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H. Correia deixou um novo comentário na sua mensagem "Timor-Leste: Prisão para responsáveis ataque de Ma...":

É curioso que vários cidadãos vão sendo sucessivamente condenados a prisão, mas Reinado e Rai Los continuam estranhamente à solta sem que ninguém os submeta à Justiça.

Claro que nada disso tem relação com o facto de o PGR ter sido reconduzido pelo ex-Presidente e actual 1º Ministro...

Planned challenge to E Timor Govt dropped

ABC News
15.08.07
Posted 2 hours 39 minutes ago

East Timor's former ruling party has abandoned plans for a court challenge to the legality of the Government sworn in last week, an official said.

But the party, Fretilin, still should be part of a unity government, its deputy president Arsenio Bano said amid continuing uncertainty following an inconclusive parliamentary election in June.

"We just need a political solution. We still need a 'grand inclusion' government involving all parties with a seat in parliament," he said.

"We will not use a court trial. A trial through the courts is not on our minds."

President Jose Ramos-Horta used his constitutional authority to install a coalition government led by Xanana Gusmao, the former president and one-time guerrilla fighter.

Fretilin won 21 seats in the polls, the highest number among all the parties, but Mr Gusmao's party, which won 18, cobbled together a coalition with control of 37 seats.

The former ruling party had threatened to challenge the legality of Mr Gusmao's government.

Fretilin supporters have protested violently against the administration, including during this week.

Dr Ramos-Horta had pushed for a unity government, but the major parties failed to reach an agreement on how to govern jointly.

Mr Gusmao has condemned Fretilin leaders for failing to halt the violence while in a separate statement released late on Tuesday, Mr Bano was critical of Mr Gusmao, saying many viewed him as "partly responsible for last year's crisis".

Unrest rocked the streets of Dili in April and May last year when security factions and youth gangs waged battle, leaving at least 37 dead.

International peacekeepers were deployed to restore calm and have been bolstered by some 1,600 UN police.

- AFP

UNMIT - Security Situation - Wednesday 15 August 2007

This is a broadcast of the UN Police in Timor-Leste to provide you with information about the security situation around the country.

The security situation in Timor-Leste during the last 24 hours has remained tense, particularly in Viqueque, Baucau and Lautem districts, although there are no reports of major security incidents.


United Nations police officers (UNPol) in conjunction with the national police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) remain fully deployed.

Today in Dili, UNPol attended two incidents. Neither was serious.

Early yesterday morning in Viqueque, the ISF evacuated the PNTL officer who had been stabbed a few hours earlier in Matahoi village. He is now being treated at the ISF compound in Dili. Police have identified and are searching for the suspects in the stabbing.

No security incidents were reported in Baucau yesterday. The body of deceased male was discovered in Bagia sub-district, but there is no evidence to suggest that he was murdered.

Also in Baucau, seven people have been arrested in connection with the attack on a UN convoy that took place near Fatumaka last Friday, and Police and ISF remain on alert in case of any disturbances.

Yesterday in Covalima, the body of a deceased male was found in an isolated village called Lepo. UNPol and PNTL have been dispatched to the scene to search for evidence.

The United Nations family in Timor-Leste has been providing security and logistical support to the Government to expedite the delivery of urgently needed food and resources to the areas affected by the recent disturbances. Yesterday in Naiboruk village, Watolari and Watocarbo subdistricts, Government humanitarian assistance was distributed to schools and orphanages.

The Police advise to avoid traveling during the night to the most affected areas. Please report any suspicious activities. You can call 112 or 7230365 to contact the police 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

YouTube shows Aussie Ku Klux Klan 'soldiers'

By David Murray

August 05, 2007 12:13am

THE army is investigating an online video that shows binge drinking and a person parading in a Ku Klux Klan outfit on what appears to be Australian Defence Force property.

The footage, titled "My experience in the Australian Army", shows young men, some in uniform, in a contest to drink alcohol through a long plastic hose they call the "super tube of death".


Several drinkers, whose faces are clearly seen, stagger off and vomit over the railing of a demountable-style building called "Block 651".

The image of a person in a KKK-like outfit is flashed up repeatedly during the video to the amusement of the party.

Defence condemnation

Defence chiefs condemned the video as "abhorrent" and have ordered Provost Marshal investigators to go through the footage frame-by-frame.

"The Australian Defence Force does not tolerate or condone the actions of the people in this video," said Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic.

Serving soldiers could be sacked if found to have been involved in the video, Brigadier Nikolic said.

"The Provost Marshal is currently inquiring into the video to confirm the extent of its linkage to Defence," he said.

"If it is found serving Defence members were responsible for its production and posting on the Internet, they may be subject to disciplinary and or administrative action."

The investigation was launched after The Sunday Mail alerted Defence to the video's presence on the Internet video site YouTube.

The demountable buildings and surrounding geography suggests the video was shot at Robertson Barracks at Palmerston near Darwin, where soldiers have previously faced investigations for drug use and gun running.

'Who is protecting us?'

The army would not confirm where its investigation was focused, but did not deny there were similarities in the video to army property.

The video opens with a distasteful scene shot in a toilet that carries the caption: "When the s..t goes down, who is protecting us?"

Another scene shows a message in fridge magnets which says: "Block 651. Maggot by midday."

Soldiers are permitted to drink in moderation on Defence bases while off duty, but face alcohol and drug testing while on duty.

Brigadier Nikolic said new education campaigns about excessive drinking had ensured there was "not a culture of binge drinking in the military".

"The sort of behaviour we saw in the video is irresponsible consumption of alcohol and is not something condoned in the Australian Defence Force," he said.

Ku Klux Klan revisited

The filming of a person in a white-hooded klan outfit in the "Block 651" video recalls the notorious 2004 photograph of Australian soldiers in KKK regalia standing in front of black recruits at Townsville's Lavarack Barracks.

Black soldiers at Lavarack told investigators that their equipment had been defaced with graffiti and they had been given racist nicknames.

The Klan was a racist body notorious for lynching blacks in the US South.

If confirmed as an army party, the "Block 651" video - which has since been taken off by YouTube, possibly at the Army's request - will be the latest embarrassing glimpse of the Australian military to reach the Internet.

Footage of skylarking Australian soldiers recklessly pointing guns at each appeared on YouTube in September and sparked an investigation and threats of sackings.

Another online video showed a soldier pointing a pistol at a fellow Digger dressed in Arab headdress.

Thousands Driven From Their Homes In Post-Electoral Violence In Timor-Leste - UN

UN News Centre – Wednesday, 15 August 2007, 2:19 pm

Post-electoral violence in Timor-Leste, including arson and rock-throwing, has reportedly driven at least 4,000 people from their homes in two eastern districts in the small South-East Asian country, forcing them to stay in the mountains or in convents, schools and compounds considered safe, according to United Nations humanitarian officials.

In Viqueque and Baucau districts, 323 houses have been reported burnt and 52 damaged since unrest erupted last week after the announcement of a new government following the June elections, which failed to produce a single outright winner, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

Several villages have been severely damaged in Watulari sub-district, while villages around Viqueque town have also been affected. The functioning of public transport and schools has been disrupted and food, water and medical supplies are becoming short on the market, OCHA added.

Road travel within and between the districts of Baucau and Viqueque remains restricted due to security concerns especially after a UN convoy was ambushed on 10 August.

UN Police (UNPol) reported today that the situation over the last 24 hours remained tense, particularly in Viqueque and Baucau districts, but that Dili, the capital, was calm.

UNPol, together with the national police and the International Stabilization Force, remains fully deployed to stop any violence in the country, which the UN helped shepherd to independence from Indonesia in 2002.

In Dili today, UNPol attended to six incidents, none of which was major. Yesterday in Dili district, there were isolated incidents of rock throwing, concentrating around the airport and Metinaro. Three people were arrested and there were no reports of injuries.

Political leaders have been travelling to the east of the country to condemn the recent violence.
Two days ago in Baucau, leaders of the former ruling party FRETILIN told supporters that local village and sub-village chiefs will be held responsible for any violence that occurs in their area. In Viqueque a high-ranking FRETILIN official met with supporters and urged them not to commit any violent acts.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Atul Khare has said the violence was “regrettably” being committed by people claiming allegiance to FRETILIN.

The UN enhanced its peacekeeping and policing roles in Timor-Leste after violence attributed to differences between eastern and western regions broke out in April and May last year, killing at least 37 people and forcing 155,000 others, 15 per cent of the population, to flee their homes.

Fretilin failing to halt ETimor violence: PM

Radio Australia - 15/08/2007, 08:03

East Timor's newly-appointed prime minister, Xanana Gusmao, says the former ruling party of Fretilin is failing to halt ongoing outbreaks of violence.

He told a gathering of district heads the politicians do not want to transmit their views to the bottom to curb the violence that arose because of their own defeat.

Mr Gusmao says he is aware several Fretilin leaders have travelled to their rural bases, but says they are not there to appease people.

Former Fretilin prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, says its leaders intend to tell their supporters to be calm. Mr Gusmao's party formed a coalition after the recent elections, holding 37 of the parliament's 65 seats. The announcement that it would form government last week triggered protests from Fretilin and sporadic violence eruped in Dili and several eastern districts where the party is strongest.

Timor: Situação continua «volátil e com violência esporádica»

Diário Digital / Lusa
15-08-2007 8:54:00

A Missão das Nações Unidas em Timor-Leste (UNMIT) informou hoje que a situação no país continua «volátil e com actos de violência esporádicos», após vários dias de tumultos públicos em vários pontos da região.

O sub-director do UNMIT, Eric Huck Gim, declarou em conferência de imprensa em Díli que a atmosfera local está tensa em Baucau e Viqueque, as principais cidades da região oriental do país, e que na capital as coisas tendem a acalmar.

«Em Díli, a situação está relativamente calma, embora subsistam incidentes esporádicos de pessoas atirando pedras em zonas como o Bairro Pite, o porto, Santa Cruz e Comoro», declarou o oficial, um general de brigada de Singapura.

«Quero reiterar que a ONU apoia o direito a manifestações, mas estas devem ser realizadas de maneira pacífica e através dos canais legais adequados», afirmou.

Segundo o responsável das Nações Unidas, «alterar a vida normal do país, como incendiar escolas e edifícios públicos e privados, fazer deslocar pessoas dos seus locais de residência e comprometer a segurança de pessoas não é o caminho para levar o país para a frente».

Os distúrbios em Timor-Leste foram desencadeados no dia 13 quando o Presidente timorense, José Ramos Horta, designou como primeiro-ministro Xanana Gusmão, do Conselho Nacional para a Reconstrução do Timor Leste (CNRT), e não o candidato da Fretilin, o partido vencedor das eleições de 30 de Junho passado.

Xanana Gusmão dirige uma coalição de quatro formações políticas que controla 37 dos 65 lugares do novo parlamento de câmara única, enquanto que a Fretilin, embora vencedora nas eleições, apenas obteve 21 deputados.

Timor-Leste atravessa uma crise política desde Abril de 2006.

In bid to halt post-election violence in Timor-Leste, UN convenes party leaders

UN News Centre

10 August 2007 – In an effort to end political violence in Timor-Leste, the top United Nations envoy in the small South-East Asian country today brought all political parties together at a meeting where he underscored their earlier agreement to ensure a meaningful role for the opposition and for the opposition to make constructive contributions to parliament.

The 16 party leaders strongly condemned the violence, which has included the burning of houses and government buildings, the vandalizing of schools and the stoning of cars. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Atul Khare voiced satisfaction that the former governing party FRETILIN clearly reiterated that it would not abandon the parliament.

Mr. Khare has said the violence, which erupted after the announcement of a new Government on Monday, was “regrettably” being committed by people who claim an allegiance to FRETILIN.

He pledged UN support for government efforts to ensure that the security situation improves and that humanitarian aid is provided to mitigate the effects of the violence in the eastern districts of the country, which the world body helped shepherd to independence from Indonesia in 2002.

UN police officers and their international and national counterparts have been fully deployed to try to end the violence following the announcement of the new Government led by former president Xanana Gusmão.

Today’s meeting was the seventh convened by the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) with the aim of providing a space for frank and honest exchanges of information between all the parties that contested the 30 June parliamentary elections, which failed to produce a single outright winner. The party leaders stated that violence should not be used as a mechanism to voice discontent about the formation of the new Government, Mr. Khare noted.

UN police reported that the security situation remained volatile, particularly in Viqueque and Baucau districts to the east of Dili, the capital. They confirmed that 142 houses had been burnt in the two districts since the unrest began. Yesterday in Viqueque there were numerous cases of arson, fighting, stone throwing, and illegal road blocks. In Baucau, there were also several cases of arson and stone throwing. Police made four arrests.

In Dili yesterday, there were several reports of rock throwing and fighting, most of which occurred at night. Police arrested 17 people over the course of the day.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today voiced strong condemnation of the vandalization of schools, learning spaces, and play areas in recent days. “UNICEF is absolutely concerned that children are once again the ones who suffer,” the agency’s country representative Shui-Meng Ng said.

“We urge the adults to consider the future of all their children before they continue their destruction of public properties and create further unrest. Without a safe environment, and without proper classrooms or learning spaces, all your children will be adversely impacted.”

The UN enhanced its peacekeeping and policing roles in Timor-Leste after violence attributed to differences between eastern and western regions broke out in April and May last year, killing at least 37 people and forcing 155,000 others, 15 per cent of the population, to flee their homes.

Guiné-Bissau: Partidos do governo solidarizam-se com Fretilin

Diário Digital / Lusa 14-08-2007 18:22:00

Os três partidos que integram a coligação do governo da Guiné-Bissau manifestaram-se hoje solidários com o povo de Timor-Leste e a Fretilin, vencedora das eleições legislativas mas «preterida» da governação do país.

A posição vem expressa em comunicado divulgado no final de uma reunião de líderes do Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC), Partido da Renovação Social (PRS) e Partido Unido Social Democrata (PUSD), as três forças políticas que integram o Pacto de Estabilidade, instrumento de sustentação do governo guineense.

No comunicado, os três partidos manifestam solidariedade para com «um país irmão», esperando que o posicionamento do governo da Guiné-Bissau possa ajudar o «martirizado povo» a encontrar uma solução «airosa e digna» para o problema criado com as eleições.
Em relação à decisão do Presidente da República de Timor-Leste, José Ramos-Horta, de entregar a governação à coligação parlamentar liderada por Xanana Gusmão, os partidos no poder em Bissau afirmam que tal constitui «deixar de lado a vontade» do povo maubere.

A votação verificada nas últimas eleições legislativas de Timor-Leste «reflecte a vontade suprema de uma maioria do povo irmão de Timor» onde o partido vendedor «foi preterido do poder», lê-se ainda no comunicado.

De acordo com os responsáveis dos três principais partidos guineenses, a decisão do Presidente Ramos-Horta está a criar já «alguma instabilidade e perturbação» em Timor-Leste, levando-os a tomar posição por um «sentimento de solidariedade».

Na nota, os três partidos guineenses lembram que têm o dever de manifestar a sua preocupação face à situação em Timor-Leste também pelo facto de a Guiné-Bissau estar a presidir à Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP).

A CPLP integra oito países lusófonos: Angola, Brasil, Cabo Verde, Guiné-Bissau, Moçambique, São Tomé e Príncipe, Portugal e Timor-Leste.