Comunicado - FRETILIN

FRENTE REVOLUCIONÁRIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE
FRETILIN

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East Timor leaders must reunite to defeat conspiracy

Media Release

Tuesday October 31 2006

East Timor’s leaders must reunite to defeat a “well planned conspiracy” aimed at making the country ungovernable, the governing party Fretilin urged today.

“The national leadership must free itself from the complex web of conspiracy which has led to its division,” said a statement adopted by Fretilin’s 80-member Central Committee on Sunday and released today.

“The State must reaffirm its exclusive sovereign power and use its authority to find solutions to this crisis.”

Fretilin warned of the prospect of widespread violence and called on all Timorese to avoid being misled by destabilising groups or reacting to provocation.

It called on all political parties and the hierarchy of the Catholic church to respect the democratic will of the people as expressed in the 2001 election which gave Fretilin a large parliamentary majority (55 of the 88 seats). The next election is due in May 2007.

The full statement follows:

Time to be Affirmative

The Central Committee of FRETILIN met on 29 October 2006 to analyse the ongoing critical situation in our country. Having considered the facts we declare that:

1. The well planned conspiracy against the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, RDTL, has not yet been fully carried out, namely, the actions against our people, our leadership, our institutions, our democratic Constitution and laws, the significant symbols of our glorious history of Resistance, our history, our strategic choice of languages, our culture, and our political, social and economic system.

2. Selective ongoing destabilisation actions continue to be carried out with the ultimate goal of making the State ungovernable. That is, such action and activities aim to deprive the country of its national leadership; to deny the State of its authority; to continuously humiliate us; to interfere with the judicial system and use it for political gain to ensure the weakening of the State’s political system; and to provoke the population to polarise around an ethnic division between “East and West”.

3. That the State must reaffirm its exclusive sovereign power and use its authority to find solutions to this crisis.

4. That it is urgent that the sovereign organs of Timor-Leste courageously take on their role of defending our sovereignty by initiating political, legislative, administrative and judicial measures to put the facts and causes of the current situation into context in order to decide with independence and sovereignty on measures to bring peace, stability and social harmony.

5. That the national leadership must free itself from the complex web of conspiracy which has led to its division. It must reunite around the common cause of reaffirming our national sovereignty and the authority of the State, reasserting law and order, to ensure viable governance. In short, to defend the vital interests of our people.

6. That all Timorese people need to be vigilant and sustain the ability to avert widespread violence by understanding the ongoing situation and avoid being misled by destabilizing groups or reacting to provocation.

7. That all political parties must learn a lesson from this crisis – that the actions against the Constitution and the democratic principles and values it enshrines are not repeated and that the will of the people as expressed in the elections be respected.

8. That the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste further contributes to the process of peace and democracy and respects the will of the people as expressed in the elections.

9. That the values conveyed by our ancestors and by our recent history of struggle for our country’s liberation are the foundations on which to reinforce National Unity and to reaffirm ourselves as the Maubere Nation.

10. That the youth, men and women and the Maubere people of all ages, across all social classes and political affiliations embrace a culture of Peace and Democracy and reject all violence.


In accordance with the above:

I. We will reaffirm our unity and our determination to defend with all our knowledge and strength the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, RDTL, our People, our institutions, our strategic choice regarding languages and culture, and our political, social and economic systems.

II. We will defend our sovereignty and choices on maintaining friendly relations with all the Nations of the world and our policy on regional integration and international relations.

III. We will continue to defend our resources and assert our development options in our quest for economic independence.

IV. We will reinforce our regional relationships to actively contribute to regional and international security, stability and peace.

So it is time for Unity and to be Affirmative.

Unity to defend the Constitution and the principles and values it enshrines.

To be Affirmative as to the Sovereignty of our State in making strategic decisions to overcome the crisis, to be able to face any challenges or pressure, both internal and external, and to reconstruct our country.


The struggle continues!
Maximum tolerance, Total vigilance!

Dili 29 October 2006

On behalf of the FRETILIN Central Committee

Francisco Guterres-Lu’Olo MariAlkatiri
President Secretary General

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