Blooberg.com
East Timor Rebel Leader's Capture Is a Priority, Australia Says
By Ed Johnson
Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The hunt for East Timor rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado, whose escape from prison threatens to destabilize the Southeast Asian nation, remains a ``crucial priority,'' the Australian government said.
Reinado, whose rebel militiamen refused to lay down their weapons after the East Timor government fired around a third of the country's armed forces in March, has evaded a manhunt by United Nations police and international peacekeepers, since breaking out of jail in the capital, Dili, on Aug. 31.
The country's mountainous terrain is hampering the search, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Justice Minister Chris Ellison said in a statement. Media reports that troops had given up the hunt were baseless, they said.
Australia leads a force of international peacekeepers, who were deployed to East Timor in May after the collapse of the country's security forces. Reinado's escape, combined with military weapons in the hands of criminal gangs, create a volatile political climate in the former Portuguese colony as it prepares for elections in 2007, Downer said on Sept. 5.
The Australian newspaper said it interviewed Reinado at an undisclosed location four hours drive over East Timor's main mountain range. Reinado, an Australian-trained former military police commander, said he has no intention of waging a guerrilla war and broke out of prison because the country's judicial system is dysfunctional, the newspaper reported.
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terça-feira, setembro 12, 2006
Imaginem se não fosse uma prioridade...
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“The theory that Gusmão supports Reinado doesn't wash”
Associate Professor Damien Kingsbury, Director, Masters of International and Community Development School of International and Political Studies at Deakin University writes:
A report that East Timor's President Xanana Gusmão paid the hotel bill for escaped rebel Major Alfredo Reinado is consistent with Gusmao's attempts to rein in the conflict the had threatened civil war in East Timor earlier this year.
Gusmão paid the hotel bill as part of his request to Reinado that Reinado stay in one location, to ensure there was no further conflict. In the circumstances of that time, that arrangement was key to limiting the then escalating conflict between factions in the military and police.
The inference that Gusmão supported or otherwise had links with Reinado remain unsubstantiated and inconsistent with Gusmao's public position on the conflict at that time. Such allegations, though, continue to be beaten up by misguided activists and journalists who appear to believe that support for East Timor means support for Fretilin means support for Alkatiri. This logic, though, does not follow.
Similarly, the inference that there was a link between the leader of the Democratic Party, Fernando de Araujo, and former pro-Indonesia militia leaders also remains unsubstantiated, and strongly denied by de Araujo, who spent eight years in Indonesian jails for his leading role in opposing the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
It appears that, as with allegations against Gusmao, Alkatiri supporters are having difficulty with coming to terms with the fact that he was genuinely, widely and increasingly unpopular, even in his own party, Fretilin, made a number of poor decisions, and was ultimately encouraged to resign from office on that basis.
It is a pity that journalists who have otherwise reported honestly and fearlessly in the past have so transparently allowed their personal preferences and prejudices to color their reporting on East Timor's recent troubles, confirming the old adage that one should never let the facts stand in the way of a good story.(Crikey.com website: 12/9/06)
http://www.unotil.org/UNMISETWebSite.nsf/cce478c23e97627349256f0a003ee127/9d212a7e4451d60e492571e70036925d?OpenDocument
Kingsburry is too close to PD people like La Sama and Jacqueline Siapno. I doubt that his personal preferences and prejudices have not affected his analisys on East Timor's recent troubles. Kingsburry helped spread the rumour of an alleged FFDTL massacre in Tasi Tolu of which no one has ever confirmed. This information was put out by his friend Jacqui Siapno. Yet when others disputed the authenticity of this rumour, whether it came out from a biased observer, Kingsburry came out in defence of Siapno citing her credentials as an academic in her defence. Kingsburry also criticised and attacked Fretilin representatives in Australia for citing from a document published by an NGO called JSMP. He claimed the citations made by these representatives ammounted to, among other things, plaigiarism. He said "it is highly inappropriate, and generally illegal, to take someone else's document and edit it and republish it or substantial sections of it without the express permission of the author or copyright holder." I am a university graduate in community development and during my years writing my essays, I have cited various books but never once was I ever compelled to seek permission from the copyright holders, nor have I ever been marked down as a result of this. Mind you, I attended one of the most respectful universities in Australia. No onder a commentator said of Kingsbury "Now I don't know much about Kingsbury's academic qualifications, although he seems to be a regular member of the "dial a commentator brigade, but I certainly — based on his assertions of plaigiarism and copyright — would not be falling over myself to employ him as either a legal consultant or public relations consultant."
A member of the "dial a commentator brigade" he is. Other than that, I am not so sure.
David M
This is the exchange involving Kingsbury on Siapno's rumour spreading.
From Kingsbury
EAST TIMOR STUDIES MAILING LIST
Dear All,
This arrived from Dr Jacqueline Siapno a short time ago. It may be of interest.
Damien
Dear folks,
I was able to find access to internet today (we are not in Dili, but in the mountains/districts). Please kindly help me/us by trying to get alternative information out. According to the government version, only 5 people have died, and 75 wounded. According to the petitioners/demonstrators version, 67 people have been killed by, possibly a hundred. In my previous e-mail, I only reported the 8,000 IDPs in Don Bosco, who refuse to go home despite a press release from Ramos-Horta that everything is now "normal, and under control." On the contrary. A UN Adviser to the government called me yesterday saying that things are exactly the opposite: nothing is "under control". Civil servants have stopped going to work -- they have all fled to the districts to seek refuge. Only the international advisers are still going to their offices.
So how could things be "under control" if offices are empty? Dili is very quiet -- it is almost empty of population. Restaurants are telling their clients to hurry up eating, they want to close early at night.
The severe political divisions have now spread to horizontal conflict between Loromonu/ Lorosae, which initially began as conflict between the National Police and F-FDTL. This extremely arrogant and incompetent
government, due to its inability to solve what could have been a manageable problem, has escalated things to this crisis. The petitioners/demonstrators who peacefully rallied for one week, up to mid-noon last Friday, are now being hunted down and shot as "criminals" -- major violations of international human rights laws.
Don't believe what RTTL tells you about displacement only in Dili. There are large numbers of "hidden displacement" -- including ourselves. Thousands of people are fleeing to the districts, but because they are not in IDP camps (e.g. Don Bosco, the US Embassy -- who've sent everyone home, or almost everyone -- even UNMISET Political Officers became IDPs in the US Embassy, how ironic, as apparently the UN has no security briefing or strategy)these hidden displacements are unseen.
While officials above keep saying things are now "normal", "come down" -- the situation in the districts is very tense. Nobody wants to come down. The situation in the mountains is difficult: we ran quickly, so we have no provisions, no money. Rice is now costing US$20 instead of $12; mobile phone cards are US$12 instead of $10. Gas/car bensin is now $1.50 per liter instead of $1. Opportunists are taking advantage of the situation to make profit.
On the macro level -- the government has been quiet, and according to their own int'l. advisers -- seem to have no plans to resolve this situation or negotiate peacefully with the petitioners.
Predictions are that things may get worse.
Please help us to mobilize news internationally/outside. Especially alternative news/perspectives. My mobile here is: +670-727-0481, but we do not always have a signal.
I may not be able to access internet again so soon.
Warmest regards,
J
P.S. Thank you so much for all your thoughts and well-wishes. I hope we can go home to our house in Dili soon, safely. Please pray for us. I am most worried about Hadomi and the other small children, as they cannot run as fast, in case this conflict gets a lot worse. People are preparing to climb up higher in the mountains. Please don't believe everything the government tells you -- try to seek alternative news/info -- especially from the petitioners/demonstrators side.
Response 1
It is always good to hear the first account from people on the ground.
There are some legitimate claims from Dr. Jacque's email however many claims are groundless.
I am sure that some people took this opportunity for personal gains by increasing the price of goods in Dili, which Dr. Jacque rightly said. However Dr. J claims that all civil servants have fled to districts is baseless and nonsense. Due to the nature of the work at the Embassy, I have a daily contact with my Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Planning and Finance, Customs and Education and others and established that the officers are reporting back since Tuesday. A part from that I do have my relatives and friends in Dili, whom I contact them to check their conditions, which some of them are Dr. Jacque's students and they are in Dili not even fled
anywhere during last week's riot.
Indeed the situation in Dili at the moment is still tense but overall is calm and peaceful and under control. As Dr. J pointed out that restaurants are re-opening, and other business.
In regards, to the Government's response to the incident, the government requesting the dismissed soldiers to return and cooperate with the Commission of Investigation, which is established to investigate and reveal of the truth of the dismissed soldiers' grievances. They are not hunted like Dr. J's claims. The Government also established two separate commissions.
One will look at assisting those who lost their property or in any other way were affected by the vandalism. The second will verify the details about the number and identity of the dead and injured which has been the subject of rumours.
Anyone in Timor who knows Dr. Jacque will know exactly why she is getting too personal in attacking the Government and exaggerating the situation.
Response 2 - this one is from a Timorese in Dili
Thanks for this message, it will be intersting to know
who is hunting who? and Where? I am affraid, some people try to exchagerate the situation for their own
political interst. I am equally live in Dili at the
moment.
I agree that there are displace people casue by panic
for what ever reason, people do leave the city by
believing in runmours rather then the appeal from the
President, the Prime Minister, Minister of Interior
etc.
Response 3
I am still confused from the many reports that I received from internet, emails and stuff. I contacted my relaitves in Dili and their feelings are mixed. Some have left to the districts, others chose to stay put and others went to the embassy. One thing they all agree on is that the F-FDTL has killed tens if not hundreds in their raids on
Saturday night. Then again, they also say that they heard all this from other people who in turn heard from other people and so on. So I don't know if I should believe them. When in panic, you believe in a
lot of things.
But 70 dead is not a small number and would be very hard to cover up in Dili. Dili is a small place and full of diplomatic representations, foreign organisations, foreign staff, NGOs and foreign press, you name
it. All independent organisations with nothing to gain by hiding things like that. According to what I have been told and what I have been reading on the news, movement around Dili largely unrestricted.
The press has largely quoted the government's version. Surely the news that as many as 70 people may have been killed would have compelled these organisations to investigate and confirm. But it has nearly been a week and we haven't heard of any independent confirmation if such actually occurred. Maybe it is still too early and reports are slowly sifting through?
As for the statements made by TL government representatives, specially from foreign minister Ramos-Horta, I think they would know that they have a lot more to lose in the immediate time if they chose to cover
it up. Ramos-Horta is an aspiring UN secretary general and no matter how critical one can be about him, I would argue that he would not put his credibility (or whatever one thinks is left of him) on line by hiding the truth, specially if it involves this many deaths. Anyway,
Timor-Leste is not a country sophisticated enough (in terms of state control) to hide a crime as big as this. Nor would the government be so ignorant to take such step to cover up what happened.
Then again 70 is also a lot of dead people with many hundreds of rlatives and extended families. If such did happen, the relatives would have come forward by now. At least they would have gone to the church to expose what actually took place. Remember that movement
around Dili is unrestricted, so anyone could have gone to church to report on the deaths, or independent observers could have gone to the scene to verify.
Anyway, there is also an alternative explanation to why the gunfires went on al night. It could be that the soldiers fired in the air to disperse groups of people from fighting, etc. It could also to stop looters, etc. Did the soldiers went to Tasi Tolu to fire indiscriminantly at people? Maybe. But it could also be that the soldiers were dispatched to Tasi Tolu to prevent the violence from escalating. An observer in Dili said that loromonu gangs had began to torch houses belonging to lorosae residents over there. It could be that had the soldiers not been dispatched early enough to Tasi Tolu, bloodshed could have erupted between the opposing groups. When soldiers arrived, they fired to the air to stop people from burning the houses and prevent bloodshed. As Ramos-Horta pointed out, he only
saw houses burnt in Tasi Tolu but no dead bodies. Or may be hiding the truth?
The latest from Dili? I have just read the news from LUSA and it says that the government has recalled the F-FDTL and the PNTL who have been patrolling the streets at 4 pm today. The government realised that by putting armed soldiers on the street may have been too traumatising for the people. However it also means that the situation is also returning to normal. I have also been told that the airport is opened and flights in and out of Dili is running as usual. Some of my relatives who camped outside some of the embassies have returned home, including my sister who is in Dili at this moment.
Thanks to everyone who has posted on this issue.
Kingsbury's Response
EAST TIMOR STUDIES MAILING LIST
Dear Friends,
There has just been a brief flurry about the accuracy or otherwise of Jaqcuie's e-mail and whether or not it should have been posted. I'd like to offer some
observations on that, and the general situation.
Jacquie is obviously deeply involved with the PD. However, this does not deligimise her observations. She is also a respected acadameic from Melbourne
Uni, whose PhD on women in Aceh was published as a book and is regarded as the standard text on the subject. She has a political perspetive, but her views
cannot be dismissed on that basis. If we were to do that we would dismiss all comments from all politically active people, which would include most of us, I suspect!
Jacquie specifically asked for this information to be made as public as possible. To not do this would be an act of censorship, to whioch I am sure none of us subscribe.
Jacquie may have the numbers wrong - or she might not. The obvious thing to do is to also post rebuttals of her claims if there are any.
As we all might remember, numbers of deaths in East Timor have been claimed and rebuffed for decades, and the general tendency is that they do end up being
confirmed closer to the higgher rather than lower numbers. That does not mean this is the case now, but it would be callous to dismiss Jacquie's claims
without having first tested them. Clearly there is a major problem in East Timor, and we need as much information about it made public as possible.
On the question of political activism, if it needs to be stated, when I was on ABC radio on Tuesday morning talking about this, I said that I supported the
government of ET and that the striking soldiers were in the wrong. I have also been interviewed by The Age and said that. Further, in my presentation to the East Timor workshop last year I congratulated the government on its general tolerance, especially towards the CDP-RDTL. So it is not as though I am against the government.
However, this situation has clearly been mishandled by the government, from the start to the current time.
Further, there is a serious and long-standing tension not just between groups within the army, but between the police and the army, and between the government and some former fighters. There have certainly been solid claims that the Interior Minister has used his position and that of the police in ways that are not for law enforcement purposes. I can't say this is fact, but I can say that it was widely commented on in Dili, and elsewhere, including by relevant UN staff.
I can however say as fact that BPU's in the border districts have been deeply involved in corruption and cross-border smuggling, and that this could taint
soldiers located in that region, especially those that might have family or clan ties across the border, which some do. Added to a sense that the army is still a politial organisation, or has some political role (it is not and does not), it is not surprising that soldiers who had grievances - legitimate or not - went on strike. The problem is, soldiers can't go on strike. So they were
sacked. They still don't quite get how this works.
The real problem is, though, that beyond the sacked soldiers, and some politically aware and active people who might also have been protesting, there were certainly members of street gangs in the protest/riot. Some of these gangs are linked back to smuggling operations which - yes, you guessed it - are ultimately controlled by the TNI in West Timor. This is not to say that the riot was a TNI plot or that the rioters are latter-day Aitarak etc. It is to say that members of street gangs are vulnerable to disinformation and other forms of subtle manipulation.
My real concern, however, is that events like this could deligitimse the government. Even if it is just thrown out at the next elections, the bitterness of a new government might not relfect in conventional democratic behaviour. There is a real chance that, delegitimised, it could dig in. That would indeed
turn ugly.
The answer? I don't have it, I'm afraid. However, Australia pulling its troops out of the border region at a time when the ET government still wanted them to
stay has certainly not helped the corruption/smuggling problem. A symbolic presence, I think, would have (and still could) act as a stabilising influence. This is not about neo-colonialism, and I am as angry about Australia's treatment of East Timor over Timor Gap revenues as anyone. But Australia has played and
can continue to play a constructive role.
Secondly, the ET government needs to show its bona fides to those now in the hills, and it needs to do so quickly and convincingly. Some genuine gestures of
reconciliation would be entirely appropriate right now.
Like you all, I only want the best for East Timor.
I certainly don't want to see it slide back into an August '75 situation.
A few days after this allegation by Siapno, rumours also spread that Fretilin had distributed guns to its supporters to eliminate its opponents. Finally came the 4Corners documntary.
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Quanto ao Alkatiri acusar agora o Horta de tentar golpe de estado, o que esperavam...O Alkatiri precisa de lavar a cara defronte dos membros do seu partido e a unica coisa que pode fazer é deitar abaixo os outros. Ou já se esqueceram que o ditador do Alkatiri dizia : Eu e que sou o primeiro ministro, eu é que sei! eu é que decido!
Encorajou a corrupção desde a justiça até ao até ao as terras e propriedades. Ate alugueis de casas privadas foram forçados a sere entregue ao governo. Ocupantes de casas abandonadas de privados foram e sao forçados a pagar alugar ao governo especialmente ao ministro da justiça esse tal de sarmento .... Isso nao falando dos investidores estrangeiros que têm que entrar com xs para aqui e ecola...
e como o tacho esta a desaparecer a culpa desta trapalhada tem que ser atirada para outro que não ele...
Sarrabulho
Talvez não seja má ideia este senhor das 11:45:18 apresentar provas do que diz.
Qt a mim parece-me um caso claro de difamação, punido severamente pelo Código Penal Indonésio.
Mas ainda que esse castigo não seja suficiente, aqui fica um severo: a difamação é a arma dos cobardes!
Oh sr Serrabulho o que voce esta dizer eh simplesmente ma lingua e eh facil identificar de grupo voce eh parte integrante. Esta conversa de comadres eh simplesmente rediculo porque desconhece por completo a legislacao Timorense que regulamente o uso de terras e propriedades!
Tradução:
Imaginem se não fosse uma prioridade...
Blooberg.com
A capura do líder amotinado de Timor-Leste é uma Prioridade, diz a Austrália
Por Ed Johnson
Set. 12 (Bloomberg) – A caça pelo líder amotinado de Timor-Leste Major Alfredo Reinado, cuja fuga da prisão ameaça desestabilizar a nação da Ásia do Sudeste, permanecef uma “prioridade crucial,'' disse o governo Australiano.
Reinado, cujos milícias amotinados recusaram entregar as suas armas depois do governo de Timor-Leste ter despedido cerca de um terço das forças armadas do país em Março, tem-se esquivado da caça ao homem (feita) pelos polícias da ONU e das tropas internacionais, desde que fugiu da prisão na capital, Dili, em 31 de Agosto.
O tereno montanhoso do país tem embaraçado a busca, disseram numa declaração os Ministros Australianos dos Estrangeiros Alexander Downer e da Justiça Chris Ellison. Disseram que não têm fundamento os relatos dos media de que as tropas desistiram da caça.
A Austrália lidera uma força internacional, que foi destacada para Timor-Leste em Maio depois do colapso das forças de segurança do país. A fuga de Reinado, combinada com armas militares nas mãos de gangs criminosos, criam um clima político volátil na antiga colónia Portuguesa quando se prepara para eleições em 2007, disse Downer em 5 de Setembro.
O jornal The Australian disse que entrevistou o Reinado numa localização secreta a quatro horas de viagem sobre a principal montanha de Timor-Leste. Reinado, um antigo comandante da polícia militar treinado pelos Australianos, disse que não tinha intenção de lançar uma guerra de guerrilha e que fugiu da prisão porque o sistema judicial do país é disfuncional, relatou o jornal.
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Que lata tem estes individuos a defenderem o que nao tem defesa. Esta mais que COMPROVADA A CORRUPCAO GALOPANTE NAS TERRAS E PROPRIEDADES. AS LEIS SAO APLICADAS CONFORME AS CORES POLITICAS DAS PESSOAS. OS TERRENOS DOS ALKATIRIS QUE A MARCONI E O GOVERNO PORTUGUES JA TINHAM PAGO, AGORA ESTAO DE NOVO NA SUA POSSE E A VENDE-LOS. OS GONSALVES ESTAO TAMBEM A VENDER O QUINTAL MASCARENHAS QUE JA TINHA SIDO VENDIDO AOS INDONESIOS E A TIMORENSES. AS RENDAS DAS CASAS DE QUE O GOVERNO SE APODEROU SAO MUITAS DELAS PAGAS DIRECTAMENTE AO SARMENTO, AO PEDRO XAVIER E A OUTROS FUNCIONARIOS DAS TERRAS E PROPRIEDADES, POR ISSO COMPRAM CARROES CARISSIMOS E VIVEM EM CASAS ENORMES OCUPADAS, SEM PAGAR RENDA A NINGUEM. TENS MUITO TRABALHO PELA FRENTE SR. HORTA.
O Xanana bem dizia no seu discurso a nacao que as prrisoes teriam que ser esvaziadas para acomodar os novos hospedes de crimes de colarinho branco.
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