ABC News
28.09.2007
East Timor's armed forces commander has appeared before a commission investigating an outbreak of deadly violence during the nation's 1999 independence vote.
Taur Matan Ruak gave his testimony in a closed-door session a day after the Indonesia-East Timor Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) wrapped up its fifth and final round of public hearings here.
East Timor's CTF co-chairman Dionisio Babo said the commander spoke to panel members for more than an hour.
"The hearing has gone well. We called him here as a former commandant of Falintil (the armed guerrilla group that fought Indonesia's occupation) to hear his testimony on what happened in 1999," he said.
An estimated 1,400 people were killed when militias backed by the Indonesian military rampaged as East Timor's population voted overwhelmingly in favour of breaking away from Indonesia, which invaded in 1975.
"He also gave his perspective, as a former combatant who fought for 24 years, about relations between East Timor and Indonesia in the future," Mr Babo added.
"He asked the CTF to immediately find out the truth."
The CTF was established in 2005 but has no prosecution powers.
It has been boycotted by the United Nations, which says those guilty of human rights violations should face justice.
- AFP
sexta-feira, setembro 28, 2007
E Timor commander testifies before commission
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The comments inserted in the article written by JSMP below are worth reading. They were written by an eyewitness observer from inside the courtroom, and unfortunately show that the article written by JSMP is far from accurate.
=================================
>TRIAL COMMENCES IN CASE RELATING TO THE SHOOTING OF PNTL MEMBERS THAT
>OCCURRED IN 2006.
>09/18/2007
>On 18 September 2007, the Dili District Court opened the trial in the
>case relating to the shooting of members of the National Police Force
>(PNTL) which occurred in front of the Ministry of Justice on 25 May
>2006, at a time when Timor Leste was in crisis.
>This case was one of the cases recommended by the International
>Commission of Inquiry, so it was given serious attention by the
>international community as well as the wider community in Timor Leste,
>as it was one of a series of incidents that occurred during the crisis
>that have been classified as serious crimes.
>The trial was attended by a huge number of people, and consequently
>the Dili District Court (operating out of the Court of Appeal)
>organized additional measures such as stringent security during the
>>hearing. However we are quite concerned about the presence of F-FDTL's
>>members in military uniform who were on full alert and fully armed.
What they saying in this paragraph above is not TRUE, cause the FDTL were search and I personally was there in line waiting for my turn to be search by the UNPOL, PNTL and also the Military Police (FDTL) before entering the premises of the Court of appeal. They did not take any weapons at all….Also by law, the Police should not search any military when his in uniform…Even that, they did not know the rule.
That’s why on the second day the search was done only by the FDTL Military Police, while the UNPOL watch before entering the premises.
>Before the hearing commenced the translator announced that during the
>hearing all people present should turn off their mobile phones and the
>court clerks conducted a check to make sure that no witnesses were
>present in the court room. However closer examination revealed that a
>>witness from the F-FDTL named Major Maukalu was actually present.
>After being informed by the prosecution unit that he was one of the
>witnesses who would be summoned by the court to provide testimony
>about the shooting incident, Major Maukalu and his colleagues refused
>to accept this information and he protested because he believed that
>the court had not provided any notification that he would be summoned
>as a witness. Major Maukalu was adamant that he would remain in the
>court room. However, the lawyer Arlindo Dias Sanches approached him
>and explained the relevant procedure. Thereafter Major Laukalu was
>willing to remove himself from the court room.
Major Maukalu was not informed by the Court regarding the summoned. All he did, was asking the interpreter why the court did not sending him a letter to inform him.
After that, the court apologised regarding the delay delivering of the letter to the FDTL officer.
Major Maukalu, did get up and without any protest left the court. The lawyer NEVER approach Major Maukalu at all, inside the court. I was the one sitting next to Major Maukalu at the time he was ask to leave the court room.
>After these matters had been cleared up, Judge Ivo Nelson Rosa Batista
>de Caires (International Judge), Judge Hugo Perdal (International
>Judge) and Judge Antoninho Goncalves (National Judge) entered the
>>court room to start the hearing, however after the presiding judge
>>conducted a check to see if all of the defendants were present in the
>hearing, it became evident that one of the F-FDTL members was absent.
>There should have been 12 defendants, namely 11 F-FDTL members and one
>Police Inspector.
The presiding Judge, never did any checking for the defendants. The checking was done by a lady that works at the Court of Appeal, before the Judge started the hearing.
The Judge was told after, about the FDTL defendant that was missing because he was sick and was told by the doctor not to participate in the hearing on that day.
>Considering that one of the F-FDTL members who was a defendant in this
>matter had failed to attend the hearing, the presiding judge decided
>to discontinue the hearing in accordance with Article 253.1 of the
>Timor Leste Code of Criminal Procedure which states that "the
>defendant's presence at the hearing is compulsory, except as otherwise
>stated in the law" and decided to continue the trial at 9:30am on 20
>September 2007 at the Dili District Court (operating out of the Court
>of Appeal).
>JSMP accepts that this decision was made in accordance with Article
>253.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the decision issued by the
>presiding judge should be respected and observed because the
>aforementioned article gives full authority to the presiding judge to
>adjourn the hearing in this matter.
>JSMP fully respects the members of the F-FDTL who appeared at the
>court to give support to their colleagues who are defendants in this
>>case, however JSMP regrets that some members of F-FDTL were unwilling
>>to be searched by the police who were providing security for this
>trial, and some members of the F-FDTL where fully armed and providing
>security in a manner that was far too excessive. Things like this
>should not occur because everyone is same in the eyes of the court,
>and members of the community could see that they were trying to place
>pressure on the judicial actors, especially recalling that the hearing
>was being attended by the families of the victims who have been
>severely traumatized.
The above paragraph is not TRUE what JSMP is saying. FDTL always cooperated with the Police and it has not been any trouble at all.
The Commander of the Military Police HAS always been there present and done all the body searching, with the GNR, UNPOL and PNTL all there present watching.
>>JSMP also recommends that members of the F-FDTL who attend the trial
>>should respect all court procedures, such as allowing themselves to be
>>searched before entering the court room, just like everyone else, in
>order to avoid setting a bad example, because the community know that
>this institution is in the process of positive reform after the 2006
>crisis. JSMP also hopes that F-FDTL will demonstrate to every one else
>that the negative perceptions held by the wider community towards them
>are not accurate.
F-FDTL NEVER refuse and respect the court procedures, they always cooperated with the LAW.. It’s not TRUE in what JSMP is saying.
Tradução:
Comandante de Timor-Leste testemunha perante a comissão
ABC News
28.09.2007
O comandante das forças armadas de Timor-Leste compareceu perante uma comissão que investiga uma explosão de violência mortal durante a votação da independência da nação em1999.
Taur Matan Ruak deu o seu testemunho numa sessão à porta fechada depois da Comissão Indonésia-Timor-Leste da Verdade e Amizade (CVA) ter fechado a sua última volta de audições públicas aqui.
O co-presidente da CVA Dionisio Babo disse que o comandante falou aos membros do painel durante mais de uma hora.
"A audição correu bem. Chamámos ele aqui como antigo comandante das Falintil (o grupo armado da guerrilha que lutou contra a ocupação pela Indonésia) para ouvir o seu testemunho sobre o que aconteceu em1999," disse.
Uma estimativa de 1,400 pessoas foram mortas quando milícias apoiadas pelos militares Indonésios entraram em fúria quando a população de Timor-Leste votou predominantemente em favor da separação da Indonésia, que invadiu em 1975.
"Ele deu ainda a sua perspectiva, como antigo combatente que lutou durante 24 anos, acerca das relações entre Timor-Leste e a Indonésia no futuro," acrescentou o Sr Babo.
"Ele pediu à CVA para encontrar imediatamente a verdade."
A CVA foi criada em 2005 mas não tem poderes para processar.
Tem sido boicotada pelas Nações Unidas, que dizem que os culpados por violações dos direitos humanos devem enfrentar a justiça.
- AFP
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