(Extracts from national media and international news reports - UNMIT does not vouch for the accuracy of these reports.)
Salsinha asks for the Operation to stop - Lasama: criminals lose the right to instruct the State – Televisão Timor-Leste
Salsinha is asking the State to stop the Apprehension Operation which has been hunting for him and his men, and to allow all of the petitioners to rejoin the military. Interim President Fernando Lasama, however, said that a criminal is not entitled to give instructions to the State.
“A criminal has no right expect the State to follow their requests. The Operation will continue to pursue Salsinha to bring him to justice,” said Acting President Lasama on Wednesday (16/4) at Palacio das Cinzas in Caicoli, Dili.
Fretilin: Prosecutor-General should report to NP – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
Fretilin asks the Prosecutor–General to appear before the National Parliament to give a report on the process of facilitating and negotiation with rebels conducted by the Public Ministry.
“The National Parliament as the representative of people asks the Prosecutor-General to provide accurate information about the process of negotiation between the Prosecutor General and the rebels over the past two years in order to avoid negative perceptions among the Timorese communities,” said Fretilin MP Francisco Miranda Branco on Wednesday (16/4) in the National Parliament, Dili.
Mr. Branco also said the clarification of his actions already presented by the Prosecutor-General was not complete.
Separately, Democratic Party MP Vital dos Santos said that the Prosecutor-General is not able to provide detailed information to the MPs because of a judicial requirement for confidentiality.
Meanwhile, CNRT MP Eduardo Barreto said the Prosecutor-General has already clarified his competence, and all information will be presented to the court.
Indonesian Supreme Court: has no power to judge 1999 actors – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
The National Alliance for the International Tribunal (ANTI) said the Supreme Court of Indonesia has no authority to judge the actors involved in political genocide of 1999 in Timor-Leste.
Based on the investigation from the high level commission the human rights, the cases that took place in Timor-Leste are human rights violations. The perpetrators should be judged by a court operating on international standards as recommended by the Indonesian human rights report.
A report prepared by United Nations experts said that the Indonesian Ad-Hoc Tribunal is not of an international standard. The experts gave Indonesia six months to correct its procedures, followed by a trial in an international tribunal.
“We ask the UN to not its hands of the serious crimes that took place in Timor-Leste. Security Council resolution 1272 guarantees that there will be no impunity for the crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste,” said ANTI’s press release.
Horta returns: PM Xanana allows public servants to welcome him – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
PM Xanana Gusmão has given permission to all the public servants to welcome the President who has been recovering from medical surgery for the past two and a half months. Public servants have been granted time off to attend the President’s arrival from 8:00 to 10:30 AM. They are expected to return to their offices to continue their work as usual.
Minister of State Arcanjo Leite appealed all Timorese, especially in Dili, to come out to welcome President Horta on his return. “We would like to appeal all the community to show their solidarity with the President on his return,” said Minister Leite.
Arévalo: investigation into February 11 incidents not formalized yet – Diario Nacional
Deputy Police Commissioner of UNPol Juan Carlos Arévalo said that an International Commission of Inquiry (ICI) proposed by many people to investigate the incidents of 11 February has not yet been officially requested.
“We are aware of various requests from Timorese people to establish an ICI for the February 11 incidents. However, the request has not been formalized,” he said.
PM Xanana: some sovereignty organs utilize media – Diario Nacional
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão said that some sovereignty organs are recently utilizing media to make comments that are critical of the way that the Joint Operation is working and of the Government itself.
In his presentation of the State of Siege report to the National Parliament, PM Xanana said that the negative comments of certain MPs might jeopardize the activities of the Joint Operation Command.
According to PM Xanana, the objective of the Joint Operation Command is to intimidate and lower the morale of the enemy, isolate the rebels from logistic assistance, chase and gather the rebels and the petitioners who want to submit themselves to justice, and prevent the rebels from spreading out the areas where they are hiding.
PDHJ: Government should assist Salsinha’s family – Diario Nacional
The Provedor of the Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ), after monitoring in Ermera District, is recommending that the Ministry of Social and Solidarity give assistance to Salsinha’s family.
The PDHJ monitoring team recommended to the National Parliament that “the Ministry of Social and Solidarity provide social assistance to Ms. Joaquina [Salsinha’s wife] and her 4 children who are now under psychological pressure.”
Most people happy to welcome the President – Timor Post
Most people were happy to welcome the return of President Ramos-Horta to his homeland and see it as a victory for the people of Timor- Leste. Most people thank God that their President has survived his wounds after he was attacked by the rebels on February 11 at his residence.
Abril Soares de Jesus, a student, said he was very happy to welcome the President’s return to Timor Leste. “He has just recovered, and we have been expecting him to come to solve our problems,” said de Jesus.
Another young person, Eugenio, said that he was also very happy to welcome President Ramos-Horta. “I am very happy to welcome the President because he has recovered and returns to Timor-Leste. Many thanks to God as He has helped the President,” Eugenio said.
Generally, most Timorese people are happy to welcome the President, as they believe that only the President will be able to solve the problems facing the Timorese people.
Rebels leader Gastão Salsinha sends a letter to the State – Timor Post
Salsinha sent a letter to the State on Friday (11/04). In the letter Salsinha stated that he wanted to collaborate with justice and demanded the State to stop its military operation, ‘State of Siege’ and ‘State of Emergency’ as well as permit all of the petitioners to rejoin the East-Timor Defense Forces or F-FDTL. The letter was directed to all organs of sovereignty and the American Ambassador.
In another development, Acting President Fernando de Araujo Lasama said Salsinha’s demand was not relevant because he only wanted to make demands of the State but not want to obey the State’s orders.
“I think Salsinha’s demand is not relevant because if Salsinha himself would act responsibly, as a spokesperson of the Petitioners he would come down to Dili where the all petitioners are now concentrated now in order to solve their problems,” said the Acting President Fernando de Araujo Lasama.
Furthermore, Acting President Fernando de Araujo Lasama added that Salsinha and his men should surrender first then the State will stop the military operation following by the ‘State of Siege’ and ‘State of Emergency’.
300 hundred families of IDPs registered to return home – Timor Post
Minister of Solidarity Social, Maria Domingas Alves said that since March approximately 300 families have registered to return home.
“This week or next week, IDPs families from the National Hospital and Seminário Minor camps will return to their homes,” she said.
Meanwhile, Minister Alves said that food assistance to the IDP families has been reduced because WFP is no longer providing food to the Ministry. “We all know rice prices around the world are now more expensive, and we no longer have a donor providing rice to WFP,” she explained.
The Shooting of Horta – Dateline, 16 April
This week Video Journalist Mark Davis travels to East Timor and reports on the aftermath of the near fatal shooting of President Jose Ramos Horta.
President Horta was shot earlier this year, after rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and his followers paid an unexpected visit to the President’s family home.
Have Your Say: Will tensions in East Timor be resolved by the arrest of those behind the shooting of Ramos Horta?
Davis speaks exclusively to Reinado's troops who were with him at the shooting.
Gastão Salsinha, once deputy to Reinado and now rebel leader, told Davis that, contrary to reports, the alleged attacks were not assassination attempts.
Reinado's men tell Davis they were angry at the news that negotiations for a potential peace deal had fallen through and had come down from their hideout to speak with Horta face to face.
In her first interview since the shooting, the rebel leader's girlfriend, Angelita Pires, accused of instigating the attack, tells Davis that she had nothing to do with the shooting, and that she now fears for her life.
She flatly denies allegations she convinced a drunken Reinado to go to the Presidential house.
TRANSCRIPT
East Timor, tomorrow, that deeply troubled nation will welcome home its President, Jose Ramos-Horta, who has been hospitalized in Darwin after being gunned down near his home three months ago. On that quite extraordinary morning, the Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão was also attacked and rebel leader Alfredo Reinado shot dead. Dateline's Mark Davis - no stranger to the twists and turns of East Timorese politics - has been in the tiny island nation, piecing together events that led to the attack, including exclusive interviews with the woman accused by Ramos-Horta of influencing the assault, plus Reinado's deputy, who is still hiding in the hills behind the capital, Dili.
REPORTER: Mark Davis
For the past two years this village, sitting at the very top of East Timor, has been a rebel stronghold. Today the East Timorese police and army are back in force on a mission to hunt down the would-be assassins of the nation's President and Prime Minister.
SOLDIER (Translation): We are here at Lete-Foho. He’s north of here.
In an extended game of cat and mouse the soldiers are circling the remnants of the rebel army of Alfredo Reinado and his Lieutenant Gastão Salsinha.
SOLDIER (Translation): The information we have is that these guys are there, but when we went, they were not there. Dare has just contacted me, move in fast.
This is good country to hide out in. But what is also hidden with the rebels in these mountains is the real story of what happened in Dili in the attack on President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. Two months have past and there is still little more than a swirl of rumors about what happened that day.
Monday morning, February 11, and Dili awake to a chaotic scene. President Ramos-Horta shot and struggling for his life. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão showered with gunfire but managing to escape. And Alfredo Reinado, a folk hero to many, shot dead. Buried with him was the mystery of what his plan was in coming to Dili - an assassination, a kidnapping, a coup. All of them possible for a man who dominated events in East Timor for the past two tumultuous years.
Since 2006 Alfredo Reinado ruled the mountains in the west of East Timor like a personal fiefdom – as he showed in his own DVD that he released late last year, complete with his favorite classical backing. Together with Salsinha, Alfredo ran an army of aggrieved soldiers from the west of East Timor, known as the petitioners. Hundreds of soldiers that had been dismissed when they alleged they were being discriminated by an eastern faction in the armed forces. From his mountain-top lair Alfredo would hurl abuse at the government below and issue threats about the coming year.
ALFREDO REINADO, REBEL LEADER: There is no guarantee. So you see who is guarantee that, this is after the New Year that things will fine. It is nothing. I can tell you that going even worst. And I say all those foreign investors; don't waste your time to invest in the time because nothing is guaranteed there.
Clearly Alfredo Reinado had grand visions of his power and considerable support to fund his army - support, encouragement and funding widely believed to be coming from East Timorese politicians and businesspeople, amongst others.
ALFREDO REINADO: Oh, why they know whoever is supporting us, why they didn't go out and get them, why they just talk? Talk and talk, no reality. It's only talk. Stand there and get some. You will see what will come or what will happen.
Plenty of supporters, apparently, but according to senior figures in East Timor, the main supporter, the real mastermind of his attack on February 11 is a surprising individual - an Australian Timorese woman living in a suburb in Dili. Angelita Pires reads almost daily accounts of accusations against her by Ramos-Horta, the state prosecutor and multiple unnamed sources implying she was the key player in a bloody plot. A femme fatale leading poor Reinado astray, a lady Macbeth ready to seize power with murder and mayhem.
ANGELITA PIRES: I am innocent I know this, so the people are still out there. The real perpetrators or whoever, what ever instigated this is still out there. And justice won't be made.
Angelita worked on Alfredo's legal matters before becoming his lover late last year, around the same time this video was shot.
ANGELITA PIRES: I suppose when you are close to somebody there are always accusations, but as I said I was close, I am not denying our relationship and that we wanted a future together I’m not denying that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I guess, because we were close - people always make stories and in the end, as I said, I don't want to be a scapegoat, I don't want to be made a scapegoat simply because they can’t or is too difficult to find solutions and get to the real facts.
Angelita is not under house arrest but is afraid to appear in public, branded as she is of plotting to murder the most revered person in the country. The guys who've been waving all the guns have all been given their presumption of innocence. Since the Horta shooting, hundreds of Reinado's men have surrendered and are being housed under light security in Dili.
SPEAKER (Translation): You have to tell the truth about what you have done. What you have done... and tell the truth.
Most of these men have already been released after filling in a 2-page confessional questionnaire. Others directly involved in the attack on Horta and Xanana have been granted tea and biscuits with the Prime Minister, an honorable handover of weapons and a 'sorry' go a long way with the PM
REPORTER: Who is responsible for Alfredo, now at the moment all we hear about is his girlfriend, Angelita Pires, why is she the only focus, while clearly so many people were behind this man?
XANANA GUSMÃO, PRIME MINISTER: I cannot say, I am chief-executive, not the judicial.
Prosecutor Longuinhos Monteiro is maintaining a professional and stony silence on Reinado's many associates and accomplices, with one exception.
LONGUINHOS MONTERIO, PROSECUTOR: It is not proper to talk in advance.
REPORTER: But you have accused her of giving drugs to him, you have accused her of giving money to him.
LONGUINHOS MONTERIO: Not all the information we get is based on information from the witnesses on the ground. The witnesses are the ones together with them, so whoever that wanted to challenge this information, let them challenge it in the court.
REPORTER: Why do you think the attention has been on you?
ANGELITA PIRES: Maybe they are trying to - I don't know, maybe they are rushing, they are not getting the real facts.
There may be claims Angelita Pires was the mastermind of the plan but it seems no-one has the slightest idea what the plan was. The answer is still hidden in the hills being searched by the East Timorese army. Utilizing informers and rebels who have surrendered, the police and army are moving village to village and house to house, encouraging friends and relatives of the rebels to give them up.
MAJOR NEVIS (Translation): Maybe you’re encouraging them to run. That’s why they go. Who feeds them? Maybe you people from the villages.
Major Nevis is in charge of this mountain campaign and he knows that he has more than just family loyalty to overcome. Salsinha's key claim that people in the west are discriminated against runs deep here.
MAJOR NEVIS (Translation): They say we are discriminating, that the people from the west can only be foot soldiers and the people from the east are officers. So we ask them is Lieutenant – Colonel Meno from the east or from the west? They can't answer. How about Lieutenant – Colonel Coliati?
Salsinha won't be given up easily. And with a tightening military cordon it is now virtually impossible for anyone to reach him.
REPORTER: You now know a lot about these guys, what you think the intention was when they went to Dili, on February 11th?
MAJOR NEVIS (Translation): I can’t respond, the only people who can answer are Salsinha and Alfredo as to why they went to Dili on February 11.
REPORTER: We would like to ask Salsinha, we want to ask Salsinha, we just can't find him.
Our first attempts to find Salsinha fail but Salsinha finds us and sends this video.
SALSINHA (Translation): We won’t give up.
This is the first account of what happened in Dili on Feb 11.
SALSINHA (Translation): There are many accusations about us, about Major Alfredo’s death and the President being wounded and also the attack on the Prime Minister. They all say that we were planning a coup. But they are lying. Whoever says that is trying to sully our reputation.
The rebels split into two when they came to Dili - Alfredo entering the President's house and Salsinha leading the group that shot at Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.
SALSINHA (Translation): I was there but had no intention to launch a coup or harm the Prime Minister. If we’d planned to harm the Prime Minister, he would not have made it to Dili.
Salsinha emphatically claims that the mission wasn't an attempted coup, assassination or kidnapping, but what was it? Travelling with Timorese journalist Jose Belo, we can't get into the bush unobserved, but we manage to arrange a phone contact with one of the rebels involved in the attack on the Horta house. His code name is Teboko and his account is a remarkable one – he believed Alfredo had an appointment with the President.
TEBOKO: We had an order from Alfredo not to attack the residence of the President. It’s clear. You can imagine that if we were going to attack him... we could have shot him in Maubisse or Suai when we met him. We did not think of this. It was not in our minds. We had an appointment with the President from Major Alfredo and we were going with two vehicles and we arrived without any weapon discharge. As we know on the FDTL part, they shoot at us first. They killed Major Alfredo and a member Leopoldino.
Teboko acknowledges that he and his men disarmed the guards at Horta's gate but believes they may not have known about the meeting.
TEBOKO: OK, no trouble. We're just here to see the president.
According to Teboko, about 10 minutes after entering the compound with no gun fire and none threatened, Alfredo Reinado was suddenly shot dead. Meeting closed.
REPORTER: Were the other men, the men that are with you now, when you ask them did they also believe it was a meeting or did they believe it was an attack?
TEBOKO: They believed Alfredo was going to a meeting.
Even if the men believed they were attending a meeting with Horta – they'd done that before – what was Alfredo Reinado thinking? In recent months he had certainly been threatening enough and in his most recent DVD particularly hostile to Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.
ALFREDO REINADO (Translation): I’m telling you Mr Xanana, me Alfredo, I have no fear.
Never, so don't bother to threaten me. If I make an ultimatum, the streets of Dili will be empty. And if he forces me, you will see my ultimatum.
Reinado's DVD has never been broadcast but has been circulated in East Timor. In essence Reinado accuses Xanana of supporting his uprising against the army and the then Fretilin government of Mari Alkatiri.
ALFREDO REINADO (Translation): Now he’s against us, he ordered us to make things turn out as they have. He is the one who supported the petitioners.
XANANA GUSMÃO: We told him - - if you have something about justice, go to the trial and you tell there. By attacking the President means that he had nothing to say. That is the conclusion that you can have.
In 2006 when Salsinha and the Reinado led their troops out of their bases, claiming discrimination, the national divide between east and west soon escalated. Rival gangs spiralled out of control, leaving dozens dead, thousands of houses destroyed and tens of thousands uprooted as refugees. The ensuing chaos helped bring down the government of Mari Alkatiri in the middle of his term.
MARI ALKATIRI, FORMER PRIME MINISTER: It was used politically. It could have been handed over very easily if it was not used politically. It was used politically by Xanana and others and now as you can see, it got out of control.
XANANA GUSMÃO: I don't respond, I don’t comment.
There was never any crime in Xanana expressing support for the petitioners, certainly initially. The dispute may be best left between Alkatiri and Xanana, but it does afford an insight into Reinado's state of resentment in the months leading up to February.
REPORTER: If Xanana and Horta to some degree, exerted influence at least over Reinado, when did they loose control over him?
MARI ALKATIRI: I think immediately after the elections they start to loose control over him, because he was waiting to be bought back as a hero? Yes.
REPORTER: And why didn’t they do that then?
MARI ALKATIRI: It’s not easy, there are a lot of elements in that you have the commander of the army who does not want them back...
REPORTER: And sections of their own government who don’t want them back and obviously Fretilin, the opposition doesn’t want them back.
To Reinado, others came to enjoy power after the fall of Alkatiri and he was left on a mountain top with outstanding murder charges against him. Another insight into his state of mind is given when we finally make contact with his deputy Salsinha.
SALSINHA (Translation): Yes, he was drunk, stressed and angry with the soldiers. At 9:30, Major Alfredo came to our place. He came drunk and told us to prepare the soldiers to go to Dili. He said "I'm going down to Dili to meet the leaders, the Prime Minister and the President." When the leader speaks, we never question, we just follow.
A drunk stresses and angry Reinado mustering his men in the middle of the night doesn't sound like a pre-planned military assault.
REPORTER: What was the order?
SALSINHA (Translation): The order was not clear. He only said that we should go to the Prime Minister's house.
Salsinha claims that all he knew was that he was await further instructions while Reinado met with Horta. He was still waiting when news came that Reinado was shot.
REPORTER: I find that hard to believe sir, if you have been sent to Xanana’s house or on the road, I find it hard to believe that you didn’t have an order to do something. You weren't going to have a cup of tea?
SALSINHA (Translation): He didn't say we were to have a cup of tea together. Maybe it's better to ask his lawyer about the plan. Ask Angelita Pires to explain clearly what happened, because Major Alfredo is dead. Go back and ask Angelita Pires about the plan.
Angelita denies that Reinado ever discussed any such plan with her and certainly not on the night in question. It doesn't make sense, she claims, because he was looking forward to an amnesty.
ANGELITA PIRES: He discussed at a future where he could live in peace, he could live contained, but in peace, yeah.
Salsinha confirms that a confidential amnesty had been offered by President Ramos-Horta in the middle of January.
REPORTER: Sir did Alfredo and yourself believe you were going to get an amnesty after discussions with the President. Were you offered amnesty in May?
SALSINHA (Translation): From the meeting in Maubisse, the President himself talked about an amnesty. Alfredo is dead but the other main witness is the Development Minister, Joao Goncalves.
Minister Joao Goncalves, who knew Reinado from their time together in Australia, attended the meeting with Horta and Reinado where an amnesty was offered.
MINISTER JOAO GONCALVES: In Maubisse the President told in fact that he intended to announce on 20th May an Amnesty that would cover all the crimes and everything that happened from the 2006 crisis.
Thursday 7 February and Horta has a fateful meeting at his home to discuss the amnesty and related issues. The entire political elite of East Timor arrived, walking up the driveway where Alfredo Reinado will lie dead in four days time.
REPORTER: Did Horta advise that he had offered an amnesty to Reinado? And was he very keen for agreement on amnesty to be reached?
MARI ALKATIRI: Yes.
All factions of the coalition government and Mari Alkatiri's Fretilin opposition have been invited as a gesture of national unity, but a consensus can't be reached.
MARI ALKATIRI: Amnesty in this country is not really in the competence of the President.
REPORTER: So it seems that Horta can't deliver on that promise of an amnesty
The meeting is amicable. The amnesty isn't rejected outright but critically, no decision is made.
MARI ALKATIRI: We decided to have another two meetings on 12 and 14 of February.
REPORTER: And on the 11th Reinado attacked.
The meeting concludes that evening and Ramos-Horta gives it the best spin that he can.
RAMOS HORTA: We in the parliament, in the major parties can cooperate in order to resolve some of the pressing issues, like peace...
But he has a problem. He now has to tell Alfredo Reinado that there has been a hiccup in their plan. An emissary will be dispatched over the weekend. On Sunday the 10th, Angelita Pires heads up the mountain to have lunch with Alfredo Reinado. That's where the day started to go wrong, according to Salsinha.
SALSINHA (Translation): He drank with Angelita Pires on Sunday around 2 o'clock. The wine that they had was bought by Angela. Bought by Angela to the major's place. While they were drinking I didn't come near.
He doesn't know what time Angelita leaves, but believes she still could be there when Alfredo flies into his drunken rage at 9:30 that night.
ANGELITA PIRES: No, no no. First, that's not true. Well, I don't know, that's not true with me and my friends. We left at 3:30, 4:00, no drinks were consumed, zero.
REPORTER: So by 4:00 you'd left?
ANGELITA PIRES: Yes, 4:00, yes.
REPORTER: Others would testify to that?
ANGELITA PIRES: I drove back with my friends. I took a lift there and came back with my friends.
I checked with Angelita's friend, who confirms that they had left certainly before dark, so who was with Reinado in the hours before he forms his drunken decision to amble to Dili. Angelita claims that when she left there were other visitors who remained - one of who she recognized. And he works at the President's office. Ramos-Horta's office in Dili houses a group called MUNJ, the Movement for National Unity and Justice. They were acting as go-betweens for Horta and Reinado. Augusto Junior is its director and spokesman.
Since the Horta shooting MUNJ have been particularly coy about their presence in Reinado's camp the night before the attack. It's clear that they were delivering a message from Horta, but it is totally unclear what time they left. And oddly, Salsinha is equally vague when asked the same question.
REPORTER: What time did the people from the Presidents office leave?
SALSINHA (Translation): I have not yet confirmed with them what time they left. What time I haven't yet confirmed.
It seems that no one wants to be placed with Alfredo in the early evening hours of Sunday the 10th. It is clear he would be infuriated to hear of the meeting in Dili, where it would seem that every politician in the country had just betrayed him. Whatever conclusions he reached, what ever advice was given seems to have occurred in the hours just before 9:30 – when he lurches into his soldiers' camp with an urgent need to meet with Ramos-Horta. The answer to at least part of that mystery – those few key hours - may lie inside the walls of the President's Dili office.
WA considers guest workers from East Timor – ABC, 16 April
In an attempt to address labor shortages in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, the state government has outlined plans to use un-skilled workers from East Timor.
Earlier in the year the WA government signed a deal with East Timor to supply workers to major infrastructure projects.
The Minister for Planning and Infrastructure Alannah MacTiernan, says there's been overwhelming support to expand the project to other industries such as horticulture and pearling.
Ms MacTiernan says the Federal Government is yet to support the proposal.
"We've been and we've met with the East Timorese Government and they were really enthusiastic, industry is really enthusiastic and now the last piece of the jigsaw is obviously getting the Federal Government to agree to it," she said.
domingo, abril 20, 2008
UNMIT Daily Media Review - 17 April 2008
UNMIT Daily Media Review
UNMIT Daily Media Review - 15 April 2008
(Extracts from national media and international news reports - UNMIT does not vouch for the accuracy of these reports.)
Police and military parade to welcome PR Horta – Rádio Timor-Leste
A military parade, held under tight internal security, will be held to welcome PR José Ramos-Horta on his return on Thursday (17/4).
Deputy Commander of Apprehension Operation, Mateus Fernandes said that the police and military have identified critical areas of conflict in order to anticipate disturbances in the future.
“He is as the Supreme Commander for both institutions of PNTL and F-FDTL and as the president of the country. We will welcome him with a military parade and accompany him along the route or to his residence,” said Commander Fernandes.
PR Horta: no amnesty for Salsinha – Televisão Timor-Leste
PR José Ramos-Horta said the State will not give amnesty to Salsinha and others who have been carrying weapons since 2006 as they did not follow the State’s orders.
PR Horta said that Salsinha should submit himself to justice and not to wait for him to return to Timor-Leste, as people of the country need calm to develop the country.
“I am ready to welcome him, he should submit himself to the Joint Operation Command, F-FDTL, PNTL, or the two Bishops,” said PR Horta said during a friendship party with the Timorese community in Darwin last Sunday. “He should go to Dili to face justice in court for his actions on February 11.” (13/4).
Alfredo made many telephone calls before his death – Timor Post
Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro said that before Alfredo Reinado was shot to death, he had numerous conversations with many people in Timor-Leste and made 47 calls to Australia.
“The numbers show calls to and from Alfredo’s mobile,” said PGR Monteiro in his report to the National Parliament on Monday (14/4) in Dili.
Mr. Monteiro has asked for the identities of those people who called Alfredo, and will ask Australia to give assistance in investigating the case.
“I have still not informed the country’s leaders who was behind the attacks. We will consider everyone as individuals regardless of their position,” added PGR Monteiro.
‘Ninja’ kidnapping children, people traumatized – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
People in Timor-Leste fear that 'Ninja' or 'masked men' are abducting their children to be used for human sacrifice.
According to reports, during Indonesian rule owners of bridges or road works across the country paid 'Ninja' to abduct children for sacrifice in order to bring good luck or prosperity to the project.
Last week, one local newspaper said that two children were abducted in Liquiça and the parents allege that 'Ninja' have abducted them. There was another report in a newspaper today that villagers in Taibisse (Dili) captured a 'Ninja' who was trying to abduct one child in their village. The residents saw ‘Ninja’ using money to try to kidnap the youngster. The 'Ninja' was captured and taken to the Police. The case is under the investigation.
Interim President Fernando de Araujo Lasama has appealed to all people to remain calm and not believe rumours.
Mateus: armed civilians hand over traditional weapons– Suara Timor Lorosa’e
The Vice Commander of the Apprehension Operation, Mateus Fernandes has confirmed that four armed civilians in Ermera district have voluntarily handed over their traditional weapons and ammunition to the PNTL in Lete-Foho station on Friday (11/4).
The civilians were taken to Dili for questioning in order to uncover their involvement with the rebels. On behalf of the Apprehension Operation, Mr. Fernandes repeatedly appealed to the rebels led by Gastão Salsinha to surrender.
PG: call numbers listed with Alfredo-Salsinha – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
Prosecutor–General (PG) Longuinhos Monteiro has uncovered 127 registered phone numbers connected directly to phones held by rebels associated with Alfredo and Salsinha before and after the assassination attempts on February 11.
From 8-13 February, Alfredo and Salsinha had contacts with 47 people from Australia, 31 people from Indonesia and others from Timor-Leste. However, the identities of the owners of the phones remain unknown as the devices are switched off and SIMM cards are often sold without proper registration.
Remedios demands UNMIT discipline two UNPOL officers – Timor Post
PR Ramos-Horta’s Principal Advisor, Dr. Paulo do Remedios, has demanded that UNMIT discipline two UNPOL officers who refused to provide an immediate respond on 11 February to the attack at the resident of PR Ramos-Horta.
Dr. Remedios said that at 6:55 am he received a telephone call from President Ramos-Horta who said he was in trouble. Dr. Remedios immediately asked for help from two UNPOL officers who were front of his house nearby their vehicles. Dr. Remedios said the two UNPOL officers refused to offer assistance as requested.
Dr. Remedios said he then proceeded to the President’s s residence at 7:15 and discovered that the President was wounded. Dr. Remedios said he tried to use his private car to take the President to the hospital when suddenly one ambulance arrived at the scene. The ambulance then transported the President to the ISF Medical Centre at the Heliport.
He said only the Portuguese FPU were present at the President’s residence and no one from ISF or UNPOL.
Dr. Remedios demanded that UNMIT discipline the two UNPOL officers who “only know how to receive plenty of money but did not want to maintain order.” He called on UNMIT to use “international law” against those UNPOL members who had “completely failed” to provide immediate assistance to the President. “UNMIT should take action against those UNPOL members by terminating their contracts or through disciplinary measures.”
He also called on UNMIT to clearly explain why those officers had refused to act. “I will continue to demand both disciplinary and criminal inquiries into this matter”, he said, adding that he was able to recommend the matter to the Office of the Prosecutor-General without authorization from the President.
MPs unhappy with SMS invitation to workshop – Timor Post
CNRT MP Gertrudes Moniz has said that some of the members of Government are not happy with the way they were invited to a workshop held in Obrigado Barracks by UNMIT and the Government of Timor-Leste on the separation of power in Government as the invitation was extended through short message services (SMS).
MP Moniz raised the issue in the National Parliament, saying an SMS was not the proper method of inviting Government officials.
In the same occasion, Fernanda Lay said that when a commission is going to call a minister, it should be sent through the national parliament by letter and then forwarded to the Prime Minister.
“As an MP, I would not invite officials through SMS. Even though they are our friends, we should show respect to their office,” said Ms. Fernanda, a CNRT MP.
Hugo: TL has to continue control imported goods – Timor Post
MP CNRT, Hugo da Costa said that Timor-Leste’s Government should take control the importation of goods such as food into the country because prices remain very high.
“I insist the Government help control the food prices in the country, otherwise this country will be threatened by food shortage,” he said.
Timor Leader Says Rebels Had Support – Associated Press (AP)
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — East Timor's president said he believed "external elements" were supporting the rebels who tried to assassinate him in the hope his country would be plunged into chaos and be declared a failed state.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Jose Ramos-Horta did not identify the outsiders he believed were trying to destabilize his country or elaborate on what help he thought they had been doing to support such efforts.
Ramos-Horta, 58, has been recuperating in the northern Australian city of Darwin since February, when mutinous soldiers shot him outside his home in East Timor's capital, Dili. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão escaped an ambush on his motorcade the same day.
The motive for the attacks, which followed more than a year of political turmoil and violence, remained unclear.
"An investigation has been ongoing, and there is increasing evidence pointing a finger at external elements that were supporting the renegade Alfredo Reinado," Ramos-Horta said, referring to the rebel leader who was killed during the Feb. 11 attack. "These are elements interested in destabilizing East Timor, plunging it into an endless civil war so it could be declared a failed state."
East Timor broke from decades of often-brutal Indonesian rule in 1999 in a U.N.-sponsored referendum. Three years later, it became Asia's newest nation, but the euphoria quickly evaporated amid the challenges of governing a divided, impoverished people.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Tuesday that investigators found that Reinado was involved in 47 telephone calls to and from Australia in the hours before the February attacks. It said Timorese authorities have asked Australian agencies to provide the names of the telephone subscribers and to release any recorded conversations.
In the days following the attacks, a number of people were detained in Dili, including an Australian-Timorese woman who authorities said had hosted Reinado and his accomplices at her house the night before the attacks.
Reinado and another rebel were killed in a clash with Ramos-Horta's guards during the attack. An unknown number of rebels escaped.
In his interview with CNN, Ramos-Horta said it was imperative that the assassination attempt was properly investigated.
"Our country will need to get to the bottom of these events to heal from them," Ramos-Horta said.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner also said the attempt on his life had made him more resolved to help improve the lives of the impoverished Timorese.
"I would say that it has, primarily, reaffirmed my personal conviction and my ambition to lift people out of extreme poverty," he said. "Today, I have no other goal or ambition. The recent events have only served to reaffirm my lifelong commitment to helping the poor."
Ramos-Horta plans to return to East Timor on Thursday.
UNMIT Daily Media Review - 16 April 2008
(Extracts from national media and international news reports - UNMIT does not vouch for the accuracy of these reports.)
JOC: Salsinha to surrender on April 27 – Timor Post
Rebel leader Gastão Salsinha has told the Joint Operation Command that he will submit himself to justice on April 27.
“He [Salsinha] said via telephone that he will submit himself in April 27,” said the Commander of Joint Operation Lieutenant Colonel Filomeno Paixão at a press conference held in Memorial Hall on Tuesday (15/4).
Commander Paixão said that he has asked Salsinha to surrender voluntarily in order to contribute to solving the country’s problems.
After the attempted assassination on February 11, Salsinha said that he would surrender himself upon the return of President José Ramos-Horta from Darwin, Australia, to Timor-Leste.
Lasama invites the public to welcome President – Timor Post
Acting President Fernando ‘Lasama’ de Araujo is inviting all the people of Timor-Leste to stand along the road to welcome PR José Ramos-Horta on his return from Darwin, Australia.
After being wounded by gunshots on February 11, PR Ramos-Horta was evacuated to Darwin, Australia for medical treatment.
“I am asking all people not to come to the airport, but to stand along the road from the airport to the National Parliament from 8:30 to 9:00,” said Acting President Lasama at a press conference held on Tuesday (15/4) at the Comoro Airport, Dili.
Salsinha still has 14 rifles – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
The Commander of Joint Operation Lieutenant Colonel Filomeno Paixão said that even though the rebels’ strength is down to [16 persons], they still have 14 rifles to defend themselves if there is a shoot out between them and the Apprehension Operation.
Up until now, Salsinha and his group have still not surrendered to authorities. The Joint Operation continues to give them an opportunity to collaborate and avoid bloodshed by voluntarily facing justice in order to resolve the problem.
NP: No amnesty for Salsinha – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
Member of the National Parliament support the statement of President José Ramos-Horta not to give amnesty to Salsinha and others who were involved in the incidents of 11 February.
The Vice President of the Fretilin bench, Francisco Miranda Branco said that amnesty should be viewed from two dimensions, before and after the attempt.
“The situation was different when PR Horta talked to them in January. When February 11th happened, the equation changed,” he said on Tuesday (15/4) in the National Parliament, Dili.
Mr Branco said the State should take a firm position on the situation and not toy with a serious attempt to destroy the State.
During the same session of Parliament, the MP from the Democratic Party, Vital dos Santos said that amnesty is given after justice. There is no law to authorize the President or other sovereignty organs to give amnesty without judicial process.
Abel: Salsinha’s efforts will not succeed – Suara Timor Lorosa’e
The Commander of the Military Police Abel Ximenes said that further efforts by rebels under Salsinha’s command will not meet with success, as the Government has no tolerance for their actions.
“If the rebels’ struggle meets success, then chicken will have teeth,” he said. “They will be hunted by the Joint Operation Command.
“In this world, if a bicycle collides with a car, it is impossible that the car will be damaged; a bicycle will be damaged if collides with a car. This means that certain people who stand against the Government will become losers,” said Commander Ximenes on Tuesday (15/4) in Camea-Becora, Dili.
At the same occasion Commander Ximenes appealed anyone holding weapons to turn them over to the Joint Operation to avoid door-to-door checking.
PM Xanana: security improved during State of Siege – Radio Timor-Leste
PM Xanana Gusmão said the security situation in the country improved and values enshrined in the constitution were maintained during the State of Siege (from 23 February- 23 March) .
PM Xanana said that the one-month extension of the State of Siege demonstrated the operation model of F-FDTL and PNTL as well as their good coordination during the joint operation.
Prime Minister: 20 human rights violations against Apprehension Operation reported during the ‘State of Siege’ – Diario Nacional Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão has confirmed that from 23 February until 23 March, 20 cases of human rights violations were filed against the Apprehension Operation forces during the implementation of the State of Siege. Gusmão made the statement to MPs during a presentation at the National Parliament on Tuesday (15/04).
Of these cases, 11 were reported by the UN and nine others from the community. Gusmão added that there is a need identify the individuals who have committed these violations. Their names should be identified, as well as when and where the incident took place, in order to assist with investigations.
Paixão: People in Liquiça hand over weapons to the Joint Operation Command – Diario Nacional
The Commander of the F-FDTL/PNTL Joint Operation, Lieutenant Colonel Filomeno Paixão said that people in Liquiça voluntarily handed over three grenades, 11 traditional weapons (rakitan), and 429 pieces of ammunition to the Joint Operation Command in Liquiça district.
Paixão has appealed to all the people, including those working with NGOs and agencies who will be visiting the area around the operation, to contact the Joint Operation Command in Dili before departing in order to avoid areas where military operations are taking place.
“We will inform our forces in the field to watch out for people who will visit places nearby the Apprehension Operation areas, “said Lieutenant Colonel Filomeno Paixão.
Australia: East Timor President Suggests 'External Elements' Involved In Attack against Him – AP, 15 April
East Timor's president said he believed "external elements" were supporting the rebels who tried to assassinate him with hopes his country would be plunged into chaos and be declared a failed state.
Jose Ramos-Horta, 58, has been recuperating in the northern Australian city of Darwin since February, when mutinous soldiers shot him outside his home in East Timor's capital, Dili. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão escaped an ambush on his motorcade the same day.
The motive for the attacks, which followed more than a year of political turmoil and violence, remained unclear.
In an interview with CNN on Monday (14 Apr), Ramos-Horta did not identify the outsiders he believed were trying to destabilize his country or elaborate on what help he thought they had been doing to support such efforts.
"An investigation has been ongoing, and there is increasing evidence pointing a finger at external elements that were supporting the renegade Alfredo Reinado," Ramos-Horta said, referring to the rebel leader who was killed during the Feb. 11 attack. "These are elements interested in destabilizing East Timor, plunging it into an endless civil war so it could be declared a failed state."
East Timor broke from decades of often-brutal Indonesian rule in 1999 in a U.N.-sponsored referendum. Three years later, it became Asia's newest nation, but the euphoria quickly evaporated amid the challenges of governing a divided, impoverished people.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Tuesday (15 Apr) that investigators found that Reinado was involved in 47 telephone calls to and from Australia in the hours before the February attacks. It said Timorese authorities have asked Australian agencies to provide the names of the telephone subscribers and to release any recorded conversations.
In the days following the attacks, a number of people were detained in Dili, including an Australian-Timorese woman who authorities said had hosted Reinado and his accomplices at her house the night before the attacks.
Reinado and another rebel were killed in a clash with Ramos-Horta's guards during the attack. An unknown number of rebels escaped.
In his interview with CNN, Ramos-Horta said it was imperative that the assassination attempt was properly investigated.
"Our country will need to get to the bottom of these events to heal from them," Ramos-Horta said.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner also said the attempt on his life had made him more resolved to help improve the lives of the impoverished Timorese.
"I would say that it has, primarily, reaffirmed my personal conviction and my ambition to lift people out of extreme poverty," he said. "Today, I have no other goal or ambition. The recent events have only served to reaffirm my lifelong commitment to helping the poor."
East Timor medal ceremony venue shifted – NZPA, 15 April
New Zealand Defence Force and Police personnel who served in East Timor are to be presented with medals at a ceremony in the Beehive this afternoon.
Initially the ceremony, organized by Defence, was to be held in the Labor Party caucus room which National MP Judith Collins objected to.
However, it would now be held in the Beehive theaters after Prime Minister Helen Clark intervened saying it was a more appropriate space.
The Government would extend invitations to all parties' defence and veteran affairs spokespeople.
Initially only ministers directly involved -- the PM, Police and Defence-were to attend with Defence personnel, the Australian High Commissioner, police, medal recipients and their families.
A bigger venue was required once it was decided more people could attend.
Mars Collins had initially said it appeared that Labor was creating a photo opportunity for itself.
Last year the Government announced the new medals for service in East Timor.
The New Zealand General Service Medal (NZGSM) (Timor-Leste) would be awarded to New Zealand Defence Force and New Zealand Police personnel who served in East Timor from April 28, 2006, as part of the peacekeeping operation there.
ETimor president suspects 'external elements' behind shooting – AFP, 15 April
DILI (AFP) - East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has revealed suspicions that "external elements" were behind the February shooting which left him fighting for his life.
The Nobel peace laureate, who returns here on Thursday after more than two months' treatment and recovery in Australia, wrote in a commentary on CNN's website that unnamed forces were trying to destabilize his tiny country.
Ramos-Horta was shot twice in the back after a dawn raid on his home on February 11, while attackers also fired on a convoy carrying Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, who escaped unharmed.
Renegade military leader Alfredo Reinado, who had been on the run since 2006 unrest, was killed in the firing but a number of rebels are still at large.
"An investigation has been ongoing, and there is increasing evidence pointing a finger at external elements that were supporting the renegade Alfredo Reinado," Ramos-Horta wrote.
"These are elements interested in destabilizing East Timor, plunging it into an endless civil war so it could be declared a failed state."
But the 58-year-old leader said the incident had given him renewed determination to fight poverty and violence in the fragile young democracy, which has been beset by conflict since independence from Indonesia in 1999.
"I am returning home in the next days, to do all I can to realize my dreams for East Timor -- to continue lifting the Timorese people out of poverty, and to create a zone of peace where all forms of violence are abandoned," he said.
The president's comments come a week after he appeared on television in East Timor to give assurances that he would return to lead the country, after earlier hinting to an Australian newspaper that he may step down.
Security is expected to be high for the president's return on Thursday.
"I expect that I will no longer be able to travel without a convoy, or walk away from my security to distribute clothing at a village on the road," Ramos-Horta said.
"We have lost something. But we will find a way to remain close."
Plan to employ East Timorese workers has support – ABC, 16 April
The State Government says there is widespread support for a plan to fly unskilled East Timorese workers into the Kimberley to try to address the region's chronic labor shortage.
In February, the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with East Timor to employ workers on major government infrastructure projects in the Pilbara and Kimberley.
The Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Alannah MacTiernan, met hospitality and tourism operators in Broome.
She says there is overwhelming support for expanding the agreement to other industries.
The Commonwealth would have to sign off on any agreement and is yet to indicate its support.
Ms MacTiernan denies suggestions local people would miss out on jobs as a result of the plan.
"There is no shortage of employment here, I think everyone acknowledges that, the challenge is in fact to find staff," she said.
"I don't think anyone could argue that this is displacing local people.
"It's a win for the businesses and the industry of the Kimberley because it ensures that we have got labor.
"Secondly it's a great opportunity for East Timorese because not only is it a chance for them to not only earn income, but also to acquire skills that are going to be really important to setting up businesses in there own country."
The Commonwealth must sign off on the proposal before it can go ahead.
Ramos Horta fought to live for country – TVNZ, 15 April
East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta says he willed himself to stay alive after he was shot so his country would not erupt into violence.
The 58-year-old is preparing to return to East Timor this week, two months after being evacuated to Australia after he was shot by rebels outside his Dili home.
His comments came as investigators revealed rebel leader Alfredo Reinado - killed after he invaded Ramos Horta's house on February 11 - was involved in 47 telephone calls to or from Australia in the hours before the attack.
Investigators are focusing their inquiries on the calls Reinado and his men made soon before and after the attacks, Fairfax reports, and are seeking Australia's help in tracing the calls.
In an interview with CNN, Ramos Horta said it was vital for East Timor to get to the bottom of the attacks in order "to heal from them".
"An investigation has been ongoing, and there is increasing evidence pointing a finger at external elements that were supporting the renegade Alfredo Reinado," he said.
"These are elements interested in destabilizing East Timor, plunging it into an endless civil war so it could be declared a failed state.
"In fact they have achieved the opposite. I have survived them, and we have survived them."
The Nobel Laureate said he knew he would be shot when he saw one of the rebels as he walked towards his home.
"As I walked up the street ... I saw one of the renegades and knew that he was going to shoot me," Ramos Horta told CNN.
"As he aimed for my heart, I turned to run. Instead of the left side of my chest, he shot me twice in the right side of the back."
Doctors later told him that he lost 80% of his blood following the attack, and that a piece of shrapnel had been found just two millimeters from his spine.
"I was also later told that if I had arrived at the hospital five minutes later I would have, without question, been dead," he said.
He recalled his fight for life as he rode in the ambulance on his way for initial treatment.
"I was willing myself to stay alive," he said.
"In these minutes, I felt that if I died, my country would explode into violence."
Ramos Horta said the assassination attempt had "reaffirmed" his desire to lift his countrymen out of extreme poverty.
"I am returning home in the next days, to do all I can to realize my dreams for East Timor - to continue lifting the Timorese people out of poverty, and to create a Zone of Peace where all forms of violence are abandoned," he said.
Ramos-Horta returns to E Timor next week
JAKARTA, April 12 AAP - East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta will
return to the tiny country next week for the first time since he was
gunned down outside his Dili home.
The Nobel Laureate was evacuated to Darwin on February 11 after he
was shot by armed intruders, many of whom are still on the run.
East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped uninjured from an
attack on his convoy a short time later.
The president's office today confirmed he would return to East Timor next week.
"After 65 days of medical treatment in Darwin, Australia, following
the incident on February 11th, President Dr Jose Ramos-Horta will
return to Timor-Leste on 17th April," it said in a statement.
Mr Ramos-Horta, 58, is recovering in a private house in Darwin,
following his release from hospital.
He plans to hold a press conference immediately on his return, and
also plans to attend Sunday Mass and address the national parliament.
His return comes after speculation he was preparing to quit the
presidency, which was later rejected by his office.
Mr Ramos-Horta took over as East Timor's prime minister amid a wave
of violence in 2006 which killed 37 and forced thousands to flee
their homes for refugee camps.
He was elevated to the presidency of East Timor in a landslide
election win a year ago, and has been key in efforts to stabilise and
develop the tiny nation.
------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
Tradução:
Ramos-Horta regressa a Timor-Leste na próxima semana
JACARTA, Abril 12 AAP – o Presidente de Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta regressará ao pequeno país na próxima semana pela primeira vez desde que foi baleado no exterior da sua casa em Dili.
O laureado do Nobel foi evacuado para Darwin em 11 de Fevereiro depois de ter sido baleado por intrusos armados, muitos dos quais continuam em fuga.
O Primeiro-Ministro de Timor-Leste Xanana Gusmão escapou ileso dum ataque à sua caravana pouco tempo depois.
O gabinete do presidente conformou hoje que ele regressará a Timor-Leste na próxima semana.
"Depois de 65 dias de tratamento médico em Darwin, Austrália, depois do incidente em 11 de Fevereiro, o Presidente Dr José Ramos-Horta regressará a Timor-Leste em 17 de Abril," lê-se numa declaração.
O Sr Ramos-Horta, 58 anos, está a recuperar numa casa particular em Darwin, depois de ter tido alta do hospital.
Ele planeia fazer uma conferência de imprensa imediatamente após o seu regresso e também planeia atender a missa de Domingo e dirigir-se ao parlamento.
O seu regresso acontece depois de especulação que se preparava para abandonar a presidência, o que foi rejeitado pelo seu gabinete mais tarde.
O Sr Ramos-Horta assumiu o cargo de primeiro-ministro de Timor-Leste no meio duma onda de violência em 2006 que matou 37 e forçou milhares a fugirem das suas casas para campos de deslocados.
Subiu à presidência de Timor-Leste depois de ter ganho as eleições há um ano, e tem sido chave nos esforços para estabilizar e desenvolver a pequena nação.
------------------------------------------
Joyo Indonesia News Service
The Sydney Morning Herald
Monday, April 14, 2008
Home Exorcised as Ramos-Horta Prepares to Return
Lindsay Murdoch in Dili
THE house where East Timor's President, Jose Ramos-Horta, was shot
and seriously wounded has been cleansed of evil spirits in a
centuries-old Timorese ritual before his return to Dili this week.
Mr Ramos-Horta's relatives held the ritual after he decided to defy
security advice and return to the thatched-roof house he built on a
hill overlooking Dili harbour.
The ritual, which involved killing a chicken, allowed the spirit of
the rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado, to leave peacefully. Reinado was
killed during attacks on the house on February 11.
Security officials strongly advised Mr Ramos-Horta not to return to
live in the house, which is in an isolated area. But he insisted,
reluctantly agreeing to increased protection from foreign troops and
Timorese soldiers.
Mr Ramos-Horta's office announced at the weekend he will return on
Thursday to what is expected to be a hero's welcome, before
addressing parliament.
Villagers who live near the house have white-washed trees, rocks and
signposts along the narrow road leading to the house.
They have also spent days filling in potholes by hand, trimming trees
and planting bushes ahead of Mr Ramos-Horta's arrival.
"The villagers are excited about the president's return," said Paulo
Remedios, a presidential adviser who was also Reinado's lawyer.
The Government in Dili has backed the villagers' efforts by bringing
in heavy roadbuilding machinery, which has been working day and night
to repair roads before his arrival.
In Dili, banners over main streets declare "Mr President, Timor prays
and waits for you".
Mr Ramos-Horta has spoken about how emotional it will be to return to
the house where he lay bleeding for more than 30 minutes before help arrived.
"I wouldn't shoot a dog or a pig in that way," he said, recovering at
a private residence in Darwin.
Although still often in pain, Mr Ramos-Horta has made clear in
interviews with the Herald he has no intention of quitting the
presidency and will demand answers to questions about the attacks
which plunged the country of 1 million into renewed crisis.
Fretilin's general secretary, Mari Alkatiri, warned that any further
delay in seeking the truth "risks arousing further instability in our
nation and erodes the goodwill of the international community towards
Timor-Leste".
Thousands of Timorese are expected to be at Dili's airport for Mr
Ramos-Horta's arrival.
terça-feira, abril 15, 2008
Exército Português, uma "força" discreta no Comando Conjunto
Pedro Rosa Mendes, da Agência Lusa, em Díli
Díli, 14 Abr (Lusa) - No teatro de operações, alguns oficiais podem valer menos ou mais do que a sua patente. Na captura de Gastão Salsinha, em Timor-Leste, dois tenentes-coronéis portugueses fazem trabalho de general.
O Exército português tem uma presença discreta mas decisiva no comando conjunto da operação "Halibur" de captura do grupo responsável pelos ataques de 11 de Fevereiro, contra o chefe de Estado, José Ramos-Horta, e o primeiro-ministro, Xanana Gusmão.
O papel estratégico dos oficiais portugueses na "Halibur" é o corolário do trabalho de oito anos da Cooperação Militar portuguesa na formação das Falintil-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL).
"É reconhecido que três oficiais, sem apoio praticamente nenhum, conseguem desenvolver mais trabalho e obter mais relevância e reconhecimento das estruturas timorenses do que outras organizações com dezenas de cooperantes e com meios financeiros incomparáveis", afirmou à agência Lusa o tenente-coronel António Martins.
São apenas três os oficiais que asseguram as actividades de formação das F-FDTL, o chamado Projecto número 3, que, em oito anos, já envolveu 34 oficiais e 30 sargentos em quatro processos de recrutamento.
O tenente-coronel António Martins assegura sozinho o Projecto número 1, como assessor pessoal do brigadeiro-general Taur Matan Ruak, chefe do Estado-Maior General das F-FDTL, e coordenador do grupo de assessores militares das Forças Armadas timorenses.
"O segredo é não ter medo de decidir nada e responder a tudo o que nos é pedido pela estrutura de comando", afirmou à Lusa o tenente-coronel Mário Álvares sobre a contribuição do Exército português no comando conjunto.
Taur Matan Ruak, em entrevista à Lusa, salientou o papel da Cooperação Militar e dos conselheiros portugueses nas F-FDTL.
"Têm sido fantásticos desde que se criou o comando conjunto", em 17 de Fevereiro, com a declaração do estado de sítio, explicou o brigadeiro-general.
Taur Matan Ruak acrescentou que "a equipa fantástica" do comando conta também com oficiais da Austrália e da Nova Zelândia, convidados pelo CEMGFA.
"São todos fantásticos mas há maior contacto com os portugueses por causa da língua", reconheceu.
Taur Matan Ruak lembrou que um esforço importante da Cooperação Militar portuguesa tem sido feito na Componente Naval das F-FDTL, com a oferta - e a reparação em 2006/2007 - de duas lanchas e o treino das tripulações.
Sobre as tarefas diárias na "Halibur", António Martins e Mário Álvares sublinharam a importância da "formação generalista" do Exército português, acrescida, no caso de ambos, do curso de Estado-Maior (dois anos) no antigo Instituto de Altos Estudos Militares.
"No comando conjunto fazemos praticamente de tudo", salientam os dois oficiais.
Aos dois tenentes-coronéis foi pedido, por exemplo, que definissem as regras de empenhamento da "Halibur" e que desenhassem os contornos da lei de estado de sítio, "que depois os assessores jurídicos aperfeiçoaram".
"Alguma estratégia" e "planos de preparação de reuniões" saem também da secretária dos dois oficiais portugueses.
Os tenentes-coronéis realizam ainda visitas ao terreno e são consultados "numa base informal" sobre as operações do comando conjunto.
"Hoje, apesar da crise política e social vivida em Timor-Leste, grande parte do trabalho está voltado para a realização do curso de progressão de carreira (promoção de capitão a major)", segundo o tenente-coronel Martins.
A partir de Maio, está planeado um curso para promoção de tenentes e capitães e de soldados a cabos. Ainda este ano, as assessorias portuguesas terão "um forte empenhamento" na formação de base e especialização de 600 novos militares, a recrutar em duas incorporações.
Em colaboração com a embaixada de Portugal, a Cooperação Militar assegura também cursos de Língua Portuguesa, com a consolidação de uma escola de Português no Centro de Instrução Nicolau Lobato, em Metinaro, a leste de Díli.
"O Português é uma língua difícil mas, quer queiramos quer não, temos que a aprender porque é uma língua oficial de Timor", afirmou à Lusa o capitão Isaías Xímenes, 28 anos, pertencente a uma geração de timorenses que cresceram no ensino oficial indonésio.
"O Onglês é mais simples, mas com o Português espero poder completar a formação em Portugal, com mais um curso", explicou o jovem oficial do curso de majores.
O capitão Alberto Santos, 46 anos, é da geração que teve mais contacto com a Língua Portuguesa, durante a resistência à ocupação, de que ele fez parte desde os 13 anos de idade.
O capitão Santos já esteve em Portugal, num curso de seis meses em Mafra. Foi aprovado, além de ter aprendido a falar em gíria.
"As coisas eram novas para nós, depois da instrução básica aqui. Tivemos que 'martelar' muito", contou o oficial timorense sobre a sua experiência com o Exército português.
O quotidiano do comando conjunto faz-se também de oficiais das F-FDTL que integraram, antes de 1975, o Exército português, caso, por exemplo, do major Ular.
O "espírito", resume o tenente-coronel Martins, continua a ser o mesmo, em Lisboa ou em Díli: "Todos os dias garantir o cumprimento da missão".
Lusa/fim
Daily Media Review - 14 April 2008
UNMIT
(Extracts from national media and international news reports - UNMIT does not vouch for the accuracy of these reports.)
PM Xanana opens workshop on promoting a culture of democracy – Televisão Timor-Leste
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão opened a workshop on promoting a culture of democratic governance on Friday (11/4) at the Headquarters of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) in Obrigado Barracks-Caicoli, Dili.
In his speech, PM Xanana explained that the workshop was a first important step in the dialogue to understand the critical areas which could be working together to strengthen democratic governance in Timor-Leste.
"The dialogue is held between the representatives of the State and civil societies, between State institutions, NGOs, political parties, social communication organs, private sector UN agencies and other development institutions.
They are the first and last beneficiaries of the results of the workshop. … We need to do something to promote the culture of democratic governance," PM Xanana said.
The central issues addressed at the workshop included ensuring a separation of power between the different branches of government; developing an independent judiciary; and incorporating respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms into the formation and growth of state institutions.
The workshop commenced with a plenary discussion led by the Prime Minister and followed by Interim President Fernando do Araujo, President of the Court of Appeal Claudio Ximenes and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Timor-Leste, Atul Khare.
The workshop, hosted by the Government of Timor-Leste and the United Nations, involved more than 200 participants. (TVTL)
President Horta to return on Thursday – Radio Timor-Leste
President José Ramos-Horta will return home to Dili and resume his presidential duties on Thursday, two months after having medical treatment in Darwin, Australia.
Ramos-Horta was shot in the attempt assassination on February 11th in his residence in Metiaut, Dili. President Horta will address the nation on his return on Thursday 17 April at the airport in Comoro, Dili. (RTL)
Government to buy warships – Suara Timor Lorosae
The State Secretary for Defence, Julio Thomas Pinto, said the Government has decided to buy warships for the F-FDTL Navy to control illegal fishing activities in the coastal area of Timor-Leste.
"The Government through the department of Defence has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a Chinese company, Poly Technology, to start ship construction for F-FDTL," said Mr. Pinto after signing the MOU on Saturday (12/4) in the Government Palace, Dili.
Mr. Pinto also said that the construction will be started next month and will finish in the following year.
"Once the MOU is implemented, 30 F-FDTL members will receive training from Chinese shipping companies in China," added Mr. Pinto. (STL)
Lasama: Ramos-Horta as a mother hen – Suara Timor Lorosae
In responding to the public controversy over whether President José Ramos-Horta will resign, Acting President Fernando Lasama de Araujo said that Mr. Ramos-Horta will not quit his position as President of the country as people still need him to lead the country.
"Horta as a mother hen will not leave her chicks," said Acting PR Lasama at the opening ceremony of a joint workshop on Friday (11/4) at UNMIT's Headquarters in Obrigado Barracks-Caicoli, Dili.
Acting PR Lasama also said that for his part in the National Parliament as a representative of the people, he would continue to support Mr. Ramos-Horta in leading the country. (STL)
Klemm: The 'State of Siege and State of Emergency' are the right ways to solve the problems – Diario Nacional
The American Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Hans Klemm, said that the Government of Timor-Leste has shown a great patience during the implementation of the 'State of Siege' and 'State of Emergency'.
"I hope that through the 'State of Siege' and 'State of Emergency', Salsinha and his men will surrender themselves peacefully to justice so that their problems will be sorted out as quickly as possible," Ambassador Klemm said.
Government will buy two Warships for the F-FDTL – Diario Nacional
The Timor-Leste government has signed an agreement with the Chinese's Poly Technique Company to produce two warships for East Timor's Defense Force (F-FDTL). The Government recently allocated $28 million to buy the two ships. The warships will be used to control the marine resources.
Minister Zacarias: security for President Ramos-Horta is very important – Diario Nacional
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zacarias Albano da Costa, said that the good security for President Ramos-Horta in order to avoid a repetition of the attacks on 11 February. The President will arrive in Dili on 17 April and there is an appeal to all the people to welcome him at the Airport on that day. (DN)
Deadline for Rogerio Lobato to resume his sentence – Timor Post
In Dili Court Judge Ivo Rosa has set a 10 day as deadline for former Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato to resume his sentence. "I would like to ask the Timorese Ambassador in Malaysia to determine whether he has recovered sufficiently to resume his sentence in Timor-Leste", Judge Rosa said.
Difficult terrain is main challenge facing the Apprehension Operation forces in the hunt for rebels – Timor Post
Difficult terrain in Timor-Leste is the main challenge facing the Apprehension Operation forces as they hunt down Salsinha and his men. Road conditions are making it difficult for the Apprehension Operation forces to continue their search for the rebels. (TP)
Alkatiri presents three lawsuits to the Prosecutor-General – Timor Post
Former Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, has presented three lawsuits to the Prosecutor General for processing. The legal actions stem from public accusations that he was involved in providing financial support to Alfredo Reinado to attack President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão on 11 February 11.
"I am here in court today to file these lawsuits against the people who defamed and accused me because I am out of patience now", said Alkatiri. (TP)
www.unmit.org
Investigation delay risks more instability, says FRETILIN
FRENTE REVOLUCIONÁRIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE
FRETILIN
Media release
13 April 2008
Timor-Leste's de facto government is deliberately delaying the establishment of an independent international investigation into the February 11 incidents in which President Jose Ramos Horta was shot and seriously wounded, FRETILIN said today.
FRETILIN's General Secretary, Dr Mari Alkatiri, said an international commission of investigation as demanded by parliament on March 3 was needed to uncover the truth about the attacks.
Dr Alkatiri was commenting on local media reports (11 April, Timor Post) that the US government had, through its ambassador Hans Klemm, offered to provide the de facto government with "assistance to ensure an in depth investigation so the whole public can know the truth."
Dr Alkatiri said: "This expression of goodwill and support from one of our best friends should be taken up immediately as part of the process of restoring stability in this country through an absolutely independent and transparent investigative process by international legal and other experts."
President Ramos-Horta sustained multiple gunshot wounds in an assault
on his residence on February 11, which saw army mutineer Alfredo
Reinado killed.
Timor-Leste's parliament, by a vote of 33 to 17, called on the de facto government to negotiate with United Nations representatives to establish "an international investigation commission, that will search and evaluate new findings and identify those involved in the incident of 11 February 2008."
Dr Alkatiri said today: "The de facto government has done nothing to implement the resolution of parliament.
"Its inaction ignores the wishes of the people who want to know the truth behind the attack against Timor-Leste's state institutions.
"Any further delay in seeking the truth risks arousing further instability in our nation and erodes the goodwill of the international community towards Timor Leste."
For more information please contact:
Jose Teixeira 
(+670) 728 7080
Tradução:
Atraso na investigação cria risco de mais instabilidade, diz a FRETILIN
FRENTE REVOLUCIONÁRIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE
FRETILIN
Comunicado aos Media
13 Abril 2008
O governo de facto de Timor-Leste está deliberadamente a atrasar o estabelecimento duma investigação independente internacional aos incidentes de 11 de Fevereiro nos quais o Presidente José Ramos Horta foi baleado e ferido com gravidade, disse hoje a FRETILIN.
O Secretário-Geral da FRETILIN, Dr Mari Alkatiri, que que uma comissão de investigação internacional conforme pedido pelo parlamento em 3 de Março era necessária para descobrir a verdade acerca dos ataques.
O Dr Alkatiri estava a comentar relatos nos media locais (11 Abril, Timor Post) que o governo dos USA, através do seu embaixador Hans Klemm, tinha oferecido dar ao governo de facto "assistência para garantir uma investigação em profundidade para que toda a gente pudesse conhecer a verdade."
Disse o Dr Alkatiri: "Esta expressão de boa-vontade e ajuda de um dos nossos melhores amigos deve ser imediatamente aceite como parte do processo de restaurar estabilidade neste país através dum processo investigativo absolutamente independente e transparente por peritos internacionais legais e outros."
O Presidente Ramos-Horta sofreu múltiplos ferimentos por bala num assalto na sua residência em 11 de Fevereiro, onde morreu o amotinados das forças armadas Alfredo Reinado.
O parlamento de Timor-Leste por 33 contra 17, pediu ao governo de facto para negociar com os representantes das Nações Unidas para estabelecer "uma comissão de investigação internacional, que procurará e avaliará novas conclusões e para identificar os envolvidos no incidente de 11 de Fevereiro 2008."
O Dr Alkatiri disse hoje: "o governo de facto nada fez para implementar a resolução do parlamento.
"A sua inacção ignora os desejos do povo que quer saber a verdade por detrás do ataque contra as instituições do Estado de Timor-Leste.
"Mais qualquer atraso na procura da verdade risca criar mais instabilidade na nossa nação e corroer a bos vontade da comunidade internacional para com Timor Leste."
Para mais informações por favor contacte:
José Teixeira (+670) 728 7080
Ramos Horta não teme pela sua segurança quando regressar 5ª feira a Díli
Sídney, Austrália, 13 Abr (Lusa) - O presidente de Timor-Leste, José Ramos Horta, assegurou hoje que não teme pela sua segurança quando voltar quinta-feira ao país, mais de dois meses após o atentado que quase lhe custou a vida. | ||||||||||||||
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| Ramos Horta, numa declaração feita na cidade australiana de Darwin, referiu que já se encontra quase plenamente recuperado dos ferimentos e que retomará as suas tarefas de chefe de Estado logo a partir do momento em que ponha de novo os pés em Timor-Leste. "Deus e os timorenses estão do meu lado", disse o presidente para justificar a sorte que teve quando um projéctil passou a apenas dois milímetros da sua coluna vertebral, mas sem a danificar. O Nobel da Paz abandonou em 19 de Março o hospital onde esteve internado desde o atentado que sofreu em 11 de Fevereiro. Ramos Horta foi atingido com três balas, duas nas costas e uma no estômago, tendo recebido assistência de urgência em Díli antes de ser transferido para Darwin, onde foi sujeito a várias operações e de onde saiu há três semanas da unidade de cuidados intensivos. O líder de Timor-Leste foi atacado diante da sua casa por soldados amotinados leais ao comandante Alfredo Reinado, que morreu no tiroteio, enquanto que o primeiro-ministro timorense, Xanana Gusmao, saiu ileso no mesmo dia de outro ataque contra o seu veículo. Reinado liderou em meados de 2006 protestos de 599 militares expulsos do exército por insubordinação, que desencadearam uma vaga de violência em que morreram 37 pessoas e cerca de 100 mil tiveram de abandonar as suas casas. A crise determinou o envio para o país de forças de paz estrangeiras sob comando da Austrália e das Nações Unidas e levou à demissão do então primeiro-ministro, Mari Alkatiri. JMS. Lusa/Fim | ||||||||||||||
Indonésios implicados em Timor
Expresso
Sábado, 12 de Abril de 2008
Micael Pereira
O Presidente timorense Ramos-Horta admitiu ao Expresso que houve apoios de militares e empresários indonésios ao grupo de rebeldes do major Alfredo Reinado, que levou a cabo um duplo atentado contra o chefe de Estado e o primeiro-ministro Xanana Gusmão, a 11 de Fevereiro.
De acordo com Ramos-Horta, trata-se de “militares que tiveram ligações com Timor mas que agiram individualmente, e não enquanto instituição das forças armadas. Os indícios são muito fortes. O Estado timorense tem óptimas relações com o Estado indonésio, ao mais alto nível, e sei que haverá total colaboração por parte das autoridades indonésias para investigar e punir as pessoas privadas ou militares que tenham estado envolvidos no apoio a Reinado”.
Um dos homens de mão dos generais indonésios do regime de Suharto - o timorense Hércules Rosário Marçal - poderá estar implicado no atentado, segundo o Expresso apurou. Juntamente com outros factos, entretanto investigados, é possível estabelecer uma ligação entre a ala mais dura do regime de Jacarta e Reinado.
Em entrevista ao Expresso, Hércules, conhecido em Jacarta como o ‘rei dos gangsters’, negou qualquer contacto pessoal ou telefónico com o major rebelde, mas os registos das chamadas feitas por Reinado para o seu telemóvel pessoal provam o contrário. O major recebeu o número de Hércules através de um SMS enviado pelo tenente Gastão Salsinha (sucessor de Reinado) a 7 de Janeiro e manteve uma conversa com o ‘rei dos gangsters’ a 19 de Janeiro, dois dias antes de Hércules fazer uma visita a Díli, acompanhado por empresários indonésios, para reuniões oficiais com as mais altas figuras do Estado. Segundo o próprio Hércules, os encontros decorreram com o primeiro-ministro Xanana Gusmão, o procurador-geral da República e o presidente do Parlamento.
Reinado e Hércules voltariam a falar por duas vezes no dia 2 de Fevereiro, uma semana antes dos atentados. E, pela análise dos registos telefónicos, há uma relação directa entre as chamadas do major para Hércules nesse dia e as chamadas para um número indonésio misterioso - feitas logo antes e logo após as conversas com o ‘rei dos gangsters’. Actualmente inactivo, foi para esse número que Reinado ligou às 21h44 do dia 10 de Fevereiro, naquele que foi o seu último telefonema na véspera dos atentados - e na sequência dos quais morreria.
Durante a adolescência, Hércules e Reinado tinham sido tarefeiros do Exército indonésio. Hércules tornou-se famoso em Jacarta, nos anos 90, pela forma como o seu gangue prosperou e pelo modo como se estabeleceu a soldo dos generais da ala dura de Suharto, sendo encarregue de intimidar dissidentes do regime e activistas timorenses.
Segundo o jornal australiano ‘The Age’, o criminoso timorense chegou a viver em casa do general Zacky Anwar Makarim, que viria a ser indiciado em 2003 pela ONU, por ser alegadamente um dos orquestradores da campanha de terror lançada pela Indonésia em Timor durante 1999 e de que resultaram 1500 mortos. Outro dos generais associados a Hércules é Prabowo Subianto, genro de Suharto.
Mas o elo do grupo de Reinado à Indonésia não se esgota em Hércules. Incluiu apoio material e militar de origens diversas, de acordo com mensagens SMS, a que o Expresso teve acesso, trocadas entre o major e números de telefone indonésios. Uma das mensagens escrita em bahasa, recebida no mesmo dia em que lhe foi enviado o número de Hércules, revelava o seguinte: “O nosso irmão já está em Atambua e seguirá para Kupang. Se quiseres de verdade alugar o carro é favor cuidar dos documentos”. O próprio autor do SMS, António Lopes, de Atambua (em Timor Ocidental), negando ao Expresso que o tenha escrito, acrescentou que sempre ia ajudando, sobretudo com garrafas de uísque, “de que Alfredo gostava muito”.
Já as fardas novas com que Reinado vestiu dezenas de homens numa parada militar, em Novembro de 2007, em Ermera, bem como os coletes à prova de bala e os aparelhos de rádio, que equipavam o grupo de rebeldes, vieram todos de Jacarta, diz Leandro Isaac, ex-deputado, que esteve refugiado nas montanhas com o major, em 2007.
Uma fonte oficial do Governo timorense, que não quer ser citada por questões diplomáticas, diz que “há uma série de figuras vingativas da Kopassus (as forças especiais indonésias) que estão interessadas em instigar a instabilidade em Timor e houve, pelo menos, conluio das autoridades fronteiriças e policiais indonésias até agora”, aludindo à forma como Reinado conseguiu ir facilmente até Jacarta em 2007, dois meses depois de um confronto armado com as forças australianas e de o Governo de Díli ter pedido ao Governo vizinho para fechar totalmente as fronteiras. “Mas não só o deixaram passar como lhe arranjaram documentação com uma identidade falsa”, diz a mesma fonte. O major Reinado passeou-se livremente pela capital indonésia e apareceu a 21 de Maio no estúdio da estação de televisão Metro de farda e com um guarda-costas armado. Ironicamente, para um programa que viria a ter outro convidado: Hércules.
