East Timor

The Australian Magazine - Saturday, August 25, 2007

By Sian Powell

Erica de Araujo was a baby when she escaped from a burning Dili in her mother's arms. Eight years after the country won independence, Sian Powell treks into the hills of East Timor to find the girl she first met in 1999. She discovers a family doing it tough - living in a dirt-floor hut, with barely enough to eat - but proud, resilient, and clinging to hope for their young nation.

Erica de Araujo was born into the smoky chaos of battle in August 1999, two weeks before East Timor finally voted for independence and an end to 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation. She first drew breath in a dirt-floor shack in the capital, Dili, in a slum where clouds of mosquitoes clotted the warm air and the sound of gunfire crackled through the night. In the week she was born, a mound of pink blossoms was left in the dirt road near the shack - marking the place where a teenage neighbour was shot dead, one of thousands to die in East Timor's dogged fight for freedom.

Erica is the daughter of East Timor's independence - now eight years old, living free and without fear in the quiet hills of the hinterland; a little malnourished, a bit tattered, but boundlessly optimistic. Violence has sporadically broken out in her homeland since independence, erupting again after a new coalition government was installed earlier this month. Yet Erica's family believes the new administration is a bright sign for the future, and life will begin to improve.

I first met Erica's mother, Filomena Correa, in the shambles of Dili before the momentous independence vote on August 30, 1999. Breastfeeding Erica as the militias burned houses, murdered activists and spread terror, Filomena was endlessly stoic. She had no food and no money; her husband was away in the hills with the rebel army. Every now and then she waited for a lull in the havoc and trudged across town to beg from the nuns in Balide, tugging three small children along with her. She shared a tin-roofed, two-room shack with her brother, and her bed (a wooden pallet) with all her children. Her life was an endless battle against hunger, sleeplessness and fear. Yet she believed the long and bloody struggle for independence had been worth it. "I want independence," she said then. "I want a peaceful life for my children."

These days, as she struggles to raise her children in an isolated village, Filomena is philosophical about the future. She had high expectations of East Timor's hard-won freedom, but now, instead, she has a long list of grievances, from disintegrating roads to poor prices for the coffee her family grows. Yet she smiles as she picks up her new baby, smoothes down a daughter's dress and talks about the children's schooling. Some things, at least, are much better than they were in the dark days of 1999. "There's no violence here [in this village] now," she says, "and we are free."

East Timor's struggle for liberty was seemingly a stark case of good versus evil - an oppressed but dignified people standing up to a massive and brutal invader - and Australia's emotional backing for the East Timorese was huge. We were outraged when Indonesian troops and their militia proxies ran amok after the independence vote, wrecking whole towns, raping, beating and killing as many as 1400 East Timorese. We sent troops into the tiny half-island, and donations flooded across the Timor Sea. A full-throated Australian roar greeted the tiny East Timorese team marching in the Sydney Olympics' opening ceremony.

*Now, though, after years of struggling with fledgling institutions, tyro ministers and grinding poverty, East Timor seems to be back on the skids. Barely recovered from the bloody fighting over army sackings that spilled on to the streets of the capital last year, Dili is again racked by spasms of violence - tragically, once more, East Timorese fighting East Timorese. Heavily armed Australian soldiers patrol Dili's streets, the UN lives behind coiled razor wire at Obrigado Barracks, and the young country has come perilously close to being relegated to the ranks of failed states.

Despite all the problems, the East Timorese passion for democracy has to be admired. Almost eight in 10 registered voters cast a ballot in the presidential elections earlier this year; the June parliamentary campaign went off smoothly and reasonably peacefully until the appointment of a new government prompted another wave of house-burnings and rock-throwing.

Still, after the terror of 1999, it seems a time of comparative peace - especially in the outlying districts. Erica lives in the village of Manusae, in the high hills south of Dili. It's a four-hour drive from the capital over appalling roads, rivers and, in certain places, boulders; the last leg of the journey is on foot along a steep, difficult track.

No public buses or private cars (other than four-wheel-drives) can get anywhere near the village. If the people of Manusae want to see a doctor, or a police officer, or a government official, they walk the three hours into the district capital of Ermera. Julio Boromeo, Erica's father, said the photographer and I were the first Westerners to visit his house, and certainly one toddler roared with terror (and kept roaring for some time) simply at the sight of our white faces.

Manusae is a sleepy, coffee-growing village, with a school, a little church and bamboo huts set on steep inclines divided by grassy paths. The children are scrawny and small by Australian standards, all knees and elbows, but they are remarkably independent - five-year-olds can be seen trotting along mountain paths alone.

There is no electricity, so it's quiet - no TV, no radios, no machines, no subdued hum of 21st-century Western living. Coffee is processed in a water mill after it has been laid out to dry on tarps, firewood is chopped with axes, and clothes are washed by hand.

Late in 1999, Boromeo and his wife and five small children (including Erica, then a babe in arms) straggled back into Manusae after the Indonesians had finally left East Timor, the local Darah Merah militia had dispersed and the village was more or less safe again. But the family's wood-and-tin house had been completely wrecked and everything they owned had been taken by the Indonesian military.

Boromeo had fought with Falantil, East Timor's rebel army, on and off for eight years, and he'd been in the jungle on a clandestine mission in May 1999 when the pro-Indonesia militia came to Manusae. They threatened and punched Filomena - then six months pregnant with Erica - and rested a rifle on her shoulder, pretending to shoot at her neighbours.

Terrified, she gathered a few belongings and three of her children, and ran. (Her other daughter, Florinda, aged 10, was staying with her crippled grandfather in another village, where she remained until the end of 1999.) Filomena and the children walked for hours into Ermera, and from there took a bus to the relative safety of Dili. Three months later, on August 30, 1999, along with hundreds of thousands of her compatriots, Filomena dressed in her best and lined up to vote for a new life for her country.

A week after the ballot, she fled again - this time running away from Dili, carrying baby Erica and dragging the children up into the hills of Dare, south of the capital, to huddle with thousands of others fleeing Indonesia's fury. It was September5, the day after the ballot result was announced. Almost 80 per cent of voters had chosen independence rather than autonomy within Indonesia and the military was outraged. After 24 years of occupation, they were not leaving East Timor without a last, bitter burst of rage.

Filomena could see the smoke rising from the burning city as she and her children struggled up into the hills. In Dare, she hid the children under the bushes in a coffee plantation, where they slept on the ground for three weeks, eating begged cassava (a root vegetable), corn and a little rice, sometimes cooked, more often raw, waiting for the international forces to arrive.

* Two years later, in 2001, Boromeo joined East Timor's new army - only to become one of the hundreds of "petitioners", the soldiers who deserted because their claims of discrimination were not heard. Boromeo, from Ermera district, is a "westerner" and he believes the army's leaders preferred easterners for promotion. The petitioners went on strike and were finally dismissed by the army chief last year, helping to precipitate the violence that killed 37 and left 30,000 East Timorese sheltering in refugee camps for months.

Now, like so many East Timorese, he and his family await better times. Although grateful that his children can go to school, and that there is enough (just) to eat, Boromeo is poor. There are no books, toys, dolls or games in the family home. Erica carries her younger brother, three-year-old Jaimito, around on her hip, and occasionally, for fun, climbs trees - "She's very naughty," says her mother. A 16-year-old girl, Clara, helps Filomena with the housework in return for her meals.

Most East Timorese rely on subsistence agriculture and byWestern standards they do it tough. Recent statistics are hardto come by, but according to figures published by UNICEF the life expectancy in 2003 was just 50 years; in 2002, only 52 per cent of East Timorese had access to safe water and 33 per cent had adequate sanitation facilities. In 2003, more than one in 10 children died before they reached the age of five. East Timor is still one of the poorest nations in the world, regardless of the oil wealth pouring into the country.

Analysts say Mari Alkatiri, the first prime minister, governed almost single-handedly and one of the reasons only half the budget was spent each year was because his signature was required on everything. Even now, East Timor has no real functioning systems of bureaucracy - money often isn't spent because no one is prepared to make a decision.

Before independence, Indonesia propped up East Timor's economy with a bloated civil service employing 22,000 (there are now about 12,000) and rivers of subsidised fuel. Yet, in avoiding Indonesia's excesses, the Government embraced very cautious (many think too cautious) spending on welfare, with Alkatiri determined to avoid the "dependence mentality".

Not that Julio Boromeo has a dependence mentality. He rebuilt his ruined house in a month, without help from government, aid agencies or the church. On the spur of a hill, looking across valleys to the mountains, it has bamboo walls, an iron roof, a packedearth floor and corrugated-iron doors. Filomena cooks over an open fire, and a couple of plastic tubs serve for washing. Coffee is grown on a hectare of ground down the hill, and once it's harvested, Boromeo hauls it into Ermera on his back – a six-hour trek there and back.

*Life is tough, and it's about to get tougher for many people. A locust plague and the drought has cut East Timor's harvest by as much as 30 per cent, according to the World Food Program, which estimates as much as a fifth of the population will need food assistance before the year ends.

In the Boromeo household, protein is a rare delight. The children eat mostly cassava, rice and sweet potato. "There was one chicken, we just ate it," says Filomena, gesturing to the feast she'd prepared in honour of her sister's visit. "And there's cassava in the garden."

Despite the poverty, education is a strong suit. All Filomena's school-aged children, barring 16-year-old Rojina, who was married in March, are busily getting an education. Even the oldest child, 17-year-old Florinda, lives with her grandmother in Dili so she can finish high school. Of the children born after the family made it back to Manusae late in 1999, one year-old Elefino and three-year-old Jaimito are obviously too young for school, and Maria Agama, five, will start this year.

Education is now free in East Timor, and Erica goes to the village school along with 40 other children. Their teacher is East Timorese, and they are supposed to be learning Portuguese (which the Government decided to adopt as an official language, despite the paucity of Portuguese speakers). Erica speaks only Tetum - East Timor's native tongue. But squinting, and holding the notebook a few centimetres from her face, she can write her name - slowly, a wobbly word appears.

"She's not fluent yet - she's only young," her mother says, smiling and smoothing Erica's hair.

East Timor is doing well schooling its children. According to a comprehensive poverty report published in 2003 by the Government, the World Bank and UN agencies, among others (Poverty in a New Nation: Analysis for Action), school participation rates increased dramatically after East Timor tore itself away from Indonesia, with eight in 10 children between the ages of 12 and 15 enrolled in a school by 2001. There is a lot of ground to make up. Almost half of East Timor's population is under 15, and the adult population is poorly educated - almost three-quarters of those over 30 have never been to school.

Filomena, though, can read and write and speak Indonesian and, like so many East Timorese, she will make great sacrifices to ensure her children get an education. "I want her to go to school," she says of Erica. "After she's finished here, maybe she can go to Dili [for further education]." Erica, too, has caught the bug - she wants to keep on learning, and go to university. "I want to be a doctor," she whispers.

Yet with the nation still in crisis, the little girl's future is less sure than it should be. The East Timorese army did battle with the East Timorese police last year, and a UN investigation into the violence blamed senior members of the former government, even questioning the then prime minister's role in the conflict.

One of the troublemakers was once the commander of East Timor's military police, Alfredo Reinado, who was jailed but then escaped. After spectacularly evading the Australian SAS's attempts to catch him, Reinado is now apparently willing to deal with the new Government - but there are many who believe any pardon would foster a climate of impunity, just as the previous government's attempts to offer an amnesty for the 2006 violence eroded the faltering East Timorese faith in the justice system.

There is a picture of Reinado tacked on the Boromeo family's wall. He is holding two huge, crossed guns, and looks like a desperado. "He's still in the jungle; he's a dangerous man," Boromeo says, with some satisfaction. As a former soldier, and one with a grievance, he has some sympathy for Reinado, although he deplores the violence that has brought East Timor to its knees.

"A year ago there was a crisis," he says. "We're already independent, but for a year there was violence, and it hasn't ended. If there's no progress, as with the last government, it will continue. We've been independent for more than five years, but there's been no progress here in East Timor."

Indeed, many would say that East Timor has slipped backwards towards anarchy and insurrection. As many as 100,000 people have been forced from their homes, and 30,000 - most from the east of the country - now live in camps near Dili.

The refugees' resentment is palpable. In a frightening echo of Palestinian violence, boys and young men throw rocks at cars, any cars, in Dili, simply for the wanton thrill of destruction. In March, 95 UN vehicles were stoned, and even ordinary taxis and minibuses are not immune. Vertiginous unemployment - as high as 50 per cent in the capital - has fuelled the fury and led many to join the warring gangs of kids who rampage around the city.

The east-west divide deepened after then president (now Prime Minister) Xanana Gusmao spoke of it publicly. Yet the rumblings could have been quelled early if the police and army were strong institutions. It is now widely accepted that the UN left East Timor too early (pushed by Australia and the US to wind down the mission). The UN mission's spokeswoman in East Timor, Allison Cooper, argues there has been progress in the formation of state structures, but "the expectation of an immediate independence dividend creates problems".

This frustration slashed support for the dominant Fretilin party in the June elections. Violence erupted because although Fretilin won the most seats in Parliament, it couldn't form a coalition to govern. After eight years of waiting, people asked: where was the good life?

* The Boromeos are quietly devout Catholics and they supported the Democrat party, which espouses family values. They have high hopes for the new Prime Minister, resistance hero Gusmao. "He's an intellectual," says Boromeo, who, despite the scarcity of media in Manusae, remains remarkably well informed, perhaps because his brother works as a police officer in the regional hub of Gleno and makes the long trek home to the village once or twice a week. "The most important thing is the leaders stay honest," he says. "For the people of East Timor it's very serious. Nepotism and collusion, it still happens. We need schools, we need doctors, we need our health. Everything is still homemade, we're still hungry, there's no buildings."

Filomena is quick to agree, adding that each year, as the roads disintegrate further, Manusae becomes increasingly isolated. "It's more difficult, there's nothing here," she says. "Cars can't get here because the roads are so bad."

A very small and very dirty puppy scrabbles on the earth floor, and Filomena apologises because her children's clothes are dirty. But the photographer and I had arrived without warning - with no phones and no postal service, communication in rural areas is near impossible.

The fog comes down without warning in these hills, blanketing the twisting, crumbling roads and adding to the sense of isolation. "Minibuses don't come here," Filomena says. "In Indonesian times, cars could come here." Any emergency could prove fatal. As if to provide a warning, there is a tiny grave in the backyard; a Boromeo daughter died in the late '90s, when the roads were good, but the Indonesian military was waging war on the East Timorese. Boromeo couldn't get the feverish child to a doctor; her fever slowly worsened and she finally died.

Health services are still practically non-existent. None of the Boromeo children are vaccinated and the three born since the family's return to Manusae - Maria Agama, Jaimito and Elefino - all arrived in the bamboo shack with no medical assistance at all and only their father's helping hands to welcome them into the world.

*Virgilio Guterres, who until last year was the director of the national radio and TV broadcaster, says the plight of ordinary East Timorese is appalling. "Last year was a very hard time," he says. "Many people feel desperate. East Timorese fighting each other; it's the worst time in our history. In 1999, we had a real enemy. But now it's between brothers."

Yet despite the huge difficulties - the unemployment, the gangs, the refugees, the slumping harvest, the violence – Guterres remains hopeful that East Timor will haul itself out of the mire. "I must be optimistic. Despite the problems we face, I'm still optimistic. With the freedom we have, we can solve the problems."

Julio Boromeo, too, looks forward to a brighter future. He has a very affectionate family, and both he and Filomena keep an eye on the children to make sure no one has been left out. "Jaimito hasn't got a lollipop," says his father, as the little boy hangs back, frightened of the sweets-bearing foreigners. The children lean on the adults, sit on them, touch them. If the baby cries he is immediately picked up and swung on to a hip - either his mother's or one of his sisters'.

There is a crucifix on the wall of the small reception room, which is furnished with a table and chairs almost too narrow for ample Australian bottoms. A big machete lies on the table – East Timor's all-purpose tool. A broken boombox sits on a shelf, and a mirror tilts crazily.

On another wall is a photo of a wedding. Filomena points to the stout, older woman, the mother of the groom. It's her sister, Ermelinda de Araujo, who left for Australia as Indonesia occupied East Timor in 1975. She now lives in Sydney somewhere, but with no postal service, no radio, and no telephones in Manusae, maintaining contact is almost impossible. Ermelinda has visited Dili once, but she has never made it as far as Manusae.

It is easy to forget those who live in the quiet and isolated hills of East Timor. Yet the battling East Timorese will soldier on, with or without assistance, in the hope of a better life for themselves and their children.

What does Julio Boromeo hope the future brings? "Peace," he says, nodding slowly. "Peace."

- Sian Powell is a senior writer on The Australian and was formerly the newspaper's Indonesia correspondent.

PRESIDENTE EXIGE PEDIDO DE DESCULPAS DO FORUM DOS EMPRESÁRIOS

Tradução da Margarida:

COMUNICADO AOS MEDIA
Dili, 24 Agosto 2007

O Presidente da República exigiu um pedido público e pessoal de desculpas do Forum dos Empresários de Timor-Leste - FETL pela declaração insultuosa publicada no jornal Diário em 20 de Agosto de 2007, e assinada pelos líderes da organização, Julio Alfaro, Oscar Lima e Frankelino Castro.

A declaração dizia que em parte a objecção do Presidente para o pedido do Sr Alfaro de dar preferência aos comerciantes locais em detrimento dos investidores estrangeiros cá, dá a impressão que “o Presidente é o Presidente dos estrangeiros em vez de ser o Presidente de Timor-Leste.”

Esta declaração é um insulto e um desrespeito para o Chefe do Estado mas também pessoal para o Dr José Ramos-Horta, que tem mais do que ninguém ajudado os comerciantes locais e tem promovido Timor-Leste aos investidores através do mundo.

O Sr Júlio Alfaro tinha pedido ao Presidente durante um encontro com empreendedores Timorenses e internacionais realizado no Memorial Hall na Quinta-feira, 16 de Agosto, que “os projectos do Estado financiados com dinheiro do governo sejam oferecidos exclusivamente a companhias Timorenses.” Escandalosamente o Sr. Alfaro, como exemplo, visou especificamente os cidadãos de um país amigo.

Assim com razão o Presidente rejeitou o apelo do Sr. Alfaro para excluir comerciantes estrangeiros de certos projectos em Timor-Leste. “Enquanto for Presidente de Timor-Leste não aceitarei qualquer tentativa de Timorenses, do governo ou do sector privado para discriminar contra estrangeiros,” disse o Presidente.

“Apelo ao Parlamento Nacional e ao Governo para nem sequer sonharem em introduzir medidas discriminatórias. O que o Sr Alafro disse é muito perigoso dado que pode levar a começar a acusar estrangeiros se perderem um contrato para um projecto. Isso aconteceu no regime de Soeharto – ele discriminou contra os Chineses, e isso aconteceu no Uganda, onde sob Idi Amin perseguiram os Indianos e expulsaram centenas de milhares do dia para a noite. Isso não acontecerá cá.”
O Presidente estava particularmente preocupado quando entre outros comentários racistas, o Sr. Júlio Alfaro disse que não queria que Timor-Leste fosse como outros países da África onde os “Indianos” se tornam ricos enquanto os locais continuam pobres.

O Presidente reagiu e disse que muitas vezes “governantes incompetentes e corruptos em África e na Ásia fazem acusações demagógicas contra grupos particulares para esconder a sua própria incompetência e má governação.”

“Quero dizer ao Sr Alfaro que se os empresários locais querem ter sucesso , o governo ajudá-los-à a serem mais profissionais, mais competitivos, mas que eles têm de trabalhar no duro. Mas discriminar contra investidores estrangeiros, absolutamente não. É completamente inaceitável,” disse o Presidente.

O Presidente urgiu a todos os investidores estrangeiros em Timor-Leste a resignarem do Forum dos Empresários de Timor-Leste – FETL. –Fim.

PRESIDENT DEMANDS APOLOGY FROM FORUM DOS EMPRESÁRIOS

MEDIA RELEASE
Dili, 24 Agustu 2007

H.E. the President of the Republic has demanded a public and personal apology from the Forum dos Empresários de Timor-Leste - FETL (Timor-Leste Business Forum) for the insultuous statement published in the newspaper Diário on August 20, 2007, and signed by the leaders of that organization, Julio Alfaro, Oscar Lima and Frankelino Castro.

The statement said in part that the objection of H.E. the President to the request by Mr Alfaro to give preference to local businesses in detriment of foreign investors here, gives the impression that “the President is the President for foreigners instead of the Presidente of Timor-Leste.”

This statement is an insult to and disrespectful of the Head of State but also personally to Dr José Ramos-Horta, who more than anybody else has helped local businesses and has promoted Timor-Leste to investors throughout the world.

Mr Julio Alfaro had asked H.E. the President during a meeting with Timorese and international entrepreneurs held at Memorial Hall on Thursday, August 16, that “State projects funded by government money be offered exclusively to Timorese companies.” Outrageously Mr. Alfaro, as an example, targeted specifically the citizens of a friendly country.

Rightly so H.E. the President rejected Mr. Alfaro’s call to exclude foreign businesses from certain projects in Timor-Leste. “While I’m President of Timor-Leste I will not accept any attempt by Timorese, the government or the private sector to discriminate against foreigners,” the President said.

“I will urge National Parliament and the Government not to even dream about introducing such discriminatory measure. What Mr Alafro said is very dangerous as it can lead to some starting to blame foreigners if they loose a contract for a project. It happen in the Soeharto regime – he discriminated against the Chinese, and it happened in Uganda, where under Idi Amin they persecuted Indians and expelled hundreds of thousands overnight. It will not happen here.”
The President was particularly upset when Mr. Julio Alfaro said among other racist comments that he did not want Timor-Leste to be like countries in Africa where “Indians” become rich while locals remain poor.

The President reacted and said often “incompetent and corrupt rulers in Africa and Asia make demagogic accusations against particular groups to cover up for their own incompetence and misrule.”

“I want to tell Mr Alfaro that if the local entrepreneurs want to succeed, the government will help them to be more professional, more competitive, but they have to work hard. But discriminating against foreign investors absolutely not. It is completely unacceptable,” H.E. the President said.

H.E. the President has urged all foreign investors in Timor-Leste to resign from the Forum dos Empresários de Timor-Leste – FETL. –ends.

Mais uma hipótese...

No Banco Mundial?...

Perguntas indiscretas...

Onde está o programa do Governo (que não o apresentou na campanha eleitoral porque ainda não o tinham)?

Numa secretária em Camberra ou na UNMIT?...

Autralianos acusados de crimes de guerra

Tradução da Margarida:


AAP – Agosto 24, 2007 12:15pm
Por Max Blenkin

O amotinado Timorense Alfredo Reinado acusou tropas Australianas de partirem os pescoços de dois homens feridos e de terem matado civis num ataque ao seu esconderijo.

A Defesa rejeitou hoje as queixas.

As queixas de Reinado emergiram numa reportagem na edição da revista Time.

Reinado acusou os soldados Australianos de matarem a tiro um dos seus apoiantes armados quando ele pedia tréguas, de mataram dois civis desarmados e de partirem os pescoços a dois homens feridos em 4 de Março.

"A maneira como fazem operaçõoes é como se fossemos animais ou inimigos," disse no artigo. "Vieram ensinar-nos sobre a Convenção de Genebra. São eles que não a respeitam."

Reinado, um antigo major das forças armadas Timorenses, liderou o motim contra o governo da Fretilin o ano passado que desencadeou a violência alargada e levou ao regresso das tropas Australianas.
O porta-voz da Defesa Brigadeiro Andrew Nikolic disse que soldados Australianos mataram a tiro cinco apoiantes armados de Reinado no ataque na vila de Same, 110 km a sul de Dili, em 4 de Março.

"A Defesa conduziu uma investigação pós-operação sobre a operação de Same de acordo com os procedimentos normais . Essa investigação concluiu que o pessoal Australiano actuou em auto-defesa quando alvejado por membros do grupo de Reinado," disse.

As queixas de Reinado não reflectem com exactidão o que aconteceu, disse.

"Nas primeiras horas de 4 Março 2007 durante um confronto com apoiantes armados de Alfredo Reinado, soldados Australianos actuaram em auto-defesa e devolveram fogo, resultando nas mortes de cinco dos homens de Reinado," disse.

"Num segundo incidente em 4 Março 2007, a Defesa pode confirmar que um homem Timorense, detido por suspeita de associação com o grupo de Reinado, escapou. Nem este homem, nem nenhum detido, nacional Timorense, civil não identificado ou pessoa da ADF foi ferido ou morto em resultado deste incidente."

Brig. Nikolic disse que autoridades Timorenses, incluindo o Srrviço do Ministério Público, tinham revisto os incidentes e decidiram não conduzir mais investigações.

Autópsias dos cinco mortos confirmaram que nenhum tinha o pescoço partido.

Brig. Nikolic disse que Reinado era um criminoso foragido do sistema de justiça Timorense que tinha ameaçado as tropas Australianas.

Num separado, mais recente incidente, um oficial junior enfrenta possível acção disciplinar sobre o arrancar de três bandeiras da Fretilin por tropas Australianas.

Isso esteve perto de desencadear um incidente diplomático sério, desencadeando pedidos de desculpas dos envolvidos e a expressão pública de lamento do Brigadeiro John Hutcheson, comandante da Força Internacional de Estabilização liderada pelos Australianos .

Brig. Nikolic disse que uma patrulha Australiana tirou as três bandeiras quando passavam através da vila de Bercoli no caminho de Viqueque para Baucau em 18 de Agosto.

Foram recuperadas e devolvidas com pedidos de desculpas.

"As acções do pequeno número de soldados da Força Internacional de estabilização envolvidos na retirada das bandeiras foi inadequada e insensível culturalmente," disse Brig. Nikolic.

Nota de Rodapé:

Reinado lá sabe dos métodos do exército australiano, por quem foi treinado na Austrália.

Dos Leitores

Tradução da Margarida:

Comentário na sua mensagem "Defence Rejects Unfounded Timor Allegations":

Carar Maukita Gagita,

Lamento muito dizer-lhe que isto é verdade, não foi propaganda lançada por alguém. Eu estava a viver em Timor-Leste nessa altura, o comportamento da ADF foi desgraçado, iam aos bairos em toda a cidade, fazendo afirmações como estas, estava constantemente a receber telefonemas porque a ADF andava a causar problemas a pessoas que era sabido apoiavam a Fretilin. De facto eu fiz um relatório sobre direitos humanos sobre a ADF. Tenho também relatos deles dizerem a pessos nos distritos do leste para mudarem a sua lealdade em 2006. - Não sou membro da Fretilin estou apenas interessada na verdade.

Quando ao facto de Lu-Olo e Alkatiri terem participado na chamada das tropas internacionais, eles foram forçados por Xanana a enviar as F-FDTL de volta para os quartéis e a polícia tinha desertado, não tiveram escolha senão acordar em chamar ajuda do exterior, o que na minha opinião foi um erro grave dado que a Austrália estava à espera no horizonte para voltar a pôr os pés em Timor-Leste.

O facto é que a ADF nada fez para acalmar a violência, estavam parados a observar as casas a arder e virar pessoas a serem atacadas até haver muitas queixas contra o comportamento deles, e o facto de o muitíssimo maior número de deslocados ser da região leste, que é percebida ser aquela onde a Fretilin tem o maior apoio, apesar de obviamente ter membros em muitos dos distritos do oeste fala por si. Também alguns apoiantes da Fretilin dos distritos do oeste tiveram as casas queimadas.

Lidia Tindle

lidia.tindle@googlemail.com

New unrest flares in Timor-Leste, UN police reports

UN News Centre – 23 August 2007

Fighting involving 100 to 300 people armed with machetes, steel darts and bows broke out in Timor-Leste today, almost completely destroying a market in the town of Metinaro in the latest violence following inconclusive elections two months ago, the United Nations Police (UNPOL) reported today.

Latest reports indicate that trouble flared up again in the afternoon and 10 houses and a motorcycle were set on fire. The police and the fire brigade are in attendance. Three people were arrested. The International Stabilization Force (ISF) and other police units rushed to the scene, east of Dili, the capital.

Two people were also reported to have been killed in a confrontation in Ermera, another eastern region of the small South-East Asian country that the UN helped shepherd to independence from Indonesia in 2002, but no further details were available, UNPOL said.

In Dili, UNPOL attended to eight incidents, firing tear gas to control the crowds and arresting six people. Large groups engaged in sporadic fighting in the vicinity of Surik Mas and Bairo Pite.
Separately, a fire was also reported near the Comoro roundabout, which was extinguished with only minor damage. A small fight near Bebonuk primary school was also brought under control by police.

Timor-Leste has been shaken by unrest after the formation of a new government following the June elections, which failed to produce a single outright winner.

The UN enhanced its peacekeeping and policing roles in the country last year after violence attributed to differences between eastern and western regions killed at least 37 people and forced 155,000 others, 15 per cent of the population, to flee their homes.

Diggers accused of war crimes

AAP – August 24, 2007 12:15pm
By Max Blenkin

East Timorese rebel leader Alfredo Reinado has accused Australian troops of breaking the necks of two wounded men and killing civilians in a raid on his hideout.

Defence rejected the claims today.

Reinado's claims emerged in a report in the online edition of Time magazine.

Reinado accused the Australian soldiers of shooting dead one of his armed supporters while he was asking for a truce, killing two unarmed civilians and breaking the necks of two wounded men, on March 4.

"The way they do operation is like we are animals or enemy," he said in the article. "They come to teach us about the Geneva Convention. They are the ones that don't respect it."

Reinado, a former East Timorese army major, led the rebellion against the Fretilin government last year which sparked widespread violence and prompted the return of Australian troops.
Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said Australian soldiers shot five armed supporters of Reinado in the raid on the village of Same, 110km south of Dili, on March 4.

"Defence has conducted a post-operation investigation regarding the Same operation in accordance with its normal processes. That investigation found that Australian personnel acted in self-defence when shot at by members of Reinado's group," he said.

Reinado's claims did not accurately reflect what happened, he said.

"In the early hours of 4 March 2007 during a confrontation with armed supporters of Alfredo Reinado, Australian soldiers acted in self-defence and returned fire resulting in the deaths of five of Reinado's men," he said.

"In a second incident on 4 March 2007, Defence can confirm that a Timorese man, detained on suspicion of association with the Reinado group, escaped. Neither this man, nor any detainee, Timorese national, unidentified civilian or ADF person was injured or killed as a result of this incident."

Brig. Nikolic said East Timorese authorities, including the Public Prosecutions Service, had reviewed the incidents and decided not to conduct further investigations.

Autopsies of the five dead men confirmed none had a broken neck.

Brig. Nikolic said Reinado was a fugitive from the Timorese criminal justice system who had threatened Australian troops.

In a separate, more recent incident, a junior officer is facing possible disciplinary action over the souveniring of three Fretilin flags by Australian troops.

That came close to sparking a major diplomatic incident, prompting apologies from those involved and public expression of regret from Brigadier John Hutcheson, commander of the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force.

Brig. Nikolic said an Australian patrol took the three flags as they passed through the village of Bercoli on the way from Viqueque to Baucau on August 18.

They were recovered and returned with apologies.

"The actions of the small number of International Stabilisation Force soldiers involved in taking the flags were inappropriate and culturally insensitive," Brig. Nikolic said.

Nota de Rodapé:

Reinado lá sabe dos métodos do exército australiano, por quem foi treinado na Austrália.

Timor: as razões do golpe

Odiario.info Online – 24.08.07

O golpe de estado em Timor promovido pelo tandem Xanana-Horta, só possível pela presença no território timorense das forças australianas, que cada vez mais se assumem como tropa de ocupação, pretende iniciar «um ciclo de independência tutelada, em subordinação ao “poder regional”, a Austrália».
José Paulo Gascão

Quando, em 28 de Novembro de 1992, ouvi as respostas de Xanana Gusmão na entrevista que lhe estava a ser feita na cadeia pelo governador de Timor nomeado pela Indonésia, não tive dúvidas de que tinha traído a sua luta anterior, os seus ideais, os seus companheiros da guerrilha. Apesar da pouca informação disponível, foi isso mesmo que escrevi no Jornal do Fundão seguinte, em 4 de Dezembro: “e não há que escamotear a questão: um lutador, um resistente durante 17 anos, no fim meia dúzia de dias nas mãos de torcionários, não resistiu e assumiu o papel de renegado”.

A informação que havia sobre Timor era escassa e as notícias davam a prisão como uma vitória da ditadura de Suharto. Pensei que fora mais um caso infelizmente semelhante a tantos outros. Incapaz de resistir à tortura, Xanana Gusmão, o até então líder da resistência armada timorense, passara-se de armas e bagagens para o lado do até aí seu inimigo. Por isso escrevi que “a sua [de Xanana] traição não é um crime menor do regime de torcionários de Suharto – pela violência mais brutal, desrespeitando os direitos mais elementares do Homem, transformá-lo ali, à nossa frente, num renegado, é um crime sem perdão”.

Enganei-me.

Mais tarde, noticiou-se que Xanana não fora preso mas desertara, que já antes da simulação da prisão passava semanas seguidas em casa de familiares em Dili, a negociar com os representantes da Indonésia em Timor, a sua vida futura. As suas condições na prisão, cumulado de mordomias e com um regime prisional inimaginável para um preso político, quanto mais para um guerrilheiro, tornaram ilegítimas quaisquer dúvidas.

Apesar do profundo golpe sofrido, a Fretilin e o povo timorense continuaram a sua luta, sempre ignorada pelos media, contra a ocupação Indonésia.

Se o massacre de Santa Cruz em 12 de Novembro de 1991 catapultou a luta do povo timorense para as primeiras páginas dos jornais, os heróis promovidos foram Xanana e Ramos Horta, ambos ausentes de Timor.

Ramos Horta, mais polido, sem o discurso sonolento e embrulhado de Xanana, sempre se moveu muito bem junto dos lobbys norte-americanos e mostrou saber conviver com o poder australiano. Daí não surpreender, nas negociações sobre o petróleo com a Austrália, a sua persistência na apresentação de três propostas todas elas “do agrado Howard Downer [Primeiro-Ministro australiano], mas cujo resultado era a diminuição dos recebimentos para o seu país”. (1)

Se em 2006 Timor recebeu já alguns milhões de dólares, proveniente de petróleo que havia sido explorado pela Austrália, a partir de 2007 os montantes vão crescer de forma considerável.
Enquanto o governo da Fretilin presidido por Mari Alkatiri tinha aprovado bases rigorosas, unanimemente reconhecidas como a melhor prática internacional e um meio transparente para a gestão das receitas nacionais do petróleo, Xanana Gusmão já em 2006 propunha “acabar(-se) com o controlo na utilização dos recebimentos do petróleo”.

Mas este golpe iniciado com o apoio de Xanana ao golpista Alfredo Reinaldo e a exigência do pedido de demissão do Primeiro-Ministro Mari Alkatiri, logo secundado por Ramos Horta, então ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros, não seria possível sem o apoio claro da Austrália.

Em 9 de Junho de 2006, Howard, Primeiro-Ministro da Austrália, começou por afirmar, numa clara e inadmissível ingerência nos assuntos internos de Timor que o problema era uma “governabilidade pobre”. Dois dias depois, a 11 de Junho, interrogado sobre o que pensava a Austrália fazer respondeu: ”Estamos num caminho difícil de percorrer. Por um lado queremos ajudar, somos o poder regional, estamos em posição de fazê-lo. Temos a responsabilidade de ajudar, mas quero respeitar a independência dos timorenses. Por outro lado, eles devem desempenhar essa independência ou assumir a responsabilidade dessa independência com mais eficácia do que a têm tido nos últimos anos”…

A sintonia entre o tandem Xanana-Horta e o governo australiano era tão perfeita que Ramos Horta, então ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros do governo presidido por Mari Alkatiri, à saída da inconclusiva reunião do Conselho de Estado em plena crise, logo completou a insinuação e o desejo do Primeiro–Ministro Australiano: “ o que agora é necessário é uma solução da actual crise política, o que implica, obviamente, que o Primeiro-Ministro vá no sentido que muita gente quer e se demita”.

Mas se Ramos Horta sabia o que fazia e dizia, Xanana apresentava provas de correr por conta alheia, chegando ao ponto de permitir, numa manifestação clara de que sabia quem mandava, que a mulher, uma australiana sem qualquer cargo em Timor, fosse à rádio nacional fazer uma declaração patética em seu nome!

A 26 de Junho, 15 dias depois da declaração da ingerência, Mari Alkatiri sai do governo, não sem antes denunciar que estava em curso um golpe de estado, o que agora se pretende consumar com o afastamento da Fretilin de todos os cargos de Estado, ao arrepio das regras constitucionais.

Ramos Horta, ao afastar inconstitucionalmente a Fretilin da indigitação do Primeiro-Ministro, que “avançou desde início com um Governo de Grande Inclusão”, como ele próprio havia proposto após as eleições, pretende concluir o golpe de estado iniciado há ano e meio, e dar início a um ciclo de independência tutelada, em subordinação ao “poder regional”.

(1) Tim Anderson, Professor de Política Económica da Universidade de Sydney, Independência: Eleições em Timor Leste, in Sinpermiso

Timor-Leste: Presidente reúne com Reinado

Correio da Manhã – 24 de Agosto de 2007

Patrulha da GNR prende desordeiros
F. J. Gonçalves

A força da GNR ao serviço em Timor-Leste controlou ontem distúrbios em Metinaro, localidade a 25 km de Díli, realizando a detenção de três jovens com idades entre 18 e 20 anos.

Fontes em Timor afirmaram ao Correio da Manhã que grupos de jovens rivais envolveram-se em batalhas, disparando setas e lanças. Algumas casas foram incendiadas durante os distúrbios mas não há vítimas a lamentar.

Os militares da GNR, chamados ao local pelas nove horas da manhã, foram atacados, mas controlaram a situação e fizeram uma primeira detenção. As restantes aconteceram ao início da tarde, quando a violência se reacendeu na localidade.

Aproveitando a actual situação de concórdia, o presidente José Ramos-Horta encontrou-se com o major rebelde Alfredo Reinado para negociar a sua rendição. Durante o encontro, realizado no domingo, ambas as partes “manifestaram apoio a um processo de diálogo”, afirmou o Centro para o Diálogo Humanitário.

«Timor já não necessita de medidas de excepção»

Portugal Diário – 2007/08/24-15:05

Disse Ramos-Horta em Jacarta, onde se deslocou para discutir situação política e social do país.
O primeiro-ministro timorense, José Ramos-Horta, disse hoje no Parlamento que Timor-Leste «precisa mais de uma força policial do que uma força de paz», devido à disponibilidade da Austrália em manter-se no país até Dezembro, noticia a agência Lusa.

Ramos-Horta esteve hoje no Parlamento depois de se ter deslocado quarta -feira a Jacarta para participar num fórum da Associação das Nações do Sudeste Asiático (ASEAN).

Em Jacarta, Ramos-Horta encontrou-se com o presidente indonésio, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, e com o ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros Nur Hassan Wirajuda, a quem fez «um ponto da situação política e social» em Timor-Leste, segundo comunicado do seu gabinete.

Na sessão parlamentar, que demorou pouco mais 90 minutos, o chefe do Governo de Timor-Leste recordou que as próximas eleições devem «ser organizadas por um órgão independente que assuma também a fiscalização do acto eleitoral».

Ramos-Horta garantiu ainda aos deputados que entre o Governo e a Presidência da República «existe uma grande coordenação» e que o Conselho de Estado entendeu que não seria necessário prorrogar as medidas de excepção de segurança que tinham sido aplicadas em Maio.
O primeiro-ministro timorense aproveitou também para explicar aos deputados o processo de reactivação da Polícia Nacional e os objectivos da comissão de avaliação daquela força, já aprovada em Conselho de Ministros.

Aos deputados, Ramos-Horta garantiu ainda que o Governo está «preocupado» com a situação dos deslocados, aos quais «irá continuar a prestar assistência humanitária», ao mesmo tempo que fará o «possível para que estes regressem às suas casas antes do tempo da chuva», entre o final do ano e o início de 2007.

«O Governo irá implementar um plano de construção de habitações para os mais necessitados», disse, salientando que entre as causas da crise no país também estiveram os problemas sociais e económicos de Timor-Leste.

Nota de Rodapé:

Será que Ramos-Horta ainda pensa que é Primeiro-Ministro ou que é o porta-voz do Governo?...

Há falta de melhor...

East Timor: Fretilin says no to joining government as calm returns to capital

Dili, 24 August (AKI) - As a veneer of calm descends on East Timor after Thursday's clashes, the political tension remains high.

In an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI) Jose Texeira, an MP with the largest party, Fretilin, said that his party will not accept prime minister Xanana Gusmao's invitation to join his government.

"Fretilin will not join the government. That is for sure," he said. "We still consider the current government unconstitutional and we will have no part in it."

The daily Timor Post quoted Gusmao as saying "there will be Fretilin people sitting in the government cabinet."

The paper also cited deputy prime minister Jose Luis Guterres as saying "I know that the prime minister has sent several letters to a Fretilin leader to ask whether several party members can come into this government."

Guterres is a former Fretilin member, who led a group of defectors into Gusmao's camp prior to the election.

The alleged overture is widely seen as a gesture to appease Fretilin, who won the largest share of the vote in the June polls but was left out of government after president Jose Ramos-Horta decided to appoint Fretilin rival Gusmao as premier.

Gusmao leads a coalition of four minority parties that controls 37 of the 65 seats in parliament.

Gusmao's appointment has been labelled as unconstitutional by Fretilin, which had also said to be willing to lead a government of national unity

Fretilin secretary general, Mari Alkatiri, has stated that Ramos-Horta should have allowed Fretilin to form a minority government and then let parliament decide whether to accept its programme.

Ramos-Horta refused on the ground that it would have led to more instability.

If a government's programme is voted down twice by MPs, the president is left with little option but to dissolve the parliament and call for a new vote.

Gusmao's appointment has also led to sporadic clashes between supporters of the two fronts.

Clashes were reported in several parts of the country on Thursday and two people have been confirmed dead.

Sources in Dili however reported the situation was calmer on Friday at least in the capital, where international peacekeepers and UN police are patrolling the territory.

The UN enhanced its peacekeeping and policing roles in the country last year after clashes broadly between ethnic groups from the east and west of the country killed at least 37 people and forced 150,000 others to flee their homes.

Fretilin lately gained the lion share of its vote in the three eastern districts, where it is now seen as the defender of easterners' rights.

Dos Leitores

Comentário na sua mensagem "Defence Rejects Unfounded Timor Allegations":

Dear Maukita Gagita,

I am very sorry to tell you it is true, it was not propaganda launched by anyone. I was living in Timor Leste at the time, the ADF's behaviour was disgraceful, they went into barios all over Dili, making statements like this. I was constantly phoned for help because the ADF were causing problems for people who were known to support Fretilin. In fact I did a human rights report on the ADF. I also have accounts of them telling people in the eastern districts to change their alliance in 2006. - I'm not a Fretilin member just interested in the truth.

As to Lu-Olo and Alkatiri taking part in calling for international troops, when they were forced to send F-FDTL back to barracks by Xanana and the police had deserted, they had little choice but to agree to calling on outside help, which in my opinion was a grave mistake as Australia had been waiting on the horizon to get a foot back into Timor Leste.

Fact that the ADF did nothing to quell the violence, stood by and watched houses burning and watched attacks on people until there were many complaints on their behaviour, and the fact that by far the highest number of IDP's are from the eastern region, which is perceived to be where Fretilin has the largest support, though of course it has members in many of the western districts speaks volumes. Some Fretilin supporters from the western districts had there houses burnt as well.

Lidia Tindle

lidia.tindle@googlemail.com

Dos Leitores

Jose Terena deixou um novo comentário na sua mensagem "Defence Rejects Unfounded Timor Allegations":

O comunicado das Forcas Armadas da Australia diz que Alfredo Reinado "is a fugitive from the Timorese criminal justice system and who has threatened the safety of Australian troops." Não há novidade nesta afirmação.

Uma grande falha no documento esta em não informar os motivos pelos quais os australianos não cumprem o mandato de captura emitido contra o ex-major. A ordem foi recentemente confirmada pela Justiça, mas ele continua concedendo entrevistas e se encontrando com figuras publicas sem que nada lhe aconteça.

A denuncia tardia feita no comunicado somente pode ser explicada como retaliação pelo fato de um protegido ter revelado uma parte dos métodos de repressão utilizados pelas tropas de ocupação australianas. Outras demonstrações de forca contra um povo desarmado já vieram a publico, incluídos ataques contra acampamentos de deslocados em Dili, mas os detalhes são novos e bastante reveladores.

As declarações do ex-major devem ser levadas a sério. Ele foi treinado em quartéis australianos e certamente conhece por dentro o pensamento expansionista da direita militar e civil que, em defesa dos seus interesses, conduzem uma politica externa agressiva.

Estas informações são úteis para se avaliar ate onde poderão chegar os dirigentes da Austrália, em termos de ocupação e repressão, na sua tentativa de controlar recursos energéticos e posições estratégicas na região.

Também constituem um alerta aos colaboracionistas que criaram condições para esta nova ocupação estrangeira. Quando se trata de garantir o controle sobre milhões de dólares em gás e petróleo, para os dirigentes australianos a prioridade esta na defesa dos seus interesses. Não há amigos nem aliados eternos. Mais cedo ou mais tarde também estes podem parar na linha de fogo.

UNMIT – MEDIA MONITORING - Friday, 24 August 2007

"UNMIT assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of the articles or for the accuracy of their translations. The selection of the articles and their content do not indicate support or endorsement by UNMIT express or implied whatsoever. UNMIT shall not be responsible for any consequence resulting from the publication of, or from the reliance on, such articles and translations."


National Media Reports

26 houses were burnt in Metinaro

Twenty six houses were burnt in Metinaro on Thursday (23/8) morning by unidentified people from nearby IDP camps.

Three young men alleged to be involved have been arrested by the Portugues FPU in IDPs camp of Metinaro and are being investigated for the arson.

According to the UNPol Daily Security Briefing, there was a fight in Metinaro yesterday morning involving 100 - 300 people armed with machetes, steel darts and bows. Formed Police Units (FPUs) and the International Stabilization Force (ISF) managed to control the situation, but the market was almost completely destroyed in the fighting. Three people were arrested.

Mr. Ananias Gonçalves, one of the victims the said that he did not know the reason behind the violence.

“We totally lament this criminal action, we will not tolerate the damage done in Metinaro by displaced people. We as the population accept them but they do not consider what we have done for them,” said Mr. Gonçalves sadly. (TP and STL)

Humanitarian assistance distributed today

The Vice Prime Minister José Luis Guterres has announced that the Government will send 30 trucks of humanitarian assistance as emergency support to the victims of the eastern violence.

“The assistance will got to people in Baucau and Viqueque districts especially in Uatolari sub-district,” said Mr. Jose Luis on Thursday (23/8) in Government Palace, Dili. (TP and STL)

Xanana: Fretilin, not to be egoistic

Prime Minister Kayrala Xanana Gusmão has called on the Fretilin party not to be egotistical by stating that the Alliance government is the autonomist.

Speaking to the journalist after meeting with President José Ramos Horta on Thursday (23/8) in the Presidential Palace Caicoli, Dili Mr. Gusmão said that Timorese should not continue with the bad tradition of commenting on peoples’s backgrounds, but rather that they should accept each other.

“I will ask the National Parliament to create a board to investigate the backgrounds of all of us,” said Mr. Gusmão. (STL)

Dudu: Alfredo is the defender of law

The Former Falintil Commander region IV, Ernesto Fernandes Dudu on Wednesday (22/8) in Fatubesi Ermera said that the current meeting between President José Ramos-Horta and Alfredo Reinado Alves and his men is the sign of willingness from the state and church to solve the problem.

Mr. Dudu also said that Reinado will not run away from his responsibility to the judicial process.

He said that Reinado should be responsible for his action through justice. (STL)

Timor-Leste, needs anti-corruption law

The head of the Public Administration of Political Science Faculty of UNTL, Tolentino de Araujo said that the by the new Prime Minister, Kayrala Xanana Gusmão to draft an anti-corruption, collusion and nepotism law is a strong step towards good governance.

“I think it is the positive step that will combat corruption in the country,” said Mr. Araujo on Thursday (23/8) in national parliament. (STL)

Need time to solve Alfredo’s problem

The state and government of Timor-Leste need time to solve the case of Alfredo Reinado Alves and his followers as it is a serious case in the country according to the member of national parliament from CNRT party, Paulo Martins.

He said that the problem could be solved when all parts have the same good will to seek the solution for Reinado’s case in the dialogue.

He said that the problem will not be ended when all parties stand apart and do not accept each other. (STL)

Horta to presents Alfredo’s case to the government

President José Ramos-Horta reportedly will present the case of Alfredo Reinado Alves to the government on Tuesday next week.

“Next week Reinado’s case will be presented to the High Level Committee,” said East Timor Prime Minister, Kayrala Xanana Gusmão on Thursday (23) after meeting with President José Ramos-Horta in Presidential Palace Caicoli, Dili. (TP)

Fund for health treatment, Rogerio rejects the accusation

The P former minister of interior, Rogerio Tiago Lobato has rejected the accusation that the Fretilin’s government gave him US$30.000 for his medical treatment.

His lawyers Mr. Paulo Remedios and Nelson de Carvalho told journalists on Thursday (23/8) in Hotel Timor, Dili that Lobato did not receive the money.

“Government should not accuse our client of receiving money from Fretilin. I ask the government to show the legal invoices, it is clear that Mr. Rogerio does not receive US$30.000 from Fretilin,” said Mr. Paulo Remedios, quoting Lobato’s words. (TP)

Arsenio Bano gets SMS threats

The Vice President of Fretilin party also the member of national parliament from Fretilin, Arsenio Paixão Bano said that he received threats of the Short Text Message (SMS) on Monday (20/8) via the overseas Mobile Number.

“This is the first SMS I receive from Australian Mobile Number on Monday (20/8) at 1306 hours,” informed Mr. Bano on Thursday (23/8) in CCF Comoro, Dili.

He said that he is totally concerned by the SMS that threatened him not to criticize East Timor’s new Prime Minister.

“O lalika Kontra bebei-beik katuas Xanana, mas kuidadu buat ruma iha Dili halai mak biban se lae……” / “You should not go against Mr. Xanana, be aware if something happen in Dili manage to run if not……’ he quoted the SMS. (DN)

Joaquim dos Santos: If Alfredo loves stability

The Fretilin member of the national parliament Joaquim dos Santos said that if Alfredo Reinado honours his public word, he is ready to submit himself to the justice, to have dialogue and disarm.

Speaking to the journalists on Thursday (23/8) Mr. dos Santos said that his actions will be based on his desire for stability in the country as a Timorese citizen. (DN)

Manuel Tilman: accepts anticipation elections

The member of the national parliament from Democratic Alliance (AD – KOTA/PPT), Manuel Tilman said that he agrees that the problems causing the conflict and violence that broke out in the country need to be resolved.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday (23/8) at the national parliament Mr. Tilman said that Fretilin will lose when its programmes do not pass in national parliament. (DN)

Cornelio Gama: “Timorese leaders overlook the national unity”

The member of national parliament from UNDERTIM party, Cornelio Gama L-7 said that Timorese leaders have forgotten the word of National Unity they declared to develop Timor-Leste.

“I want to say that at the start of independence, we spoke words of compromise that all Timorese should trust in national unity to build the nation and people of the country,” said Mr. Gama on Thursday (23/8) at national parliament, Dili. (DN)

UNMIT - Security Situation - Friday 24 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 as a whole has been calm, although Viqueque and Lautem remain tense.

Today in Dili, UNPol attended six incidents. At around lunchtime, a young man died after falling from a moving vehicle in Banana Road. Eyewitnesses report that the vehicle did not stop after the man fell. Police have tracked down the owner of the vehicle and are investigating.

Yesterday in Ermera, a 12-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were killed when their house in the sub-village of Lekau burned to the ground. A 22-year-old neighbour sustained minor injuries to his wrist whilst trying to apprehend the person suspected of starting the fire. Police have arrested the suspect and are investigating further.

In Liquica yesterday, a house in Ediri sub-village burnt to the ground. Police have investigated and determined the cause of the fire to be accidental. Nobody was injured in the fire.

United Nations police officers in conjunction with the national police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) remain fully deployed to respond to any disturbances that may emerge.


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.

Defence rejects Timor murder allegations

The Age
August 24, 2007 - 1:29PM

Defence has rejected claims from East Timor renegade Alfredo Reinado that Australian soldiers broke the necks of two wounded men and shot dead civilians during the raid on his hideout five months ago.

Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said Australian soldiers did shoot five armed supporters of Reinado in the raid on the village of Same, 110 kilometres south of Dili, on March 4.

"Defence has conducted a post-operation investigation regarding the Same operation in accordance with its normal processes. That investigation found that Australian personnel acted in self defence when shot at by members of Reinado's group," he said.

Reinado's claims emerged in a report in the online edition of Time magazine.

In it, Reinado accused the Australian soldiers of shooting dead one of his armed supporters while he was asking for a truce, killing two unarmed civilians and breaking the necks of two wounded men.

"The way they do operation is like we are animals or enemy," he said in the article. "They come to teach us about the Geneva Convention. They are the ones that don't respect it."

Reinado, a former East Timorese army officer, led the rebellion against the Fretilin government last year which sparked widespread violence and prompted the return of Australian troops.

Brigadier Nikolic said Reinado remained a fugitive from the Timorese criminal justice system who had threatened Australian troops.

He said his allegations did not accurately reflect the events of March 4.

Brigadier Nikolic said the Australian soldiers were operating under the lawful direction of the Timor-Leste government in attempting to apprehend Reinado and his armed associates.

"In the early hours of 4 March 2007 during a confrontation with armed supporters of Alfredo Reinado, Australian soldiers acted in self defence and returned fire resulting in the deaths of five of Reinado's men," he said.

"In a second incident on 4 March 2007, Defence can confirm that a Timorese man, detained on suspicion of association with the Reinado group, escaped. Neither this man, nor any detainee, Timorese national, unidentified civilian or ADF person was injured or killed as a result of this incident.

Brigadier Nikolic said East Timorese authorities, including the Public Prosecutions Service, had reviewed the incidents and decided not to conduct further investigations.

Autopsies of the five dead men confirmed none had a broken neck.

In a separate more recent incident, a junior officer is facing possible disciplinary action over the souveniring of three Fretilin flags by Australian troops.

That came close to sparking a major diplomatic incident, prompting apologies from those involved and public expression of regret from Brigadier John Hutcheson, commander of the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force.

Brigadier Nikolic said a patrol of Australian troops took the three flags as they passed through the village of Bercoli on the way from Viqueque to Baucau on August 18.

All were recovered and returned with apologies.

"The actions of the small number of International Stabilisation Force soldiers involved in taking the flags were inappropriate and culturally insensitive," Brigadier Nikolic said.

He rejected claims that the flags had been desecrated, saying they had been returned in the condition in which they were taken.

"Australian soldiers strongly value their relationship with the people of Timor-Leste and will continue to work diligently to maintain that relationship into the future," he said.

© 2007 AAP

Defence Rejects Unfounded Timor Allegations

Scoop
Friday, 24 August 2007, 11:39 am
Press Release: Australian Defence Force
Defence Rejects Unfounded Timor Allegations

Defence rejects allegations reported by Rory Callinan in the online version of Time Australia magazine, relating to an incident in the village of Same (Timor Leste) on 4 March 2007.
The allegations are made by Alfredo Reinado, who is a fugitive from the Timorese criminal justice system and who has threatened the safety of Australian troops.

Defence spokesman, Brigadier Andrew Nikolic said Renaido’s allegations do not accurately reflect the events of 4 March 2007.

Brigadier Nikolic said the ADF has conducted a post operation investigation and it is clear that Australian personnel acted to defend themselves when shot at by armed members of Reinado’s group.

“In the early hours of 4 March 2007 during a confrontation with armed supporters of Alfredo Renaido, Australian soldiers acted in self defence and returned fire resulting in the deaths of five of Reinado’s men.”

Brigadier Nikolic said the Australian soldiers were operating under the lawful direction of the Timor-Leste Government in attempting to apprehend Reinado and his armed associates.
“In a second incident on 4 March 2007, Defence can confirm that a Timorese man, detained on suspicion of association with the Reinado group, escaped. Neither this man, nor any detainee, Timorese national, unidentified civilian or ADF person was injured or killed as a result of this incident.”

The Timor-Leste authorities, including the Public Prosecutions Service, have also reviewed the circumstances of these incidents and decided not to conduct further investigations.
ENDS

Timor-Leste: Presidente reúne com Reinado

2007-08-24 - 00:00:00

Patrulha da GNR prende desordeirosA força da GNR ao serviço em Timor-Leste controlou ontem distúrbios em Metinaro, localidade a 25 km de Díli, realizando a detenção de três jovens com idades entre 18 e 20 anos.

Lirio da Fonseca, Reuters

A GNR é regularmente chamada para controlar conflitosFontes em Timor afirmaram ao Correio da Manhã que grupos de jovens rivais envolveram-se em batalhas, disparando setas e lanças. Algumas casas foram incendiadas durante os distúrbios mas não há vítimas a lamentar.

Os militares da GNR, chamados ao local pelas nove horas da manhã, foram atacados, mas controlaram a situação e fizeram uma primeira detenção. As restantes aconteceram ao início da tarde, quando a violência se reacendeu na localidade.

Aproveitando a actual situação de concórdia, o presidente José Ramos-Horta encontrou-se com o major rebelde Alfredo Reinado para negociar a sua rendição. Durante o encontro, realizado no domingo, ambas as partes “manifestaram apoio a um processo de diálogo”, afirmou o Centro para o Diálogo Humanitário

Duas crianças morreram queimadas

Jornal de Notícias, 24/08/07

Duas crianças, de 12 e 15 anos, morreram queimadas, ontem, dentro de uma casa no distrito de Ermera, a sudoeste de Díli, revelou a porta-voz da missão das Nações Unidas em Timor-Leste (UNMIT), Allison Cooper, acrescentando que "a investigação preliminar aponta para uma disputa entre vizinhos".

"No decurso da discussão, uma casa terá sido incendiada e as duas crianças que estavam lá dentro não conseguiram sair", afirmou Allison Cooper.

Outro incidente considerado "grave" pela UNMIT aconteceu em Metinaro, a leste da capital, onde confrontos junto do campo de deslocados se prolongaram por várias horas, com a destruição de sete casas.

Os confrontos em Metinaro, por onde passa a única via de ligação da capital em direcção aos distritos do Leste do país, obrigaram a um reforço da Polícia das Nações Unidas e de militares do Subagrupamento Bravo da GNR e das Forças de Estabilização Internacionais (ISF).

O que o Bispo de Baucau sabe e não disse...

http://www.infoans.org/1.asp?sez=1&sotsez=13&doc=1669&Lingua=2#


NEWS

22/8/2007 - Timor Est - Sorting out the confusion

(ANS – Dili) - Accurate reporting is a tricky business at the best of times, and trickier still when alleged incidents happen in isolated areas and are widely reported in both the secular and Catholic press - as has occurred recently in East Timor where reports on an alleged intrusion into a `Catholic convent` identified first a Canossian convent (quickly denied), then a convent belonging to the Salesian Sisters in Baguia (also quickly denied).

And that is fully accurate, for there is no convent or dormitory belonging to the Salesian Sisters in Baguia. Their convent is in Laga, a Salesian parish, and all was well for them there, relatively speaking. What was accurate was that there was an incident relating to entry by a youth into the dormitory of an orphanage in Baguia, a mission outpost of the parish. Subsequent investigations reveal that the girl at the centre of the incident was 11 years of age. The youth concerned is in police custody. The dormitory was being looked after by lay people, since there are no resident members of either the SDBs or FMAs there, and by long agreement, some villages maintain a degree of ownership and control and even build the orphanages in some parts of the country, Baguia being one such case.

The Salesian Sisters have an orphanage in Laga, as also another orphanage and a professional school in Venilale. These were unaffected directly by the unrest, though the violent reactions of dissaffected persons due to political appointments has been a matter of deep concern to the Religious communities in the area and to law-abiding citizens. The problem in Baguia, our sources tell us, was that a mob had been roaming the streets and issuing threats for about three days. The area is isolated and the power company turns off the power to the village at midnight. The darkness and the general disturbance led to one youth, presumed to be part of the mob, forcibly entering a dormitory with some 8 girls in it. One sees, then, how reports of `gangs` and `8 years old` begin to develop.

Beyond the seriousness of the particular intrusion and attack on a minor, the other victim in these events can be the good and essential social work of the Church, more especially in outlying areas.

Published 22/08/2007

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WHO WE ARE
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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

ANS responds to a very specific desire on the part of the Salesian Congregation to have a professional structure of information at the service of the Salesian Mission.

Seen, planned and lauched as a press agency in 1992, ANS today is an information service which, recognising “The Rapid Development” of the world of communication, sets out to provide an efficient source of information about Salesian affairs.

ANS offers information about situations, events, and opinions which regard the organs of government and animation of the Congregation; the life and activities of the Salesians and of the various groups of the Salesian Family; young people; education and formation issues; the life of the Church with particular reference to Consecrated Life, to young people, to educaion and to culture.

ANS, precisely because it is an expression and the news service of the Congregation, has an international dimension. For the present it is published in six languages: Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Polish.

ANS reflects the the work of a central editorial office, located in the Generalate of the Salesians in via della Pisana, 1111 in Rome, and of a network of voluntary correspondents and collaborators in many countries in the five continents.

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NEWS
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22/8/2007 - Timor-Leste – Retificando os últimos fatos reportados

(ANS – Dili) – Dados novos e confirmados permitiram retificar uma série de inexatidões de informação, devidas principalmente à dificuldade de acesso às notícias das regiões isoladas. A retificação se refere à presumida intrusão em “convento católico”, do qual uma primeira vez se disse que era dirigido por religiosas canossianas, dado logo desmentido; e, num segundo momento, indicado como pertencente às Filhas de Maria Auxiliadora, de Baguia, dado a seguir igualmente desmentido.

Agora se sabe que as Filhas de Maria Auxiliadora não têm nenhuma presença em Baguia, mas em Aga, onde há uma paróquia salesiana. Diz-se que ali - desde que os episódios de violência, amplamente divulgados pela imprensa internacional, explodiram em Timor-Leste, há pouco mais de uma semana - a situação não conta relativamente com novidades alarmantes.

O fato que EXIGE retificação se refere ao ataque por parte de um jovem a uma criança de 11 anos: deu-se realmente no dormitório de um orfanato de Baguia, estação missionária pertencente à paróquia salesiana de Laga, mas, de acordo com os habitantes da zona, dirigido por um grupo de leigos e não por Salesianos ou Filhas de Maria Auxiliadora, como se afirmou por vários meios de informação. A modalidade de gestão do orfanato é semelhante à de vários outros, distribuídos pelo país, esses também dirigidos por leigos.

As Filhas de Maria Auxiliadora ao invés dirigem os orfanatos de Laga e Venilale, onde existe também uma escola de formação profissional. Nessas obras, embora não atingidas diretamente pelos últimos episódios de violência, nascidos de dissonâncias políticas, a situação se vive com preocupação, como nas outras comunidades religiosas da zona, e entre os cidadãos cumpridores da lei.

O episódio de Baguia, segundo fontes salesianas na região, foi devido à presença de uma caterva que andou girando pelas ruas durante três dias. Por causa disso a área foi isolada e a companhia elétrica interrompeu o serviço pela meia-noite do dia do acidente indicado. A escuridão e a desordem generalizada foram os aliados de um jovem, presumivelmente adepto dos revolucionários, que se adentrou com violência em um dormitório do orfanato de Baguia, onde se encontravam 8 (oito) meninas, dados que depois se transformaram em “1 (uma) menina de 8 anos” e “um bando”.

Para além da seriedade do caso concreto do orfanato de Baguia, a outra vítima gravemente atingida por esta situação é o trabalho social da Igreja, precioso e necessário, sobretudo nas regiões mais afastadas.
Publicado em 22/08/2007

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QUEM SOMOS
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ANS - “Agência iNfo Salesiana” - é um periódico plurissemanal telemático, órgão de comunicação da Congregação Salesiana, inscrito no Registro da Imprensa do Tribunal de Roma, n. 153/2007.

ANS corresponde a um desejo bem definido da Congregação Salesiana de dispor de uma estrutura profissional de informação a serviço da Missão Salesiana. Pensada, projetada e encaminhada como agência de imprensa em 1992, ANS é hoje um órgão informático que, reconhecendo “o rápido desenvolvimento” do mundo da comunicação deseja oferecer uma adequada informação da realidade salesiana.

ANS oferece uma adequada informação acerca dos acontecimentos, eventos e opiniões relativos quer aos órgãos de governo e de animação da Congregação; quer à vida e ao empenho dos Salesianos e dos vários grupos da Família Salesiana, e dos jovens; quer aos temas da educação e da formação; quer enfim à realidade da Igreja que diz respeito sobretudo à Vida Consagrada, aos jovens, à educação e à cultura.

ANS, exatamente porque é expressão e meio de informação da Congregação, possui uma dimensão mundial. Por ora, se publica em seis línguas, a saber: Italiano, Inglês, Espanhol, Francês, Português e Polonês.

ANS conta com o trabalho de uma redação central, sediada na Casa Generalícia dos Salesianos, na Via della Pisana, 1111, em Roma, e também com uma rede de correspondentes e colaboradores voluntários, presentes em muitos países dos cinco continentes.

Timor: Esclarecendo a confiusão

Tradução da Margarida:

AustraLasia #1930 - 22nd August 2007

Dili: Relatar com exactidão é um negócio manhoso nas melhores alturas e ainda mais manhoso quando todos os alegados incidentes acontecem em áreas isoladas e são largamente relatados em ambas as imprensas secular e Católica – como tem ocorrido recentemente em Timor-Leste onde relatos de uma alegada intrusão num 'convento Católico' identificaram primeiro um convento Canossiano (rapidamente desmentido), depois um convento pertencente às irmãs Salesianas em Baguia (também rapidamente desmentido).

E isso é totalmente exacto, porque não há nenhum convento ou dormitório pertencente às Irmãs Salesianas em Baguia. O convento delas é em Laga, uma paróquia Salesiana, e estava tudo bem com elas lá, relativamente falando. O que era exacto era que houve um incidente relativo à entrada de um jovem num dormitório de um orfanato em Baguia, um posto avançado da missão da paróquia. Investigações subsequentes revelam que a rapariga no centro do incidente tinha 11 anos de idade. O jovem em causa está na custódia da polícia. O dormitório era gerido por gente laica, visto que não há nenhum membro residente nem da SDBs ou das FMAs lá, e por acordos de há muito tempo, algumas aldeias mantém um grau de propriedade e controlo e chegam mesmo a construir os orfanatos nalguns locais do país, sendo Baguia um destes casos.

As Irmãs Salesianas têm um orfanato em Laga, e ainda um outro orfanato e uma escola profissional em Venilale. Estes não foram afectados directamente pelo desassossego, apesar da reacção violenta de gente descontente devido a nomeações políticas ser uma questão de profunda preocupação para as comunidades Religiosas na área e para os cidadãos cumpridores da lei. O problema em Baguia, disse-nos a nossa fonte, foi que uma nultidão tinha andado a correr nas ruas e a fazer ameaças durante cerca de três dias . A área é isolada e a companhia de energia corta a energia à meia-noite na vila. A escuridão e o distúrbio geral levou um jovem, presumido ser parte da multidão, a entrar à força num dormitório onde estavam 8 raparigas. Pode ver-se, como relatos de 'gangs' e de '8 anos de idade' se começam a desenvolver.

Para além da seriedade desta intrusão particular e do ataque a uma menor, a outra vítima nestes eventos pode ser o bom e essencial trabalho da Igreja, mais especialmente em áreas remotas.

Para além disto, há poucos outros detalhes disponíveis, mas isto ajuda a clarificar a situação.

- AustraLasia é um serviço de email para a família Salesiana da Ásia Pacífico. Funciona também como uma agência para http://www.infoans.org/
ANS baseada em Roma.

Timor: Sorting out the confusion

AustraLasia #1930 - 22nd August 2007

Dili: Accurate reporting is a tricky business at the best of times, and trickier still when alleged incidents happen in isolated areas and are widely reported in both the secular and Catholic press - as has occurred recently in East Timor where reports on an alleged intrusion into a 'Catholic convent' identified first a Canossian convent (quickly denied), then a convent belonging to the Salesian Sisters in Baguia (also quickly denied).


And that is fully accurate, for there is no convent or dormitory belonging to the Salesian Sisters in Baguia. Their convent is in Laga, a Salesian parish, and all was well for them there, relatively speaking. What was accurate was that there was an incident relating to entry by a youth into the dormitory of an orphanage in Baguia, a mission outpost of the parish. Subsequent investigations reveal that the girl at the centre of the incident was 11 years of age. The youth concerned is in police custody. The dormitory was being looked after by lay people, since there are no resident members of either the SDBs or FMAs there, and by long agreement, some villages maintain a degree of ownership and control and even build the orphanages in some parts of the country, Baguia being one such case.


The Salesian Sisters have an orphanage in Laga, as also another orphanage and a professional school in Venilale. These were unaffected directly by the unrest, though the violent reactions of dissaffected persons due to political appointments has been a matter of deep concern to the Religious communities in the area and to law-abiding citizens. The problem in Baguia, our sources tell us, was that a mob had been roaming the streets and issuing threats for about three days. The area is isolated and the power company turns off the power to the village at midnight. The darkness and the general disturbance led to one youth, presumed to be part of the mob, forcibly entering a dormitory with some 8 girls in it. One sees, then, how reports of 'gangs' and '8 years old' begin to develop.


Beyond the seriousness of the particular intrusion and attack on a minor, the other victim in these events can be the good and essential social work of the Church, more especially in outlying areas.


Beyond this there are few other details available, but it helps to clarify the situation.

- AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for http://www.infoans.org/
ANS based in Rome.

Quando o sol nasce é para todos?

Timor Lorosae Nação – 23 de Agosto de 2007

por: Alfredo Ximenes

Alquimistas da escuridão apoderaram-se do sol

Tive o prazer de ler a transcrição de um artigo de Ângela Carrascalão aqui no Timor Lorosae Nação, que por acaso ainda não tinha lido no blogue Timor, do jornal Público, onde vou sempre vasculhar por gostar bastante de ler as suas crónicas.

Considero que Ângela Carrascalão representa uma das autoras que não faz da intelectualidade uma xaropada apesar de ser uma das intelectuais timorenses de vulto.

Infelizmente, a sua veia poética, o seu olhar romântico para o país e povo que ama, fazem com que me encontre discordante em determinados aspectos por ela abordados, independentemente de prazenteiramente saborear as suas prosas e conseguir visualizar através delas coisas agradáveis do passado.

Sem querer melindrar quem quer que seja, muito menos a autora, permiti-me uma vez mais discordar. Desta vez sobre a existência do sol brilhante timorense que uns quantos vêem mas que a maioria não consegue ver nem sentir.

Sabemos que o sol quando nasce devia de ser para todos mas a realidade é muito diferente por esse mundo fora e muito mais em Timor-Leste.

Então, mas brilha o sol para aqueles que não têm casa nem emprego, uns desde a destruição das milícias, antes da independência, outros de há um ano para cá?

Brilha o sol para mais de uma centena e meia de desalojados por todo o país?

Brilha o sol para as crianças sem escola, sem alimentação, sem família, sem nada?
Claro que não. Claro que para esses e muitos mais timorenses o sol não brilha nem aquece a triste sobrevivência e aquilo que eles vêem são nuvens, muitas nuvens negras carregadas de fome, desabrigo, doenças, ócio e miséria.

Não gosto de ser desmancha-prazeres e muito menos passar a vida a morar no palapaço do negativismo, mas é facto que Timor-Leste está numa situação deplorável por via da irresponsabilidade e incompetência de muitos personagens políticos que não se cansam de o arrastar para o descalabro.

Esses personagens continuam no Poder e a única coisa que fizeram foi rodear-se de uns quantos adereços humanos bem cheirosos para disfarçarem a sua presença, a sua incompetência, a sua iniquidade…

É com isso que eles nos tapam o sol que assim lhes pertence e que é imaginariamente visto por pessoas de boa índole, poéticas, que felizmente ainda existem e partilham o que julgam ver connosco, com aqueles que vêem a realidade sem perder a esperança de que um dia o sol realmente nasça e seja para todos.

Lá virá o dia em que nos livraremos dos “novos donos” do sol de Timor, destes alquimistas da escuridão!

Re: FRETILIN media release: ADF doorknocking campaign Timor-Leste style

Rise up List (former Regeastimor) – Wed, 22 Aug 2007 21:11

Hi everyone This behavior by the ADF was reported by one of our members who was working in East Timor last year.

She had been visiting Los Palos when reports of the IDF's conduct last June started to suggest that they were considering anyone in the area to be terrorists and were searching peoples houses on the basis that they might be Fretilin supporters. She also reported (unconfirmed until later) that Fretilin supporters were being leaned on by the IDF to support Xanana.

Dave Shepherdson Tyneside East Timor Solidarity Dave supports Tyneside East Timor Solidarity

Os amigos de Alex em campanha porta-a-porta?

Timor Lorosae Nação – 23 de Agosto de 2007
por: Gonçalo Tilman Gusmão

“Independência? Mas que independência?”

Os tão falados e refalados rumores - que assolam as sociedades confusas, mal informadas, e analfabetas - crescem como cogumelos mesmo que não se faça quase nada para isso, mas em Timor há quem faça uma força danada para que os rumores passem a verdades de pleno direito, a informação fidedigna e inquestionável.

Muitos o sabem e por isso todo o cuidado é pouco.

Não é sensato ouvir um rumor e não procurar saber sobre a verdade, sobre se na realidade corresponde à notícia de boca em boca que circula por este país.

Não é menos verdade que há rumores que passam a notícia de jornal e passam a verdade não o sendo. Estou a lembrar-me do caso de estupros relatados pelo padre Basílio Maria Ximenes e que não passaram de uma grande mentira que o bispo de Baucau aproveitou e encheu cabeçalhos de jornais e aberturas em rádios e televisões.

Um dos últimos rumores a correr por Timor-Leste, principalmente na região leste e que já chegou a Díli, dá-nos conta do impensável em relação aos militares australianos que supostamente estão cá para garantir a nossa segurança e um curso normal do caminho que empreendemos para a democracia. Mais ainda mais é de esperar desses militares quando sabemos que a ONU, a Unmit, Atul Khare, estão de mãos dadas com eles exactamente para nos darem o apoio necessário na construção do país, livre, independente e democrático – pelo menos é isso que dizem. Pois é, mas o impensável está a acontecer, sendo inútil pôr dúvidas sobre a veracidade de factos narrados pelos habitantes de pelo menos uma dúzia de localidades do leste de Timor. São eles que indignados questionam: "Independência? Mas que independência?"

“ENTÃO É DA FRETILIN E O GOVERNO É CNRT? TEM É DE APOIAR O GOVERNO!”

Assim, com expressões como as deste subtítulo, militares australianos calcorreiam em serviço de porta-a-porta, acompanhados por timorenses interpretes e esporadicamente por um ou outro elemento da PNLT – “que ficam um pouco distanciados” – fazendo a propaganda favorável a Alexandre Gusmão, ao CNRT xananista - “muitos não percebem que o CNRT de que falam é o de Xanana e não o que era de todos” – bem como propagandeando a coligação pós-eleitoral AMP. As abordagens já estão a decorrer há mais de uma semana pelo que é narrado e confirmado em Laga, Cai-Rui, Laleia, Venilale, Vikeke, Watulari e Kelikai, entre outros e são perfeitamente coincidentes. .

Não há dúvidas de quem compõe os grupos porta-a-porta, confirmando-se as nacionalidades mas faltando as identidades…

O que não falta são as certezas sobre a existência de “Amigos de Alex” dispostos a violar regras básicas num país que nos pertence por direito reconhecido pela comunidade internacional após décadas de lutas e milhares de martirizados.

O que falta é capacidade de comando ou vergonha na cara deste novo comandante das tropas australianas, John Hutcheson, brigadeiro vindo do Salomão, do Presidente da República, José Ramos Horta, a partir da denúncia dos factos que parecem terem passado despercebidos à Fretilin… pelo menos até agora.

O assédio organizado verifica-se há quase duas semanas segundo várias declarações coincidentes, muitos de nós sabemos e porque é que o PR disto nada sabe, nada faz… Será por também ser Amigo de Alex?

Notice to the press for immediate release

HD Centre (Swiss based Organisation Mediating in East Timor) – Tuesday, August 22nd, 2007

Geneva, Switzerland - The Geneva based mediation organization the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue confirms that it facilitated a meeting between the President of East Timor José Ramos Horta and fugitive military police officer Major Alfredo Alves Reinado in Ermera District, South West of the capital Dili on Sunday 19 August 2007.

The meeting was a positive move towards the start of a genuine dialogue process between the Government and Major Reinado who left the army in May 2006 with a group of armed followers.

At the meeting both sides expressed support for a dialogue process with the aim of settling their differences peacefully and ending the armed confrontation.

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue has since been formally requested by both sides to continue to act as mediator and facilitator along with Movimentu Unidade Nacional ba Justiça (MUNJ). The HD Centre has also been active in mediating conflicts in Aceh; Nepal; The Philippines and Darfur among others.

President Ramos-Horta backs Post-CAVR

Post-CAVR Secretariat – Thu, 23 Aug 2007
In Brief

At a meeting with representatives of the Post-CAVR Secretariat on 10 August 07, Timor-Leste's new President strongly endorsed the Secretariat's mandate and requested that it continue throughout 2008 or until the Parliament and Government respond to the CAVR report. The President also backed the proposal that the ex-Balide Comarca, which was rehabilitated with Japanese funding and served as CAVR's national office, should become a national memorial for victims and human rights, as recommended in the CAVR report.
New Prime Minister comments on Chega! At his swearing in on 8 August 07, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao told his audience of Members of Parliament and the Diplomatic Corps gathered at Palacio do Lahane that the CAVR report Chega! is important to Timor-Leste's future. The new Prime Minister said: ' The Report of CAVR concerning this collective experience over 25 years must be considered. This common experience helps us to understand our past and to better know ourselves. And for that reason we cannot ignore the lessons of the past in order to understand the current crisis and protect the future'.

World Bank grant The Post-CAVR Secretariat is one of several organizations in Timor-Leste recently given grants by the World Bank, supported by AusAID, for the Bank's program of Leadership and Communication for National Renewal. The Secretariat's grant of $49,483 is for the socialisation of the CAVR report, Chega!, to civil society in Timor-Leste. The socialisation project will operate for 6 months until December 2007.

Socialisation of Chega! The Post-CAVR Secretariat has formed three teams to socialise the CAVR report to civil society and faith-based organisations in Timor-Leste. Led by Jaimito da Costa, the program is focussed on preparing and mobilising these organisations to act as agents of Chega! in their local communities so that the Report contributes to the on-going national objective of building a culture of non-violence, human rights and accountability in Timor-Leste.

Radio program To supplement its socialisation of the CAVR Report, the Post-CAVR Secretariat commenced a weekly radio program in July. Called Chega! Dalan ba Dame (Chega! Road to Peace) the program is broadcast in Tetum at 7 am each Saturday morning on Radio Timor-Leste. The program is also broadcast by community stations in a number of districts. It will run until December.

Promotion of Chega! in Germany The Post-CAVR Senior Adviser, Pat Walsh, visited Germany in June-July to promote the CAVR report and attend an international conference on Peace and Justice held in Nuremberg, 25-27 June. The visit was made possible by a scholarship provided by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. Pat Walsh also used the visit to fund-raise, to give lectures on CAVR, to document memorialisation in Germany and to meet with organizations in Indonesia including the Indonesian Aliansi Sosialisasi Chega! in Jakarta. He also attended CTF's fourth public hearing held in Bali, 23-24 July.

Elections in Timor-Leste and Chega! Several initiatives were taken during the recent elections for the Presidency and National Parliament to remind candidates that Chega! has not yet been debated by the Parliament or acted on by the Government. The initiatives included briefing journalists and NGOs on Chega! and holding a seminar at the Post-CAVR premises for parliamentary candidates. Candidates were informed that Chega had been widely distributed in Timor and that the community expected the new parliament to address the report. Candidates for Fretilin, CNRT and PUN agreed to make Chega a priority if they were elected.

Presentation in Aceh on CAVR and new documentary The Director of the Post-CAVR Secretariat, Rev Agustinho de Vasconselos, addressed a conference in Aceh in May organised by the Acehnese NGO AJMI in collaboration with Elsam. His address focussed on the methodology used by CAVR in the conduct of its truth-seeking and community reconciliation mandate. The conference viewed a new documentary on CAVR produced by ICTJ.

Jovens incendeiam casas e dois morrem no Timor Leste

A Tarde Online
23/08/2007 (13:50)

Agencia Estado
Centenas de jovens enfurecidos incendiaram hoje dezenas de casas e protagonizaram cenas de violência no Timor Leste. Pelo menos duas pessoas morreram, informou a Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU). Agentes de segurança lançaram bombas de gás lacrimogêneo e detiveram pelo menos 14 pessoas em diferentes partes do país, inclusive em Díli, a capital.

Numa cidade próxima de Díli, mantenedores de paz da ONU "conseguiram controlar a situação, mas o mercado local foi quase totalmente destruído nos confrontos". Sem entrar em detalhes, a ONU informou que duas pessoas morreram em choques no distrito central de Ermera. Dezenas de casas foram incendiadas em Metinaro, 25 quilômetros ao leste de Díli, divulgou a polícia.

O Timor Leste, uma ex-colônia portuguesa posteriormente tomada pela Indonésia e que tornou-se independente em 2002, viveu momentos de caos em abril de 2006, quando episódios de violência interna deixaram 37 mortos e forçaram mais de 155.000 pessoas a fugirem. O país tenta restaurar a estabilidade política em meio à extrema pobreza e à escassez de comida.

Os ânimos voltaram a se exaltar em 6 de agosto deste ano, quando o herói da independência José Alexandre Xanana Gusmão foi incumbido de formar um novo governo depois de três rodadas eleitorais. A decisão enfureceu simpatizantes da Frente Revolucionária para um Timor Leste Independente (Fretilin), que obteve a maioria dos votos nas eleições parlamentares de junho, mas não conseguiu negociar a formação de uma coalizão majoritária no Parlamento

E Timor president meets with army rebel

Reuters – 23 August 2007

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta has met fugitive army rebel Alfredo Reinado to seek a peaceful solution to armed confrontation, a Swiss-based mediation group said.

The previously unannounced talks were held on Sunday in Ermera district, southwest of the capital Dili, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue said in a statement.

"At the meeting both sides expressed support for a dialogue process with the aim of settling their differences peacefully and ending the armed confrontation," it said.

Reinado, East Timor's former military police chief, escaped a year ago along with 50 other inmates from a prison where he had been held on charges of involvement in 2006 violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes.

Horta-Ramos, who won a Nobel Peace prize for overseeing the campaign against Indonesian rule, had appealed to Reinado to surrender his weapons and start negotiations. In June he ordered security forces to stop hunting the army renegade.

The army rebel had said he would turn himself in only when the former ruling party, Fretilin, left office and foreign troops sent into East Timor after last year's violence were out of the country.

Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue spokesman Andy Andrea said the two men had agreed to meet again.

"It's a beginning of a confidence-building process," Andrea said. "Both sides considered it to be a breakthrough. We hope there will be a series of meetings at all levels."

The Geneva-based group said both sides had asked it to continue to act as "mediator and facilitator".

Earlier this month Horta-Ramos appointed a coalition led by independence hero Xanana Gusmao to govern after no single party won a majority in a June 30 parliamentary election.

The move triggered violent protests by supporters of the Fretilin party, which led East Timor's 24-year struggle against Indonesian rule. The impoverished country of about one million people became independent five years ago.

Hundreds clash in fresh ETimor unrest

Agence France-Presse – August 23, 2007, 2:27 AM ET

Dili - Hundreds of machete-wielding youths clashed in an East Timorese town Thursday in the latest outbreak of violence following the appointment of a new government early this month, the UN and police said.

Up to 300 people armed with machetes as well as steel darts and bows brawled in the Metinaro market, leaving it almost totally destroyed, the UN mission here said in a statement.

International and local security forces brought the situation under control in the town about 20 kilometres (12 miles) east of Dili, it said, but later about 10 houses and a motorcycle were torched. Three people were arrested.

The police commander for the area, Mateus Fernandes, told AFP that 26 houses had been burned down.

In the capital, where sporadic violence has occurred since President Jose Ramos-Horta announced that the government would be headed by former president Xanana Gusmao, large groups also engaged in fighting, according to the UN.

"Police have been in attendance and have fired tear gas to control the crowds. Six people have been arrested so far," the UN said.

The protests have apparently been stoked by sympathisers of the former ruling party Fretilin.

The party won the most votes in inconclusive June elections but not the absolute majority required to rule.

A coalition headed by Gusmao controlling a majority of parliamentary seats was instead asked to form a government, but Fretilin insists that it should have been approached.

Thousands of international peacekeepers and UN police are on patrol in restive East Timor, alongside local police.

The forces arrived in the wake of violence between local security force factions on Dili's streets in April and May last year that left at least 37 people dead.

Timor-Leste: ACNUR António Guterres defende melhoria na situação política para atender a questões humanitárias

Lusa – 22 de Agosto de 2007, 13:34

Maputo - O Alto-comissário da ONU para os Refugiados apontou hoje a existência de "questões humanitárias" em Timor-Leste decorrentes da tensão que se vive no país, defendendo que só uma evolução positiva da "situação política" poderá contribuir para as debelar.

"Espero que a situação política permita resolver rapidamente as questões humanitárias e de protecção que se têm posto à população timorense. Como sempre, nos problemas humanitários a solução nunca é humanitária", disse António Guterres, em declarações à agência Lusa, no final de um encontro com o Presidente moçambicano, Armando Guebuza.

Observando que actualmente "não há refugiados de Timor", mas apenas "algum deslocamento interno por causa de questões de insegurança", António Guterres reforçou que para ultrapassar os problemas existentes "a solução é sempre política".

"Quando os problemas políticos se resolvem, os problemas humanitários deixam de existir", defendeu.

Cerca de 5.000 pessoas estão deslocadas e concentradas em pelo menos oito campos temporários no leste de Timor-Leste devido à violência que afectou a região durante a qual foram queimadas mais de 320 casas.

As maiores concentrações temporárias de deslocados localizam-se nas montanhas de Viqueque, onde estão cerca de mil pessoas, enquanto centenas de outras estão em vários pontos da cidade, na costa sudeste do país e cerca de um milhar no quartel da polícia em Uatu Carbau.

Os distúrbios em Timor-Leste, que atravessa uma crise política desde Abril de 2006, foram desencadeados no dia 13, quando o Presidente timorense, José Ramos-Horta, designou como primeiro-ministro Xanana Gusmão, do Conselho Nacional para a Reconstrução de Timor-Leste (CNRT), e não o candidato da Fretilin, o partido vencedor das eleições de 30 de Junho.

Xanana Gusmão dirige uma coligação 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.

No final da sua visita de quatro dias a Moçambique, António Guterres manifestou ainda o "apreço e gratidão" da agência das Nações Unidas a que preside pela "política exemplar de generosidade e de solidariedade do Estado e do povo moçambicano relativamente àqueles que procuram abrigo" no país.

"Estamos a trabalhar muito activamente para clarificar quem é e quem não é refugiado para que os refugiados possam ser eficazmente protegidos, mas também para que ninguém possa usar abusivamente dessa condição para abusar da hospitalidade do povo moçambicano", especificou.

O ex-primeiro-ministro português prometeu ainda "apoiar a fundo" o programa do governo moçambicano destinado a reforçar a capacidade de integração e de auto-sustento dos refugiados, bem como "projectos que estão a ser preparados nos domínios da educação, saúde, apoio à agricultura e segurança", que visam "apoiar a população refugiada, mas também a comunidade local".

"Moçambique está a dar um exemplo ao mundo de uma política muito bem pensada. Temos que fazer tudo para apoiar Moçambique na concretização dessa política", notou.
PGF-Lusa/fim

Confrontos fazem dois mortos

2007-08-23 20:51

A nomeação de Xanana Gusmão continua a provocar violência no país.

Bandos de jovens entraram em confronto em várias partes de Timor-Leste, incluindo a capital, Díli. Dois mortos e dezenas de casas incendiadas é o resultado dos incidentes. A instabilidade no país continua, depois da nomeação de Xanana Gusmão para Primeiro-ministro.

Perto de Díli um mercado ficou totalmente queimado. As forças portuguesas da GNR tiveram que intervir em vários locais. Também tropas da Nova Zelândia e da Austrália entraram em acção, e foram feitas pelo menos 14 detenções.

A nomeação de Xanana Gusmão para chefiar o Governo timorense tem causado violentos protestos por parte de apoiantes da Fretilin, vencedora das últimas eleições legislativas.

Distúrbios retomam no distrito de Metinaro

2007-08-23 14:02:44

Dili – 26 casas foram incendiadas e 17 pessoas foram detidas hoje pela Polícia do Timor-Leste após distúrbios no distrito de Metinaro, no leste do país.

Segundo fontes policiais, as detenções levadas a cabo a 30 quilometros de Díli, foram feitas com a colaboração da Polícia das Nações Unidas (UNPol) e da Polícia Nacional.

O inspector Mateus Fernandes, porta-voz da Polícia Nacional declarou à agência EFE «O relatório preliminar que recebi sobre a violência em Metinaro é que antigas rivalidades entre os habitantes podem ser a causa da violência», acrescentando «A Polícia Nacional colaborou com a UNPol e a ISF (Força Internacional de Estabilização) para acalmar a violência, que infelizmente causou a destruição de 26 casas de pessoas inocentes».

Os incidentes também confirmados por Kedma Mascarenhas, porta-voz das Nações Unida têm ocorrido nas últimas semanas, após a nomeação de Xanana Gusmão como primeiro-ministro e são atribuídos aos seguidores da Frente Revolucionária do Timor-Leste Independente (Fretilin).