me here," said Leandro. "I still have contact with Alfredo through my messengers," added Leandro from his hidden place. (TP)

Brig. Mal Rerden does not support Dialogue with Alfredo,

The statement of ISF Commander, Brig. Gen. Mal Rerden who does not support the process of having dialogue with Alfredo's group, provoked some NP members who said that Mal Rerden has no power in Timor-Leste, yet the ISF is invited by the Timor-Leste sovereign government to re-stabilize the country.

The ISF will not succeed in capturing Alfredo because he has many supporters since he (Alfredo) is the only one who fights for the truth and justice," Fernando Dias Gusmao, an NP member from PSD side said. (TP)

The Church is Studying Government Proposal of Contacting Alfredo

The Catholic Church is still looking for ways of solving Alfredo's problem before the presidential election.

The church realized that Alfredo's problem is complicated, so it should have a different point of view and gather different opinions to help solve the problem.

Dom Alberto Ricardo da Silva, Bishop of Dili Diocese, said that the organs of sovereignty, the Church and all the people should try their best in the limited time to solve Alfredo's problem before the presidential election. (TP)

March 14, 2007

Horta having 'sightseeing' on the situation in Dili

Mikrolet – Prime Minister Ramos Horta reportedly went around by Mikrolet (local transport vehicle) in Dili yesterday (13/03). He started at 12.00 O'clock from the Government Palace to the temporary bus station to Baucau, Lospalos, and Viqueque. On his way, he met with groups of people engaging in different activities which had his assistance. Later, Ramos Horta had lunch in Restaurant Nila Sari and continued his tour to visit the SRSG, though the SRSG was not in at the time so Ramos Horta then visited his family in Matadouro before heading back to the Palace of government. (DN)

State provides 100% security guaranty when Alfredo surrenders

The Prime Minister, Ramos Horta said to DN yesterday (Tuesday, 13/3) that full security guaranty will be provided by the State to avoiding maltreatment or dishonoring Alfredo after observing the current situation in the capital.

Ramos Horta added that on Monday this week he had met Bishop Dom Alberto Ricardo and asked for the Church to negotiate and get in touch with Alfredo Reinado as Alfredo prefers to have dialogue mediated by the church.

Ramos Horta said that State and Church have the same position that fugitive Alfredo Reinado should surrender and operations against him will stop immediately. (DN)

Government, UNMIT and UNPOL handed 200 pistols to PNTL

Government, UNMIT and UNPOL had decided to hand over 200 Pistols to build confidence to PNTL which has been reactivated and is cooperating with UNPOL in providing security in Dili.

The Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta reportedly told journalists on Tuesday (13/03) after his 'sightseeing' excursion in Dili. Horta said that the State had evaluated and assessed the worst and best actions of UNPOL afterwards will provide recommendations to UNMIT.

Horta appealed to members of PNTL who just handed over their Pistols to demonstrate good examples of behavior.

The Prime Minister said the government planned to place F-FDTL in some areas not only on the roads and in government offices.

"I think the result will be good and make PNTL happy since it 'lightens' PNTL work," added Ramos. (DN)

Joao Goncalves – Rogerio's case is Fretilin's

Joco Goncalves, an NP member said to journalists yesterday (13/3) that Fretilin made many decisions in solving Rogerio's case, and this means that it's Fretilin case. He said that the regulation of Fretilin party stated that a member who is involved in crime is not permitted to sit for the structure of party. Related to Rogerio's case, he had been sentenced for seven years and half. However, there is still no appeal from Appeal Tribunal on the decision of the final resolution to the case. Another NP member of Democratic Party, Rui Menezes, said that the regulation of political parties clarifies that all parties do not enlarge their ideologies and the principals programs of the parties. (DN)

Rerden: It's difficult to arrest Major Alfredo

The ISF believes that it will be less difficult to arrest Reinaldo if all the cooperate especially those living in Same Brig. Gen. Mal Rerden said in a Press Conference on Tuesday (13/3) in Kaikoli, Dili. He said the operation is requested by the State and government. In relation to the uniform worn by Alfredo, Rerden said that on the Mission of INTERFET there were many Australian troops in Timor-Leste. At that time some troops gave their uniforms to their East Timorese friends. Rerden said he rejects all the public rumors that Australian Army works together with Alfredo. "We did not give uniforms to Alfredo or make friends with him. Starting from the resolution given, Alfredo became our target to arrest in order to take the democratic process to the court," said Rerden.

Rerden also said that Australian Forces did not having any political activities with Alfredo. However, he acknowledged that during the operation the black hawk damaged some houses and food belonging to the people. At the present, the ISF is working with people to repair the damaged houses.

Furthermore, Rerden said that the five people dead during the opration were placed by Alfredo as obstructions for him to run away. Rerden said that Alfredo is holding illegal weapons, a threat to ISF. Australian Forces will be remain in Timor-Leste based upon the decision of the State and the government. (STL)

Alfredo preferred dialogue through Catholic Church mediation

The former Commander of Military Police, asked the ISF operations to stop; he said he needed dialogue mediated by Catholic Church as informed by Dili Diocese Bishop to Ramos Horta on Monday (12/3).

Horta asked Reinaldo to have a conscience and not to hold on to illegal weapons if he wants to see justice in this country. "There is only one way, surrender and give back the weapons and go to court in your self defense." Horta said. (STL)

Australian forces damaged houses in Palapaso, Motael

Six houses in the area of Motael, Palapaso were damaged by Australian Forces on Sunday afternoon (11/3). The area is suspected as the hiding place of Leandro Isaac, an NP member, and some members of petitioners.

"I have no idea, immediately troops were all around in front of the house. They told us to lie down. They then rushed into the house and damaged doors of the house. After all that they took a mobile and brought us to another house to ask for information," Assis (one of the vctims) said. (STL)

Alfredo's lawyer met the high level and Catholic Church

The nine lawyers of Alfredo, (Benevides Correia Barros, natercia barbosa, Paolo dos Remedios, Francisco Almeida, Luis Mendonca Freitas, Aderito dos Reis, Nelson de Carvalho, Francisco Nicolau, and Luis) had a meeting with Timor-Leste leaders, UNMIT and the Catholic Church a few days ago to discuss the way of solving Alfredo's case through dialogue.

The discussion of the meeting was on the Peaceful Resolution Acorrd. The lawyers asked for security services for their client, Alfredo in order to take part in the dialogue which will be under the consideration of government, UNMIT, Catholic Church and ISF.

Benevides informed that at the present, there are still radical groups who do not like Alfredo which may kill Alfredo. Furthermore, he affirmed that Alfredo's case is a case that has been dominated by political intervention." (TP)

'Killing' the instability

The National Parliament (NP) approved the resolution project no 88/I/5a to reinforce the declaration of President, Xanana Gusmco. The resolution passed with 54 against 1 and one abstention.

The objective of the resolution is to provide political support to Presidential recommendation as a political act, as it relates to exceptional matters which guarantee to stabilize security.

According to the Constitutional law all citizens have obligation to take part in Civil Political; the Proponent of Resolution project Joaquim dos Santos reportedly Timor Post on Tuesday 13/03 in National Parliament. (TP)

March 13, 2007

UNMIT team to tackle illegal weapons

Deputy Chief of security for the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT), Erick Huck Gim Tan said UNMIT is currently forming a team to tackle the problem of illegal weapons, which were still being distributed within the community.

"Mostly, these illegal firearms belong to the National Police and UNMIT has formed a special team to handle any illegal weapons being carried by civilians and to recall them," Tan told journalists during a recent press conference at Obrigado Barracks. (DN)

Parliament asks Committee A to investigate Same incident

The President of the Parliament, Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres said Parliament has asked its Human Rights Committee A and Health, Solidarity, and Labor Committee F to create a commission to investigate the destruction of people's houses in Same by Australian black hawk helicopters.

Sixteen houses are reported to have been damaged last Thursday (8/3) when the black hawk helicopters flew close to people's houses in pursuit of ex-Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinado and his followers.

Lu-Olo was speaking to journalists yesterday about the incident. (DN)

Parliament approves resolution on Alfredo's capture

The President of the Parliament, Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres said Parliament has approved a resolution in support of President Xanana Gusmao's order to capture ex-Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinado Alves and his men.

MPs from both the Democratic Party (PD) and Social Democratic Party (PSD) left the plenary session in protest after Lu-Olo told the media that the plenary session for the resolution was closed to the public.

The Australian forces undertook the operation to capture Alfredo upon President Xanana Gusmao's authorization after Alfredo raided two Border Police Units last month seizing 18 firearms.

The operation earlier this month in the southern town of Same left five of Alfredo's men dead. (RTL and STL)

Alfredo ready to come to Dili for dialogue

Ex-Military Police Commander Major Alfredo Reinado Alves said he was moving closer to Dili as he did not want the crisis to affect the southern districts and he did not want similar incidents to happen in other districts.

Speaking in an interview yesterday from his current hideout, Alfredo also expressed sadness at the gun battle that took place in southern town of Same. He said innocent people had been the victims of this battle and that he was now ready for dialogue.

Alfredo and his men are on the run after the Australian-lead international forces raided their hideout in the southern town of Same earlier in the month. (TP)

F-FDTL's presence helps guarantee stability

MP Antonio Cardoso said yesterday from Parliament that the situation within the capital, Dili has returned to normal after President Xanana Gusmao gave more power to international forces and allowed the deployment of Timorese Defense Force (F-FDTL).

Dili resident, teacher Georgina Aleixo of Delta Comoro, said she was pleased with the recent deployment of F-FDTL. She said she trusted that F-FDTL would not destroy their own country or kill people. (TP)

Journalists must not be candidate's mouthpiece

A senior journalist from Portugal's Public Radio and Television (RTP), Jose Alberto Sousa said journalists should not become mouthpieces for any presidential candidates during political campaigns.

He said journalists must be objective in their coverage of the whole election process. Sousa was speaking to journalists in a one-day seminar held at Hotel Timor Saturday (9/3). (TP)

Fretilin supporters looking for opposition followers

MP Riak Leman from the Social Democratic Party said yesterday from Parliament house that Fretilin followers were conducting sweeping operations and conducting check-points to find supporters of opposition parties in the southern town of Same.

Meanwhile, President of the Parliament, Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres said he had heard about these rumors, and he called on people to look for ways to normalize the situation in Same. (STL)

March 12, 2007

General elections will be conducted fairly and credibly: Atul Khare

The UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Timor Leste, Atul Khare said he believed the upcoming elections would be conducted fairly and credibly.

Khare was speaking to journalists about the ongoing situation within the capital Dili, and the military operation against ex- Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo.

Khare said the deployment of international forces and UN police would be sufficient to respond to any kind of violence during the elections. He added hat he believed Timorese leaders would try to reconcile and that Timor was capable of resolving the situation with Alfredo. (DN)

CCF will not suspend Rogerio Lobato: Lu-Olo

The President of Fretilin, Francisco Guterres (Lu-Olo) said although former Interior Minister and Fretilin member, Rogerio Lobato, had been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison, Fretilin would not suspend his party membership because the sentence would be appealed.

Rogerio's verdict was reached by the panel of three international jurists, led by Judge Ivo Rosa Batista, after a three-month trial.

Lobato's lawyer, Paulo Remeidos said the verdict was not fair and that his client would appeal the sentence

Lobato was tried for arming a civilian hit squad, one of the key triggers for country's recent political crisis. (DN)

500 new polling stations to be built for elections

A total of 504 new polling stations will be built throughout the country, for the April 9 presidential elections, Director of the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), Tomas Cabral said at a launch ceremony, Friday (9/3) at the STAE offices.

He added that STAE would announce the total number of polling centres which would be open to the public, three days before the election is held.

STAE estimates that more than 510,000 people will vote in the elections, at more than 700 polling stations.

More than 3,500 polling staff would work on the elections and more than 600,000 ballot papers would be distributed throughout the country. (DN)

Civil society and media must contribute to electoral process: CNE President

The President of the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Faustino Cardoso Gomes said the upcoming elections required the cooperation and contribution of both media and civil society.

Speaking at a one-day seminar on media coverage of the elections, Faustino said the media play a very important role during elections, disseminating information and educating voters. The seminar was held Saturday (10/3) held at Hotel Timor. (RTL, March 12, 2007)

CNRT is important to the nation: Horta

Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta said establishment of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party would be made in a few days.

Horta said CNRT would be led by the current President, Xanana Gusmao. CNRT would be fully supported by Timorese veterans and would back Horta as a presidential candidate.

He added that President Xanana might want to play a role in government or parliament. "If the President leaves his current post to sit in parliament and government, I do believe that this will be very important to the nation," said Horta. (STL)

UN provides transport for elections

The United Nations' Special Representative in Timor Leste, Atul Khare said the UN would provide transport and communication equipment for the upcoming elections.

Khare was speaking to journalists Friday (9/3) at the National Electoral Commission (CNE) offices.

Khare added that the UN mission in Timor Leste was going to cooperate with all Timorese institutions, in supporting both the presidential and legislative elections. The presidential election was scheduled to be held on April 9 and the legislative elections would be announced after the presidential elections. (STL)

Xanana calls for campaigns to be even-handed

The President of National Electoral Commission (CNE), Faustino Cardoso said President Xanana Gusmao has asked CNE to work hard and monitor presidential candidates to make sure that they did not exert improper pressure on voters or other candidates during their political campaigns.

Faustino said the President expected that a fair and democratic presidential election would take place. He was speaking to journalists Friday (9/3) after meeting Xanana at the Presidential Palace. (STL)

Government will not give Rogerio Lobato special treatment in jail

Ex-Interior Minister, Rogerio Lobato would be imprisoned like an ordinary person and the government would not provide him with special treatment, said the Minister for Justice, Domingos Sarmento.

The Minister was speaking to journalists Friday (9/3) about the preparation of detention facilities for Lobato.

Rogerio was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison Wednesday (7/3) by panel of three international jurists, led by Judge Ivo Rosa Batista, after a three-month trial. (TP)

Australian black hawk helicopters damages people's houses

Sixteen houses in Babulu village in the southern district of Manufahi were damaged during the Australian-led international forces military action in pursuit of ex-Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinado, last Thursday (8/3).

A Timor Post correspondent reported that the houses were damaged by fire from the black hawk helicopters.

Alfredo and his men are on run after Australian forces raided their hideout in southern town of Same last weekend, killing five of Alfredo's men.

The Australian forces undertook the operation to capture Alfredo, on President Xanana Gusmao's authorization, after Alfredo raided two Border Police Units last month, seizing 18 firearms. (TP)

March 10, 2007

Remove direct capture before prepare to dialogue with Alfredo

The dialogue between government and Major Alfredo may be held since the mandate of arresting or shooting on him stopped, said Marcelino Magno, a researcher on political and social affairs on Friday (09/3), the day of launching the candidacy of Fernando 'Lasama' to run for the president.

Furthermore, he stated that for some time the two Bishops (Mgr. Basilio and Ricardo) urged dialogue not violence, and to avoid using weapons to shooting.

Spokesperson Front Mahasiswa Timor Leste (FMTL) Julio Soares reportedly said on Friday 09/03/07 at Campus FASPOL Caicoli Dili that Youths support the Church Mediation to dialogue with Major Alfredo Reinado. As a Timorese, to create stability in this newly born country we need a best way to prepare dialogue with Major Alfredo Reinado to resolve problem. (TP,)

In election, CNE will be in charge.

President of Conselu Nasional Elisoins (CNE) Faustino Cardozo reportedly said that CNE will be totally responsible for upcoming elections mainly in budget and tabulation areas. He revealed that from now on CNE will prepare to cooperate with overall institutions which deals with Media, UNMIT and Provedoria Direitus Humanus i Justisa (PDHJ). (STL)

Violence will not resolve problems

Member of National Parliament Joao Gonsalves reportedly appealed to all youths to stop violence saying that violence will resolve nothing. He called for all youths to remain calm and follow the best ways to develop this new country. He said that the upcoming elections will resolve and reduce current problems with a new Government with a confident Political Party. On the Judicial Process, he said that all problems will be resolved all the way through Tribunal, based on the legal laws in existence. This is the best way to resolve problems, he said. (STL)

Australian 200 armed forces increment

To stabilize East Timor Security in upcoming presidential Election, ISF Australia reportedly added 200 Personnel Armed Forces yesterday. With these increments the initial 800 Personnel has become 1.000 Personnel. These troops arrived on two planes from the Philippines. According to Brigadier Mal Rerden, these Armed Forces will reinforce the current Australian and New Zealand troops. (STL)

Clementino: people have to have clarification from government

Vice President Committee B (Security, Defence and Foreign Negotiation), National Parliament Clementino dos Reis Amaral reportedly called for Government to clarify the three morning flights at International Airport Nicolau Lobatu Comoro. He said that the State has to clarify for people regarding from which country the plane is coming. He said that people are now traumatized and shouldn't be further terrified. (STL)

High level committee keep silent to journalists

A meeting in relation to Major Alfredo Reinado Alves, was held with the fifth meeting of High Level Committee. In attendance was the Special Representative of Secretary General (SRSG) Atul Khare, Brigadier General Mal Rerden, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta, President of National Parliament Lu-Olo, Attorney General Longinhos Monteiro and President of Republic Xanana Gusmao. There is no result from the meeting reportedly and the High Level Committee did not provide any comment to Journalists despite the fact that the meeting is very important for people pending the responsibilities of the State and Government to the current situation concerning Major Alfredo Reinado's. (STL)

Violence in Dili Reduced after the State Using Forces

TP observed that actions of burning tires and government vehicles in Dili has been reduced after President Xanana gave his approval to International Stabilization Forces (ISF) to step up efforts against the violence by supporters of Alfredo. (TP)

Failed detaining Alfredo, ISF cooperated with people

After the operation to detain Alfredo Reinado failed during the last week on 04/03/07, ISF asked for cooperation from all Timorese for the current and upcoming operations. ISF Brigadier Mal Rerden reportedly said that ISF would appreciate if all people of Timor Leste contributed to providing information about Major Alfredo. He said that when Alfredo Reinado with his group took weapons from BPU on the border and afterwards moved to Same, UNPol provided information to ISF and after gaining that information, ISF urgently relocated to Same to maintain Security. The Special Representative of Secretary General Mr. Atul Khare also appealed to Major Reinado Alves to surrender if he positively loves Timor Leste, Justice and stability in this new country. (TP,)

March 9, 2007

International forces, UN police will cooperate to capture Alfredo

Commander of the Australian-led International Stabilization Forces (ISF), Brigadier Mal Rerden, said the hunt for ex-Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinaldo Alves is continuing.

The ISF would stand firm and continue their military operation until Alfredo and his followers are captured, said Rerden.

Furthermore, he said that the additional troops had arrived in recent days strengthening the international forces' numbers.

Alfredo and his men are on run after Australian forces raided their hideout in southern town of Same last weekend, killing five of Alfredo's men.

The Australian forces undertook the operation on President Xanana Gusmao's authorization, following Alfredo's raid on two Border Police Units last month, in which he seized 18 firearms. (RTL, DN)

UNMIT to Provide Security for Presidential Candidates

The UN Secretary General's Special Representative (SRSG) in Timor Leste, Atul Khare, said UN police would provide security for the eight-presidential candidates for the April 9 presidential elections.

Khare was speaking to journalists in a press conference held yesterday at Obrigado Barrack. He confirmed that he had sent a letter to the eight presidential candidates advising them that the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) would provide security for them during their political campaigns. (DN)

People welcome F-FDTL deployment

Most people in the capital Dili have welcomed the deployment of the Timor Leste Defense Force (F-FDTL) within Dili, to respond to the ongoing security situation and disturbances, although some people have criticized the move.

Dili resident, Martinho Carvalho said he was very pleased that F-FDTL had been authorized to help conntrol Dili, even though some were unhappy with the deployment.

He added that since F-FDTL's deployment, residents have been able to rest. But a few days ago, residents couldn't sleep because there were night attacks, gangs of youths blocking roads and burning tyres. (DN)

Another Dili resident, Esterlita Rodrigues Neto, thanked F-FDTL for going on patrol in Dili.

F-FDTL was deployed after President Xanana Gusmao gave more power to ISF and F-FDTL to respond to violence in Dili.

F-FDTL was engaged in a gun battle with ex-Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinaldo and shot dead 9 members of Timor's police force and wounded another 20 at the height of the crisis last year.

Seven-and-a-half-year sentence is unfair: Jose Luis Oliveira

The director of Timorese legal aid association, HAK, Jose Luis Oliveira has criticized the seven and a half year sentence given to former interior Minister, Rogerio Lobato.

Oliveira was speaking to journalists yesterday at his office and commented on the verdict delivered by the court this week to Rogerio Lobato.

He said Rogerio should receive a greater sentence, as he had distributed weapons to a civilian hit squad, attempted manslaughter and had disturbed the public order.

The verdict was reached by the panel of three international jurists, led by Judge Ivo Rosa Batista, after a three-month trial.

Lobato's lawyer, Paulo Remeidos said the verdict was not fair and that his client would appeal the sentence.

Lobato was tried for arming a civilian hit squad, one of the key triggers for country's recent political crisis. (DN)

Horta to Focus on Combating Poverty in His Candidacy for President

Presidential candidate, Jose Ramos Horta said yesterday that if he wins the April 9 presidential elections that he would make combating poverty in this tiny country as his priority.

Horta said poverty was a big challenge faced by the Timorese people. "My priority is to combat poverty," said Horta.

He said he would create a commission to study budget execution and work with government to reduce poverty within the country.

Horta was nominated by the Timorese Democratic Union of Resistance (UNDERTIM) party, Millennium Democratic (PMD) party and Maubere youth organization last month to contest the presidential elections. (STL)

One of Alfredo's followers is imprisoned

Nikson Jaime da Costa from the Rapid Intervention Police Unit (UIR), who deserted during the country's crisis and joined ex- Military Police Commander Major Alfredo Reinado, has been put in preventative detention after appearing in court in Dili yesterday.

Nikson was injured during the Australian forces' raid on the southern town of Same last weekend.

The decision to put Nikson in preventative detention was made by international judge, Ivo Rosa Batista. (TP)

Women should be recognized on women's day: Atul Khare

Speaking to journalists in a press conference at Obrigado Barrack yesterday on International Women's Day, the UN Secretary General's Special Representative in Timor Leste, Atul Khare said it is important to recognize the contribution of women on this day in order to transform relations between men and women and promote gender equality, speaking. (TP)

Catholic Church is ready to mediate between government and alfredo

The Catholic Church is ready to mediate in any dialogue between government and ex-Military Police Commander Major Alfredo Reinado Alves if both parties are happy for the Church to be involved, said Fr. Domingos Soares Maubere.

Maubere was speaking to journalists yesterday from his office, referring to proposals from both the government and Alfredo that the Catholic Church mediate a dialogue on Alfredo's surrender. (TP)

March 8, 2007

Rogerio sentenced to seven-and-a-half years

Former Interior Minister, Rogerio Tiago Lobato has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison, after the Dili District Court found him guilty of distributing weapons to a civilian-hit squad, manslaughter and disturbing public order. A panel of judges led by Ivo Nelson Rosa Batista read out the verdict yesterday. However, Lobato' lawyer, Paulo Remeidos said the verdict was not fair and that his client would appeal the sentence. The panel, consisting of three international jurists and led by Judge Ivo Rosa Batista, reached a verdict after a three-month trial. (DN)

In crisis, but Timor is not a failed state: Xanana

President Xanana Gusmco said that despite the crisis that Timor- Leste has been through, it is not a failed state. The President made this comment yesterday when he received the credentials from the Indian and Egyptian Ambassadors to Timor Leste. Gusmco said Timor Leste would continue building important bilateral ties and bi-lateral programs currently running in the country. (DN)

Xavier, Lucia and Lasama ask for security guards

Three presidential candidates – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, Luucia Lobato and Fernando "Lasama" Araujo – havve asked President Xanana Gusmco to provide security guards for them, due to the volatile security situation in the country. Xavier told the media following yesterday's meeting with President Gusmco at the Presidential Palace. The three candidates are concerned that they might be killed during the campaign. (DN)

38 UIR police on-duty again

Thirty-eight members of the Rapid Intervention Unit (UIR) have been given the go-ahead to carry their pistols while on duty, said Interior Minister, Alcino Barris. Barris said UIR would work with the UN police to respond to conflicts within the capital, Dili. They have resumed duty after passing the screen test established after last year's crisis in which some police had been actively engaged. (RTL)

International Forces Continue To Ask For Alfredo's Surrender

Commander of the Australian-led international forces, Brigadier Mal Rerden has once again appealed to former Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinado Alves and his followers to surrender. " am asking Alfredo to avoid further conflict, including the possibility that he may lose his life. He should therefore surrender, with his men, to the national police, the UN police and international forces so that he can go to court and face the charges against him" said Rerden yesterday.

Meanwhile, one of Alfredo's men, Susar, said in a telephone interview that Alfredo wants dialogue and not confrontation with the government. Alfredo and his men are on the run after the Australian-lead international forces raided their hideout in the southern town of Same last weekend. (TP)

Henrique's body handed back to family

The body of Henrique Marques, who was killed during the Australian-led international forces operation last weekend in the southern town of Same, has been handed over to his family after it was delivered to Guido Valadares National Hospital, Dili. Speaking to the media, Henrique's widow, Herlina Efendi expressed her grief over the death of her husband, who she said had provided for their whole family. Henrique had deserted F-FDTL and joined Alfredo during the crisis of May last year, when Alfredo demanded that Timor's justice system be overhauled. (TP)

Horta decides to deploy F-FDTL

Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta has decided to provide greater security for people within Dili and protection for state property and buildings by deploying Timor Leste Defense Force (F-FDTL). The decision was made after President Xanana Gusmco gave more power to international forces and to F-FDTL to curb the violence within the country. (TP)

Internally displaced people ask to provide them polling centre Coordinator of the internally displaced people at Colmera/Jardim camps, Leopoldo Pinto said yesterday that the internally displaced people, currently living in the camp have requested the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) to put a polling centre near their camp in order for them to participate in the election process adding that the numbers of displaced people he is talking about is about 3, 776. (STL)

March 7, 2007

State is not implementing dictatorship

MPs Josefa Pereira (Fretilin) and Rui Menezes (PD) believe that the means the State is applying to stop the violence in the country does not mean the beginning of dictatorship as Timor- Leste is an independent and democratic State. They said the country is heading towards anarchism and should not be tolerated. Pereira said that since the statement was made the situation is starting to settle and people are gaining their consciousness and respect for each citizen's right to live. Deputy Speaker of the House, Jacob Fernandes reportedly said the statement of the President of the Republic to use force to stop the violence is constitutional as it would enable the country to return to normal conditions and put an end to the violence which has been increasing. (DN)

State's decision to use force follows the condition

The decision taken by the State to use force against violent actions is based on the ongoing conditions and the existing penal code and it must be implemented professionally in the field, said Timorese human rights advocate, Aderito de Jesus Soares. According to de Jesus, the State's decision was clear and correct as some groups have not respected the State and continue to engage in public disturbances. Aderito is referring to President Xanana Gusmao's official address to the nation on Monday noting that the State would use force to put an end to violence in the country. (TP)

Major Alfredo is in good condition

According to reports, the raid by the Australian-led international forces of the hideout of the Military Police Commander, Major Alfredo Reinado Alves in the southern town of Same has not affected Alfredo's psychical condition, said Alfredo's follower, Amaro da Costa alias 'Susar'. When questioned why he is not with Alfredo, Susar reportedly said that they separated during the attack. Another member who asked to remain anonymous also affirmed that Alfredo is in good condition and that they are in regular contact.

Susar has further stressed that as a smaller group than International Security Forces they managed to escape but that they are not afraid of ISF because they want to fight for the rights of the people. (TP)

Australia rejects support

An ISF officer in Dili rejects reports that Australia has sent one hundred SAS to Timor-Leste before the operation to apprehend Alfredo and his groups. "Not SAS but replacements," he said. Meanwhile, the Australian Defence Forces on Monday (05/3) refused to comment on whether SAS had been sent to Timor-Leste. However, The Sydney Morning Herald on Monday (05/3) reported that SAS had been sent to Timor-Leste.

ISF arrest Galucho in Ermera

Nelson Galucho, one of UIR Officers who has been involved in Major Alfredo's group was arrested while on duty in the District of Ermera, Wednesday (28/2) in the afternoon in his residence in Gleno. Galucho was taken to Dili by ISP helicopter. However, due to pressure from the people and youth of Gleno, Galucho was taken back to Fatukero, Gleno, (01/3) at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Galucho's arrest followed information that he had weapons and fire arms which he gave to the petitioners. Galucho rejects such allegations. The detention of Galucho has been considered illegal by his supporters as the ISF did not have an arrest warrant to detain him. According to STL, ISF have apologized for the mistake and promised not to further arrest members of the petitioners or Alfredo's group. (STL)

Five members of Alfredo's group died

ISF has reportedly found one more dead body of Alfredo's group in Same on Tuesday (06/3) raising the number to five people killed during Sunday's operation to apprehend Reinado on Sunday (4/3) morning. According to Timor Post, ISF Spokesperson reportedly said via mobile phone in Dili that the dead body has been identified as one of Alfredo's member killed during the operation based upon the authorities of Timor-Leste. He underlined that no ISF soldiers were wounded during the operation contrary to reports by some local media.

In the meantime, Antonio Caleres Junior, the Director of the National Hospital said that all the dead bodies have been autopsied and are waiting identification from the families. The five people killed are: Calistro Tilman, Deolindo Barros, Henrique Marques, Natalino Fereira alias Meta Kiak, and Quintao Tilman. (TP)

Local government activities disrupted

The local government activities have been disrupted for about two weeks as the buildings were first occupied by Major Alfredo and his men then by the ISF, Timor Post correspondent in Same reported. TP correspondent in Same said that the situation is under control even though many government activities have not fully returned to normal. Brigadier General Mal Rerden said that the ISF priority is to help and assist Timor-Leste and the UN to stabilize a good environment in preparations for the election process in Timor-Leste. (TP)

Oecussi court not functioning

Sebastiana Pereira, coordinator of Oecussi Women's Centre said the population of Oecussi has been unhappy about the court process, as it has not been functioning since January this year. According to Pereira, some of the court cases have been pending for the last 10 months. She said she does not want to blame the authorities in charge of the judicial system but there can be many factors contributing to the situation such as lack of accommodation, clean water and electricity which are keeping the prosecutors and judges from working in Oecussi. She said the population tends to approach the police, the head of village and the community's elderly to resolve their problems nowadays, as they no longer trust the judicial system. (STL)

Court verdict on Lobato's case

According to schedule, the Court of Appeal and the Prosecutor's Office will announce the verdict on Lobato's case today (Wednesday). The verdict should have been announced on February 15, but it has been delayed, as the court required further time for an in-depth analysis of the statements by eyewitness on alleged distribution of guns by the former Minister of Interior to civilians. Based on UNTAET Regulations 5/2001, Lobato could face up to 30 years in jail if found guilty. (DN)

Fretilin Mudansa will hold national convention

Fretilin Mudansa will hold a national convention on March 17 to break away from Fretilin group of Lu-Olo and Alkatiri. Members of the group, Victor da Costa, Minister Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Jose Luis Guterres and former Timor-Leste Ambassador to Australia, Jorge Teme met with President Gusmao Tuesday to present their support to Ramos-Horta candidacy as well as the convention. Da Costa said the group would also discuss about Alfredo's case during the convention but would not reveal anything further about it. (DN)

CPD RDTL must register with STAE

Prime Minister Ramos-Horta has requested CPD RDTL members to register with STAE and not to use the ones they have in their possession now if they want to participate in the 2007 elections. Ramos-Horta told the group not to dispose of their cards but also not to use them. A few days ago it was reported in the media that Prime Minister Ramos-Horta had authorized CPD RDTL members to use their own registration cards to participate in the elections. (DN)

Rice distribution in Baucau district

The Ministry of Development decided to increase the distribution of rice for sale in Baucau District to 35 tones as the first 15 tones was insufficient to cover the areas in need of food. The same amount of rice was also distributed to the district of Liquica. In Ermera, the government increased 20 tones of rice on Friday, making a total of 50 tones of rice distributed in that area. According to Timor Post, a 62-year-old man died as a result of food shortage in Trilolo, Baucau district. The man had been eating only palm flour and aidak fruit. Two babies also died as result of food shortages. They were dependant on only their mother's milk for over 40 days. (DN)

Government's policy will not normalize food shortages in market

MP, Jose Nominando from Democratic Party said yesterday in the Parliament House that the government is trying to deceive the people by using ways of manipulating documents of imported rice.

He said such policy would not help normalize the rice shortages in the markets, adding that the government should be allocating imported rice to the stores in the capital Dili in order to sell them to the people.

Timor-Leste is facing rice shortages and the government has made efforts to distribute rice to sell in the capital and the districts. (STL)

March 2, 2007

Labadain accused of defamation

Marcus Piedade, also known as Labadain has been summoned by the Prosecutor General's office to give information about a letter allegedly signed by him accusing Minister of Justice Domingos Sarmento of illegal possession of two guns during the crisis. Labadain said he is not aware of such a letter. He said that he did see the Minister in Railako during the crisis with his armed close protection guards but he did not say anything due to the Minister's high level post. In the meantime, the Minister Domingos Sarmento said the truth will be dealt with when they meet in court. (TP)

Candidates cannot use state facilities

The spokesperson of National Electoral Commission/Conselho Nacional Eleitoral (CNE), Fr. Martinho Gusmco asks the people contesting the presidential elections not to use State facilities or their campaign and not to insult each to avoid anarchism sentiment and unexpected crisis. He said the election campaign process is still a learning process for the population in terms of political aspects and that the candidates at a point would be required to suspend their duties to be able to be involved in their campaign. He said that candidates should avoid using the State facilities for their private campaign and should not use UNPOL police officers. The CNE spokesperson said if security is allocated, it should be for all the candidates. (STL)

Lu-Olo and Ramos-Horta continue to work

The President of the Court of Appeal, Claudio Ximenes, reportedly said he has made the decision for presidential candidates such as Prime Minister Ramos-Horta and President of the Parliament, Francisco Guterres, to continue function in their current capacities during the election process. Ximenes said the decision was based on the decree law noting that work cannot be stopped. (STL)