Notícias - 28 de Março de 2007

SOBRE A CAMPANHA - PRESIDENCIAIS

Radio Australia - 28/03/2007, 02:17

Sporadic violence during ETimor presidential campaign

There are renewed fears that violence will disrupt East Timor's elections.

Our reporter in Dili, Karon Snowdon, reports that several attacks on individuals have political leaders calling for restraint.

Day five of East Timor's presidential election campaign brought reports of sporadic violence, in what appears to be an outbreak of tensions between rival Fretilin Party factions.

Victor da Costa, the leader of a breakaway reform faction, Fretilin Mudansa, was punched by supporters of the main Fretilin party while campaigning for independent presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta, who appealed for calm on both sides.

In a separate incident, a Fretilin rally was disrupted by more than 20 stone-throwing men associated with the militia-style rebel Rai Los, whose accusations against former Prime Minister and Fretilin Secretary General Mari Alkitiri led to his resignation last year.

Mr Alkitiri supports calls for restraint.

"We have been trying to do our best to stop people from violence, [from] June and July last year up till now," he said.

"Of course provocation is coming and every day [there is] some new kind of provocation."

Japan police to stay on

Meanwhile, Japan has decided to extend its civilian police mission to East Timor until the end of August, in line with the extension of United Nations peacekeeping operations there.

The mission had been due to end on March 31.

The cabinet decision to extend it follows a decision by the UN Security Council last month to extend and temporarily reinforce its UNMIT operation until February next year.

UNMIT is assisting with security during the April 9 presidential election and corresponding parliamentary elections.

Two Japanese police officers and an official liaison have been in East Timor since early February advising and instructing UNMIT's police sector to help rebuild the local police force.

Nota: Este mesmo artigo (até ao parágrafo ’Japan police to stay on’) foi divulgado na ABC, 8 horas mais tarde sob o título: East Timorese political leaders call for restraint

***

East Timor's Ramos Horta spells out vision for country

Jakarta, March 27 (AAP) - East Timor presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta says he wants to lead a country "where there are no rebel leaders".

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is one of eight candidates vying for the job of president in next month's election, and has stepped down as prime minister ahead of the April 9 poll.

East Timor's most wanted fugitive Alfredo Reinado has reportedly urged his supporters not to vote for Dr Ramos Horta in the April 9 poll.

The rebel leader remains on the run after fleeing a raid by Australian troops on his hideout at Same, 50km from Dili, three weeks ago in which five of his armed supporters were killed.

Security is being ramped up in East Timor ahead of the election, amid fears Reinado or his supporters could disrupt the election.

Fairfax newspapers today said Reinado had written a letter urging his supporters not to vote for Ramos Horta or president of East Timor's Parliament Francisco Guterres, saying both men had failed in their roles.

But Reinado, who is has been criticised for his role in last year's unrest in which 37 people died, also said he had no plans to disrupt the poll.

Thousands of United Nations and Timorese police will be on duty during the election, the first presidential poll since East Timor achieved independence from Indonesia in 2002.

Ramos Horta said he wanted to "lead an East Timor where there are no rebel leaders, just leaders".

"Men and women who support a peaceful, democratic East Timor, and celebrate the freedoms of democracy - free speech and open forum debate - conditions for peace and prosperity," he said in a statement.

"This can only happen when all East Timorese have a voice and can be heard by their government."

***

Blog Lu-Olo ba Presidente – 28 de Março de 2007
Campanha em Liquica: cerca de 3000 pessoas

Ontem, 27 de Marco de 2007, Presidente Lu Olo e a sua comitiva realizaram a campanha em Liquica onde contaram com a presenca de cerca de 3000 pessoas.

Fotografias do comício em: http://www.luolobapresidente.blogspot.com/

***

The Age - March 28, 2007

Timor protest over digger

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin

East Timor's ruling Fretilin party will today lodge a protest over an alleged incident during which an Australian soldier is said to have pulled a Timorese driver out of a vehicle, trod on him, put a gun to his head and yelled: "f … you. I'll kill you."

A Fretilin spokesman in Dili said last night that former East Timorese prime minister Mari Alkatiri was among a group who saw the incident in the coffee-growing town of Gleno after a Fretilin political rally.

He said Mr Alkatiri, Fretilin's secretary-general, will lodge the protest today with Mal Rerden, commander of Australia's 800-strong military force in East Timor.

Fretilin officials say the incident occurred when an Australian armoured personnel carrier pushed into a convoy of cars accompanying Fretilin members who went to Gleno for a rally in support of the party's presidential candidate, Francisco Guterres, on Monday.

There was reportedly an apparent stand-off between a Fretilin driver and Australian soldiers. Fretilin officials said after the Timorese man was assaulted, Mr Alkatiri's bodyguard tried to intervene but an Australian soldier pointed a gun at his head.

Officials said the soldier retreated on the orders of an Australian commander.

Anti-Australian sentiment is strong in the mountains around Gleno after Australian soldiers killed five men from the area during a botched attack on the base of rebel leader Alfredo Reinado on March 4.

Brigadier Rerden's media officer in Dili could not be reached for comment last night.

***

Radio Australia - 28/03/2007, 13:19

Dili calm as presidential campaign continues

East Timor's capital Dili remains calm as the presidential election campaign approaches the half way point.

However security remains tight for candidates after several violent incidents outside the capital on Tuesday.

Political leaders called for restraint after the fifth day of presidential campaigning was marred by reports of escalating tension between rival Fretilin Party factions.

Victor da Costa, the leader of a breakaway reform faction, was punched by supporters of the main Fretilin party while campaigning for independent presidential candidate Jose Ramos Horta.

In a separate incident, a Fretilin rally was disrupted by more than 20 stone-throwing men associated with the militia-style rebel Rai Los.

The United Nations special representative in East Timor, Atul Khare, says high security will remain in place.

"I must stress this point, that any violence or evil during the election period or on the election day or in the immediate post electoral period would be met with the strongest possible response," he said.

Dili has been plagued by outbreaks of gang violence for the past year, the most recent earlier this month.

***

OUTRAS NOTÍCIAS


Timor: GNR tem 77 militares prontos a embarcar para Timor-Leste

Lisboa, 27 de Mar (Lusa) - A Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) tem 77 militares prontos a embarcar para reforçar o Subagrupamento Bravo ao serviço das Nações Unidas em Timor-Leste (UNMIT), aumentando o contingente português para 220 homens, afirmou hoje fonte do Comando.

Os 77 militares da GNR, que vão reforçar o contingente português em Timor, Subagrupamento Bravo, estão prontos a embarcar e apenas aguardam ordem de marcha da ONU e o avião fretado pela organização, disse à Lusa a mesma fonte.

A missão da GNR em Timor tem como objectivos ajudar a restaurar a paz e a ordem, apoiar a Polícia Nacional de Timor na formação, treino e planeamento de segurança, além do garante para a realização de eleições este ano.

A formação teórica foi ministrada nas instalações do Regimento de Infantaria em Lisboa, as provas físicas em Monsanto e o treino com fogo real no Campo de Tiro de Alcochete.

Os militares tiveram treino no restabelecimento de ordem pública, usos e costumes, passando por hábitos específicos do povo timorense dado por militares que já lá estiveram e que aprenderam com a experiência anterior.

Este reforço do Subagrupamento Bravo, em Timor, vai incluir militares do Regimento de Infantaria e do Regimento de Cavalaria da GNR por um período de seis meses.

O suporte logístico é ampliado em 11 viaturas, dois carros blindados, cinco carrinhas de transporte, quatro viaturas todo-o-terreno e diverso equipamento enviado por antecipação e que os homens vão ter à disposição quando chegarem a Timor.

O Subagrupamento Bravo, num total de 220 homens, fica às ordens do Capitão Barradas.

MZPC-Lusa/Fim

***

Timor-Leste: A ronda da noite do Subagrupamento Bravo da GNR

Por Pedro Sousa Pereira (Texto) e António Cotrim (Fotos), enviados da Agência Lusa Díli, 27 Mar (Lusa) - Um adolescente suspeito de se encontrar na posse de uma arma de fogo frente ao Palácio do Governo é motivo suficiente para a intervenção das forças de segurança durante uma patrulha nocturna do Subagrupamento Bravo da GNR.

Os militares da GNR fazem três patrulhas diárias na capital timorense, sobretudo na zona centro e nos bairros periféricos que ficam situados entre as traseiras do Palácio do Governo e o sul da cidade.

A patrulha nocturna da GNR é geralmente composta por dez soldados e um oficial, divididos em duas TP8, viaturas de transporte de pessoal.

O Subagrupamento Bravo, constituído por 143 elementos, mais uma equipa do INEM, dispõe igualmente de seis veículos blindados que são utilizados apenas em situações consideradas mais violentas ou em operações de segurança previamente organizadas.

Os militares seguem munidos de espingardas que disparam projécteis de plástico e que servem para dispersar um eventual distúrbio, mas dispõem igualmente de armas de fogo real, como munições de 09 milímetros, além dos bastões, coletes à prova de bala e capacetes.

Em Díli, a patrulha da noite pode prolongar-se durante três horas mas tudo depende dos acontecimentos como os que se registaram na sexta-feira, no bairro Pité, que obrigaram à intervenção da GNR devido a um incidente que foi supostamente provocado por um elemento da segurança da mulher do Presidente da República, Xanana Gusmão, que alegadamente matou a tiro um homem e feriu outros dois.

Na segunda-feira à noite, os dois veículos da patrulha da GNR saíram do quartel do Subagrupamento Bravo, no centro da capital, às 22:30, e seguiram para o porto de Díli, onde se encontram dois navios carregados de sacos de arroz tailandês.

No porto, e por ordem do governo, os descarregamentos não devem ser interrompidos enquanto há navios ao largo, e que, por sua vez, esperam ordens para aportar.

A GNR passa os portões guardados pelos soldados paquistaneses, mas dentro das instalações portuárias encontram-se militares das Forças de Defesa de Timor Leste (FDTL) dispostos junto aos navios e frente a um dos armazéns onde os trabalhadores timorenses e elementos das tripulações das próprias embarcações guardam os sacos de cinquenta quilos de arroz cada.

De acordo com o executivo timorense, está previsto que as encomendas de arroz sejam suficientes até ao mês de Julho, quer devido a encomendas do Estados, quer às importações de particulares, sobretudo comerciantes chineses de Díli.

No porto não há nada de anormal a assinalar mas, mesmo assim, os militares portugueses saem das viaturas e cumprimentam os soldados das FDTL, de uniforme camuflado e armados com M-16, espingarda de assalto de fabrico norte-americano.

A patrulha dirige-se depois para os armazéns das Nações Unidas, que ficam ao lado dos armazéns do Estado timorense. Também aqui se encontram militares das FDTL e trabalhadores que descarregam os sacos de arroz que chegam ao local em camiões escoltados pelos militares timorenses. Em Díli, não há iluminação pública excepto na zona que fica frente ao Palácio do Governo. A patrulha entra no bairro Pité. Um bairro degradado, de casas de lata e de blocos de cimento construídas sobre a terra batida. A única iluminação é fornecida por geradores instalados junto às casas e que provocam um ruído constante.

Os dois veículos prosseguem a patrulha mesmo quando o troço de rua asfaltada termina e a estrada de terra esburacada começa.

A paisagem é sempre a mesma. Ruas desertas, casas degradadas e caminhos de terra.

Uma hora depois, a patrulha é chamada via rádio para acorrer à avenida da marginal, frente ao Palácio do Governo.

A transmissão informa que uma patrulha australiana das Forças de Estabilização Internacionais (ISF) detectou um homem armado na zona do Palácio.

Em poucos minutos, os soldados da GNR chegam ao local e após uma passagem de reconhecimento identificam os jovens que estão sentados junto às bicicletas adaptadas e que funcionam como bancas de venda de água e cigarros.

Os quatro jovens, que não oferecem resistência, são revistados, mas a pistola não é encontrada, apesar de numa das bancas, escondida entre tábuas, os militares terem descoberto uma faca com uma lâmina de cerca de 50 centímetros e uma bainha de madeira revestida com fita isoladora preta.

Depois de apreendida a faca, os militares da GNR explicam em português misturado com algumas palavras em tétum e inglês. Foi o suficiente para um dos rapazes se levantar e entregar uma pistola que tinha escondida nas barras horizontais da grade do porto de Díli.

O carregador estava vazio e a pistola era de plástico.

De noite, e a uma certa distância, estas réplicas que disparam pequenas esferas de plástico podem parecer pistolas de verdade.

O brinquedo e a faca foram apreendidos e a GNR continuou a patrulha nos labirintos de lata e cimento da capital de Timor-Leste.

PSP-Lusa/Fim

***

The Financial Times - March 26 2007 15:29

Gusmao to stand for PM of East Timor

By John Aglionby in Dili, East Timor

Xanana Gusmão, East Timor’s president, announced on Monday that he would join a new opposition political party and contest general elections due to be held in the next three months.

The move would see Mr Gusmão, a revered former guerrilla leader and poet who had said he wanted to retire from public life, become the leading candidate for the more hands-on job of prime minister at the general elections.

Should he win, Mr Gusmão would replace José Ramos Horta, the Nobel laureate who took over as prime minister of the tiny former Portuguese colony following a violent crisis last year. Mr Ramos Horta, in turn, is the favourite to win an election for the largely ceremonial presidential post scheduled for April 9, although the former foreign minister is one of eight candidates.

The moves by East Timor’s two best-known leaders are seen as increasing the pressure on the leadership of Fretilin, the leftist ruling party whose leader, former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, was widely blamed for last year’s crisis.

Mr Alkatiri was forced to resign as prime minister last May after being accused of involvement in communal unrest that left 37 people dead and saw 150,000 residents of the capital Dili flee their homes. Some 2,500 foreign troops were deployed to restore order.

Mr Gusmão said on Monday that he would join the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, or CNRT, which is expected to register formally as a party in the coming weeks. It is using the acronym employed by the 1990s umbrella group that led the international fight against Indonesian rule, which came to an end with a United Nations-sponsored ballot in 1999.

Announcing his decision to remain in politics, Mr Gusmão told a group of CNRT members that he wanted to end the widespread suffering that blights much of East Timor’s 1m population following a year of political turmoil. “When I leave the presidency we will join together for the people’s salvation because they mustn’t suffer again,” he said.

Mr Gusmão’s announcement came after he was presented with a petition that CNRT members said had been signed by 6,250 people eager to see the president remain in politics. “East Timor needs a strong political party with good leadership, with a leader who loves people,” the petition said. „That’s why we want you Xanana. We only trust you.”

Filomeno Aleixo, a member of the Fretilin central committee, on Monday condemned Mr Gusmão’s use of the CNRT acronym, which remains emotive in East Timor. „It’s his right to do what he’s doing but it’s unethical because he’s effectively hijacking a powerful historical symbol the name CNRT that all Timorese know as something completely different from what he’s using it for,” Mr Aleixo said.

***

E.Timor president to join controversial new party

Dili, March 26 (AFP) - East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao said Monday that he would soon join a new political party, even as the fledgling organisation was criticised for a lack of transparency.

Gusmao, who will not be contesting presidential polls next month, said he would join the National Congress of Reconstruction of Timor after he ceases to be head of the impoverished former Portuguese colony.

The new party will have the same initials - CNRT, based on the Portuguese version of the name -- as a now disbanded pro-independence movement active during East Timor's occupation by Indonesia.

Mari Alkatiri, the Secretary General of Fretilin, East Timor's biggest political party, said the use of the initials was "cynical" and "opportunistic" and threatened legal action. "When more than half of the electorate is illiterate, there is a moral obligation on all parties to be transparent and unambiguous in their identity, campaign messages and policy," the former premier said in a statement.

He said the new party had been given a misleading name to confuse and deceive voters.

Alkatiri stepped down amid mounting unrest and public pressure in June 2006.

He was questioned over allegations that he was involved in arming civilians during bloody violence in May, but the case was dropped for lack of evidence.

At least 37 people were killed and 150,000 forced to flee during the unrest, which led to the dispatch of an Australian-led international peacekeeping force to stabilise the country.

The April 9 presidential poll will be troubled East Timor's first since it achieved independence in 2002 after 24 years of Indonesian occupation up to 1999.

Gusmao, who fought Indonesian rule, ran as an independent in a presidential poll held prior to East Timor's formal independence.

***

Global Insight Daily Analysis - March 27, 2007

President of East Timor to Join New Opposition Party

Tanja Vestergaard

East Timor's president, Xanana Gusmão, yesterday announced his intention to join a new opposition political party, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), paving the way for him to become a contestant in the general elections scheduled for April this year, according to the Financial Times. Gusmao, who has signalled that he will step down from the largely ceremonial position as president of the conflict-torn country, announced his intention to stay in politics when presented with a petition signed by 6,250 from CNRT members calling on him to stay in politics. Gusmao's new party, the CNRT, has employed the acronym used by the 1990s umbrella group that coordinated the international struggle against Indonesian rule, which ended with a UN-sponsored ballot in 1999.

The Central Committee of the ruling Fretilin Party has meanwhile condemned Gusmao's use of the CNRT acronym, holding that it amounts to "high-jacking a powerful historical symbol". Significance: Gusmao's move is likely to see him become the top candidate for the position of prime minister at the upcoming elections. This is currently held by his ally Jose Ramos Horta, who took over the premiership from Mari Alkatiri following allegations that he was involved in sponsoring hit squads in the political violence that engulfed the nation last year. Ramos Horta is in turn the favourite to take over the presidency, with seven others also contending for the post. This can be perceived as a strategic move by the country's top leaders to increase pressure on the leftist ruling party, the Fretilin, which has been put in a difficult situation after its leader, Alkatiri, came under fire for his role in the violence that severely destabilised the nascent nation last year.

***

Catholic Telecommunications - 28 Mar 2007

Aussie soldiers accused over Timor church vandalism

A Timor priest has accused Australian troops of destroying property in a raid on a church during a search for fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado.

"About 2 a.m. of March 23, fully armed Australian soldiers came here when the electricity was off. They went around the church, kicked the backdoor and forcedly entered. They thought we had hidden the rebel leader there," Father Heremenio Gonsalves told reporters.

The priest was not sure of the number of Australian soldiers who raided the church. "I just heard their shouts saying that Alfredo is inside the church, to hunt for him inside the church," he recalled.

Alfredo Alves Reinado, who led a revolt that plunged Timor Leste into chaos last April, has evaded capture by the Australian-led international peacekeeping force in Timor Leste. He has been a fugitive since he escaped from a Dili jail in August along with 50 other inmates.

Father Gonsalves suspects the Australian soldiers thought Reinado was hiding in the church because many journalists covering the presidential election campaign stopped there the previous day on their way to Suai. The election is scheduled for April 9.

"The Australian soldiers might have thought the journalists came to interview Reinado," Father Gonsalves said, questioning how the Australian soldiers could even think the Catholic Church would harbor a fugitive in a place of worship. "It is not proper," he said of the Australian soldiers' action, urging them to respect and not destroy places of worship in performing their duty.

The priest said he would ask President Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao and Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta to look into the incident. He said he would also ask Bishops Alberto Ricardo da Silva of Dili and Basilio do Nascimento of Baucau, whose dioceses cover the country, to tell the Australian soldiers not to storm into his church again.

Father Gonsalves said Indonesian troops during the occupation were not "rude like the bule (white) soldiers, who entered the church kicking and destroying the house of worship."

***

Timor-Leste: Cooperação portuguesa assina protocolo com jornal timorense

Díli, 27 Mar (Lusa) - A Cooperação Portuguesa assinou hoje em Díli um acordo para a tradução e publicação de notícias com o único jornal em língua portuguesa de Timor-Leste.

O acordo estabelecido entre a Cooperação Portuguesa e o Jornal Nacional Semanário (JNS) permitirá a tradução de tétum para português das notícias publicadas no único órgão de imprensa timorense que usa a língua portuguesa.

Uma verba máxima de 480 dólares mensais é atribuída ao JNS através do Programa de Reintrodução da Língua Portuguesa (PRLP) em Timor-Leste.

Em contrapartida, "o JNS compromete-se a publicar as notícias em língua portuguesa e a criar incentivos para a participação dos jornalistas nos cursos de formação", organizados pela Cooperação Portuguesa.

O JNS manterá oito jornalistas e sete funcionários a frequentar os referidos cursos, "que serão assegurados pelos professores do PRLP em número adequado", estabelece ainda o acordo.

PRM-Lusa/Fim

***

AAP – Wednesday Mar 28 09:23 AEST

Habibie blames UN for 1999 Timor mayhem

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.

BJ 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.

***

Timor-Leste: Habibie responsabiliza Annan pela violência de 1999

Lisboa, 28 Mar (Lusa) - O antigo presidente da Indonésia B. J. Habibie responsabilizou as Nações Unidas, em particular o ex-secretário-geral Kofi Annan, pela violência registada em 1999 em Timor-Leste, revela hoje a imprensa indonésia e australiana.

Segundo Habibie, a violência que antecedeu o referendo da independência e que se seguiu à votação poderia ter sido evitada se Annan não tivesse divulgado os resultados antes do que fora combinado com as autoridades de Jacarta.

"Habibie disse que Annan quebrou a promessa ao anunciar os resultados do referendo a 04 de Setembro de 1999, muito antes da data acordada, a 07 do mesmo mês", afirmou o comissário Achmad Ali, membro da Comissão da Verdade e da Amizade (KKP), que entrou segunda-feira na segunda ronda de audições para apurar os acontecimentos de 1999.

Nesse sentido, a Comissão poderá convocar o ex-secretário-geral da ONU para esclarecer as acusações de Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie sobre a decisão de divulgar os resultados antes da data acordada entre as autoridades de Jacarta e o próprio Annan.

A notícia é publicada nos jornais The Jakarta Post e Sydney Morning Herald, que adiantam que o anúncio prematuro dos resultados do referendo, que permitiram a Timor-Leste ascender à independência, não permitiram às tropas indonésias chegar a tempo para pôr cobro à violência que acabaram de começar.

JSD-Lusa/Cont.

***

Timor-Leste: Habibie responsabiliza Annan (REABRE)

Segundo Habibie, que negociou e permitiu a realização do referendo sobre a independência em Timor-Leste após 27 anos de ocupação, as autoridades indonésias tinham inicialmente previsto declarar o "estado de emergência militar" em Timor-Leste.

"Se for possível, poderemos convocar Annan para clarificar as declarações de Habibie. Vamos recomendar o pedido na próxima reunião da Comissão. Annan ainda tem de revelar o contexto e a situação histórica a partir do seu ponto de vista", sublinhou Achmad, depois da audição ao ex-presidente indonésio.

Habibie era o presidente da Indonésia quando uma significativa maioria de timorenses votou a favor da independência, referendo que esteve na origem de violentos confrontos entre milícias e militares contra a população de Timor-Leste e que, segundo dados oficiosos, causaram mais de um milhar de vítimas mortais.

Segundo o diário australiano, Habibie sublinhou na audição, que decorreu à porta fechada, que, se se pudesse considerar que a escala de violência registada em Timor-Leste atingiu os 100, os incidentes poderiam ser minimizados para 10 se Annan não tivesse quebrado a promessa.

Quando questionado sobre como Habibie se sentiu na altura em que percebeu que a sua decisão de permitir o referendo em Timor-Leste iria acabar em violência, Achmad indicou que o ex-presidente indonésio respondeu ter "lamentado".

"(Habibie) disse que chorou e que se perguntou a ele próprio como era possível que tudo tivesse chegado àquele ponto", afirmou Achmad, citando o ex-presidente indonésio, que reside na Alemanha desde que terminou o seu mandato, em 1999.

Achmad adiantou que, ao contrário de outros testemunhos, Habibie não prestou juramento perante a comissão, de forma a respeitar-se a sua condição de antigo chefe de Estado.

"Habibie achou que fez o que tinha a fazer e que fez a coisa certa. Não lamenta que os timorenses tenham optado pela independência. No entanto, disse-nos (à Comissão) que estava desapontado com alguns timorenses a quem tratava como irmãos", afirmou Achmad, que não apontou nomes.

Terça-feira, o presidente da Comissão, Benyamin Mangkoedilaga, indicou que Habibie negou que Jacarta tivesse um "plano de contingência de terra queimada" para Timor-Leste se os timorenses votassem pela independência.

"Habibie negou que tivesse dado instruções para destruir Timor-Leste após o anúncio dos resultados do referendo. Disse também que conta com a Comissão para esclarecer a verdade", afirmou Mangkoedilaga.

Antes de Habibie, a Comissão ouviu o bispo timorense D. Ximenes Belo, que disse que os soldados indonésios estiveram, juntamente com milícias, envolvidos na violência, embora tenha pedido aos dois países para "esquecer o passado e olhar para o futuro".

"Se olharmos para o passado, abriremos velhas feridas e cairemos de novo no ódio", defendeu o antigo administrador apostólico de Díli.

"As milícias e soldados indonésios atacaram o edifício da Diocese de Díli, onde centenas de pessoas tinham procurado refúgio", declarou o Prémio Nobel da Paz, que chefiou a administração apostólica de Díli entre 1996 e 2002.

O ataque à Diocese de Díli, que foi incendiada e provocou um número indeterminado de mortos, ocorreu a 05 de Setembro de 1999 e, no dia seguinte, o alvo foi a residência do próprio D. Ximenes Belo.

Dos 18 acusados na Indonésia de envolvimento nos acontecimentos de 1999, apenas um foi condenado e os outros 17 foram sendo absolvidos em diferentes instâncias. O único sentenciado foi o ex-comandante de todas as milícias integracionistas de Díli, Eurico Guterres, que testemunhará também ao longo desta semana perante a Comissão.

Três generais com conhecimento directo da situação em Timor-Leste em 1999, além do ex-presidente Habibie, estão também na lista de testemunhas que a Comissão pretende ouvir n esta segunda fase de audiências.

A primeira sessão da Comissão decorreu em Fevereiro último em Bali, também na Indonésia.

JSD-Lusa/Fim

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The Jakarta Post - Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Annan at Fault: Habibie

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) may summon former UN chief Kofi Annan to speak about his decision on the 1999 referendum, which allowed then East Timor to secede from Indonesia and was followed by mass riots.

The joint commission examined former Indonesian president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie on his role in the referendum in a closed-door meeting Tuesday at the Habibie Center rather than the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

"Habibie said that Annan broke his promise by announcing the referendum results on Sept. 4, 1999, much earlier than the agreed date of Sept. 7," commission member Achmad Ali said after questioning Habibie.

Habibie told the commission that the premature announcement meant that Indonesian troops arrived too late to stop the violence that had already erupted. They had initially planned to place East Timor under a state of military emergency.

"If it's possible, we might invite Annan to clarify Habibie's statement. We are going to recommend this to the next commission meeting. Annan is yet to disclose the historical situation from his perspective," Achmad said after the commission hearing at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

Habibie was in power at the time when a majority of East Timorese voters decided to secede from Indonesia, sparking unrest between opposing militias.

The commission started its second hearing Monday by questioning former Dili Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. The commission will query several former Army members, witnesses and victims of the atrocities.

The commission held its first hearing on Feb. 19 and 20 in Bali, questioning, among others, former foreign affairs minister Ali Alatas and Indonesian Ambassador to Lisbon Francisco Lopez da Cruz.

Established by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Timor Leste's President Xanana Gusmao on March 9, 2005, the commission consists of 10 members from both Timor Leste and Indonesia.

Victims are given the chance to tell their stories while those who took part in violence have a chance to confess to past mistakes and be pardoned.

Achmad said that unlike others testifying, Habibie was not sworn in by the commission, in order to respect him as a former president.

"Habibie doesn't regret that Timor Leste opted for independence. However, he told us he was sad to part with the East Timorese, whom he called brothers," Achmad said.

Commission co-chairman Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said that Habibie, who felt that he did the right thing for the referendum, would do his best for the people of the young nation.

"Habibie denies that he gave orders for destruction following the announcement of the referendum result. He fully counts on us (for clarification)," Benjamin said.

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The Jakarta Post - Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Eurico Gutteres pessimistic KKP to unveil truth

Jakarta: Former East Timor militia leader Eurico Gutteres has expressed his pessimism that the Commission on Truth and Friendship (KKP) would be able to unveil truth about the post-referendum in East Timor

Eurico gave his testimony before members of Commission's members about the violence in East Timor or Timor Leste after majority of its citizens voted for separating from Indonesia in 1999 referendum.

Eurico, who was jailed for the incident, said KKP would not be able to take fair conclusion from testimonies because each of parties had their own version about the incident, MetroTV television reported.

KKP had questioned many other figures from both countries including former President B.J. Habibie, former foreign minister Ali Alatas, and East Timorese Bishop Carlos Pilipe Ximenes Belo.

The commission was established by both Indonesia and East Timor, which voted overwhelmingly to end nearly a quarter century of Indonesian rule in a public referendum eight years ago. It triggered a burst of killing, looting and burning.

Only one person has been punished for the violence. Political leaders in both nations appear reluctant to press for more trials. The United Nations has said it would consider setting up an international tribunal if justice was not done .