Transcript of UNMIT weekly press conference - 14 Dec

Source: United Nations Office in Timor-Leste
Date: 14 Dec 2006

Speakers: Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen

DSRSG for Security Sector and Rule of Law Eric Tan
UNPol Police Commissioner Rodolfo Tor
Topic: Update on the IDP and Security situations in Dili

Allison Cooper:

Good morning everybody. Thank you for coming to our regular press briefing here at UNMIT.

The first announcement I would like to make is that the SRSG for UNMIT arrives in Dili on Sunday. Mr. Atul Khare will be introduced to you all at a press conference here at Obrigado Barracks on Monday; we are still deciding the time for that, but I will let you know over the weekend about that. But for today's conference we'll first of all be hearing from the Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Finn Reske-Nielsen who will be talking to you about an update on the IDP situation, then we will be handing over to Deputy SRSG Mr. Eric Tan and the Police Commissioner Mr. Rodolfo Tor for an update on the security situation. I also have some written information here on UNPol activities over the past week, which I will hand out before you go. So, thank you for coming and I will hand over Mr. Finn.

Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen:

Thank you. Good morning everybody. First of all I would like to reiterate what I said in a press release earlier this week that I very deeply regret what happened Sunday night which caused the death of a UN staff member, Antonio Martins, and I want to take this opportunity to convey my condolences to the bereaved family.

I would like to make a few opening remarks with regard to the IDP situation in Dili. As you know the rainy season has now started; we have had several heavy downpours over the past week or so. And I think we can all expect that the rains will intensify and it is only a question of time before we will have severe flooding in some of the camps. This would be, in particular, be the case at the airport camp, the Obrigado Barracks camp, the seaport camp jardin and the hospital camp.

I want to take this opportunity to appeal to the mothers and the fathers in those camps – you do not want to endanger the lives of your children; you do not want to endanger the lives of the elderly; the sick; because what happens when you have flooding is that within a matter of days there will be outbreaks of disease starting with respiratory diseases, followed by diarrhea, malaria and dengue fever.

The government, with the support of the United Nations and humanitarian NGOs, has prepared emergency sites to which IDPs can move, and should move, as soon as possible in order to avoid the outbreak of disease when the rains come. The old Chinese consulate is ready to receive people on an emergency basis; the gymnasium is being prepared as we speak, and last night it was agreed, by decision of the Prime Minister, that a site at Quarantina – close to the airport - will also be made available for emergency purposes.

At the same time, the government with the support of the international community is finishing the preparation of sites for more transitional housing at Tasi Tolu and at Becora and those sites should be ready in the very near future. The United Nations very strongly supports the government's policy to promote the relocation of IDPs from the camps that are in danger of flooding. And we also endorse the government's policy that the first option for the IDPs would be to return to their homes if they can; the second option is for them to go to their home districts for an interim period; the third option would be to go to one of the existing camps that have access capacity; and the fourth option would be to go to either the emergency sites or to the other sites that are being prepared. The government has already made public a package that they are offering to those who move from these camps and we would hope that many of the IDPs would avail themselves of these opportunities.

With the support of our colleagues from UNDP, information packages are being distributed in particular to the four camps that I mentioned – the airport, seaport, Obrigado Barracks and the national hospital – so that all of the IDPs are fully aware of the details of what is being offered to them.

Thank you.

Obrigado Barak.

DSRSG Eric Tan:

Good morning everyone. Let me start with a few words on the security situation before handing over to the Commissioner Rodolfo. The overall situation in terms of security in Dili is what I would classify as improved. The biggest series of incidents, or category of incidents, would be clashes between gangs. During those incidents, there has been fighting among the gangs, and sometimes rocks are thrown and sharp weapons are used. We also notice that the influence of alcohol sometimes sparks off, or makes worse, these incidents. UNPol is stepping up measures to watch for this and to take preventive actions if possible. And finally, just a small note about something that we have been noticing more and more in the last few days, and that is the use of small explosive devices. These devices are very small and they are improvised. Some arrests have been made and one or two devices were seized during those arrests.

I will now handover to the Commissioner for more details.

UNPol Police Commissioner Tor:

Thank you Sir, and good morning to all of you. I will now talk about the security situation and incidents, police operations, our police strength, something about police stations and our future plans. The security situation in Dili over the past week has been relatively calm with security reduction reported incidents. The most affected areas with regards to gun fighting, rock throwing and stealing and roadblocks are Tasi Tolu, Kampung Baru – Taibessi, Bebonuk and Dom Bosco.

Since the beginning of the crisis we have made 1,147 arrests; out of these 486 arrests since 25 August and 56 arrests from 1-12 December. All over Timor-Leste we have the strength of 750 UNPol engaged in operations in Dili only. And we have 2,000 PNTL functional in 12 districts outside of Dili including in immigration, law and security protection, UIR in Baucau and PRU Marine unit. On incidents of 5-12 December 74% were gun-fightingincidents- 74% of the total incidents and 155 incidents or 39% were rock-throwing.

On future plans, and operational effectiveness, we plan to implement increased presence and visibility of police in the city; to increase mobile patrol in the evening, foot patrols in the day time and security check-points in hotspots of the selected areas. We plan to increase consultation with the community, or neighbourhood policing, as well as consultations with other stakeholders.

Thank you.

Question and Answer session

Question:

A question to the Police Commissioner. What is the position of security from UNPol in preparation for the celebration of Christmas?

Answer:

UNPol Police Commissioner Tor:

For this season, the month of December, there will be many groups who will celebrate Christmas and we will include this in our operations, especially the presence of our police foot and mobile patrols and we will effect, as much as possible, contact with the organizers to be able to help them with their security needs. So the most important thing is our contacts with the organizers who will try to celebrate Christmas outside of their houses or residencies, so that we can provide appropriate security arrangements with the group or organizations that plan to have parties either in freedom parks, or in some hotels or established areas.

Question:

In terms of the relocation of the refugees to the new sites that have been provided, many of them – many of the IDPs - are still concerned with security; the more presence of UNPol. They do not feel a sense of security. Tomorrow will be the deadline; what will be the provision of security in regards to this.

Answer:

UNPol Police Commissioner Tor:

With regards to relocations, transitional emergency relocations, we are part of the total of all government and UNMIT and UNPol humanitarian organizations working on this. On the security side, we … that security of respective installation sites which will be affected ahead of the relocation activity, such that when they arrive there they are already in a secured are. The manual security is not just fence security, but we will talk with the humanitarian community and the leaders around to tell them that people are coming and all security arrangements will be undertaken in corporation with the community and the people transferring to the sites. We look at this as a total commitment of not only the UNPol, but also the community themselves. We would like to be partners in this security effort. We are not there like security guards. But we are there as partners in these security efforts of the leaders and the community themselves.

Question:

I would like to address this question to Mr. Finn. Tomorrow will be the deadline, as set by the government, it seems that tomorrow the IDPs should move – be forced to move –it seems that this is against human rights. So what is the position of UNMIT in this regard? Secondly, I would like to find out is there a number of the IDPs – how many are still there – and what is the UN's statement on the general condition of the IDP camps.

Answer:

Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen:

Thank you for those questions. First of all, I believe that the date that has been set by the government is a deadline for IDPs to register for the relocation packages; that deadline is tomorrow. And I do want to endorse the request by the government for IDPs to register for relocation as soon as possible. There is no violation of human rights in the plan that is being adopted by the Council of Ministers to promote the relocation of IDPs. Provision is being made to support those who cannot support themselves at alternative sites; and the United Nations has confirmed to the government that it will provide humanitarian support to this operation.

In terms of numbers, the latest figure I have would indicate that there are approximately 28,000 IDPs in the camps across Dili; this includes about 9,000 in Metinaro. But these numbers are estimates. We estimate that about 2,000 families, so probably between 15-16,000 people, have had their houses destroyed and they therefore do not have a home to go to. And this is the reason why are supporting the establishment of emergency sites as well a traditional sites where people can live for several months.

As far as the conditions in the camps are concerned, they do vary from one camp to another. But overall, at the present time, basic services are being provided in terms of food, water and sanitation, as well as shelter. But as I said earlier, the immediate concern is that with the onset of the rainy season some of the camps will be flooded and we are setting ourselves up for a major, major humanitarian problem, unless people agree to relocate. We know from other IDP situations elsewhere in the world, that if people live in flooded areas for an extended period of time, diseases will break out and you could have epidemics that will affect not just the IDP population but the wider population in the city.

Thank you.

Question:

In regard to the relocation of the IDPs, if they insist on staying in the IDP camps, what is the counter solution? How can this be solved?

Answer:

Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen:

Well, I would certainly hope that the IDPs would make the only sensible decision they can make and that is to relocate, and relocate, before there is a heavy downpour where everybody would be near high water. But there is obviously, if there is a serious situation where people refuse to move and therefore are endangering themselves, then I think it would be necessary for the law enforcement agencies to assist to resolve the situation.

Question:

My question is about Mr. Hasegawa. It seems at the trial of Rogerio Lobato, Mr. Hasegawa will be one of the witnesses. He is going to be expected to be present there. So, is there any indication for Mr. Hasegawa to be here next year for the trial?

Answer:

Acting SRSG Finn Reske-Nielsen:

I have read those reports, but that is all I know about it. Let us see how things develop. I have just one comment on that and that is that UN officials are covered by what is called “functional immunity” and that therefore requires that any court appearance would have to be approved by the Secretary-General, as is the case in all other countries.

Question:

I want to address this question to Mr. Eric Tan. In Dili, the capital, people are selling the explosive devices … this is for the celebration for Christmas. What is the policy of UNPol in regards to the sale of these explosives?

Answer:

DSRSG Eric Tan:

I am not familiar with the item you mention. I take it, it is for celebration?

Question:

But the sounds create an atmosphere of fear among the population, so what is the measure taken by UNPol so that this will not create panic among the people?

Answer:

DSRSG Eric Tan:

Well, people celebrate big occasions in very different ways in many countries and like I said I am not familiar with this particular item, but yes, sounds of explosions whether they are firecrackers or fireworks can cause some concern, so we may have to look into this but unless there is danger to life or property we do not think there is very much that we can to do about this. When I was a small boy, we celebrated Chinese New Year with firecrackers. When my country became more developed with more buildings, firecrackers were considered illegal. That was to protect life and property. So, sometimes such a decision will have to be made, but I think in Dili there are enough places, if people take the necessary precautions I think they can have their celebrations safely.

UNPol Police Commissioner Tor:

With regards to … firecrackers and Christmas [crackers], similar to firecrackers, the practice that I have experience is we grade the degree of explosion or the firecrackers. Those that produce very, very loud explosions, it is not authorized. But those that produce just low level of explosion, that is not harmful to the person or the property, it is okay. But those explosions like they call watusi is a small one that are very poisonous, we do not authorize. It will kill people or children; if they swallow they are killed. So with the help of the Permanent Ministry of the Government we will recommend total prohibition or selective prohibition and we will recommend the appropriate decision.

Allison Cooper:

Thank you very much.