East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin

12/10/2008 DILI (AFP) — An opposition plan for a massive march on East Timor's capital and rumours of tension in the police force are raising concerns of a return to instability in the tiny Southeast Asian nation.

An unsigned pamphlet has been circulated in Dili complaining of official discrimination against Timorese from the impoverished country's western region in favour of those from the east.

The pamphlet also threatened protests against the government if an easterner is appointed the new police commander when the post becomes vacant in November.

Such claims of regional discrimination sparked a mass desertion by members of the armed forces, leading to fighting in 2006 between military, police factions and gangs in street violence that killed at least 37 people.

With international troops still patrolling the streets in the wake of that violence that also forced thousands to flee their homes, rumours of a return to instability have caused jitters among some Timorese in the capital.

"I heard about the pamphlet and I'm worried that if (a protest by police against the government) happens than it's going to be worse than 2006," said a police officer, who resigned in the lead-up to trouble two years ago.

The opposition Fretilin party has also announced plans for a large protest against Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, over his long-standing claim that the formation of his coalition government in 2007 was against the constitution.

Opposition leader Mari Alkatiri has promised thousands of protesters will turn out, but has not yet set a date for the march.

The government has responded to both threats by stepping-up roadblocks in the capital and enforcing a ban on off-duty police officers taking their guns home with them.

President Jose Ramos-Horta, who survived an assassination attempt by rebel soldiers earlier this year, said he would not accept such a protest aimed at "criticising the legitimacy of the government".

Gusmao has discounted the likelihood of unrest but has also urged police to avoid politicking.

"The national police force must display a good attitude so they will be respected. Police officers must show that they are not just carrying out a job, but are willing to serve their country," the premier told AFP.

But deputy police commander Mateus Fernandes denied the pamphlet came from within police ranks, saying unnamed politicians were manufacturing the crisis for political gain.

"This pamphlet is like a dog barking so just let it be and it will quiet down by itself. Some politicians have launched this to realise their own interests via the police and have been using this issue of who will become the police commander," he said.

Edward Rees, a Dili-based analyst and former United Nations security adviser, said the tensions in the police force were not an immediate threat.

But he warned they would likely lay the groundwork for violence "within 12 to 24 months" of the departure of the roughly 2,500 international soldiers and police stabilising the country.

Rees said the pamphlet was part of a bitter internal power struggle in the police with strong parallels to similar tensions in 2004, which in turn helped lay the basis for the 2006 crisis.

"If this kind of agitation was going on in the absence of the 2,500 international soldiers and police that are here then you would have a problem."

A mass rally by Fretilin would be highly destablising but opposition leader Alkatiri is unlikely to carry through with his threat, Rees said.

Fretilin politicians and their backers are making too much money from government contracts to jeopardise that by staging a rally which is expensive to organise and could see contracts dry up, he added.

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Obrigadu.

Unofficial modified automated translation. Original Portuguese text follows.

The National Parliament
Secretariat
Office of Public Relations

No agenda 137/II Extraordinary Plenary Meeting of Wednesday, of 8 October 2008

A special plenary session today was presided over by Vice-President II of the National Parliament, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixao, assisted by Secretary of the Bureau, Sra. Maria Terezinha Viegas.

In the period before the Order of the Day were scheduled the following topics:

1. Information on the grounds of absence of deputies: Eduardo de Deus Barreto, Jose Manuel Carrascalao CV and Gabriel Ximenes (Fitun);

2. Information about the justification for the anticipated absences of Sra. Dep. Maria da Paixao de Jesus da Costa ;

3. Information on the statement by the workers against the Director of the Company Videst.

Were present in this, as authors of the bill no. 8/II ( "Law on Education"), Mr. Minister of Education Câncio Freitas, Mr. Deputy Minister Paulo Assis and an adviser.

During the period of the Agenda was the only scheduled topic:

"Continuation of the discussion and vote in the specialty of the Proposed Law no. 8/II ( "Law on Education").

This was done as the following information:

- debate and vote at all on Chapter IV (Assessment and inspection of the education system), Article 41 (Assessment of the education system) and Article 42 (Education statistics). The vote was 37 votes to 0 against and 4 abstentions. Section IV and Articles 41 and 42 passed.

- debate and vote on the proposal to include N0 7 of Article 19-A0 Organization (Civil). The vote was 12 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions. Addition of this proposal did not pass, and therefore the Proposed Amendments N0 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 were rejected. Proposing members were Mr Virgilio Marcal, Mr Moises Romeo and Mr Francisco Jeronimo.

- Withdrawal of Proposal for Additional N0 1 of Article 42-A0 (Licensing) by proponents after the explanation of the Minister of Education Mr. John Cancio Freitas and delivered the new proposal for change N0 21 Article 44. Members proponents of this new proposal were Mr Lucas da Costa, Mr Aderito Hugo da Costa and Mr. Fernando Dias Gusmao.

- debate and vote on the proposal to include N0 2 of Article 42-B0 (Accreditation). The vote was 21 votes in favor, 9 against and 23 abstentions. Addition of this proposal did not pass. Members proposing were Mr Lucas da Costa, Mr Aderito Hugo da Costa and Mr. Fernando Dias Gusmao.

- debate and vote on Article 43 (Inspection of education) the outcome of the vote was 37 votes in favor, 1 against and 12 abstentions. This Article passed.

After the interval/dinner, the Plenary Session continued with the following information:

- debate and vote on the proposed amendment N0 21 Article 44. The vote was 28 votes for, 2 against and 6 abstentions. This happened. Members proposing were Mr Lucas da Costa and Mr. Fernando Dias Gusmao.

- debate and vote on Chapter V (Administration of education), Article 44 (Principles and general organization) and its amendment. The vote was 32 votes in favor, 0 against, 5 abstentions and 1 no vote. Chapter V, Article 44 and its amendment passed.

- Vote on Article 45 (Administration and management of schools). The vote was 36 votes in favor, 0 against and 3 abstentions. The Article 45 passed.

- Vote on throughout the Chapter VI (human resources education), Article 46 (Functions of educator and teacher), Article 47 (Principles on the training of educators and teachers) and Article 48 (Principles of careers teaching staff and non-teaching staff). The vote was 33 votes in favor, 0 against and 4 abstentions. Chapter VI and the articles 46th, 47th and 48th passed.

- Vote on throughout the Chapter VII (material and financial resources), Article 49 (Networks offers education), Article 50 (Planning the network of educational offerings), Article 51 (school buildings), Article 52 (Educational Resources), Article 53rd (Education funding). The vote was 30 votes in favor, 4 against and 5 abstentions. Chapter VII and Article 49th, 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd passed.

- Vote on throughout the Chapter VIII (Transitional and Final Provisions), Article 54 (Professors and non-teaching) and Article 55 (Settlement of education and training into the educational system). The vote was 32 votes in favor, 0 against and 5 abstentions. Chapter VIII and the 54th and 55th articles passed.

- debate and vote on the proposal to include N0 16 of Article 56 (school) to eliminate the point 2. The vote was 10 votes in favor, 19 against and 7 abstentions. Addition of this proposal did not pass. Members bidders were Mr. Virgil Dep Days Marcal, Mr. Moses and Mr. Romeo Dep Francisco Jeronimo.

- debate and vote on Article 56 (school). The vote was 22 votes to 0 with 13 abstentions. The Article 56 passed.

- debate and vote on the Proposal for Elimination N0 22 of Article 42-B. The vote was 18 votes in favor, 4 against and 12 abstentions. This happened. It was the sole bidder Mr Deputy Moses Romeo Dep.

Finally Sra. President informed the meeting that tomorrow after the Solemn Session of the 2nd Session of the Legislative II Legislature from 2008-2009, the Plenary Session will continue with the subject ( "Law on Education").

End.
--
Secretariado
Gabinete de Relações Públicas

Agenda N.O 137/II Reunião Plenária Extraordinária de Quarta-Feira, de 8 de Outubro de 2008


A Sessão Plenária Extraordinária de hoje foi presidida pela II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixão, coadjuvada pela Secretária da Mesa, Sra. Deputada Maria Terezinha Viegas.

Antes de entrar na agenda a Sra. II Vice-Presidente deu tempo aos Chefes das Bancadas Parlamentares para elaborarem revisão e observação sobre a Agenda da Sessão Plenária de hoje. Os Chefes das Bancadas Parlamentares rejeitaram a realização do Período de Antes da Ordem do Dia porque não foi previsto no regimento.

No período de Antes da Ordem do Dia foram agendados os assuntos seguintes:

1. Informação sobre a justificação de faltas dos Senhores Deputados: Eduardo de Deus Barreto, José Manuel C.V Carrascalão e Gabriel Ximenes (Fitun);

2. Informação sobre a justificação antecipada de faltas da Sra. Dep. Maria da Paixão de Jesus da Costa;

3. Informação sobre a declaração pelos trabalhadores contra o Director da Companhia Videst.
Estiveram presentes nesta, como autores da Proposta de Lei no. 8/II, (“Lei de Bases da Educação”), o Sr. Ministro da Educação Câncio Freitas, o Sr. Vice-Ministro Paulo Assis e um Assessor.

No período da Ordem do Dia foi agendado o único assunto:

“ Continuação da discussão e votação na especialidade da Proposta de Lei no. 8/II, (“Lei de Bases da Educação”).

Este assunto foi realizado conforme as seguintes informações:

- Discussão e votação em todo sobre o Capítulo IV (Avaliação e inspeção do sistema educativo), Artigo 41o (Avaliação do sistema educativo) e Artigo 42o (Estatísticas da educação). O resultado da votação foi 37 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. A Seção IV e os Arigos 41o e 42o passaram.

- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Aditamento N0 7 do Artigo 19-A0 (Organização da Função). O resultado da votação foi 12 votos a favor, 29 contra e 8 abstenções. Esta Proposta de Aditamento não passou, e, por isso as Propostas de Alterações N0 8, 9, 11, 12 e 13 foram prejudicadas. Os Deputados proponentes foram Sr. Deputado Virgilio Dias Marçal, Sr. Deputado Romeu Moises e Sr. Deputado Francisco Jerónimo.

- Retirada da Proposta de Aditamento N0 1 do Artigo 42 -A0 (Licenciamento) pelos proponentes depois da explicação do Ministro da Educação Sr. João Câncio Freitas e entregue da nova Proposta de Alteração N0 21 Artigo 44o. Os Deputados proponentes desta nova Proposta foram Sr. Deputado Lucas da Costa, Sr. Deputado Aderito Hugo da Costa e Sr. Deputado Fernando Dias Gusmão.

- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Aditamento N0 2 do Artigo 42-B0 (Acreditação). O resultado da votação foi 21 votos a favor, 9 contra e 23 abstenções. Esta Proposta de Aditamento não passou. Os Deputados proponentes foram Sr. Deputado Lucas da Costa, Sr. Deputado Aderito Hugo da Costa e Sr. Deputado Fernando Dias Gusmão.

- Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 43o (Inspeção da educação) O resultado da votação foi 37 votos a favor, 1 contra e 12 abstenções. Este Artigo passou.

Depois do intervalo/jantar, a Sessão Plenária continuava com as seguintes informações:

- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Alteração N0 21 Artigo 44o. O resultado da votação foi 28 votos a favor, 2 contra e 6 abstenções. Esta passou. Os Deputados proponentes foram Sr. Deputado Lucas da Costa e Sr. Deputado Fernando Dias Gusmão.

- Discussão e votação sobre o Capítulo V (Administração do sistema educativo), Artigo 44o (Princípios e organização gerais) e sua alteração. O resultado da votação foi 32 votos a favor, 0 contra, 5 abstenções e 1 sem voto. O Capítulo V, o Artigo 44o e sua alteração passaram.

- Votação sobre o Artigo 45o (Administração e gestão das escolas). O resultado da votação foi 36 votos a favor, 0 contra e 3 abstenções. O Artigo 45o passou.

- Votação em todo sobre o Capítulo VI (Recursos humanos da educação), Artigo 46o (Funções de educador e de professor), Artigo 47o (Princípios sobre a formação de educadores e professores) e Artigo 48o (Princípios das carreiras do pessoal docente e do pessoal não docente). O resultado da votação foi 33 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. O Capítulo VI e os Artigos 46o, 47o e 48o passaram.

- Votação em todo sobre o Capítulo VII (Recursos materiais e financeiros), Artigo 49o (Redes de ofertas educativas), Artigo 50o (Planeamento da rede de ofertas educativas), Artigo 51o (Edifícios escolares), Artigo 52o (Recursos educativos), Artigo 53o (Financiamento da educação). O resultado da votação foi 30 votos a favor, 4 contra e 5 abstenções. O Capítulo VII e os Artigos 49o, 50o, 51o, 52o e 53o passaram.

- Votação em todo sobre o Capítulo VIII (Disposições transitórias e finais), Artigo 54o (Pessoal docente e não docente) e Artigo 55o (Estabelecimentos de educação e de ensino integrados no sistema educativo). O resultado da votação foi 32 votos a favor, 0 contra e 5 abstenções. O Capítulo VIII e os Artigos 54o e 55o passaram.

- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Aditamento N0 16 do Artigo 56o (Escolaridade obrigatória) a fim de eliminar a alínea 2. O resultado da votação foi 10 votos a favor, 19 contra e 7 abstenções. Esta Proposta de Aditamento não passou. Os Deputados proponentes foram Sr. Dep. Virgílio Dias Marçal, Sr. Dep. Romeu Moisés e Sr. Dep. Francisco Jerónimo.

- Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 56o (Escolaridade obrigatória). O resultado da votação foi 22 votos a favor, 0 contra e 13 abstenções. O Artigo 56o passou.

- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Eliminação N0 22 do Artigo 42o –B. O resultado da votação foi 18 votos a favor, 4 contra e 12 abstenções. Esta passou. Foi pelo único Deputado proponente Sr. Dep. Romeu Moisés.

- Finalmente a Sra. Presidente da Reunião notificou que amanhã depois da Sessão Solene da 2a Sessão Legislativa da II Legislatura de 2008/2009, a Sessão Plenária continuará com o assunto (“Lei de Bases da Educação”).

Fim.

Gabienete de Relações Públicas

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL SOLIDARITY PRESS RELEASE 9 October 2008 MSS/UNDP Dialogue Teams working hard to support peaceful reintegration of IDPs

Since July 2008 there have been MSS/UNDP dialogue teams working in each of the five sub-districts of Dili with a central coordination team based in the Ministry of Social Solidarity. In October 2008 two regional dialogue teams also started working in Baucau and Ermera.

The MSS/UNDP dialogue teams have been strenuously promoting dialogue as a means to addressing community conflict and have also been heavily engaged in supporting mediation in support of IDP reintegration and return. The MSS/UNDP dialogue teams have been working with Chefe Aldeias, Chefe Sucos and youth representatives in the receiving communities to try to ensure that the situation in areas of return remains peaceful.

The MSS/UNDP dialogue teams have helped organize preparatory meetings at camps to support the return of IDPs. The teams work closely with SLS (Site Liaison Support) agencies in the camps to pre-identify groups willing to return and prioritise cases requiring third-party support (such as secondary occupancy, land and property issues, broader tensions with the community).

Working alongside local authorities, youth representatives, and partner agencies (such as IOM, CRS, CARE, Austcare, and Belun), the MSS/UNDP dialogue teams have organized 10 dialogue meetings to support IDP reintegration in Cristo Rei, Metinaro, and Vera Cruz, and sucos Becora, Fatuhada, and Camea.

The demand for supporting intra-family dispute resolution was clear from the inception of the dialogue teams. Members of the dialogue teams have supported the resolution of over 150 mediations between families wishing to return and families either opposed to their return or occupying their former homes. 56 of these cases have been resolved amicably between the parties with dialogue staff playing a facilitation role. 94 cases have required negotiated settlement with the parties formalising their agreement in the form of an accord. The dialogue teams are still working with partner agencies to try and resolve six pending cases.

The MSS/UNDP Dialogue Teams are an integral part of the Hamutuk Hari’i Konfiansa pillar of the Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru National Recovery Strategy. The majority of funding for the teams was provided by AusAID, through a AUD $1.5 million grant provided to support peace building activities in Timor-Leste. A significant amount of funding has also been provided by NZAID. The teams work closely with local authorities to promote dialogue to help alleviate the concerns of IDPs moving from the camps and those who are living in the receiving communities, as well as to avoid and mitigate potential conflicts. The dialogue teams also work closely with partner agencies, such as IOM, CRS, CARE, Austcare, Belun, CJP and JRS. The MSS/UNDP Dialogue Teams encourage communities affected by conflict to talk to one another in order to resolve their differences amicably which will hopefully set the stage for a process of national reconstruction and recovery.

The teams have been created to help you. If you are facing difficulty in being accepted back into your community or if you are a member of a community that is experiencing tension or difficulties because of returning IDPs please the dialogue teams who will do their best to help. You can contact the MSS/UNDP dialogue teams on: 7298799 or 731 8477 or by visiting the dialogue teams at MSS or at each of the Dili sub-district offices, the Baucau MSS office, or the Ermera District Administrator’s office.

PN leaders allow govt to commit corruption, says opposition leader - FRETILIN wants to get rid of the govt through constitutional and peaceful ways, says Lu Olo - Xanana admits his government's incapability - President Horta calls on gas and oil investors to respect Timor-Leste - President Horta keeps urging Government and Parliament to combat poverty - PM Gusmao calls on politicians to avoid campaign for discouraging people - Security and defense are important, says Gusmao - Truth and Friendship Commission recommendations - no obligation to follow, says President Horta

PN leaders allow govt to commit corruption, says opposition leader - Timor-Post, 10 October 2008

Fretilin’s bench leader Aniceto Guterres said Thursday that the National Parliament under the leadership of Fernando de Araujo La Sama had been allowing the AMP government to do corruption by being permissive in demanding the transparency from the government.

Aniceto said that the president of the parliament had not kept his own promise to the people once he took office where La Sama said he would never be a mouthpiece for the government.

The promise of the President of the Parliament has gone with the wild wind and it leaves us with the reality we all face and witness,' said Guterres.

He also said that the bureau of the parliament had systematically made the parliament a second class organ of state and that it has blurred the principle of separation of powers between organs of the state.

He added that the leadership of the parliament failed to ask the government to present document about the number of national and international advisers working for the ministry of finance and also the documents about purchasing patrol boats.

He said that the bureau had also totally denied the democratic rights of the opposition when the state budget discussion was ongoing in the plenary.

Answering to the statements made, president of the National Parliament Fernando de Araujo La Sama said that the parliament can never be an opposition to the government because it's the parliament that forms the government.

He said that the parliament cannot value the performance of the government and that this has to be done by the public.

FRETILIN wants to get rid of the govt through constitutional and peaceful ways, says Lu Olo - Timor-Post, 10 October 2008
Fretilin's president Francisco Guterres 'Lu Olo' declared Thursday that the objective of the peace rally is to get rid of the incumbent government through a peaceful way.

'Fretilin’s demands have been very clear: through legal and constitutional ways,' explained Lu Olo.

The former president of the National Parliament said Fretilin will not use violence or coup d'etat to oust the AMP government as the experience of 2006 shows.

He said that in many countries, certain people may have used the weaknesses of the government as a trigger to launch a coup against the government but Fretilin will not do it.

Lu Olo said he was puzzled by the statement of the President Ramos Horta, arguing that the statements do not reflect any neutrality from the President's side.

'The right of the opposition to do peace march should not be denied by President Horta,' he said.

Lu Olo reminded the President to adopt a neutral position in order to promote dialogues in finding solutions to existing political differences.

Xanana admits his government's incapability - Timor-Post, 10 October 2008
East Timor's Prime Minister Kayrala Xanana Gusmao said Thursday during the official opening of the second legislature term that the challenge for the state, specially the government of the Majority Parliamentary Alliance (AMP) is its incapacity in effectively using plentiful existing resources for the common goods of the people.

'Our challenge now is not lack of resources but lack of capacity to use our existing resources, investing them in productive sectors in order to effectively build the country' he said.

Gusmao added that based on the development plan, in 2009 the government is committed to improving what had been done in 2008, to further consolidate the reform agenda and to accelerate economic development.

He said in order to fight against corruption the government would send a bill to the parliament on the establishment of an anti-corruption commission.

He added that the government will also submit a bill on the establishment of a public service commission to ascertain productivity, professionalism, efficiency and integrity in the public service.

President Horta calls on gas and oil investors to respect Timor-Leste - Radio Timor-Leste, 10 October 2008
President Jose Ranos Horta has called on the oil and gas investors to respect Timor-Leste's willingness to build the Greater Sunrise Oil Fields pipelines to the country.

Horta said building pipeline to Timor-Leste was in the people's interest and said the decision on building pipelines should be based on technical and commercial aspects not through a political decision.

Horta said the investors should not make comments early and be influenced with the decision made the Australian Government.

The Malaysian Petronas Company is currently doing research on the possibility of building pipeline to the country.

PM Gusmao calls on politicians to avoid campaign for discouraging people - Suara Timor Loro Sae, 10 October 2008
Prime Minster Xanana Gusmao has called for political parties of the country to avoid political campaigns that only destroy and decrease people's confidence in the nation, as well as making people discouraged.

The prime minister made the call yesterday during a speech marking for the opening of the second parliamentary legislative session at the Parliament House.

Gusmao said today was not time to look backward, but the time for moving forward, because the people wanted to live in peace and remain calm. Gusmao added the Government kept proposing the Government to support various sectors which would determine the country's development.

President Horta keeps urging Government and Parliament to combat poverty - Televizaun Timor-Leste, 10 October 2008
President Jose Ramos Horta has continued urging the Government led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and the Parliament to resolvethe issue of poverty in the country.

The president made the comments yesterday during a speech marking the opening of second Parliamentary legislative session at the Parliament House. Horta said fighting against poverty in the country was important and had been the president's top priority to go forward.

Horta stressed the Government should put fighting poverty as its top priority, because the issue of poverty could impact on the security of the country and national unity. Horta called on the Government officials and MPs to not betray those who had had sacrificed for the country's independence and urged them to work responsibly.

UN counseling officer urges Government to be proactive in protecting women and children - Radio Timor-Leste, 9 October 2008
The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) Counseling officer Jeca de Oliveira has urged the Timorese Government to be proactive in protecting women and children from violent actions.

Oliveira made the comments today (9/10) during a press conference held at the office of UNMIT, Kaikoli of Dili. Oliveira said angry and violent actions were being the cause of mental illness and were also human emotions and that could emerge problem at work if it could not be controlled well.

Oliveira stressed the Government needed to put hands into violence appeared within a family, in a way that women and children were protected. He added the UNMIT counseling officers had approached the victims who were suffering from the mental illness.

Security and defence are important, says Gusmao - Radio Timor-Leste, 9 October 2008
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, said security and defence were also important aspects to be priority in supporting the development of education, economy, justice and social security.

The prime minister made the comments today (9/10) during the opening of second legislative year of the Parliament. Gusmao said the Government was proposing the Parliament to initiate legislation in strengthening the country's education, economy, health, justice and social security.

Truth and Friendship Commission recommendations - no obligation to follow, says President Horta - Televizaun Timor-Leste, 9 October 2008
President Jose Ramos Horta said recommendations made by Timor-Leste and Indonesia's Joint Commission of Truth and Friendship (CVA) were not obligatory for the country's state bodies, such as the Government and the Parliament to follow it up.

President Horta made the comments today (9/10) after handing over the CVA's report to the Parliament during the opening of second legislative year of the Parliament. 'Recommendations are only recommendations and are not obligation for the Government and the Parliament to follow them,' Horta said. Horta added the CVA proposed the two countries to create a new mechanism for implementing the recommendations institutionally, but not similar to an ad hock.

One of the CVA’s recommendations is Timor-Leste and Indonesia should strengthen defence and security sector in the two country's borders.

ABC Radio Australia 10/10/2008 - The police chief of East Timor's second biggest city has been arrested amid rising tensions within the force.

Stephanie March reports Baucau police commander Aderito da Costa Ximenes was arrested by members of the UN police on Thursday.

The sub-inspector has been suspended from his position since August for disciplinary issues, but has continued working despite repeated warnings from superiors.

While the UN says the crime is not serious, the move comes at a time when tensions are rising within the force as the government prepares to appoint a permanent national commander.

An anonymous leaflet has been circulating throughout the capital threatening to reignite the east/west regional conflict that flared in 2006.

The leaflet makes threats against the government if a person from the East is appointed to the top job.

Police have increased security in the capital Dili and set up nightly check points to search cars for illegal weapons.

ABC Radio Australia 10/10/2008 - East Timor's President and chief prosecutor are at odds over the prosecution of senior military figures for their role in illegally arming civilians during the 2006 crisis. Last week, the prosecutor general said it was the president's fault he'd not yet been able launch the action, while Jose Ramos Horta says there are other priorities.

Presenter: Stephanie March

Speakers: Longuinhos Monteiro, East Timor's Prosecutor General; Jose Ramos Horta, President; Mari Alkatiri, former Prime Minister; Luis Oliveira, Judicial System Monitoring Program

MARCH: A United Nations commission of inquiry into the 2006 crisis recommended Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak- known in East Timor as TMR - be prosecuted for illegal weapons transfer, along with former defence minister Roque Rodrigues.

As members of the superior defence council the pair enjoy an immunity that the President has the power to lift.

Prosecutor General Longinous Montiero asked the President four months ago to waive the immunity, but has not yet received a response.

He says he is frustrated his office gets blamed for failing to launch an investigation into Brigadier Ruak's actions.

MONTIERO: Everybody is demanding 'the office of the PG do nothing, all cases are pending, nothing is updated when we asking no answer' - so what can we do�..(cut off by JOURNALIST)

JOURNALIST: So you hope to try TMR? You hope to bring him to court?

MONTIERO: Well I don't want to say that we will try or not but at least we need to hear, I cannot accuse anyone before we hear.

MARCH: Last week the Prosecutor General caused a stir in Dili when he sent summons to three other high-ranking military officers.

Colonel Lere Anan Timor, Major Mau Buti and Colonel Falur Rate Laek are now considered formal suspects in the investigation into the military's role in arming civilians during the 2006 crisis.

Brigadier Ruak says he will cooperate with investigators once his immunity is lifted,

�but President Jose Ramos Horta, says the prosecutor general should focus on other things.

HORTA: Because in the mean time there are other priorities facing him, facing the nation, that the nation is very concerned about and that is the assassination attempt on the President and the Prime Minister. These were not attempts of assassination of individuals but of the President and the Prime Minister, these must have absolute priority.

MARCH: In February this year the President and Prime Minister were attacked by a gang of former soldiers who had defected from the military during the political crisis in 2006.

He has said previously that he doesn't care if the investigation into the February attacks takes up to two years.

HORTA: And once that is concluded we can move on, backtrack to others like 2006 and others - there are many cases - 2000, 4000 case on his desk. The priorities are yes, February 11 2008 and then we go back to 2006.

MARCH: But Luis Oliveira, acting deputy director of watchdog NGO the Judicial System Monitoring Program says failing to lift the immunity will reinforce East Timor's strong culture of impunity and send the wrong message to the people.

OLIVEIRA: (translation) It sends political message, it sends the message to the East Timor society is that justice is politicised because the State says it is not urgent. But for our position justice is urgent and must be open to all of people so all people can feel justice, justice must be done for all of people not for one side only.

MARCH: He says the president is not correct when he says the attempted assassination case is more important than those from two years ago when tensions between the police and military erupted into violence, killing 37 people.

OLIVEIRA: (translation) The 11 February case is related to the 2006 cases, that why the prosecutor general is trying to use authority to deal with these cases from 2006 as well.

MARCH: Brigadier Ruak, was the leader of the Falantil armed resistance when East Timor became independent in 1999 and still has many supporters both in and outside the military.

Senior Fretilin opposition party members - including former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri - have said they are prepared to act as lawyers on his behalf.

But some observers fear even an investigation, may lead to trouble.

Mari Alkatiri:

ALKATIRI: the problem is not with those people who are being called now to make their own testimony to justice system the problem is their supporters, the army as a whole. We have to manage this very carefully.

MARCH: Luis Oliveira from Judicial System Monitoring Program says it is possible the President is preventing Brigadier Ruak from being investigated to avoid instability.

OLIVEIRA: (translation) There could be a political reason behind this. Because if they open the case it could have a negative impact on the current situation. So our president doesn't prioritise the case - maybe he has his own reasons but from my point of view for the social aspect of the justice system, there should not be any exception for anyone to face justice.

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Position Title : Coordinator of Parliamentary Research
Start Date: Immediate
Duration: Full-time
Duty station: Dili, Timor-Leste

Coordinator of Parliamentary Research
Re-Posting/Terms of References
Deadline for Applications: 24 October 2008

Background

The National Parliament of Timor-Leste and The Asia Foundation Timor-Leste, with generous support from the United States Agency for International Development, the United States House Democracy Assistance Committee and the Library of Congress, have established a Parliamentary Library at the National Parliament building in Dili, Timor-Leste as of January 2008. The National Parliament now seeks a senior Timorese Research Coordinator to lead the establishment and management of the nation’s first Parliamentary Research Service.

Summary

This research professional, as Coordinator of Parliament Research (CPR), appointed by the Secretary General of Parliament, will serve to ensure that insightful and impartial research is provided to the National Parliament of Timor-Leste (NPTL) before and after the legislative drafting process. As such the CPR will manage the incremental development of a Parliament Research Service (PRS) which serves parliamentary committees and Members of Parliament. The PRS will seek to gather interdisciplinary resources, encourage critical thinking and create innovative frameworks to help legislators form sound policies and reach decisions on a host of difficult issues. These decisions will guide and shape the nation today and for generations to come.

The CPR will ensure that the PRS will be able to assist at every stage of the legislative process — from the early considerations that precede legislative drafting, through committee hearings and floor debate, to the oversight of enacted laws and various agency activities. However, initially given the existing funding and management constraints, the CPR will provide the Parliament him/her self with the analytical support the parliament needs to address foundational public policy issues facing the new nation and the nascent parliamentary system.

The CPR will focus initially on early considerations that precede legislative drafting. CPR will analyze current policies and present the impact of proposed policy alternatives, even if it means bringing to light facts that may be contrary to established assumptions.

Reporting

The CPR will work under the direct supervision of the Secretary General of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste. The Coordinator will be in close collaboration with The Asia Foundation and will provide a monthly report to TAF. The CPR will work closely with all Members of Parliament (MPs). The Coordinator will be responsible for the formation and management of technical teams for research.

Responsibilities

The CPR will provide the following services:

• Written reports on current legislative issues to MPs
• Supervising and reviewing the work of researchers
• Expert testimony in parliamentary sessions to MPs
• Tailored confidential memoranda, briefings and consultations to MPs
• Management of information requests for research from MPs
• Establish research team including recruiting research staff members for the PRS
• Coordinate with other donor and government-sponsored programs providing technical support to the PRS
• Coordinate research with other research centers
• Produce monthly progress report to The Asia Foundation and the Speaker of National Parliament of Timor-Leste

Qualifications and experience:

• Timor-Leste citizenship
• University Masters degree, preferably in social policy or any related subject
• Strong organizational skills
• Understanding of quantitative methodologies
• Proven legal and economic analysis
• Experience with government agencies, and international development partners working methods and ability to establish and maintain working relationships with people from a range of organizations.
• Experience in conducting research through written materials and the internet
• Good communication skills in Tetum and/or Portuguese, and English (written and
spoken).
• Computer skills including Word, Excel, and Internet.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.

Personal specifications:

• Ability to work under tight pressure of deadlines.
• Analytical capabilities to integrate multiple disciplines and research methodologies.
• Program and legislative expertise.
• Ability to approach complex topics from a variety of perspectives and examine all
sides of an issue.
• Good person to person communication, rapport building and facilitation skills.
• Willingness to contribute to and work in a team.
• Detail-oriented.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Committed to assisting the MPs to enrich their knowledge on topics to be debated in the Parliament’s plenary sessions.
• Demonstrated political impartiality.

Applicants should send their CV with cover letter to The Asia Foundation Timor-Leste to address:

Fabia Tilman
Rua Jacinto Candido
Audian, Dili, Timor-Leste
Mobile: +670 7230917
E-mail: ftilman@asiafound.org or Filipe Menezes at: fmenezes@asiafound.org

Women candidates are encouraged to apply.

FRETILIN Leader in Parliament: Statement on Opening of 2nd Legislative Session
Statement by Aniceto Guterres, Leader of FRETILIN in the Parliament on the Occasion of Solemn Ceremony for the Opening of the Second Legislative Session of the Timor-Leste National Parliament.

Dili, 9 October 2008

Your Excellency the President of the Republic,

Your Excellency the President of the National Parliament,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Excellencies.

This parliament has been and continues, as far our bench is concerned, the representative assembly for all Timorese citizens, the chamber where the People's voice should echo to guarantee the compliance with the Constitution and the laws against the abuse of power.

Without a Parliament, without respect for the rules of democracy, without the Rule of Law, we will only see dictatorship, autocracy and oppression, which have always been rejected by our people.

Without rules that secure the balance of power, without the adherence to the primacy of Law, we will easily fall into the temptation of totalitarianism trampling on and negating the inherent human rights and freedoms which give meaning to our independence for which so many gave their lives and underwent sacrifice.

Mr. President of the National Parliament,

When Your Excellency spoke upon being elected President of this Noble Chamber in August 2007, before this Assembly, transmitted live by Public Radio and Television to the whole of our country, Your Excellency declared that this National Parliament under your Presidency, "will not and will never be the mouthpiece of the government". A message that left amongst our people expectations of the growth of a Parliament full of vigor and strength, that would secure a balance between the constitutional powers and make democracy flourish in Timor-Leste.

After one year of parliamentary deliberations, and after making an assessment of the 1st Legislative Session, we lament that your statements proffered on that solemn moment, did not survive beyond that moment. The National Parliament became more debilitated, submissive and diminished in the shadow of the executive.

The Executive of the National Parliament in the 1st Legislative Session was unable to secure its independence and the separation between the legislature and the executive; it failed to demonstrate competence and seriousness to guarantee the due respect for the National Parliament to whom the Executive/Government accounts in accordance with the Constitution.

The Executive of the National Parliament allowed the National Parliament to be systematically bypassed and diminished by the Government.

The Executive of the Parliament allowed the Government to refuse to submit itself to an urgent debate regarding the execution of the budget when it failed to ensure the debate occurred as the law specified, it also allowed the Government the same way to fail to attend parliament every month to answer the questions of the members of this Parliament, allowed the government to this day to fail to present documents requested by members of this parliament such as copies of contracts relating to the national and international advisors, contract for the purchase of patrol boats, contracts for millions and millions of hectares of land conceded to foreign entities.

The Executive of the Parliament scandalously breached the Law during the debate in the generality for the Budget, restricting the democratic right of the opposition as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic.

The Executive of the Parliament impeded the opposition from using the weight of debate to scrutinize the Government, which permitted corruption to deteriorate significantly with a fall of 22 places in the Transparency International ranking now sharing place with the most corrupt nations on earth, and which brings shame to us all.

Before closing we remind us all that the Government's proposed Budget should be presented to this parliament in a timely fashion to allow the National Parliament to adequately scrutinize it. Under no circumstances should the time period of three months before the end of the financial year for presentation of the proposed budget to the National Parliament be abridged. As such we await that the proposed Budget very soon the Government will present the proposed State Budget for the 2009 Fiscal Year.

F-FDTL's recruitment cancelled, says Taur - Suara Timor Lorosae, 9 October 2008
Timorese Defense Force Commander Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak stated Wednesday (8/10) that the recruitment of new officers for the Defence Force is cancelled due to certain complications in the new military law.

“The recruitment is cancelled because there is a failure in the law which initially says that there is compulsory military service,” Taur explained. He added that the recruitment would be resumed next year once the change is made in the military law.

In January 2006 there were 1,435 soldiers registered but as the'petitioners' were involved around 715 soldiers who left the military base and were then sacked accordingly.

He said that the Defence Force is prepared all the time to take defence responsibility of the county.

Taur says OK to Fretilin's peace march - Suara Timor Lorosae, 9 October 2008
Timorese Defense Force Commander Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak stated Wednesday (8/10) that the people should not be concerned about the forthcoming peace march organised by Fretilin as Fretilin wants also the development of this country.

'Don’t ever be concerned about this because every one of us want to develop the country,' Ruak said after having a meeting with the President of the Republic.

He explained that the Constitution guarantees the right of every one to demonstrate but this right has to be exercised according to the law.

Taur believed that there will be no violence during the peace march.

He added that the security situation in the country has returned to normal and therefore the F-FDTL members will be withdrawn from the stations where they were posted after the February 11 incident.

Timor Telecom Company disagrees with policy of having new operator - Timor Post, 9 October 2008
Timor Telecom Company (TT) has stated its disagreement with the policy made by the Government inviting a new operator to compete with them.

TT Company has sent an official letter responding the Government's request of having dialog with TT Company.

A member of TT, Ocar Lima, said although the Government had planned to invite other companies, yet the companies would refuse because numbers of telephone users in the country were lower.

The Government should actually look at the contract made by the former government with TT Company and said if the Government keeps asking new operators coming to invest, he would resign from TT.

Xanana Gusmao should pay attention to corruption not long march: Carrascalao & Branco - Timor Post, 9 October 2008
Social Democratic Party (PSD) MP Mario Viegas Carrascalao and Fretilin MP Francisco Miranda Branco urged Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to pay attention to corruption not the long march by Fretilin.

The MPs made the comments yesterday at the Parliament House regarding the prime minister's recent concerns about the long march as a threat for the Government.

MP Carrascalao said the important issue the Government should prioritise was corruption, as combating corruption in the country could improve the country's image.

MP Branco said the report of International Transparency found corruption practices in the country and that Gusmao should prioritise this issue and said should not consider the long march as a threat to power.

LUTA-HAMUTUK urges Government to review contract for Manitoba Company - Radio Timor-Leste, 9 October 2008
LUTA-HAMUTUK NGO has urged the Government led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to review the contract for the Manitoba Company that is currently responsible for electricity maintenance in the Capital Dili.

A researcher from LUTA-HAMUTUK, Helio Pereira Guimaraes, made the comments during a press conference held yesterday.

Guimaraes said the current power outage in the Capital Dili was the fault of the Manitoba Company, as the company had not worked properly in the maintenance.

LUTA-HAMUTUK called on the Government to halt the contract with the Manitoba Company, if there would be no changes.

He added the state budget spending for the maintenance would never bring any profit to the country's people and that the Government should take a concrete action in relation to the company.

F-FDTL officers hold tactic practices of operation - Televizaun Timor-Leste, 9 October 2008
The Timorese Defense Force (F-FDTL) officers held tactic practices of military operation after participating in a joint military training for the Portuguese Language Countries in Portugal.

The 12 of F-FDTL officers on Tuesday (7/10) were involved in the tactic practices of operation to identify and observe hideout of an armed group. Those F-FDTL officers chose the hill of Gagaplamu, Atabae sub district, district of Bobonaro as the hideout of the armed group or being the target of the operation.

Trainer Major Reis said the defense force officers were training about raiding the hideout of an armed group and they were trained about tactic of raiding an ambush.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Mario Batistas said was pleased with the training, because it would help them in commanding a team military in an
operation.

Lieutenant Helder da Costa said during the training they were learning about making plans and learning about maps.

Council of Ministers approves proposed law on setting up anti-corruption commission - Televizaun Timor-Leste, 9 October 2008
The Government has approved proposed law for the establishment of an anti-corruption commission in Timor-Leste through the Council of the Ministers’ meeting.

The proposed law was approved to help support the commission in combating corruption appeared and promoting culture of transparency, accountability and integrity of the country.

The Council of the Ministers also approved an organic law for the works of the national intelligence which would help provide information for the sake of national security.

Apart from this, the Council of the Ministers also learnt and analyzed over an organic law for the Ministry of Planning and Finance including commission of inter-ministerial of economic development.

Horta is not the Constitution and the law, says FRETILIN - Suara Timor Lorosae, 9 October 2008
FRETILIN's bench leader in the National Parliament Aniceto Longuinhos Guterres said Wednesday (8/10) that the President of the Republic should not identify himself with the Constitution and the laws in relation to the Fretilin’s plan to stage a peace march.

Guterres said as the President, she should know that the Constitution guarantees every citizen’s right to assemble and demonstrate and therefore the President should not impede the peace march.

He added that as President, Horta should make the AMP government accountable, they government that he himself appointed to rule the county.

“As the head of the state, he may have concerns about the peace march,….but the march itself should not be impeded,” he said.

He explained that the peace march itself would be an event where the people can exercise their fundamental rights.

Guterres argued that in democratic country like East Timor no one should restrain peace march and that if there are any concerns about security, then security institution should be in place to ensure law and order.

Asked about the infiltration of the third party in the peace march, he said that the involvement of the third party is likely to happen, the concern of the people should be on how to deal with it but not to be over-concerned about the party organizing the march.

Meanwhile MP Manuel Tilman of KOTA said that the peace march itself everyone’s freedom to express his or her opinion as it is guaranteed in the Constitution.

He said that KOTA would participate in the peace march.

NZ and Australian Ambassadors meet with PM Gusmao - Televizaun Timor-Leste, 8 October 2008
New Zealand and Australian Ambassadors have met with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao talking on the country situation, mainly about maritime security of the country.

The Australian Ambassador to Timor-Leste, Peter Howard said the objective of meeting with the prime minister was to talk on security situation in the country.

“In particular we talked about maritime security,” Howard said.

In regard to a new policy of the deployment of the International Stabilization Forces (ISF) to help resolve illegal fishing in the country's sea, Howard said the details will be discussed with the State Secretary for Defense, Julio Tomas Pinto.

There will be no more crises appearing, says Brigadier Ruak - Radio Timor-Leste, 8 October 2008
Timorese Defense Force Commander, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, said there would be no more crises appearing within the country.

The Commander was referring to the rumors mongering that there would be another petition makers with the Timorese National Police (PNTL).

Ruak said there would be no problem appears in the PNTL, because the police officers and commanders were capable in resolving this matter.

“What I have seen here is so many speculations, saying there would be other petition makers by certain police officers. I do believe that nothing would happen,” Ruak said.

He added Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, state secretary for defence and security had held meetings with the defense force and police talking on the issue.

Government to watch over long march by Fretilin: PM Gusmao - Radio Timor-Leste, 8 October 2008
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, said the Government he was leading would watch over the long march would be held by Fretilin party in the upcoming November, so that the people could remain calm.

The prime minister made the comments today (8/10) after informing President Jose Ramos Horta on the country general situation.

Gusmao said he was not concerned about the Fretilin's plan of holding peace rally, yet was only concerned about stability in the Capital Dili, because he wanted all the people could live in peace and remain calm.

In regard to the rumors mongering that there would be another petition makers within the police force, Gusmao said he had held meeting with the police officers and commanders for preventing problem.

Headlines: Timor-Leste's Interpol takes part in general meeting in Russia -
F-FDTL ready to respond violence, says Julio Tomas Pinto - Set aside egoism to live in peace, says PM - F-FDTL commanders were only implicated, says Pinto -
F-FDTL would be deployed along TL-Indonesian borders - State bodies keep supporting gender equality - Police ready to respond situation: Belo -
Too early to summon Brigadier Taur for inquiry, says President Horta - PNTL members who form new petitioners will be expelled - Interim PNTL Commander and others questioned over missing money - Horta concerns about rumors mongering in the country

Timor-Leste's Interpol takes part in general meeting in Russia - Timor Post 8 October 2008
Timor's Interpol Chief, Longinhos Monteiro, last Saturday departed for Petersburg, Russia to participate in a general meeting of the International Police Crime Organization (Interpol) on the serious and minor cases, such as Malibaka case.

Prosecutor General Monteiro said Timor-Leste had many times worked together with International Criminal Police making plans for investigation into serious and minor cases.

Monteiro said before representing Timor-Leste in the meeting he had coordinated with the country’s criminal police unit, because Timor-Leste was currently a member of Interpol.

F-FDTL ready to respond violence, says Julio Tomas Pinto - Diario Nacional 8 October 2008
State Secretary for Defense, Julio Tomas Pinto, said the Timorese Defence Force (F-FDTL) was ready to respond to any violence which might take place during the long march by Fretilin shortly.

The state secretary said every citizen and political party of the country had the right to express, yet they should hold it peacefully and said Fretilin had made comments that there would be no violence. Pinto said F-FDTL's military police were prepared to boost the Timorese National Police (PNTL) for securing the long march and if any violence were committed, the defence force and the Government would not tolerate it.

He added although Fretilin had publicised that it would guarantee the long march, yet they should first get authorization from PNTL.

Set aside egoism to live in peace, says PM - Suara Timor Lorosae 8 October 2008
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said during an opening of Gender Resource Center at the National Parliament Tuesday (7/10) that women would have to set aside their egoism and interests if they want to see the people to live in peace and harmony.

“Dissipate individual egoism, group interests, sectoral or ministerial egoism, especially among the members of the government so that we can execute our designed programs and plans,” Gusmao said.

He believed that if Timorese women live by this principle a peaceful society would be established in Timor-Leste. He urged women to work together to boost their intellectual and technical capacities and to provide access to all existing services. He added that women should adopt a global vision in order to improve their capacities.

The resource center is funded and supported by the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) and UNIFEM. Prime Minister Gusmao said he hoped that the center would provide information in relation to gender equality and encourage women to take leads.

F-FDTL commanders were only implicated, says Pinto - Suara Timor Lorosae 8 October 2008
Secretary of State for Defense Julio Tomas Pinto said Tuesday (7/10) that F-FDTL officers did not distribute weapons to civilian but were only implicated in a big case taking place in 2006 where they had to defend the F-FDTL that was under attack.

“The involvement of Colonel Lere, Lieutenant Colonel Falur and Commander Maubuti was an implication of a big cause at that time,” Pinto said. He argued, “What the commanders did was to simply defend the F-FDTL institution which was under attack then.”

He said Timorese public knows who distributed weapons to civilians, fueling the crises in 2006.

In relation to the intention of calling Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak to give his statement before the Public Prosecution, Pinto said the call has to be in line with the law and that the call has to be approved by the President of the Republic.

“It is important that he is called based on the law such as that it is the competence of the President to authorise it,” Pinto reiterated.

F-FDTL would be deployed along TL-Indonesian borders - Suara Timor Lorosae 8 October 2008
Secretary of State for Defense Julio Tomas Pinto said Tuesday (7/10) that in order to fight against illegal immigrants in the country, East Timor's Defence Force (F-FDTL) has to be deployed along Timor-Leste – Indonesian borders.

He added that an assessment team had been dispatched to gather public opinion from the places where the F-FDTL members would be stationed. To date, the members of the Defence Force has been stationed in Tilomar, Batugade, Maliana, Lolotoe and Bobonaro. A team of the Secretary of State for Defence is scheduled to visit the population living near the border areas in Oekuse to explain the functions of the F-FDTL in a democratic country.

He said that since the beginning the policy of the state has been to avoid armed conflict with the Indonesians along the borders and therefore the F-FDTL members will be placed behind the PNTL's Border Police and Immigration.

Pinto explained that there had been three meetings or so with the Indonesian Armed Forces about the intention of deploying the F-FDTL along the borders.

State bodies keep supporting gender equality: Gusmão and Lasama - Televizaun Timor Leste 8 October 2008
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao and Parliamentary President, Fernando Lasama Araujo, said the country's state bodies would continue promoting gender equality in Timor-Leste through capacity building programs.

Gusmao and Lasama made the comments yesterday during speech marking the ceremony for commemorating international day of women in the rural areas at the Parliament house.

PM Gusmao said the Government would give more opportunity to the country's women in rural areas having good skills to move forward with the country's development.

Parliamentary President Lasama has pledged to cooperate with all the diplomatic corps in the country to empower Timorese women.

Police ready to respond situation: Belo - Televizaun Timor-Leste 8 October 2008
Dili District Police Commander, Inspector Pedro Belo, said the police force was ready to respond to situations, mainly if any violence was committed during the long march by Fretilin.

The commander said every citizen of the country had the right to hold peace rally or long march, but should follow the existing law being applied. Based on information they come up and down in the Capital Dili, but should abide by the rules, otherwise, the police would respond it,” Belo said.

Belo called on the police to keep maintaining security within the country and not involving in politics.

Too early to summon Brigadier Taur for inquiry, says President Horta - Timor Post 8 October 2008
President Jose Ramos Horta who is also the supreme commander of the Timorese Defence Force, said it was too early for to urge a suspension of Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak for facing inquiry regarding the recent crises of the country in 2006.

The president said the assassination attempt to him by the former rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado Alves and followers on February 11 should be the priority of the court to process it, not the crises of 2006.

Horta was responding a notification made by the country's Public Prosecutor to summon Brigadier Ruak to give his statement in the court.

Horta stressed the attempted assassination and the ambush on February 11 was an urgent case that needed to be processed soon.

The Public Prosecution is pending so many cases and is not yet to be processed legally. The International Investigative Commission also recommended some soldiers who engaged in the crises be prosecuted, but it did not mean the state should follow it, Horta said.

PNTL members who form new petitioners will be expelled, says Pedro Belo - Radio & TVTL 7 October 2008
Dili PNTL Commander Inspector Pedro Belo said during a police parade Tuesday (7/10) that any police officers who join forming new petitioners within the PNTL will be expelled from the PNTL.

“If anyone wants to make petitioners within the PNTL, she or he will be expelled tomorrow from the PNTL,” said Belo. He called on the police to defend law and order and not to be easily divided by any political maneuvers. He also urged the police to act professionally in responding to the plan of FRETILIN's peace march and the ‘rumors’ of the new petitioners in the PNTL.

He said around 700 officers of the PNTL would be deployed to provide security during the peace march. He added that PNTL would not give any space for anyone wishing to divide the PNTL and create instability in the country.

Interim PNTL Commander and others questioned over missing money - Radio Timor Leste 7 October 2008
Secretary of State for Security Francisco Guterres said Tuesday (7/10) that Interim PNTL Commander Afonso de Jesus and other officers are being questioned by the office of Public Prosecution over the missing US$27,000 that disappeared during the Joint Operation Command.

According to Guterres they were called to give their statements based on new evidence found from the investigation into the case.

“They are still in the PNTL and they are called just to give more details about the case,” explained Guterres, adding that as the investigation goes on some more officers would be called to give their statements as well.

He said that the government is still expecting the results of the investigation in order to settle the issue as soon as possible.

Horta concerns about rumors mongering in the country - Televizaun Timor-Leste 7 October 2008
President Jose Ramos Horta said he was concerned about the current rumor mongering that there would be more petition makers from the Timorese National Police (PNTL) regarding the appointment of new police commander.

The president said the country’'s recent crises of 2006 which was sparked the two country's two security forces, PNTL and F-FDTL was a lesson for the country to not repeat what people had experienced.

Horta also concerned about Fretilin’s plan to mobilize mobs for holding long march in the upcoming November. “I am calling on the country's politicians, mainly the Fretilin leaders, to hold dialog with the state bodies and the bishops seeking solutions to the country's problems,” Horta said.

Horta also explained in holding a rally there should be clear objective and if the rally would only be held for political purposes he disagreed. Horta called on the all the country's politicians to keep maintaining peace and stability in the country.

MPs debates power outage in the capital – Suara Timor Lorosae 3 October 2008
Members of the National Parliament suggested the government to recruit more professionals as a way to find solutions to the frequent power outage in the capital.

MP Pedro da Costa from CNRT made the statement during a plenary session Tuesday (30/9).
There are three new generators purchased to deal with the problem frequent power blackout.

Meanwhile, PSD bench leader in the Parliament Fernando Gusmao said that the power blackout happens because there is a failure in the company which operates the electricity.

Recently, FRETILIN MP Inacio Moreira demanded the Secretary of State for Water and Urbanisation, who also deals with electricity, to be sacked due to his incapacity in finding solutions to the recurring problems of power outage.

TLGov: MSS assists 889 IDP families from five camps to return home MINISTRY OF SOCIAL SOLIDARITY PRESS RELEASE 7 October 2008 MSS assists 889 IDP families from five camps to return home

Since mid-September MSS has assisted more than 889 families from five IDP camps to return home. On 15 September MSS facilitated the reintegration of 208 families from Sao Jose Balide IDP camp. On 22 September MSS assisted 366 families from Hera Port IDP camp to return home. On 3 October MSS commenced assisting with the reintegration of more than 300 families from the Tibar IDP camps (Turleu, Ismaik. Matadorou).

Each of the families was assisted to return with transport provided by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and IOM. UNPol provided security during the movement from the camps. Each person, including children, has also received 16 kg of rice. Those who are eligible to receive a recovery grant from the MSS to help them rebuild or repair their homes can receive the money at the BPA.

The Minister of Social Solidarity, Maria Domingas Fernandes Alves, and the Secretary of State for Social Assistance and Natural Disasters, Jacinto Rigoberto Gomes, have thanked the camp managers at each of the camps for their work over the past two years. They also thanked the SLS agencies ­ IOM and NRC - for providing the camps with humanitarian assistance, and Oxfam, Caritas Australia, Plan, Triangle and UNICEF for their support to the camps over the past two years.

The MSS/UNDP dialogue teams have helped organize preparatory meetings at the camps to support the return of IDPs. They have also held dialogue meetings in Cristo Rei, and sucos Becora, Metinaro, Fatuhada, and Camea to support IDP reintegration from these five camps. The MSS/UNDP dialogue teams have been working with Chefe Aldeias, Chefe Sucos and youth representatives in the receiving communities to try to ensure that the situation in areas of return remains peaceful. The Minister of Social Solidarity, and the Secretary of State for Social Assistance and Natural Disasters, have expressed their hope that IDPs are able to return to their former homes and rehabilitate them in peace.

With the return of IDPs from Sao Jose, Hera Port and the Tibar camps, more than 7700 IDP families will have received a recovery or reintegration package under the Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru National Recovery Strategy. 28 IDP camps are now closed.

Image: An IDP camp in Dili.

WARDEN MESSAGE

THE EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES IS TRANSMITTING THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION THROUGH THE EMBASSY WARDEN SYSTEM AS A PUBLIC SERVICE TO AMERICAN CITIZENS IN TIMOR-LESTE. PLEASE DISSEMINATE THIS MESSAGE TO ALL U.S. CITIZENS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR NEIGHBORHOOD. THANK YOU.

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Increased Security Around Dili

1) The Government Palace is increasing security. Photo ID will be required, and new vehicle entry restrictions are in effect.

2) The police have informed us that they are setting up checkpoints around town. Below is a list of checkpoint locations. Planned hours of operation are 2000-2200 hours and 0200-0500 hours, including roving patrols as well as static checkpoints. Contacts in the national police inform us that these checkpoints will be active over the next few weeks and applied periodically thereafter.

Checkpoint Locations:

1. Pantai Kelapa intersection (in front of the Indonesian food restaurant)

2. Residence of the American Embassy (Management Officer): At Bidau Santana intersection

3. City Café Restaurant: location at ANZ intersection

4. Government Palace location at old Post office

5. Audian in front of TOP ONE (Residence of the Secretary of State for security)

6. Aitarak Laran intersection (in front of the Pertamina, Micro Finance office)

7. Kolmera intersection (Road to Hotel Timor and Government Palace)

The police are mainly checking for the following items:

--Illegal and/or traditional weapons

--Proper Vehicles/Motorcycles documents

--Special focus on vehicles that use DH plate numbers/Jakarta plate numbers

We strongly advise American citizens and their dependents to maintain at all times identity documents identifying them as American citizens or their dependents. We also recommend that you store photocopies of your passport’s information (photo) page and Timor-Leste visa separate from your passport.

We further advise American citizens and their dependents to cooperate with authorities in the event they come across a military or police checkpoint. Please be aware of your surroundings.

The U.S. Embassy will provide American citizens with further reports. For emergency contact, you may reach Consular Officer Roberto Quiroz at 723-1328. Embassy Switchboard is 332-4684. To reach an American staff member, please dial extension 2083, 2056, or 2171.

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The U.S. Embassy in Dili, East Timor
Pantai Kelapa
Dili, East Timor
Tel: 670 332-4684 Fax: 670 331-3206
Email: ConsDili@state.gov
24 hour emergency number: (670) 723-0949

Americans in East Timor should immediately register at the Embassy and obtain all recent messages sent to the American community in East Timor. U.S. citizens living in or traveling to East Timor can also register through the State Department's travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov.

Image: United States Embassy in Dili, East Timor

Modified unofficial automated translation. Original Portuguese text follows.

The National Parliament
Secretariat
Office of Public Relations

No agenda 136/II Plenary Meeting of Monday, of 6 October 2008

The plenary session today was presided over by II Vice-Presiden of the National Parliament, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixao, assisted by Secretary of the Bureau, Sra. Deputada Mary Tereziha Viegas.

Were present in this, as authors of the proposal, Minister of Education Cancio Freitas, Deputy Minister Paulo Assis and an adviser.

The President of the National Parliament Mr. Fernando La Sama will make his report to the public and the President of the Republic of RDTL Mr. Dr. Jose Ramos Horta and a message to the nation.

In the period before the Order of the Day, the following information was provided:

1. Information on the grounds of absence of deputies:

Mr Alberto da Silva Cruz was not present in Parliament since 2 October 2008 until 7th of October 2008 because of his health;

Mrs. Deputy Ilda Maria da Conceicao did not mark attendance in Parliament since 4 September 2008 until 26 September 2008 by the same reason;

Mr Cecilio Caminha Freitas was not present in Parliament since 17 September 2008 until 30 September 2008 because of health and was being treated in Surabaya, Indonesia;

Mr. Dep Francisco de Araujo was not present in Parliament since 30 September 2008 until the 3 October 2008 because of his health; and

Mr Natalino dos Santos Birth did not attend Parliament since 28 September to 2 October because of .....

2. Information on temporary replacement of Mr Cornelius Gama (G-7), by Sra Sabina da Silva from 6 October 2008 until 9 November 2008;

3. Political Declaration of Solidarity by FRETILIN on the President of the National Parliament Mr. Fernando La Sama de Araujo and the use of government vehicles for private needs .

4. Any political statements. In this matter the deputies had the information collected at the base, particularly on the needs of the people and corruption in East Timor.

During the period of the Agenda was the only scheduled topic:

"Continuation of the discussion and vote in the specialty of the Proposed Law no. 8/II Law on Education.

This was done as the following information:

- debate and vote on Article 19 (Association of Higher Education Facilities). The vote was 36 votes in favor, 0 against and 4 abstentions. The Article 19 passed.

- debate and vote on the proposal to include N0 7 of Article 19-A0 Organization (Civil). The vote was 12 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions. Addition of this proposal therefore did not pass the amendments N0 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 were damaged. Proposers were Mr Virgilio Days Marçal, Mr Moises Romeo and Mr Francisco Jeronimo.

- debate and vote on Article 20 (Qualifications and diplomas). The vote was 35 votes to 0 against and 6 abstentions. Article 20 passed.

After the interval/dinner, the Plenary Session continued with the agenda on the Proposed Law N0 8/II.

- debate and vote on Article 21 (Degree). The vote was 40 votes to 0, with 0 abstention. Article 21 passed.

- debate and vote on Article 22 (Degree) and Article 23 (postgraduate). The vote was 42 votes to 0 with 1 abstention. They passed.

- debate and vote on Article 24 (Master), Article 25 (PhD), Article 26 (higher education institutions) and Article 27 (Scientific Research). The vote was 39 in favor, 0 against and 4 abstentions. They passed.

- debate and vote on the Proposal of Amendment 19 to Article 21 in paragraph 2. The vote was 44 votes to 0 against and 0 abstained. This happened. Proposer of the amendment was Mr. Stanislaus Mr. da Silva.

- Discussion on the Proposal for Amendment No 20 to Article 24 paragraph 3. This was not voted on as it was withdrawn after the explanations by the Minister of Education Proposers were Mr. Ignatius Mr. Freitas Moreira.

- debate and vote on the articles 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st. The vote was 37 votes to 0 with 2 abstentions. They passed.

Talk about an oral proposal by Mr Stanislaus da Silva. It was withdrawn after the intervention of the deputies.

- Vote on Article 32. The vote was 30 votes to 0 against and 5 abstentions. This passed.

- debate and vote on Section IV (Extra-School Education) Article 33 (Nature and Purpose of Education Extra-School). The vote was 33 votes in favor, 0 against and 4 abstentions. Section IV and the 33rd Article passed.

- debate and vote on the Section V (Training) Rule 34 (Nature and Aim of Vocational Training). The vote was 30 votes to 0 against and 6 abstentions. Section V and the 34th Article passed.

- debate and vote on Section VI (Curriculum Planning) Article 35 (Principles of Curriculum Planning), Article 36 (Occupancy of the Leisure Sports School) and Article 37 (Educational Research). The vote was 31 votes to 0 against and 4 abstentions. Section VI and Article 35th, 36th and 37th passed.

- Vote on Chapter III (Supports and Complements Educational) Article 38 (Promotion of Success School) and Article 39 (Social Action School). The vote was ... votes to ... and against ... abstentions. Section VI and the 38 and 39th Article passed.

Finally Sra. President notified the meeting that the next plenary session is starting at 09H00.

End.

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Agenda N.O 136/II Reunião Plenária de Segunda-Feira de 6 de Outubro de 2008


A Sessão Plenária de hoje foi presidida pela II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixão, coadjuvada pela Secretária da Mesa, Sra. Deputada Maria Tereziha Viegas.

Estiveram presentes nesta, como autores da Proposta, o Sr. Ministro da Educação Câncio Freitas, o Sr. Vice-Ministro Paulo Assis e um Assessor.

Antes de entrar na agenda a Sra. II Vice-Presidente informou que na mesa da lista de presença ainda existiam documentos sobre o Treinamento de Gênero. Permitiu os Senhores Deputados que não participaram para os tomarem Consequentemente deu tempo aos Chefes das Bancadas Parlamentares para reverem a agenda da Sexta-Feira, de 3 de Outubro de 2008. Informou também que o Presidente do Parlamento Nacional Sr. Deputado Fernando La Sama fará o seu relatório ao público e o Presidente da República da RDTL Sr. Dr. José Ramos Horta também dirigirá a sua mensagem à nação. A II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional Sra. Deputada Maria Paixão desejou que seria melhor limitar os tempos em eventuais declarações políticas.
No período de Antes da Ordem do Dia foram realizadas as informações seguintes:

* Informação sobre a justificação de faltas dos Senhores Deputados: Sr. Deputado Alberto da Silva Cruz não marcou presenças no Parlamento desde o dia 2 de Outubro de 2008 até dia 7 de Outubro de 2008 por causa da sua saúde; Sra. Deputada Ilda Maria da Conceição não marcou presenças no Parlamento desde o dia 4 de Setembro de 2008 até dia 26 de Setembro de 2008 pela mesma causa; Sr. Deputado Cecilio Caminha Freitas não marcou presenças no Parlamento desde o dia 17 de Setembro de 2008 até dia 30 de Setembro de 2008 porque foi fazer tratamento de saúde em Surabaya-Indonésia; Sr. Dep. Francisco de Araújo não marcou presenças no Parlamento desde o dia 30 de Setembro de 2008 até dia 3 de Outubro de 2008 por causa da sua saúde e Sr. Deputado Natalino dos Santos Nascimento não marcou presenças no Parlamento desde o dia 28 de Setembro até dia 2 de Outubro por motivo de .....
* Informação sobre substituição temporária do Sr. Deputado Cornélio Gama (L-7), pela Sra. Deputada Sabina da Silva de 6 de Outubro de 2008 até 9 de Novembro de 2008;
* Declaração Política da Bancada FRETILIN sobre Solidariedade ao Presidente do Parlamento Nacional Sr. Deputado Fernando La Sama de Araújo e utilização de viaturas do Governo em necessidades privadas.
* Eventuais declarações políticas. Neste assunto os Senhores Deputados apresentaram as informações colhidas na base, especialmente sobre as necessidades do povo e corrupções em Timor-Leste.

No período da Ordem do Dia foi agendado o único assunto:
“ Continuação da discussão e votação na especialidade da Proposta de Lei no. 8/II, (“Lei de Bases da Educação”).
Este assunto foi realizado conforme as seguintes informações:
Ø Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 19o (Associação de Estabelecimentos de Ensino Superior). O resultado da votação foi 36 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. O Artigo 19o passou.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Aditamento N0 7 do Artigo 19-A0 (Organização da Função). O resultado da votação foi 12 votos a favor, 29 contra e 8 abstenções. Esta Proposta de Aditamento não passou e por isso as Propostas de Alterações N0 8, 9, 11, 12 e 13 foram prejudicadas. Os Deputados proponentes foram Sr. Deputado Virgilio Dias Marçal, Sr. Deputado Romeu Moises e Sr. Deputado Francisco Jerónimo.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 20o (Graus Académicos e Diplomas). O resultado da votação foi 35 votos a favor, 0 contra e 6 abstenções. O Artigo 20o passou.
Depois do intervalo/jantar, a Sessão Plenária continuava com a agenda da Proposta de Lei N0 8/II.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 21o (Bacharelato). O resultado da votação foi 40 votos a favor, 0 contra e 0 abstenção. O Artigo 21o passou.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 22o (Licenciatura) e Artigo 23o (Pós-Graduação). O resultado da votação foi 42 votos a favor, 0 contra e 1 abstenção. Estes passaram.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre o Artigo 24o (Mestrado), Artigo 25o (Doutoramento), Artigo 26o (Estabelecimentos de Ensino Superior) e Artigo 27o (Investigação Científica). O resultado da votação foi 39 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. Estes passaram.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Alteração No 19 ao Artigo 21o no 2. O resultado da votação foi 44 votos a favor, 0 contra e 0 abstenção. Esta passou. O Deputado proponente foi o Sr. Deputado Estanislau da Silva.
Ø Discussão sobre a Proposta de Alteração No 20 ao Artigo 24o no 3. Esta não foi votada por que foi retirada após as explicações do Ministro da Educação Sr. João Câncio Freitas. O Deputado proponente foi o Sr. Deputado Inácio Freitas Moreira.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre os Artigos 28o, 29o, 30o e 31o. O resultado da votação foi 37 votos a favor, 0 contra e 2 abstenções. Estes passaram.
Ø Discussão sobre uma Proposta oral do Sr. Deputado Estanislau da Silva. Foi retirada após as intervenções dos Senhores Deputados.
Ø Votação sobre o Artigo 32o. O resultado da votação foi 30 votos a favor, 0 contra e 5 abstenções. Este passou.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre a Seção IV (Educação Extra-Escolar) Artigo 33o (Natureza e Objetivo da Educação Extra-Escolar). O resultado da votação foi 33 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. A Seção IV e o Arigo 33o passaram.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre a Seção V (Formação Profissional) Artigo 34o (Natureza e Objetivo da Formação Profissional). O resultado da votação foi 30 votos a favor, 0 contra e 6 abstenções. A Seção V e o Arigo 34o passaram.
Ø Discussão e votação sobre a Seção VI (Planeamento Curricular) Artigo 35o (Princípios do Planeamento Curricular), Artigo 36o (Ocupação de Tempos Livres no Desporto Escolar) e Artigo 37o (Investigação Educacional). O resultado da votação foi 31 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. A Seção VI e os Arigos 35o, 36o e 37o passaram.
Ø Votação sobre o Capítulo III (Apoios e Complementos Educativos) Artigo 38o (Promoção de Sucesso Escolar) e Artigo 39o (Ação Social Escolar). O resultado da votação foi ... votos a favor, ... contra e ... abstenções. A Seção VI e os Arigos 38 e 39o passaram.
Finalmente a Sra. Presidente da Reunião notificou que a próxima Sessão Plenária começará às 09H00.

Fim. Gabienete de Relações Públicas

UNMIT: Press Briefing 26 September 2008 on 1999 serious crimes

Press Briefing 26 September 2008
Speakers: Marek Michon, Chief of Serious Crimes Investigation Team, UNMIT
Longuinhos Monteiro, Prosecutor-General of Timor-Leste
Allison Cooper, UNMIT Spokesperson
Hipolito Gama, UNMIT Spokesperson

This is a near verbatim transcript of UNMIT’s weekly press briefing. The views expressed by those external to the United Nations do not necessarily reflect the views of UNMIT.

Allison Cooper. Good morning everybody. Thank you for coming. Today we are joined by the Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro and also by the head of UNMIT’s Serious Crimes Investigation Team, Marek Michon. We will be giving you an overview of how the UN is working with the Prosecutor-General in investigating crimes allegedly committed in and around 1999. I would ask all of you to limit your questioning of both speakers to crimes about these times.

Marek Michon. Good morning and thank you for coming. Let me start by presenting our mandate of the Serious Crimes Investigation Team. The SCIT was established in order to assist the Office of the Prosecutor-General with outstanding investigations into crimes committed in 1999. By outstanding I mean cases that were not investigated by the former Serious Crimes Unit that was in Timor-Leste until 2005. Our team consists of 51 staff members, we have 11 investigators, five international coordination officers, five national legal officers, and of course administrative and supportive staff. In the brochures you received, our structure is more elaborated. We are divided into five regional investigation teams. All the teams are investigating cases in at least two of the districts of Timor-Leste. We commenced our work in February 2008, after the agreement between the Office of the Prosecutor-General and UNMIT was signed. At the beginning there were 396 cases pending, and we have prioritized 50 cases to investigate in the next coming months. It is obvious that 11 investigators cannot investigate 396 cases at the same time. We hope to complete investigations within three years. Recently we received an information management system similar to those used in other tribunals such as the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia and the one in Cambodia. So we hope that we will be able to create a fully searchable database that will also benefit the office of the Prosecutor-General. Thank you very much.

Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro: Good morning, I will speak in Tetum. After the signing of the agreement with UNMIT in February on the establishment of the Serious Crimes Investigation Team, that it will focus on the conclusion of outstanding cases investigated by the previous Serious Crimes Unit. The difference between the previous and current unit is that the previous Unit also had the mandate to indict, but the current SCIT can only investigate and recommend the cases for indictment to my office. So my office supervises the work of the SCIT and based upon that we have a weekly meeting to facilitate the process. So after concluding investigations, they submit the documents and we’ll analyze and determine if the cases are strong enough to be dealt with by the Courts. Marek mentioned there were 396 pending cases so 20 cases have been submitted to me and we are analyzing those 20 cases and we are hoping to process these soon.

So we hope with the establishment of SCIT the institution will be able to conclude the investigations and that will give the family members a relief that the cases have been dealt with and solved.

QUESTIONS:

TVTL: In regards to the SCIT investigation, this is a continuation process of prior work; is there any chance to indict anyone in Indonesia alleged to be involved?

Marek Michon: Thank you for the question. Many perpetrators of 1999 remain at large in Indonesia. The Courts of Timor-Leste and the Prosecutor General are free to prosecute those perpetrators. However, bringing them back from Indonesia depends upon bilateral agreements of extradition and it depends on the will of Indonesian authorities to prosecute those. To my best knowledge, but maybe Mr. Monteiro can confirm, an agreement on extradition has not been reached at this time. Thank you.

Stephanie March: The first question is what progress has been made by the Prosecutor-General Office with the cases brought up by the Serious Crimes Investigation Unit and put forward by the CAVR report?

Marek Michon: The Serious Crimes Unit filed more than 90 indictments for crimes committed in 1999. Close to 400 perpetrators were indicted. More than 80 of them were convicted. Of course the vast majority is still at large in Indonesia, however the indictments remain in the Courts of Timor-Leste seeing as there is not time limitation on bring people to court for crimes against humanity. Crimes against humanity also enjoy universal jurisdiction which means the perpetrators do not necessarily need to be brought to justice in Timor-Leste. So this is the progress made so far since 2005.

Stephanie March: What will be the future of the Serious Crimes Investigation Team when UNMIT finishes?

I don’t think I can answer this question, as we are a part of UNMIT, when UNMIT’s mandate expires, ours also expires, but I am not sure of that.

Tito from RTL: My question is to Marek, those most responsible for 1999 are General Wiranto and other Indonesian generals. So have you investigated their cases or are they still pending?

Marek: It depends from which point of view you are looking at this case. From our point of view there is an indictment against Wiranto and other high ranking Indonesian officials filed in 2003. According to Timorese law, they are still indictees. They were however also treated by ad-hoc tribunal in Jakarta and they were acquitted, so, from an Indonesian point of view, they are not indictees. But with regard to international jurisdiction, they are still indictees.

Question from Gantry – inaudible translation

My question follows Tito. If the ad-hoc tribunal in Jakarta could not indict Wiranto and others and they were acquitted, my question is which international tribunal can bring them to justice.

Marek: At the moment there is no international tribunal who can hear this case. Such a tribunal would have to be created. The existing tribunals have different jurisdictions. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is hearing cases from Rwanda; the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia is taking care of cases for the former Yugoslavia. The International Criminal Court was created in 2004 but the ICC can only try cases of crimes committed after its establishment. So the answer is there is no international tribunal at the moment.

Question: The report of 20 cases submitted to your office. Who are they and if those cases are concluded in three years, when will trials commence?

Longuinhos Monteiro: According to the law, I can’t give details but we are in the process of analyzing them and we will then recommend action to be taken.

Question: So they are part of those who were indicted in 2003?

LM. Yes

Question STL: My question is for Mr. Marek. Based on experience there are a lot of pending cases, based upon on your observation what is lacking in the Timorese legal system? Secondly, we see like in the case of Wiranto, that the major responsible were acquitted, we are concerned it will only be the small fish caught and the big fish will be let go.

Marek Michon: Thank you. I think the best person to answer the lack of something in the Timorese judicial system would be the Prosecutor-General. My personal opinion is that there is lack of people. East Timor is a very young country. And lawyers now are in university studying the law. I fully understand the concerns that with a limited number of staff you can not do everything, but I want to highlight that this is my person opinion.

In regard to the second question, of course bringing those to justice who orchestrated the violence of 1999 depends not only on Timor-Leste. It depends upon Indonesia and the international community but please do not forget that those who are indicted, as you call them, the small fish, they were directly involved in committing crimes in 1999. In murders, tortures, sexual offences so I think that those people should also be brought to justice not withstanding the accountability of the “big fish”.

Longuinos Monteiro: I would like to explain the two focuses we have at the moment. The first is on the technical aspect of the investigation; the second is on the perspective of the public accusation. It is easy to accuse someone, so this is what has happened in Timor-Leste, but proving that accusing is not as easy as we think. For example, the two things need to be taken into account into order to measure the difficulties we face. When it comes to the technical aspect, when there is a case pending, it doesn’t mean that it has stopped, however things need to be followed up. So for example, witness statements to support indictments. Secondly we may have the witness but they may be reluctant to provide a statement. So based on our civil law, when we accuse someone, we have to have evidence which includes a strong statement by the witness. So when someone was killed at short distance, we need to find out what is the “short” distance, one, meter, two meters, three meters? This is what the investigation has to prove. So when it comes to the technical factors, inaudible translation …

So when we deal with cases of serious crimes, each country has its own sovereignty and we can’t interfere with that sovereignty. When somebody stands one meter inside a different territory, that person is out of jurisdiction. Any lack we are facing on the investigation is not all the fault of the judiciary and the investigators but it can also be the fault of a lack of political will. It is not always the fault of the prosecutor and the investigators.

Question Stephanie March: The president justified his pardon on Joni Marquez because he said it wasn’t fair he is in jail and no one else is. Do you think it’s unfair to those that get convicted that some are in jail and some get off just because of where they are logistically?

Longuinhos Monteiro: From the part of judicial actors, we can’t say if this is fair or not. So we focus what we are concerned with and the work we have done and the work of other organs. I say this as the Prosecutor-General but not as an individual.


1999 East Timor Crimes Against Humanity - Advocating for an international criminal tribunal to prosecute violators.

Lisbon Portugal 8 Oct 2008 - East Timor's oil fund, fed by revenues from oil and gas production in the country, is expected to total US$4 billion by the end of the year, said Raquel Goncalves Costa, of East Timor's Banking and Payments Authority in Lisbon Tuesday.

Costa said that in 2007 income from the oil sector rose to the equivalent of 340 percent of Timor's gross domestic product (GDP).

“One of the great challenges (for East Timor) is how to manage the wealth ensuring the sustainable development of the non-oil economy," said Costa in a speech at the 18th Lisbon Meeting with the delegations of the Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP) and East Timor to the Board of Director of the IMF and the World Bank.

Another problem, Costa added, was the inflation rate, which last year doubled to 9 percent, particularly due to price rises of imprted goods, such as petrol and rice. (macauhub)

F-FDTL and PNTL should avoid personal interest, says Brigadier Ruak - Zero tolerance to violence, says Defense Secretary - Police in pursuit of an arson suspect - Immigration police officers detain foreign nationals - Fretilin to mobilize crowd of 200,000 - PNTL has not received official request from FRETILIN - Government should reshuffle the cabinet now, says President of PSD


F-FDTL – PNTL should avoid personal interest, says Brigadier Ruak - Timor Post 7 October 2008
Timorese Defence Force Commander, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak has called on the country's security forces, the Timorese Defence Force (F-FDTL) and National Police (PNTL) to put national interest as their top priority, so that stability within the country could remain calm.

The commander said if both F-FDTL and PNTL works were strengthened and that stability of the country could be reached, people would move forward with the development. Ruak therefore said the two country's security forces ought to take responsibility by restoring peace and stability.

Ruak was referring to the current rumor-mongering that there would be another case of petitioners appearing within the police force if the Government does not appoint a candidate from the country's west.

He added during the recent meeting at the office of Foreign Ministry, he had spoken to the two security forces commanders and other officers to cooperate well and told them that they should prioritise the national interest.

Zero tolerance to violence, says Defense Secretary - Suara Timor Lorosae 7 October 2008
East Timor's Secretary of State for Defense, Julio Tomas Pinto, said Monday (6/10) that the East Timor’s National Police (PNTL) will have a maximum collaboration with the East Timor Defencse Force (F-FDTL) to guarantee security for the forthcoming peace march and the two institutions will employ zero tolerance of violence during the march.

He also added that the government would not allow violence to happen from any group or any party as the people want stability in the country. "I hope that the activity of the party will not negatively affect the stability of the country." He also stressed that it is the responsibility of the party organizing peace march to ensure stability of the country and that the party has to work closely with law enforcement institutions in mobilizing the peoplefor the peace march.

Police in pursuit of an arson suspect: Police officer - Televizaun Timor-Leste 7 October 2008
Dili district police are currently chasing up a suspect who has set blaze to the internally displaced people's camps in Matuana of Vilaverde suburb of the Capital Dili.

Police officer, Alarico Cristovao said the police were currently investigating this case and would try to arrest the suspect. Cristovao said they were little bit late responding the situation and the victims had escaped to a safer place.

An IDP, Jose Henrique said he was shocked by the incident and asked the Government for help by looking at problem they were facing. He added the arson had left two wounded and they were now living in Audian with their relatives.

Immigration police officers detain foreign nationals - Radio Timor Leste 7 October 2008
Timorese Police Operation Commander, Mateus Fernandes, said the police immigration officers have detained 28 foreign nationals in bars in the capital Dili because they have no proper travel documents and were involved in prostitution.

The commander said his police officers detained those foreign nationals, as they also misused their visa for doing other things. Fernandes added the suspects were currently being detained in the police station for investigation purposes.

Fretilin to mobilize crowd of 200,000 - Diario Nacional 6 October 2008
Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres, said every citizen in the country had the right to express their opinions and hold a rally, but they should follow the law being applied in the country.

Guterres was referring to Fretilin's plan of mobilising crowds to hold a peace really in the capital Dili in the upcoming November.

According to information, Fretilin would mobilize 200,000 people throughout the country to hold a long march urging responsibility of the Government led Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão during its office of tenure.

“For me all people have the right to express their thoughts and hold a long march as laws allow it,” Guterres said.

PNTL has not received official request from FRETILIN - Suara Timor Lorosae 7 October 2008
PNTL’s Operational Commander Inspector Mateus Fernandes said Monday (6/10) that up to date there is no official request from the Fretilin party to the PNTL in relation to the upcoming peace march.

“We see the issue as a rumor because there is no formal letter yet for us”, said Fernandes. He added that once they get the letter, the PNTL will call the organising committee to decide on the venue for the march. He explained that everyone has the right to demonstrate and the police are ready to provide security but it has to be in accordance with the applicable laws.

Meanwhile, Fretilin bench leader at the National Parliament Aniceto Guterres said that it is the responsibility of the government along withPNTL and F-FDTL to ensure security for those who want to stage peace march. However, he added that it is not correct for the government or any of the security and defence institutions to threaten people about attendin such a peace march.

Government should reshuffle the cabinet now, says President of PSD - Suara Timor Lorosae 7 October 2008
Social Democrat Party's President Mario Viegas Carrascalao said Monday(6/10) that it is now the time for the government of the Majority Parliamentary Alliance to reshuffle the cabinet as it has ruled for more than one year.

“In my point of view, it is already more than a year and one year assessment would be enough to know who works well and who doesn't,” said Carrascalao. “Those who don't work well should be substituted because there are a lot of capable Timorese out there,” he added.

Carrascalao stressed that it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to reshuffle his cabinet. He added there are some ministers who do not work well and if the reshuffle is done by the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister himself would fall down together with such ministers.

MP Aderito Hugo of CNRT said that reshuffle of cabinet is a normal thing in any government in the world and he thinks that it is also the right time to reshuffle the cabinet.

Meanwhile President of the National Parliament, Fernando de Araujo 'La Sama' said that it is the competence of the Prime Minister to reshuffle his cabinet.

Post title: Senior Trainer for Political Parties
Project: Support to the Timorese Electoral Cycle
Duty Station: Dili
Duration: 3 months with possibility of extension
Expected Start date: 1 November 2008

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF JOB:

Since the 2007 Parliamentary and Presidential elections UNDP has assisted the political parties by organizing over 65 trainings and thematic presentations in all the districts in Timor-Leste. The first phase of trainings was focused on message development and political campaign organization and implementation. The second phase assisted the parties in preparing knowledgeable party agents in all the districts and to improve their capacity to monitor and observe the parliamentary elections.

In the post-electoral period, based on requests from political parties in Timor-Leste, UNDP continued to support them by designing and conducting a training and capacity building program aimed at increasing the organizational capacity of the political parties, particularly in the districts.

UNDP Timor-Leste is seeking a Senior Trainer for Political Parties to work under the leadership of the CTA and Project Manager to organize and conduct training for political parties in areas such as: political parties - structure and functions; roles and responsibilities of the political parties in a democratic society; the role of the opposition in a democratic system; and women in politics.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

The duties and responsibilities of the Senior Trainer will include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Work with CTA and Project Manager to design a work-plan for the next phase of the training program for the political parties represented in the 13 districts of Timor-Leste;
• Together with thee CTA and Project Manager create a result-based workplan focused on strengthening the institutional capacity of the political parties and their capacity to contest in fair and transparent democratic national and local elections;
• Prepare, organize and conduct training sessions and worksshops in each district, beginning in November 2008;
• In conssultation with the CTA and Project Manager, take a lead role in the development and selection of the training materials, leaflets, power-point presentations and video materials in preparation of the workshops;
• PPrepare and conduct an evaluation mechanism to measure the results and impact of the capacity building campaign conducted by UNDP;
• Basedd on results and impact information collected, design modifications to training program if necessary;
• Together with the management teamm, improve and develop the UNDP District Political Party Resource Centers;
• The Senior Trainer must be politically neutral at all times iin the design and conduct of the training program;
• Perform alll other duties necessary, as requested by the CTA and / or Project Manager.


QUALIFICATION AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

1. High School degree and a university degree in Political Science, Law, Social Science or other relevant degree would be an asset;
2. At least five years experience in leading training activities (organization, development and implementation of trainings);
3. Very good inter-personal and communication skills;
4. Good computer skills (Word, Excel) and a willingness / aptitude to learn others such as Power Point;
5. Fluency in spoken and written Tetum, Portuguese or Bahasa Indonesian is required. A good command of English language is also required.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications together with curriculum vitae, P11, and relevant supporting documents to the following address:

UNDP Timor-Leste
Procurement Unit
UN House, Caicoli Street
Dili, Timor-Leste
Email: ssa.tp@undp.org copy to pedro.guterres@undp.org
Website: http://www.undp.org.tl

The deadline for submitting applications is 17 October 2008.

Only short-listed candidates will be notified. Women candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Unofficial translation by ETLJB Editor. Original Indonesian text follows.

Judicial System Monitoring Program
Press Release
18 September 2008

Suai District Court Resumes after Judicial Holiday

The Suai District Court resumed hearings from 8 to 12 Sptember 2008 after a 2 week holiday. Based on information obtained, not a single case was taken to the court for hearing or process. During the judicial holiday, no activities were implemented by the Suai District Court. There was only one case that was decided and it was a house arrest matter.

The resumed proceedings referred to above were originally scheduled to process 8 cases of light assault. However, of those 8 cases, it turned out that 2 of them could not be processed because the accused in those 2 cases failed to appear even though the Court had already issued a summons.

Based on the observations of JSMP, the Suai District Court is facing several obstacles; amongst others, there are not enough resources to support the court’s activities. For example, the Suai Court has only one registry officer who is responsible for several duties. Apart from that, Suai Court has only one Public Defender and one Prosecutor who handle all the cases, both criminal cases and civil cases. According to information obtained, most of the cases that are taken to and tried in the Suai Court are cases from the District of Suai and the District of Bobonaro.

For further information, contact: Flora Soriano Menezes, Peneliti Hukum dari WJU, Email : lola@jsmp.minihub.org No Telp : 3323883
-----
Setelah Masa Liburan Judisial Distrik Suai Kembali Melakukan Aktivitas
JSMP PRESS RELEASE
18 September 2008

Pengadilan Suai kembali menggelar sidang dari tanggal 8-12 september 2008 setelah berlibur selama dua minggu. Berdasarkan informasi yang diperoleh bahwa tidak satupunn kasus yang dibawa ke Pengadilan untuk dihearing maupun disidangkan. Selama masa liburan Judisial tersebut tidak ada aktivitas yang dilakukan oleh Pengadilan Distrik Suai, hanya ada kasus yang diputuskan dengan status tahanan rumah (TIR).

Sidang yang digelar pada tanggal yang disebutkan di atas semula dijadwalkan akan melakukan persidangan terhadap 8 kasus dengan jenis kasus penganiayaan ringan. Namun dari kedelapan kasus tersebut ternyata ada dua kasus yang tidak dapat di sidangkan karena para terdakwa dari kedua kasus tersebut tidak hadir meskipun Pengadilan telah mengeluarkan surat panggilan.

Berdasarkan pengamatan JSMP bahwa Pengadilan Suai menghadapi beberapa kendala, diantaranya tidak adanya sumber daya yang cukup untuk menunjang kegiatan pengadilan misalnya, Pengadilan Suai saat ini hanya memiliki satu orang panitera yang bertanggung jawab atas beberapa tugas. Selain itu, Pengadilan Suai juga hanya memiliki satu Pengacara Publik dan satu orang Jaksa yang menangani semua kasus, baik itu kasus pidana maupun kasus perdata. Menurut informasi yang diperoleh bahwa kasus-kasus yang dibawa dan disidangkan di pengadilan Suai adalah kebanyakan kasus dari Distrik Suai dan Distrik Bobonaro.

Untuk informasi lebih lanjut hubungi: Flora Soriano Menezes Peneliti Hukum dari WJU Email : lola@jsmp.minihub.org No Telp : 3323883


Image: The Unfinished Cathedral in Suai, East Timor.

ETLJB Editor's Note: Suai was the scene of the one of the darkest days in East Timor's modern history - 6 September 1999 - when a terrible massacre occurred.

The following are extracts, including harrowing eyewitness accounts about this massacre, from the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor to the Secretary-General (31 January 2000) .

Suai Church Massacre

75. The Commission visited the site of the massacre that took place at the Suai church on 6 September. At the time of the massacre, several hundred persons had sought refuge in the church. In the incident, three priests Father Dewanto, Father Francisco and Father Hilario were killed. Accounts of the militia and TNI removing the bodies of those killed in the church have now been corroborated with the exhumation in West Timor of 26 bodies alleged to be victims of the killings in Suai church. These bodies were recovered from Oeluli beach, Kobalima district, approximately three kilometers inside West Timor. The exhumations were undertaken at the direction of the Indonesian National Inquiry Commission on East Timor. The forensic expert who accompanied the International Commission of Inquiry examined the bodies and concluded that the remains were of 3 priests, 12 males, 8 females and 3 bodies of undetermined sex. One was a child, two in their teens, six in their teens to mid-20s, twelve were middle-aged and two elderly.

Eyewitness accounts of Suai church massacre

76. A woman witness stated that the women had been separated from the men and the men had been shot. She testified that militias were in the front and members of the TNI had stood behind them. She also testified that the victims of the killing included children.

77. The next witness stated that she had sought refuge in the church after the militia burned her house. At the church, she saw the militia and TNI throw grenades and then shoot the people who were trying to escape from the church.

78. Another witness testified that he was in the garage near the church when militia and TNI began shooting at the people in the church. He stated that the militia used machetes before shooting them.

79. A woman witness who had taken shelter at the church witnessed the shooting and killing. She testified that grenades were first thrown and when people began running they were shot or attacked with machete.

80. A witness testified to seeing the killing of two of the priests Fr. Hilario and Fr. Francisco. According to him, Fr. Hilario was shot first and Fr. Francisco was slashed with a machete. He also stated that the church was set on fire and he himself suffered burns when trying to escape from the church. He had visible burn marks on his right ear and face.

81. Another witness testified that he hid in Fr. Hilario's room when the militia and TNI began shooting. He identified by name two militiamen who shot Fr. Hilario in the abdomen.

82. A woman witness testified that her brother was killed at the Suai church. She also testified that her younger sister was injured during the shooting. She and her daughters were taken to the military headquarters where militiamen sexually abused her daughter.










Image: The Suai Catholic Church. Scene of the bloody massacre of 6 September 1999.


Prosecute perpetrators of crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999. 1999 East Timor Crimes Against Humanity

Fiat justitia ruat caelum! (Let justice be done though the heavens fall!)

Christian Today 7 October 2008 - The church's ability to keep the East Timorese community strong through 25 years of occupation and conflict will also be "instrumental" in helping the poverty-stricken country to move forward, a leading Timorese politician, Fernanda Borges, will tell a UK audience when she visits London on October 14.

Fernanda Borges MP, a committed Christian and East Timor's only female party leader, will also say the British government and the international community can now assist her nation by helping promote accountability for past human rights violations and reparations for the victims of those violations.

She will declare that 'transitional justice' for the victims of the occupation is essential to long-term peace in East Timor and regional stability in South East Asia.

"Attempts to deny or delay justice will only fester political insecurity and sink the Timorese people further into poverty," says Borges. Despite achieving independence in 1999, East Timor is still one of the poorest countries in Asia, with 40 per cent of the population living below the poverty line.

As a six year old, Borges witnessed the horrors of war first hand. Now, three decades on, she has been dubbed East Timor's "Iron Lady" for her uncompromising commitment to achieving justice for her people.

"The church has always been a leading light in our struggle and the Catholic value system is still very important to the Timorese people," says Borges. "We now need help from Christians worldwide to ensure that justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law are enshrined in the modern day values of our newly independent nation".

Borges will deliver her address, 'Tipping the scales of justice in a new nation', in support of international development agency Progressio's 'East Timor: Who Cares?' campaign.

The campaign is calling on the UK government to support the development of a Timor-based transitional justice centre to help the East Timorese government promote accountability, which will include the recognition of past atrocities.

Progressio's Executive Director, Christine Allen, said: "East Timor is approaching the 10th anniversary of its 1999 landslide vote for independence.

"Fernanda Borges is one of the courageous politicians who has sided with the Timorese people to call for justice as an alternative to amnesty and impunity.

"We must heed her calls and speak out in solidarity with the people of East Timor so that the tenth anniversary of the independence vote can truly be a celebration of justice and hope for the people."

6 October 2008 IPOH (Bernama) - A total of 136 officers from the Ulu Kinta North Brigade Battalion 1 General Operation Force (PGA) would join the United Nations (UN) Peace Mission to Timor Leste for a duration of six months.

PGA Ulu Kinta Commander SAC II Datuk Azman Yusof said the first batch of 75 officers would leave to Dili from the Subang Airbase at 2.45am (Oct 7) while the second batch of 61 officers are scheduled to leave on Thursday.

"This is the second time PGA North Brigade officers are involved in the UN Peace Mission. The first batch involving members of Battalion 2 from Kulim, Kedah were called for duty in April 2006," he told reporters at the PGA Ulu Kinta base here today.

He added that all officers who had undergone extensive and intensive trainings conducted by the Royal Malaysian Police Force and UN representatives, would replace officers from the Sabah PGA who return to Malaysia, once the officers arrive in Timor Leste.

"The officers in the mission will act as a Form Police Unit (FPU) in troubled Timor Leste and will be headed by DSP Husin Fatimi," he said.

Timor Leste, situated in close proximity to Indonesia, is deemed as one of the poorest countries in the world and due to lack of job opportunities, there are crime and violence in the former Portugese colony where nearly half the population is under the age of 18.


Image: A Malaysian peacekeeper at the Nicolau Lobato airport in Dili.

Democratic Republic of East Timor Media Release 6 October 2008 Government of Timor-Leste prepares to ensure Fretilin demonstrations will not result in violence

The Government of Timor-Leste today announced that all preventative measures would be implemented to ensure the Fretilin demonstrations in Dili, scheduled for later this month, would not descend into violence.

Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao said, “This year we have maintained peace and stability, despite the gravest of attacks on February 11, 2008. While we welcome peaceful political demonstrations, any individual engaged in unlawful acts of violence, will be arrested and prosecuted, without exception. Our country has experienced enough violence. I would like to remind Mr. Lu olo, President of the Fretilin party, that while Article 42 of the RDTL Constitution gives people the right to demonstrate, the constitution states they must be unarmed. Rights to demonstrate are revoked once the laws of our nation are broken and danger is imminent to civil society. ”

Confusion continues on the exact nature of the demonstrations. Francisco Guterres “Lu olo” held a press conference in Timor-Leste on October 2, declaring that the political demonstrations are a ‘peace march willed by the people, held to reaffirm peace and democracy and justice in our country.

However, on the same day, Tempo Interactive in Indonesia reported that Mari Alkatiri, Former Prime Minister and Secretary General of the Fretilin Party, while in Jakarta in a meeting with Din Syamsudin, chairman of Indonesia’s second largest Muslim organization, Muhammadiyah, ‘threatened to mobilize up to 200,000 supporters to push the government to hold a re-election immediately giving a maximum time of one month.’ The reason given: The AMP coalition Government who received 70% of the vote in the 2007 elections, was unconstitutional, “We want a reelection”, said Alkatiri.

Alkatiri and his inner core were responsible for one of the worst outbreaks of violence since independence. In April 2006, after the Fretilin leadership authorized the dismissal of half the armed services, known as “the petitioners”, demonstrations turned deadly between the police, army and civil society. Six thousand homes and buildings were destroyed and close to fifteen percent of the population were displaced. Alkatiri was forced to resign amidst allegations of widespread corruption and his Minister for Interior, Rogerio Lobato, was charged with arming a civilian militia.

The IV Constitutional Government spent their first year resolving many of the outstanding issues inherited from the previous Government. The petitioner’s issues that initiated the crisis are now resolved with all the former soldiers successfully reintegrated back into the community. The Government has managed to resettle over 70,000 IDP’s, an achievement that many international observers said would take five to ten years to complete and the armed rebels who threatened national security surrendered peacefully.

Major reforms to depoliticize the armed services began in 2007. The success of those reforms were evident after the Prime Minister and President were attacked on February 11 when the Government was able to successfully establish a joint command with the defense and security forces to keep ongoing peace and stability in the nation.

Minister for Economic Development, Joao Goncalves, pointed out “Considering what this nation has endured, we are all a bit perplexed as to why Lu olo would promote a politically motivated ‘peace march’ amongst supporters when the opportunity was September 21, for The International Day of Peace when many Timorese walked proudly to promote peace.

Of even greater concern is why Mari Alkatiri would encourage a small group of supporters to demonstrate for new elections, when only a little over a year ago, 70% of voters elected a robust coalition to govern.

The Government is made up of five political parties, working cohesively with a united vision but above all, we are demonstrating political diversity with a healthy respect for different ideas which is the cornerstone of democracy. We can be assured, that for the first time since independence, democracy is thriving in Timor-Leste. Goncalves closed by saying “The Government supports peaceful gatherings; however, I am concerned these demonstrations are merely another act of political self interest by a small few who want power, with no correlation to celebrating democracy, or the values thereof. If that is the case, Fretilin should take full accountability to ensure the political demonstrations they organize are conducted without violence, without conflict and without any further damage to our communities.” ENDS

For More Information Contact: Minister for Economic Development, Joao Goncalves +670 723 0024

-----

Section 42 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor provides as follows:

Section 42
(Freedom to assemble and demonstrate)
1. Everyone is guaranteed the freedom to assemble peacefully and unarmed, without a need for prior authorisation.
2. Everyone is recognised the right to demonstrate in accordance with the law.

ABC Radio Australia 7 October 2008 22:05:40 - East Timor's prime minster says he will not allow a new wave of instability as the opposition Fretilin party prepares for a demonstration in the capital Dili.

Our reporter in Dili, Stephanie March, says Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is concerned Fretilin opposition party plans to mobilize tens of thousands of rural supporters to march to Dili could lead to renewed instability, similar to the crisis of 2006.

He says he while he welcomes peaceful political demonstrations, anyone involved in unlawful acts of violence, will be arrested and prosecuted, without exception.

Fretilin leaders say the peace march is not about attacking the government or causing instability, but an opportunity for their supporters to demonstrate their commitment to the ideals of peace, democracy and justice.

They plan to hold the march following a party reshuffle, but are yet to set an exact date.

There has been ongoing friction between the AMP government and the Fretilin opposition party who say the coalition is illegitimate.

Image: Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmao

Unofficial automated translation. Original Portuguese text follows.

The National Parliament Secretariat Office of Public Relations Press Release 2 October 2008

The activity performed by Parliament Nasional today, the Thursday of 2 October 2008, was a Training Seminar on Gender, which was organized by the Group of Women Parliamentarians representing the National Parliament together with the Secretary of State for the Promotion and Equality, IV Constitutional RDTL Government. This seminar was supported by UNIFEM through the Non-Governmental Organizations Caucus.

At the beginning the Second Vice-President of the National Parliament, Mrs. Deputy Maria Paixo, opened the training and invited Ms. Secretary of State Promotion of Equality Idelta Maria Rodriques to deliver her speech about the Gender and order to carry out the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol.

She said that in July of 2009 East Timor will send its report to the Center of CEDAW in Geneva, Switzerland. She also informed that the National Parliament of RDTL already ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on 16 April 2003 and therefore he was a member of CEDAW since 16 May 2003.

According to the Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality, this workshop will give us an international level of knowledge about the area of Equality Promotion and nationally that was created by the Country RDTL. In 2005 the estimate of the Gender Development Index was 0.4222 women and 124-125 positions were occupied. This means that there has been economic growth in developing and promoting social equality, contributing to the efficient policies.

The speaker today was Mrs. Rea Abada Chiongson of UNIFEM as adviser to CEDAW. Interventions Ms. Abada said that CEDAW was established to combat discrimination against women adopted by the UN General Assembly, including 185 nations, and she explained about the role of women, polygamy and divorces occurring worldwide.

End.

Office of Public Relations
--
Secretariado
Gabinete de Relações Publicas

COMUNICADO À IMPRENSA 2 de Outubro de 2008

A atividade desenvolvida pelo Parlamento Nasional hoje, da Quinta-Feira de 2 de Outubro de 2008, foi um Seminário sobre Treinamento de Gênero, o qual foi organizado pelo Grupo das Mulheres Parlamentares que representa o Parlamento Nacional juntamente com a Secretaria do Estado de Promoção e Igualdade, do IV Governo Constitucional da RDTL. Este Seminário foi suportado por UNIFEM através da Organização Não-Governamental CAUCUS.

No início a II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixo, fez abertura e convidou a Sra. Secretária de Estado de Promoção e Igualdade Idelta Maria Rodriques para dirigir o seu discurso acerca do Gênero para que seja realizada a Convenção sobre a Eliminação de Todas as Formas de Discriminação contra as Mulheres (CEDAW) e o seu Protocolo Facultativo. Disse que no mês de Julho de 2009 Timor-Leste vai enviar o seu relatório ao Centro de CEDAW em Genebra-Suiça. Ela informou ainda que o Parlamento Nacional da RDTL já rectificou a Convenção sobre a Eliminação de Todas as Formas de Discriminação contra as Mulheres em 16 de Abril de 2003 e por isso ele foi membro da CEDAW desde o dia 16 de Maio de 2003.

Segundo a Secretária de Estado de Promoção e Igualdade, este workshop vai-nos dar conhecimentos do nível interbacional acerca da área de Promoção e Igualdade que nacionalmente foi criada pelo País da RDTL. Em 2005 a estimativa do Gender Development Index foi 0.4222 mulheres e 124-125 posições foram ocupadas. Isso significa que houve crescimento económico no desenvolvimento social da promoção e igualdade, contribuindo às políticas eficientes.

A oradora de hoje foi a Sra. Rea Abada Chiongson de UNIFEM como Conselheira da CEDAW. Nas intervenções a Sra. Abada disse que CEDAW foi criada para combater as discriminações contra as Mulheres, ela foi adotada pela Assembleia Geral das Nações Unidas, nomeadamente 185 nações, e ela explicava acerca do papel da Mulher, poligamias e divórcios ocorridos no Mundo inteiro.



Image: An East Timorese woman.


East Timor Women - Raising awareness of the plight of women in Timor-Leste

Security BROADCAST-UNMIT/SECURITY/UNMIT Sent by: UNMIT-SOC/SECURITY/UNMIT03/10/2008 15:59

Subject - Possible Presence of date rape type drugs in Dili.

Staff should be aware of the possible presence of 'date rape' type drugs in Dili. Given such a threat, we need to look after ourselves and colleagues when socializing in locations such as nightclubs and bar environments. Staff are further reminded that they should not be associated in any manner with those establishments that are off-limit locations.


UN Security


Discover enigmatic East Timor online with East Timor Directory

East Timor Judicial System Monitoring Program
Press Release
30 September 2008

DILI - The private lawyers’ statute recently passed by Timor-Leste’s National Parliament creates a new regulatory framework for the governance of the legal profession.

Under the new law, a process of formal accreditation is established, in line with a regime of practical training. An enforceable code of conduct is also outlined.

Most interestingly, lawyers are required to collaborate toward the betterment of the legal system, and to protest human rights violations and other miscarriages of justice.

JSMP contends that this legislative obligation is a powerful gesture, and that an independent legal community is imperative in safeguarding democratic institutions.

Unfortunately, the law seems to entrench a number of obstacles to effective legal practice, through its positions on education, courtroom protocol and language policy.

When the law comes into full effect, prospective lawyers will be required to pass a fifteen month training program at the government Judicial Training Centre (JTC).

Of the four universities currently teaching a law degree in Timor-Leste, only one has currently been accredited such that its graduates will be eligible for the JTC.

With many students soon to graduate, the limited number of places available for the JTC program is also of concern. The current intake numbers only sixteen.

JSMP believes that if Timor’s already short-staffed courts are to benefit from an influx of new lawyers, training and legal curricula must be urgently brought into line.

International lawyers from other civil law systems, such as Portugal, will find it easier to register. Care will need to be taken to ensure local lawyers are not disadvantaged.

Lawyers, under the statute, must be fluent in one only of Timor’s official languages. The JTC’s exclusive use of Portuguese, however, suggests an institutional preference.

Courts in Timor-Leste can be confusing places - the use of professional attire such as robes, made compulsory by this law, could make legal process all the more alienating.

The onus will, in part, be on lawyers to resist those trappings that elevate the prestige of the profession at the expense of justice, and of their new social mandate.

JSMP maintains, though, that support will be needed from government, donors and civil society to assist lawyers in playing their crucial role in Timor’s development.

For further information please contact: Roberto da Costa Pacheco Legal Research Coordinator
Email :bebeto@jsmp.minihub.org Landline : 3323883

6 Oct 2008 8:53 PM AAP - Police in East Timor have been ordered to set up checkpoints and step up patrols to stop officers from taking weapons home, amid signs of mounting tensions in the force.

Police have been ordered to search cars for illegal weapons, with one aim of the operation to stop police from unlawfully taking their weapons home when they finish work.

The order follows the circulation of an inflammatory leaflet pointing to a flare-up of regional tensions among police, similar to the rift among armed forces that sparked deadly violence two years ago.

East Timor was torn apart in 2006 when east-west tensions sparked deep divisions in the armed forces and ultimately triggered violence that left at least 37 people dead and around 150,000 displaced.

The leaflet warns of action "against the government" if someone from the east is appointed as East Timor's permanent police commander.

Interim police commander Afonso de Jesus today said police had been ordered to make sure officers were not taking their weapons home.

"One regulation (we have is) when police cease their duty their firearms are supposed to be put in the armory," de Jesus said.

"But some go home and take their weapons home with them."

An operational order issued to police calls for a checkpoint to be set up close to the residence of the State Secretary for Security, who is charged with appointing the new police commander.

UN police last week said they were taking the emergence of the leaflet seriously and trying to confirm its source.

"We pay attention to any information regardless of classification," Acting UN police commander Juan Carlos Arevalo
said.

The International Crisis Group (ICG) said last week that the leaflet was "deeply concerning".

"As we have seen before, if this sense of discrimination and resentment is left to fester it can cause serious problems down the track," said ICG analyst in East Timor Anna Powles.

There are other signs of problems within the police force.

Members of the Task Force Unit recently threatened to strike over a pay dispute, leading to a heated confrontation at police headquarters.

And the Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro last week revealed that de Jesus, the interim police commander, was being questioned in relation to disciplinary issues.


Image: East Timor police officers.

DILI 06 Oct 2008 (IPS) - East Timor's political elite cannot leave the country's stability up to the International Stabilisation Forces (ISF). They must unite and stop bickering for power, according to experts, academics and observers.

"Sustainability of stability of [East Timor] does not belong to foreign troops; it belongs to Timorese leaders on how to overcome their contradictions," Mari Alkatiri, former East Timorese Prime Minister, told IPS.

The fracture within East Timorese leadership surfaced in 2005. It reached its peak in 2006 and that caused divisions between those who are from the western and eastern parts of the country. The conflict caused 37 deaths, and over 100,000 Dili residents to flee their homes. It resulted in Alkatiri’s resignation as Prime Minister and the arrival of International Stabilisation Forces -- comprised of Australian and New Zealand troops.

The rivalry between Alkatiri and Xanana Gusmao, East Timor's current Prime Minister, intensified when Gusmao formed his National Congress for the Reconstruction of East Timor (CNRT) party and directly challenged and competed against Fretilin -- the political party which won the last general elections. CNRT went on to form a coalition government with other political parties, including the Majority Parliamentary Alliance (AMP). This CNRT government has never been recognised by Fretilin.

"There are two people here if they can sit and really understand each other, then 80 percent problems of the country will be solved. I am ready to sit with Xanana Gusmao but not as a commander and a soldier," said Alkatiri to IPS at the Fretilin headquarters.

At present there are 750 Australian Defence Force personnel in East Timor; their task is to maintain the country’s stability. They are composed of a joint task force headquarters and Timor-Leste Battle Group Four.

"East Timor is one of [Australia's] nearest neighbours; the country is still in difficulties, as a neighbour that has a lot of resources we are happy to help. We want a secure safe and prosperous East Timor on our doorstep," Peter Heyward, Australia’s ambassador for East Timor told IPS.

East Timor is seen as being quite strategic for Australia, due to its geographic location. Any foreign intrusion may use East Timor as its military launching base.

Stability in East Timor will also ease the bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia. "East Timor’s security cannot be assured without the help and cooperation of Indonesia, and Australia’s relationship with Indonesia cannot prosper if East Timor’s security remains a problem between us. Neither of us wants it to become a source of instability in our neighbourhood, and threatening our own security or complicating our bilateral relationship," reads a 2002 Australian Strategic Policy Institute paper entitled ‘New Neighbour, New Challenge, Australia and the security of East Timor’.

Gusmao recently requested more troops from Australia following a double assassination attempt on both himself and East Timor’s President on Feb. 11.

Although Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd distanced himself from his predecessor John Howard’s rhetoric in foreign policies, Australian strategic interest -- to be the influential power in the region -- is still his governing motive.

"The Asia-Pacific region will become more prosperous and its population will continue to grow. As nations grow and become more affluent, they also update their military forces," Rudd said in a speech to the Returned and Service League.

Rudd has indicated there is an increase of "the real growth of the defence budget by three percent per annum 2017–18". Australia was ranked 14th in the world by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in 2007 in terms of its overall military expenditure.

"If Australia wants to create stability in the region, it is not by creating military muscle and aligning with the U.S., or aligning with other economic powers, it is by empowering, giving more credibility to the region itself," Loro Horta, an associate research fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told IPS.

Apart from sending its troops to lead the ISF, Australia has been providing funding to East Timor. It is one of East Timor’s main donors, apart from Japan and China. It will donate over 100 million dollars over the next four years to the country.

The East Timor security situation has been improving but is still fragile. This is the rationale for the ADF not pulling out of East Timor. Political rivalries are brewing as the early 2009 election looms, and East Timor military reform has not progressed much.

Many were surprised when Gusmao combined the country's security forces -- the Policia National de Timor Leste (PNTL) and Falintil-Forcas de Defesa de Timor Leste (F-FDTL) -- under a joint command.

"F-FDTL should not be acting as a second police force, internal security function is police function, and army is for external security. In East Timor until just recently, the army is quite heavily involved in internal security through the joint command," John Virgoe, a researcher with the Brussels-based independent, non-profit, International Crisis Group (ICG) told IPS.

The "problem within F-FDTL and PNTL has not been solved, particularly within PNTL," said Alkatiri.

This is a crucial problem that the country faces in the future, and urgently needs to be addressed, if the ISF presence in East Timor is to be temporary.

There is an opportunity now for the political elite to put aside their differences and unite, while a secure space is created by the presence of ISF. It is something that the Timorese population is waiting for.

"It is up to Timorese leadership to use the breathing space to give opportunities and create jobs for the people. The problem with Timorese is we are united by an external foreign threat, but when it is not there any more we tend to turn to each other," Horta told IPS.

(END/2008)

NATIONAL PARLIAMENT
(PLENARY SUPPORT SERVICE)

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES FOR RESOLUTION, DELIBERATION, AND POLITICAL MONITORING PENDING FROM THE FIRST LEGISLATIVE SESSION

BRIEF INFORMATION NOTE FOR MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT IN GENERAL*

DATE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2008


1. Draft-law on Authorisation to Legislate on Criminal Matters (accepted, ready for discussion and voting; will not be submitted to the relevant Commission for previous examination; will follow special process)

2. Parliamentary consideration of Decree Law No. 22/2008 of 16 July on the establishment of the Economic Stabilisation Fund (the consideration having been requested and accepted by the Chair, this semi-political and legislative control mechanism will follow a special process and it shall not undergo prior examination at the relevant Commission)

3. Draft Resolution on the National Parliament’s Budget (to be presented)

4. Draft Basic Education Law (ready for discussion and general voting, once the initial consideration phase is over and after the report and opinion of the competent Commission are presented)

5. Draft-law on Organisation and Functioning of Parliamentary Administration (with the relevant Commission for initial consideration)

6. Draft-law on Weapons (at the Plenary, for specific debate)

7. Draft Resolutions on the Ratification of ILO Conventions Nos. 29 and 182 (with the relevant Commission for consideration)

8. Government interpellation over the Execution of the State Budget for the 2007 Transitional Period (requested by FRETILIN Parliamentary Bench; matter submitted to the Parliamentary Leaders Conference in due time; SAPLEN prepared debate guide proposal and it is now for the interpellants to decide whether the initiative remains valid or not)

9. Draft Resolution on the Arrangement on Traditional Border Crossing and Regulated Markets between Timor-Leste and Indonesia (with the relevant Commission for consideration)

10. Draft-law on Protection of Witnesses (with the relevant Commission for initial consideration)

11. Draft-law amending the Civil Service Law (with the relevant Commission for initial consideration)

12. Draft Deliberation on the Indicative Calendar of the Meetings of the Commissions (presented and scheduled for debate, which has never been finalised; to be scheduled again should there be an interest. Some Members of Parliament have suggested during plenary meetings and Leaders Conferences to consider the possible reduction of the number of standing specialised commissions)

13. Draft-law on the remuneration of Members of the National Electoral Commission (prepared by an adviser and submitted to the Chair; awaiting decision on the initiative to be presented; it is obviously open for subscription by interested Members of Parliament)

Other legislation not included in the list but nevertheless expected to be discussed include:

· Military Service draft-law (currently under debate in the Council of Ministers)

· National Security draft-law (currently being revised; to be submitted to the Council of Ministers soon)

· A bill amending the law on pensions for former MPs and former office holders (proposed by PSD MP Fernando Gusmão, amongst others)

· CAVR Resolution (proposed by PUN MPs amongst others)

* Information note prepared by the Plenary Support Service in accordance with the order of priorities for scheduling matters as fixed, on an indicative basis, by the Conference of the Representatives of the Parliamentary Benches on their meeting of 15 September 2008.

Automated unofficial translation.

Dili, Oct 1 (Lusa) - The weapons transfer case, in respect of which the third inquiry was held in the captial city Dili on Thursday, is the latest 'wonder' of the 2006 Crisis for the country's fragile stability .

The Attorney General's Office called Thursday for the interrogation of Colonel Falur Rate Laek, after yesterday's questioning of Colonel Lere Anan Timor, and Major Mau Buti. These three officers are senior members of the General Staff of the Falintil-Defence Force of East Timor (F-FDTL) and masters of the historical Timorese resistance.

The PGR also intends to call to justice the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CHODs) East Timor, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, and former Defense Minister Roque Rodrigues, who are members of the Supreme Council of National Security and Defense.

At the root of the case is the distribution of weapons to civilians by F-FDTL on 24 May 2006. This episode happened after four weeks of instability triggered by the so-called F-FDTL petitioners, from 28 April of that year.

The implosion of the National Police (PNTL), the desertion of Major Alfredo Reinado, commander of the Military Police, the existence of the group of Vincent Conceicao 'Railos', armed by the then Interior Minister of East Timor, Rogerio Lobato, and incidents like the attack on residence of Taur Matan Ruak were analyzed by the UN Independent Special Commission of Inquiry (COI). The UN COI, which presented its final report in October 2006, concluded that "the civilian arm, the Defense Minister and the head of the UN Protection Force Defense acted without legal basis and created a situation of significant potential danger. "

'On 17 May, Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak wrote to Prime Minister (Mari Alkatiri) requesting an audit of the deposit of weapons of F-FDTL in response to allegations that civilians have been seen people walking around withF-FDTL guns,' recalls the report of the COI.

The evidence before the Commission establishes that the F-FDTL began to arm civilians on 24 May 2006. This was done under orders of Brigadier-General Matan Ruak and with the knowledge of the Minister of Defence, says the document. We made lists containing names and corresponding serial numbers of weapons delivered, but people have not signed for the weapons, the Commission found.

Seizure

The Commission noted its concern at the level of illegal and irregular distribution of weapons in East Timor and the inertia shown by the Government to tackle the lack of control of arms within their armed forces and reliable information and analysis regarding the illegality and or irregularity in the possession of weapons, their handling and use.

The COI concluded that "the weapons were distributed with the knowledge and approval of the following persons: Roque Rodrigues, Taur Matan Ruak, Tito da Costa Christopher, aka Lere Anan Timor, Manuel Freitas, aka Mau Buti, and Raul Domingos, aka Laek Falur Rate "(sic).

The Commission recommended that these people be prosecuted for the illegal transfer of armas.

The International Crisis Group, which examined the crisis in a report that preceded the COI, said, 'in contrast to the secret and illegal transfer of weapons to civilian police , This (the F-FDTL) was relatively orderly and well documented, making it easier to collect the weapons after the arrival of international troops.'


Image: Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, Chief of the Falintil-East Timor Defence Force - Yet to face trial for participation in the 2006 illegal weapons transfer case more than 2 years after the United Nations Commission of Inquiry recommended that he be prosecuted.

ETLJB 05 October 2008 Dili - In the wake of the collapse of the rule of law in East Timor in 2006, the United Nations constituted a special commission of inquiry into the events surrounding the violence and made recommendations for the prosecution of numerous persons, including the Chief of the Falintil-East Timor Defence Force, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, Chief of Staff Tito da Costa Cristovao, aka Lere Anan Timor and Domingos Raul, aka Rate Laek Falur.

The UN COI Report is dated 2 October 2006.

The following are extracts from the Report of the United Nations Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste. Numbers are paragraph numbers of the report.

134. F-FDTL weapons. The evidence relating to the unlawful movement, possession and use of F-FDTL weapons is described in paragraphs 95 and 96 and demonstrates that those weapons were distributed by and/or with the knowledge and approval of the following persons: Roque Rodrigues, Taur Matan Ruak, Tito da Costa Cristovao, aka Lere Anan Timor, Manuel Freitas, aka Mau Buti, and Domingos Raul, aka Rate Laek Falur. The Commission recommends that these persons be prosecuted for illegal weapons transfer.

147. The transfer of F-FDTL weapons is described in paragraphs 95 to 96 above. The Commission concludes that in arming civilians, the Minister and the Chief of the Defence Force acted without lawful authority and created a situation of significant potential danger. This danger was realized in the Mercado Lama incident described in paragraph 87.

Armed confrontation of 25 May between F-FDTL and PNTL

148. By 25 May the F-FDTL command considered that F-FDTL was subject to a campaign of attack by PNTL. They responded militarily. The armed confrontation on 25 May must be viewed against the background of a lack of coordination and communication between PNTL and F-FDTL. However, it is apparent also that limited steps were taken by the F-FDTL command to verify the extent of the threat posed or to use non-military channels to resolve the perceived threat. On 25 May the F-FDTL High Command did not attempt in the event to contact those in operational command of PNTL or to engage the Prime Minister or President in resolving the situation. The Commission is of the view that it was the duty of the Chief of the Defence Force to exhaust all avenues either to prevent or stop the confrontation with PNTL.

The Canberra Times 04/10/2008 - One hazard of being prime minister is you never quite know who you'll meet next.

Kevin Rudd's office goes to considerable lengths to avoid surprises, but at conferences and public forums anyone may be next in line to shake his hand. So it was on September 9, when he was at the national congress of the Returned and Services League in Townsville.

Among the guests RSL national president Bill Crews introduced to Mr Rudd was retired Indonesian Lieutenant-General Herman Mantiri, who was representing the Indonesian veterans' organisation Legion Veteran Republik Indonesia.

As a former diplomat and foreign policy expert, Mr Rudd wouldn't have needed a briefing to recall the 1995 controversy over General Mantiri's appointment as Indonesia's ambassador to Australia.

Then recently retired from his post as Indonesian's chief of general staff, General Mantiri was nominated by president Suharto as Indonesia's representative in Canberra and the Keating government accepted the appointment. Almost immediately, however, a storm of protest erupted over remarks General Mantiri had made three years earlier as Indonesian military commander in East Timor, when he was interviewed about the 1991 massacre of 270 East Timorese independence demonstrators in Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery. ''We don't regret anything. What happened was quite proper ... we took firm action.''

Under intense media and public pressure, the Keating government revoked its agreement to General Mantiri's appointment and a diplomatic stand-off between Australia and Indonesia lasted for months.

Mr Crews told The Canberra Times yesterday that, during his recent visit, General Mantiri said how disappointed he was when his diplomatic posting was cancelled, and insisted his remarks had been reported out of context. No mention was apparently made of General Mantiri's listing in East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation report as one of the senior Indonesian military officers who commanded troops responsible for human rights abuses and atrocities during Indonesia's occupation of East Timor.

General Mantiri is identified as commander from 1976 to 1979 of Airborne Infantry Battalion 700, which was heavily engaged in operations against the East Timorese resistance and implicated in a range of human rights violations, including killings, rape and detention of civilians.

As military commander in East Timor in the aftermath of the Santa Cruz massacre, he later commanded forces engaged in intensified operations against the resistance, including detentions of civilians and the alleged torture and disappear-ance of independence supporters.

The commission's report recommends that all UN members ''refuse a visa to any military officer who is named in this report for either [human rights] violations or command responsibility for troops accused of violations and take other measures such as freezing bank accounts until that individual's innocence has been independently and credibly established''.

The Australian Government has not acted on this recommendation.

News of General Mantiri's recent visit to Australia came as the Australian Federal Police began to investigate Guy Campos, an East Timorese now in Australia, accused of collaborating with the military involving kidnapping and torture of East Timorese citizens during Indonesia's occupation.

An expert on Indonesia's military, Dr Clinton Fernandes, of the Australian Defence Force Academy, said justice required the investigation and prosecution of alleged war criminals, whether they were at the top or the bottom of the chain of command.

''As a first step, Australia shouldn't be giving visas to people like Mantiri,'' he said. ''Former and serving Indonesian military officers who exercised command responsib-ility in East Timor should be held accountable for their own actions and the actions of their troops during the Indonesian occupation.''

Mr Rudd's office was unable to say yesterday what the Prime Minister and General Mantiri discussed during their meeting.

The Australian 3 October 2008 Paul Toohey - East Timor's fragile political and justice system is again being put to the test with the country's most senior military figure, Brigadier Taur Matan Ruak, facing possible prosecution over his role in arming civilians during the crisis of 2006.

Brigadier Ruak, who has been named as a suspect but not charged, has said he is happy to co-operate with the prosecutor-general's office once his current immunity status is lifted.

A UN commission of inquiry into the 2006 crisis recommended that Brigadier Ruak, his two colonels and others, including then defence minister Roque Rodriguez, be prosecuted for illegal weapons transfer.

The report found Brigadier Ruak, who upon East Timor's liberation in 1999 was leader of the Falantil armed resistance, began to distribute F-FDTL army weapons to 206 former freedom fighters and police from May 24, 2006.

Brigadier Ruak told the commission of inquiry that at the time rebels were moving on Dili and the F-FDTL did not have the capacity to respond. All the distributed weapons were logged and eventually returned.

Fretilin opposition party leader Mari Alkatiri has volunteered to act as Brigadier Ruak's lawyer if charges were ever laid.

But observers believe the brigadier, deeply popular in the east of the country, will never be prosecuted because it could reignite violent divisions between the army and police, and easterners and westerners.

Fretilin is angry that Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's alliance majority has on three occasions used parliament to invoke immunity on behalf of former police commissioner Paolo Martins, who is also a member of Gusmao's CNRT party.

Martins was also named in the report for distributing weapons in 2006 and abandoning his command, but was not specifically recommended for prosecution.

'No member of this Government would ever again be able to travel past Metinaro - just east of Dili, where the army has its headquarters - if Matan Ruak is charged,' said a source in Dili.

'He has substantial support in the eastern districts and elsewhere. He is very, very highly respected. He was our last commander of Falantil and was in the fight for 24 years.

'All of us are subject to the rule of law, but you can't do this selectively. Let's have Paolo Martins turn up and be questioned.'

The issue of prosecuting the country's senior soldier is a very delicate one that will test the country's separation of powers. Timor has failed this test before, with its leaders known to intervene in the justice system in order to get what they believe is the best result.

Brigadier Ruak was responsible for sacking some 600 former western-born soldiers in early 2006 after they abandoned their posts to stage protests. It resulted in spot battles, street violence and a two-year rebel standoff.

Image: Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, Chief of the East Timor Armed Forces stands accused by the United Nations of illegal weapons distribution during the 2006 Crisis.

A conversation series in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.

From 5.00 pm, Lecture Theatre 2, Hedley Bull Centre

What it's all about:

Why do conflicts within states sometimes wane (e.g., Khalistan, Free Quebec)? Are they simply smashed by superior state force? Do generations run out energy? Do skilful governments ameliorate injustice? Do foreign interventions and peace mediations work? Do foreign backers stop backing? What combination of all these?

Such questions tax many of us in the College, and we bring to bear on them the lenses of every discipline from history and anthropology to economics and strategic studies.

'Diminishing Conflicts', therefore, seemed a fruitful theme for a series of winter conversations, inspired by the successful 'Keywords' conversations of last winter.

Each week in 'Diminishing Conflicts' (the ambiguity of the title is intentional) a speaker will discuss an example where internal conflicts have waned, diminished or apparently disappeared. Speakers will attempt to explain why. Audiences will be invited to intervene.

14 October – Timor-Leste: Susan Harris-Rimmer

21 October – East Asia:Historical conflict and reconciliation: Tessa Morris-Suzuki

28 October – Papua New Guinea Southern Highlands: Nicole Haley

All of the sessions will be recorded, where possible.

Speaker/Host: Susan Harris-Rimmer - ANU College of Asia & the Pacific
Venue: Lecture Theatre 2, Hedley Bull Centre
Date: Tuesday, 14 October 2008
Time: 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Website: http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au
Enquiries: Darren Boyd on 6125 4289, Pam Wesley-Smith on 6125 2221

FRENTE REVOLUCIONARIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE FRETILIN FRANCISCO GUTERRES “LU OLO” PRESIDENT OF FRETILIN PRESS CONFERENCE DILI, 2 October 2008

Dear friends,

First of all I would like to thank you for your presence to cover our press conference.

As president of the historic FRETILIN party, I am joined by the chief of FRETILIN bench and his deputy, and other members of parliament to denounce the threats made by the de facto Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr. Gusmao in Ainaro last Saturday.

We consider his threats illegal and unconstitutional and showed a tendency towards dictatorship.

On the 28th of September 2008, His Excellency Mr. Gusmao said in Ainaro:

“I heard that you are preparing for a Peace March in Dili. I am waiting for you there. I will put you all behind bars!”

I repeat these illegal and dictatorial threats, which came from Mr. Gusmao's own mouth, which the people and I could hear:

“I heard that you are preparing for a Peace March in Dili. I am waiting for you there. I will put you all behind bars!”

Many people and I who heard these threatening words ask, why does Mr. Gusmao feel the need to threaten those who wish to manifest their political conviction and their constitutional right to organize a march, intended wholly as a show of peace and is in the spirit of democracy? Why should the leaders threaten them that he will “put them all behind bars” or prison?

First of all I would like to remind Mr. Gusmao that according to our Constitution, according to the law and the democratic rule of law, it is not he who can “put someone behind bars”. If someone has not violated any law, he should not be “put behind bars” as you wish.

In the democratic state, only the court has the power to “put someone behind bars” if it can be proved that that person has indeed violated the law. It is not up to the Prime Minister or the President or a liurai or whomsoever. Neither the F-FDTL, nor the Police, or UNPOL, have the power to put anyone behind bars without a warrant from the courts. Only in a dictatorship under regimes similar that of colonial Portugal under Salazar or Indonesia under Suharto can a Prime Minister put anyone behind bars as he wishes. In the independent, constitutional and democratic Timor-Leste, this attitude is unacceptable. You cannot make any threat against the people as you like. Why do you need to make illegal and unconstitutional threats such as these? Is it because you want to scare the people? Is it because you consider the people to be ignorant and to be unaware of their rights, or that they do not have the right to know their rights?

FRETILIN does not accept this way of thinking. We must all respect the People, and the People’s rights according to the Constitution and international standards of human rights. As leaders we must make threats against the people as we like with illegal actions and actions that go against individual rights.

Article 42 of the RDTL Constitution guarantees everyone the freedom to hold demonstrations according to the law. This right is sacred in our Constitution and no one can take this right away. International law and human rights covenants, which Timor-Leste has signed, guarantee this right.

No one, not even the Prime Minister, can take this right away from the People.

As “the only Timorese pro-independence party”, to borrow Mr. Gusmao’s own words, FRETILIN has said it many times that the March, which the People continue to insist that it should be held to reaffirm peace and democracy and justice in our country, is a march of peace, with respect for the law and within the spirit of democracy, and with respect to the rights of other people as well as state institutions.

The planned peace march will take this country towards a better future, unlike what many people did in the past when they held their demonstrations. FRETILIN as the historic party, which kicked start the struggle for independence of Timor-Leste will never take this country or the People towards suffering, only towards good.

The peace march will take place because the People want it, and because the People have a right and freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution to do so. We appeal to the State to guarantee individual rights to freedom, instead of warning people with threats of prisons or jails.

The State, specially the Government, must stop politicizing the police against the People when they hold their peace march as planned. We heard Mr. Gusmao's own words in Ainaro warning, “I have told the police that I do not permit any little group from lying to the people.”

Although I believe that he is not referring to FRETILIN, because FRETILIN is not a small group but the largest political party in our country, once again I remind Mr. Gusmao, groups big or small have a right to hold their political activity according to the Constitution and the law. It is not up to the Prime Minister or the President to permit or to not permit anyone’s political activity and anyone’s constitutional rights. Only the courts have the power to permit or to not permit anything in accordance with the law and the Constitution.

Once again I ask, why do you use the police to threaten the People? I ask the police to carry out your duties according to the law and the Constitution, with impartiality and to not fall for political manipulation as Mr. Gusmao so wish through his words.

I appeal to the police that as a state institution, you have the duties to guarantee the People’s freedom to hold demonstrations according to the law and the Constitution, to provide protection for anyone whose right is being denied by someone else. Only the courts can deny the right to hold demonstrations. The Government does not have this right. We urge those in power to respect the principles of democracy and the rule of law in this country.

The Peace March will go forward because this idea came from the people. The people are demanding this Peace March because the People see that there needs to be a reaffirmation of Peace, Democracy and Justice in this beloved country; because the situation of the ordinary people is constantly deteriorating. Although the size of the budget is twice or three times larger that the budgets of the previous years, the people are yet to enjoy any benefit. Rice continues to be sold at high prices, higher than it has ever been although imported rice is heavily subsidized. Who is benefiting from this? Only one or two leaders, not the people.

Why is the level of corruption so much higher compared to many other countries and there is no control from the government? Instead the National Parliament is left with the task of establishing means through a parliamentary inquiry to stamp out corruption, which has placed Timor-Leste as one of the countries with terrible levels of corruption.

If the people are not happy with the government, they have the right to demonstrate in peace according to the law and the Constitution.

The people feel that there is a need to reaffirm democracy and the rule of law once again because at the beginning of last year, there was a tendency to take this country towards dictatorship. There was a tendency in the increase of human rights violations.

The threat to “put all of you behind bars” is not new. Previously, journalists have been warned that if they do not report according to what the government wants, the de facto Prime Minister said, “we will arrest you”. During the state of siege, journalists were attacked physically and one of them was arrested. The Provedor of Human Rights and Justice has published reports on these violations but until this day, no justice has been brought against these acts.

We have witnessed these dictatorial tendencies. During the state of siege, they sent the police to arrest some opposition members of parliament although there was no warrant from the courts for such actions. Is this what is meant by the threat to “put all of you behind bars”?

The students who held the demonstrations because the ordinary people never benefited anything until today but the AMP members of parliament managed to secure a luxury Landcruiser Prados for themselves, were not only threatened but they also suffered the heavy hand of the authority and were then placed in jail.

FRETILIN laments this tendency to deny the People their rights through statements like those made by Mr. Gusmao in Ainaro last Saturday. FRETILIN asks everyone to strengthen the spirit of democracy, tolerance and peace. FRETILIN asks for respect of the Constitution, respect for the law and the People’s rights.

FRETILIN appeals for the ceasing of all statements which are intended as threats against People such as “placing all of you behind bars” or to use the police, or words such as “cannons”, “tanks”, “battalions”, as those used in Ainaro. We all heard them and we are following them closely.

Statements such as these are what take our country towards dictatorship. FRETILIN does not accept it because we struggled to end dictatorship in our country and to prevent it from ever repeating.

It is better for all of us to speak of the Constitution, peace, democracy, tolerance, freedom, justice, the rule of law and the People’s right to live in peace and to demonstrate.

To the people of Ainaro who heard these words, the people from the south to the north, from Oecusse to Jaco, I appeal to you: do no be afraid of threats from anyone. Our right and our freedom as stated in our Constitution remain strong. No one will be able to take this from us unless we allow them to. Only the law is above us and we are all equal before the court, the people or the leader, we are all equal. Do not be afraid of these people.

If you want to place anyone behind bars even if they are obeying the law, the Constitution or democracy, then you should first place all FRETILIN members of parliament behind bars, just as you did against the students who held a peaceful protest.

If we all followed this path, the path of the law and democracy, there will be no prison big enough to place all of us behind it.

Our People have suffered enough; they have been imprisoned and have received all kinds of violations to achieve independence. The People do not deserve any more threats but only support from all of their leaders when it comes to their rights and freedom.

Thank you very much.

Francisco Guterres 'Lu Olo'

FRENTE REVOLUCIONARIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE
FRETILIN
Media Release
Dili, 3 October 2008

FRETILIN MPs denounce threats by Prime Minister

On September 28, 2008, Timor Leste's de facto Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, declared in Ainaro that a proposed 'March of Peace'' sponsored by the largest party in the parliament, FRETILIN, would be crushed when it arrived in Dili. FRETILIN's leadership denounced this threat as illegal and dictatorial, in a media conference in Dili yesterday.

The Prime Minister's threat was also broadcast nationwide on radio and television. His exact words were: 'I hear that you from here are preparing a March of Peace to Dili. I will wait for you there, and put you all in jail!'

FRETILIN President Francisco (Lu Olo) Guterres said, 'I and many who heard those threatening words simply wish to ask why Mr Gusmao feels the need to threaten people who wish to demonstrate their political conviction and express their constitutional rights to undertake a march with totally peaceful intentions, to show peace, with a spirit of democracy. Why are they the subject of threats from our nation's leaders to 'put you in jail'?'

'I remind Mr Gusmao that according to our Constitution, in a state under the rule of law, it's not he who puts people in jail', said Mr Guterres. 'In a democratic state under the rule of law, only a court of law can 'put people in jail' and then only if it is proven in a court that they have breached the law. But it is certainly not the Prime Minister, or even the President or a Liurai (traditional feudal King) who can just do so because that is his wish. Not even the Army or the Police or the UN Police can jail anyone without a court order or warrant, and then only if the law is being broken.

'Only in a dictatorship like the old Portuguese Colonial dictatorship and the Suharto regime can a Prime Minister simply jail people without a trial as he wishes. But not in a sovereign, constitutional and democratic Timor-Leste,' declared Guterres.

Clause 42 of the Constitution of the RDTL gives everyone the freedom and right to demonstrate within the law. Timor-Leste has ratified the UN Charter and Conventions that also guarantee these rights and freedoms.

According to Guterres, the people persistently demand the Peace March to affirm Peace and Democracy and Justice in the country. 'It is a March that, when it happens, will be peaceful, in a spirit of democracy, respecting the rights of other citizens and the law and all State institutions," he said.

'The planned Peace March by FRETILIN, its allies and communities, will be done to take this country in a better direction, not as our history shows, especially in 2006, to mobilize people to take this country in a worse direction.

'We ask all relevant State institutions to assure that those participating in a lawful Peace March will be able to so exercise their rights and freedoms without threats of incarceration, and especially call on the police to protect them as they do so," Guterres insisted.

'We ask the State, especially the government, not to politicise the police against the people who wish to march in the planned March of Peace, because we also heard last Saturday the de facto Prime Minister in Ainaro say that 'I have told the police that I will not permit any small group to lie to the people'. FRETILIN is not a small group of people, but whether the group is large or small, we all have a right to lawfully carry on our political activities,' said Guterres.

He argued that the people feel the need to reaffirm a democratic state under the rule of law because in just one year the country had fallen more and more towards a dictatorship, with increasing breaches of human rights.

Guterres noted the arrest and beating of journalists, and the arrest without warrant of Opposition MPs, during the state of siege following the shootings on February 11 this year, and the recent repression of student protests about the state budget and the purchase of luxury 4WD Prados for MPs. So far there has been no substantive response to the reports on these violations by the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice.

"So these are not just threats from our recent experience," noted Guterres.

Guterres urged national leaders not to threaten the people with jail, and not to use words like 'cannons', 'armored tanks', or 'battalions', which the Prime Minister used in his Ainaro speech. "It is better if you all start to speak of the constitution, peace, democracy, tolerance, freedom, justice, the rule of law and the rights our people have to live in peace and express their political views free from fear or threats," Guterres said.

Guterres also asked people not to be affected by the threats against their rights. "When all of us walk this lawful path of peace and democracy, there will be no jail big enough to incarcerate us all," he concluded defiantly.

For information contact: Jose Teixeira MP +670 728 7080 Nilva Guimaraes (media officer) +670 734 0389

Note: This post also includes legal reports from 24 september 2008 and 25 September 2008

HEADLINES

Public Prosecution to make accusation after statement from Brigadier Ruak

I'm not afraid of justice because truth is on my side, says Falur

Court sentences Eugenio to four years in prison

FRETILIN demands documents of Parliament car purchase

Govt sends new military law to National Parliament

Prove me you're professional and I'm ready send the FSI and UNPOL back, says PM

PNTL officers should avoid personal interest, says de Jesus

Parliament calls for people to not panic

The country is on the verge of dictatorship, says FRETILIN
AusAID provides US $ 500,000 to ICFJ for media support

Government begins processing payment for PNTL officers, says State Security Secretary

Corruption in Timor-Leste has been very critical, says Transparency International

Ballistic examination proves bullets from rebel group hit Horta

I won't evade justice, says Lere Annan Timur

Investigation by the UN over 4 December 2002 case is political trick

Public Prosecution has obligation to issue notification, says PD MP

FULL STORIES


Public Prosecution to make accusation after statement from Brigadier Ruak - Televizaun Timor-Leste 2 October 2008
Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro said the case of the country's crises of 2006 would be taken to court after the Public Prosecution had obtained a statement from the Defence Force Commander, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak.

The prosecutor general said they would make an official request to the Defence Superior Council to allow Brigadier Ruak to give his statement over the case.

'This is preliminary process and is not the time for making accusations; the final decision will be taken after we get a statement from Brigadier Ruak,' Monteiro said.

In response to the F-FDTL Chief of Staff, Lere Anan Timur's concerns about the enquiry questioning high ranking defence force personnel such as himself, Monteiro recognized it.

Monteiro said the inquiry should actually be done by a prosecutor, yet he was sick and that they handed it over to the investigative police to do it. He added the president and prime minister had also faced inquiry in relation to the recent crises of 2006.

Image: Chief of the Falintil-East Timor National Defence Force, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak. The United Nations Commission of Inquiry for East Timor recommended that he be prosecuted for his involvement of the illegal transfer of weapons during the 2006 Crisis. He is yet to face court .

I'm not afraid of justice because truth is on my side, says Falur - Televizaun Timor-Leste 2 October 2008
East Timor Defense Force Lieutenant Colonel Falur Rate Laek said Thursday (2/10) that he is not afraid of facing justice because the truth is on his side.

Falur made the statement after answering the questions from the office of the Pubic Prosecution in relation to the 2006 crises in which he is alleged to have handed over weapons to former combatants.

'Only those who are afraid of facing justice are those who are guilty and those who are brave to face justice are those who have truth,' said Falur. He said that that as he fought for independence and democracy, he himself should uphold justice and therefore he is ready to cooperate with the justice system.

He explained that he was happy with the questions asked because as a combatant he is always happy.

Two more F-FDTL officers would be questioned in relation to the handing over weapons to former combatants in the 2006 crises.

Court sentences Eugenio to four years in prison - Televizaun Timor-Leste 3 October 2008
The Dili district court has announced the verdict and sentenced Eugenio Candido Alves to four years in prison, because he was found guilty of being involved in the arson attack on the Custom Department's former building on 6 August 2007.

The court reached the verdict based on the Penal Code Article 170 and 180 about committing arson of public buildings and disturbances.

The trial for this case was conducted by Deputy Penal judge consisting of Maria das Dores, with Prosecutor Felisberto Cardoso and Public Defender Augusto do Santos Marques.

Prosecutor Cardoso said he made the accusation to the five accused as they were suspected of being involved in burning down the Customs Office building 2007, but the four other accused were released as they were not found guilty.

Meanwhile, Legal Advisor for Eugenio said the verdict was acceptable to him and had discussed about everything related to the verdict with the family of Eugenio.

FRETILIN demands documents of Parliament car purchase - Suara Timor Lorosae 3 October 2008
Opposition party in the National Parliament, FRETILIN, demanded documents and other paper-work related to the 65 cars purchased for the National Parliament.

The demand was made by MP Francisco Branco Miranda during a Parliament's plenary session Tuesday (30/9). Branco argued that the money used to buy the cars belongs to the people and therefore the process of the purchase has to be transparent to the people. He said that the process of buying the cars is not transparent amongst the members of the National Parliament.

Vice President of the National Parliament Maria Paixao said that though National Parliament is an autonomous state institution, it is not yet financially autonomous. She therefore asked the opposition party to seek the documents from the government.

Meanwhile, head of National Procurement Office, Francisco da Costa Soares Borulako, said that the documents could be given to anyone only if there is decision from the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance to do so.

Govt sends new military law to National Parliament - Suara Timor Lorosae 3 October 2008
The government had sent a new law on military service to the National Parliament to be discussed and then approved.

And the proposed law has been further submitted to the President of Committee B dealing with the issues of Foreign Affairs, National Defence and Security by the second Vise President Maria Paixao.

President of the Committee, Duarte Nunes, said that the law will be discussed in Committee before taking it to the plenary of the National Parliament to vote on.

Secretary of State for Security, Julio Tomas Pinto, said that if the law is passed as soon as possible, the Ministry would start recruiting new officials for the Defence Force in this month.

Prove to me you're professional and I'm ready send the FSI and UNPOL back, says PM - Suara Timor Lorosae 3 October 2008
East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao said Tuesday (30/9)that if the East Timor Defence Force (F-FDTL) and the National Police (PNTL) proved to him that they are already professional, then the Prime Minister could ask the International Stabilization Forces (ISF) and the United Nations Police (UNPOL) to leave the country.

'The problems become smaller with the presence of the international forces and we feel we could not move if there are police from all over the world present here so prove me (you are professional) and I can send them back,' said Gusmao.

He explained that East Timor is an independent country but the movement of its Defence Force and its National Police is limited while the Australian soldiers are walking around carrying their weapons. 'You cannot do it (carrying weapons around) while malaes (foreigners) can; what kind of independence is this?' questioned Gusmao.

He explained that in order to be really professional, the police should not carry their weapons while going to discotheques and police agents should not tobe involved in illegal gambling.

As the Minister for Defence and Security, Gusmao asked the officers of both F-FDTL and PNTL to keep the spirit of joint operation to show that they are ready to take responsibility of securing and defending the sovereignty of Timor-Leste.

PNTL officers should avoid personal interest, says de Jesus - Timor Post 3 October 2008
Timorese Acting Police Commander, Afonso De Jesus, has called on all Timorese National Police (PNTL) officers to work well in serving the country's people and not prioritise personal interest.

The commander made the comments on Tuesday (30/9) in connection with some of the police inspectors who had worked for personal interest. 'I am calling on all the police officers within the police force to work together and keep up with the spirit of nationalism. We cannot work alone within this institution,' De Jesus said.

De Jesus said the police force needed help from the country's leaders to professionalize the country's police officers. He added that the police institution needed to make changes, because some of the police officers were still new and their mentality was not so good.

Parliament calls for people to not panic - Timor Post 3 October 2008
Parliamentary Committee B has called for the Timorese people to not panic with illegal pamphlets which are currently spreading within the community regarding the appointment of the country’s new general police commander.

President of Parliamentary Committee B for National Security and Defence, Duarte Nunes, said the Parliament and Government knew about the distribution of the pamphlets observing, therefore, tht the people should not panic, but should remain calm. Nunes said the pamphlets were distributed by the irresponsible people to provoke instability in the country and make the people panic. The pamphlets said if the Government tries to appoint a candidate from the country's east as Commander then that would cause instability to emerge within the country.

He added the Government had planned to appoint a new top police commander in November.

Image: The National Parliament Chambers in Dili


The country is on the verge of dictatorship, says FRETILIN - Televizaun Timor-Leste 2 October 2008
FRETILIN’s President Francisco Guterres Lu Olo said Thursday that East Timor is on the verge of dictatorship because there is tendency in the current government led by Xanana Gusmao to kill the rights of the people.

The statement was made during a press conference in relation to the statement made by the Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao last Saturday in Ainaro where Gusmao threatened the people not to take part in the peace rally organized by FRETILIN.

He stressed that the party will not allow dictatorship to take place again in the country as the people fought hard to get rid off it during the illegal Indonesian occupation.

Lu Olo added FRETILIN is really concerned and saddened by the statement made by Gusmao and he urged Gusmao's government to respect the Constitution of the Republic along with other existing applicable laws and to respect the rights of the people to stage a peaceful rally.

He explained that the country should be built on the spirit of democracy, tolerance and peace but not on dictatorship. He reaffirmed that the FRETILIN's peace rally is not to create conflict but to affirm democracy and justice in the country and therefore it should not be banned by the government.

The date for the peace rally is not yet known.

Image: Francisco 'Lu Olo' Guterres, President of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin)

AusAID provides US$500,000 to ICFJ for media support - Televizaun Timor-Leste 25 September 2008
The Australian International Development Agency (AusAID) has provided US$500, 000 to help support a free and independent media in Timor-Leste through the International Centre for Journalists known as ICFJ.

The funds were directly handed over by the AusAID Acting councilor, Jenny Drain, and representative, Mark White, to ICFJ Director, Dave Blues, yesterday.

Drain said the project would be implemented until 2011 and would be specifically strengthening the media program in Timor-Leste, as media playedan important role in the country's development.

'The media sector should be credible in building a strong democracy in East Timor and this why we continue supporting professional and qualified media training and the development of journalism in this country.'

Government begins processing payment for PNTL officers, says State Security Secretary - Televizaun Timor-Leste 25 September
The Government, through State Secretary for Security, has begun processing per diem payments for the Timorese National Police (PNTL) officers who were involved in the Joint Operation during the manhunt for the rebels.

'The payment of the per diems is currently in process in the Ministry of Planning and Finance,' State Secretary for Security, Francisco Guterres said. The state secretary said about $US500, 000.000 was enough to pay those police officers who had not been paid yet.

He added such a mount of money would be directly allocated to PNTL once it had been approved and would mainly be allocated to the police officers who were involved in the recent Joint Operation.

Image: East Timor National Police in action in Dili


Corruption in Timor-Leste has been very critical, says Transparency International - Timor Post 25 September 2008
Corruption in Timor-Leste has been significantly increasing compared with the level of corruption that took place last year, says a report byTransparency International released Wednesday (24/9).

According to Transparency International, which conducted corruption analyses in 180 countries in the world, the corruption cases which were high during the year of 2007 and 2008 had put Timor-Leste in the list of the one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Last year, Timor-Leste was ranked 123 in the list of the corrupt countries with 2.6 points, while this year it drops to 145 with 2.2 points.

Learning about the corruption situation in the country, MP Fernanda Borges, President of Committee A, said that she was terribly saddened by the level of corruption in the country.

"I am terribly sad by the fact that Timor-Leste drops to the position of 145 from 123. Meaning that the corruption has been very strong in Timor-Leste," said Borges. Borges said that corruption takes place in the forms of single source mechanism and that the procurement services are not transparent.

The Transparency International elicited the data on corruption from the public sector and commerce, ranking the least corrupt countries with position one while the most corrupt counties with 180.

Image: MP Fernandes Borges

Ballistic examination proves bullets from rebel group hit Horta - Timor Post 24 September 2008
East Timor's Prosecutor General Longuinhos Monteiro affirmed Wednesday (24/9) that based on the ballistic examination done by the Australian Federal Police it was the bullets of the rebel group led by Alfredo Reinado Alves that injured Ramos Horta during the attempt of February 11.

He said that the examination process had been successful though he declined to reveal the identity of the individuals who shot Horta.

He explained that only up to three automatic weapons were used for the examination in order to strengthen the accusation of the office of the Prosecutor General.

He said the result of the ballistic examination will be made public after his meeting with the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police Thursday (25/9).

I won't evade justice, says Lere Annan Timur - Diario Nacional 25 September 2008
The Timorese Defense Force Chief of Staff, Lere Annan Timur, said he would not stay away from process of justice based on the notification issued by the Public Prosecution regarding the recent crises of the country.

'This is not a new thing for me and other friends who have got the notification. I had never retreated from the war and even for justice I will not be shocked and this is my commitment. We will cooperate with the Court to create peace and stability in the country,' Lere Annan said.

Lere Annan called on the Court to explain to him about the reason why the Public Prosecution wanted to summon them.

Investigation by the UN over 4 December 2002 case is political trick – Diario Nacional 25 September 2008
Fretilin MPs said the investigation into the case of 4 December 2002 by the UN International Investigation Commission was like a political trick.

Fretilin Chief of Bench, Francisco Miranda Branco, said the findings of the UN investigation was excessive and was political trick. Branco was referring to the UN investigative commission report which had been publicized by the media and was raised by MPs in recent days.

Branco said one of the report findings said a former state secretary of Fretilin government provoked the protestors to attack the Parliament House on 4 December 2002.

Public Prosecution has obligation to issue notification, says Democratic Party MP - Radio Timor-Leste 24 September 2008
Democratic Party (PD) MP Vital dos Santos said the Public Prosecution had the obligation to issue a notification for any of the country's citizen who was suspected of being involved in criminal actions.

Dos Santos was referring to the notification issued by the Public Prosecution to summon Timorese Defense Force (F-FDTL) Chief of Staff Lere Annan Timur and Falur Rate Laek regarding the country’s recent military and political crises of 2006.

Dos Santos stressed the Public Prosecution had the right to halt process of investigation into a case if there were no strong evidences.

Lere Annan will face inquiry on the upcoming 29 September while Falur Rate Laek will face inquiry on 1 October.

An Analysis of the Social Problem of Prostitution in East Timor - The fifth civil society research report in the ROCCIPI "Legislative Drafting for Democratic Social Transformation" methodological analyses of social problems in East Timor series has now been published on the East Timor Law Journal in English, Indonesian and Portuguese. Note that this report was written in June 2004.

To read the report in these languages, click on the following links which will open word files in the East Timor Law Journal:

Prostitution in East Timor
Prostitusi di Timor-Leste
Prostituicao em Timor-Leste

An extract from the English version of the report follows:

"Prostitution is not a new problem but an old one which hasn't been considered until recently. In the evolution of humankind, almost all countries have faced problems related to prostitution. No state has successfully eradicated the practice of prostitution, but has only been able to regulate it. The practice of prostitution is often opposed in religious circles including by the community itself. It must be acknowledged that the practice of prostitution in East Timor is a social reality which can no longer be ignored. Because it is a social reality it may appear that the community has adopted a permissive attitude towards it, however the practice of prostitution goes against morals, decency and religion and can destroy the family unit at any time.

When commercial sex workers have been arrested by the police in Dili, some religious leaders have taken a moderate attitude towards the practice as a social reality and don’t look at the practice itself but at the factors which push a person into the world of prostitution. According to statements made by these religious leaders, the factors to be considered are the behaviour of the individual and the education provided by parents, which needs to be improved because in East Timor acculturation has occurred through the various nations present during the UNTAET period.

In the midst of this reaction to the practice of prostitution, prostitution has not decreased but actually appears to be on the rise. Besides acculturation, this has occurred due to factors such as economic and stress as people are betrayed by their boy/girl friends, environmental factors and even the divorce of parents.

Whilst the practice of prostitution is an activity which destroys morals and attitudes and can also destroy the family unit, the positive law system of RDTL doesn’t prohibit the practice of prostitution but only prohibits people from providing a location or facilitating the practice of prostitution. This is regulated by article 296 of the Criminal Law Code which states that: “Any person intentionally instigating or facilitating indecent acts by others, who makes this a source of income or a routine practice, may face a maximum prison term of one year and four months or a maximum fine of fifteen thousand rupiah”.

Looking at these provisions, a regulation is required to comprehensively regulate both pimps and those prostitutes who don't work through pimps but provide prostitution services directly. The government must play a big part in trying to reduce the practice of prostitution, by providing rehabilitation programs with relevant government departments working together. The community must also play a large role to support government initiatives to reduce the practice of prostitution. Law enforcement agencies must also take a firm stance in implementing regulations, which prohibit the practice of prostitution." Read more...


Nota bene: The views expressed in the report on prostitution do not necessarily reflect those of the author of the East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin.

See also - Foreigners arrested in East Timor prostitution swoop - ABC Radio Australia 17/01/2008 - Eighty-seven foreign nationals have been arrested for prostitution and drug offences in East Timor.

The arrests were part of a joint crackdown between the nation's police force and officers from the United Nations. East Timor police say the 87 foreigners were arrested at a number of bars.

Most of them were women involved in prostitution and illegal drugs and are from from Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Thailand.

The latest arrests follow a raid on two bars earlier this year that netted 28 foreign nationals over suspected human trafficking.A United States State Department report last year identified East Timor as a destination country for women trafficked from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

See also - UN under fire for turning blind eye to peacekeepers' misconduct 7 May 2007 - Lindsay Murdoch Sydney Morning Herald -Teenage Timorese prostitutes gather just before dusk opposite a hotel on Dili's waterfront where drivers in United Nations vehicles can be seen picking them up and driving away.

"It's disgusting … these people who have supposedly come here to help the Timorese are abusing these poor girls," says an Australian mechanic drinking in the hotel's second-floor bar, who observes the scene every night.

Some of the 2000 UN police and civilian staff from more than 40 countries are openly violating what the UN promised would be a "zero tolerance" policy towards sexual abuse and misconduct in the deeply religious country, sources say.

Expatriates say a dozen brothels have recently opened in Dili, and that vehicles with UN markings can be seen parked outside them most nights.

One of the brothels is employing a dozen ethnic-Chinese prostitutes, expatriates say. Read more...

Friday 03 October 2008 TEMPO Interactive Jakarta: Prime Minister of East Timor Xanana Gusmao dismissed Fretilin's threat to bring in thousands of supporters to urge East Timor government to hold a general election, slamming the threat as a dream and no more than that of a kid.

Xanana spoke his response after Fretilin's Secretary General Mari Alkatiri expressed his demand while meeting Indonesia's top officials since Idul Fitri day on Wednesday. Alktiri met separately with President Yudhoyono, Vice President Kalla, and Muhamadiyah leader Din Syamsuddin in Jakarta.

Xanana who endured the independence war against Indonesia and survived recent killing attempt by rebelling East Timor troops led by Major Alfredo Reinado said the threat was a minor one.

Alkatiri was forced to resign in 2006 after riots sparked by rebelling troops based on the western part of the country over claims of being discriminated from their fellow troops on the eastern part of the country.

A recent report said that leaflets had been circulating in the capital Dili recently, ahead of the inauguration of the new East Timor Police Chief. The leaflets in English and local language Tetum reject the government choice of new police chief from the eastern part of te country and that there will be kidnappings on government official if the government install the new police chief.

The latest conflict follow a series of political unrest in the newest country in South East Asia which saw the murder attempt on President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao who took over the government after Alkatiri was deposed. Shady reports published days after the attack on President Horta said that rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed during the attack.

An East Timor parliament spokesman Duarte Nunes reminded the public to stay calm amid the threat surrounding the installment of the new police chief, saying the leaflets were provocative.

Jose Sarito Amaral

Image: East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao

Ministry of Finance National Directorate of Treasury Budget Execution Report Up To Second Quarter January – June 2008

Budget Estimates - The Law No.8/2007 has defined that the Financial Year period would be from 1 January to 31 December starting from 1 January 2008.

The Budget of Financial Year 2008 was approved on 31 December 2007 vide Law No 10/2007. It estimated an appropriation of US $ 347.753 million from the Consolidated Fund of Timor-Leste.

The Revenue Receipts for Financial Year 2008 are estimated at US $ 27.0 million. Parliament has also approved transfers from Petroleum Fund not exceeding US $ 294 million during the year.

Full Report

Source: OCHA/UNMIT East Timor Integrated Humanitarian Coordination Team 2008/Issue No. 17: 1 October Humanitarian Update 13 - 26 September 2008

ASPOL
At present, no Governmental decision has been made regarding allocation of land and compensation for those currently living at ASPOL site. The eviction process has not yet begun.

UPDATE ON IDP MOVEMENTS

• To date, 7,129 IDP families have received a recovery or reintegration package under the Hamutuk Hari’i Futuru (National Recovery Strategy) Program.

• A total of 16,000 families (including families already reintegrated/ resettled) have been registered for the recovery package. Registration and other administrative processes including final registration are ongoing.

• The return and reintegration of IDPs from Colegio Sao Jose IDP camp was completed on 17 September, with a total of 97 families assisted. The camp is now closed.

• Movement out of Hera Port IDP camp commenced on 22 September. As of Thursday 25 September, 298 families (of 368 registered for the recovery package) had moved. Seven families moved independently to the Hera Transitional Shelter Site. A long-term solution for those families is being sought by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) and partners. Ten families remain in the camp and ongoing dialogue/ mediation activities are underway to address their return and reintegration needs. It is expected that the return movement from this camp will be completed within the next two weeks.

• Assistance to the return and reintegration of IDPs from the three Tibar camps (Matadouro, Turleo and Ismaik) is expected to commence next week, upon completion of the verification and socialisation processes.

• Preparations for returns: The IOM return and reintegration team has been supporting the preparations for the dialogue in Terminal and Fatuk Francisco communities. The team has been active in ensuring the participation of the population presently living in Hera Port and Metinaro IDP camps as well as supporting the MSS dialogue teams working in Cristo Rei sub-district. The most recent tent-by-tent visit to ascertain the return intentions of IDPs residing in the camp was conducted at Metinaro IDP camp in the week beginning 15 September.

The IOM return and reintegration team also works in close coordination with CRS, CARE, Belun and all the MSS sub-district dialogue teams in support of community preparations for the return of IDPs from camps scheduled to benefit from the Government’s facilitated return and reintegration assistance. This has applied most recently to Obrigado Barracks, Canossa Balide and Tibar Matadouro and Turleu. The IOM team ensures that every NGO and sub-district dialogue team is provided with the joint list of people registered with MSS and/or the list compiled as a result of IOM return intentions assessments. The teams meet with all the relevant local authorities to inform them of upcoming returns and request their feedback about the families that are due to go back.

The data collected is compiled into a single document that is shared with relevant partners. This process, when complemented by pre-return tent-by-tent visits, allows MSS, IOM and partners to identify families that may face challenges upon return as well as communities reluctant to receive IDPs generally. Based on this the appropriate referrals and interventions are organised in cooperation with the dialogue teams and the NGOs in order to address the potential return issues prior the return movement.

• Tibar: Verification of IDPs returning home from Tibar Ismaek is complete and the MSS socialisation of the move is expected on Wednesday 1 October. The Ministry for Economy and Development has expressed interest in taking over part of the site for a ‘model Bamboo factory and nursery’ post 6 October. A room by room assessment is ongoing to establish the cases most in need of mediation by the MSS dialogue teams.

• Tasi Tolu: IDPs are awaiting MSS verification to return home, an estimated 75% of the TS population expects to be able to return in the near future, making rooms available for other IDPs.

• Becora Market: This site experienced a water shortage due to a lack of electricity from the EDTL lines, raising tensions with the local community.

• Hera: Six families from the closed Hera Port Camp are now residing in Hera TS, NRC is waiting for MSS to clarify if they wish NRC to formally take on the Camp Management role for the families recently arrived from Hera Port.

• Karantina: Triangle GH is still waiting for an answer from DNSAS/MSS to know if improvements to the water supply in the Karantina region are possible. Karantina TS suffers from a chronic lack of city water partially due to significant leaks in the network and taps being left open.

Security Update 10 – 16 September 2008 Source: Joint NGO Security Office and UNMIT - The overall security situation in East Timor has remained quiet and generally calm.

There were 47 recorded incidents across Timor Leste. This is higher than the last reporting period (37) and above the average (approx 30). UN Police (UNPol) made 39 arrests.

The final count of weapons collected during the campaign was 18,123, only one of which was an industrial firearm (revolver type pistol).

On 10 September, an ISF patrol moving through Viqueque encountered an armed F-FDTL unit who claimed to be involved in a counter illegal fishing operation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF).

On 15 September, returning IDPs unloading personal belongings in Nu Laren village in Becora were stoned by local people, which resulted in the PNTL firing three warning shots in order to get control of the situation.

Security Update 17 – 23 September 2008 Source: Joint NGO Security Office and UNMIT

There were 34 recorded incidents across Timor Leste in the reporting period. This is lower than the last reporting period (47) and above the average (approx 30). UN Police (UNPol) made 45 arrests.

Summary 29 June - 31 August 2008

Group Related 14
Martial Arts Group Related 1
Alcohol Related 19
Other 196
Total 230

Image: Australian Army Sgt Marc Hood inspects pistols that were handed in to authorities as part of the recent weapons amnesty in Timor-Leste. Photo by Cpl Bernard Pearson

The National Parliament
Secretariat
Office of Public Relations

Agenda No 135/II - Plenary Meeting of Tuesday 30 September 2008

The plenary session today was presided over by Vice-President II of the National Parliament, Sra. Deputy Maria Paixao, assisted by Deputy Secretary II of the Bureau, Sra Deputy Maria Teresa de Carvalho.

Before turning to the agenda, the II Vice President determined that only 12 Members were allowed into any political declarations because there were important draft laws to be discussed.

The drafters of the Draft Law on Education along with the Minister for Education Cancio Freitas and Deputy Minister Paulo Assis were present in the Chamber.

In the period before the Order of the Day, the following information was provided:

1. Information on the grounds of absence of Deputry Alberto da Silva Cruz Dep on September 29, 2008 on grounds of health and Deputy Teresa da Conceicao Amaral who was absent from 23 - 26 September 2008 for the same reason;

2. Any political statements. In this matter, base information on the needs of the people and corruption has been collected.

During the period of the Order of the Day, the following matters were scheduled:

1. Announcement of admissionto the Commission of Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security of Proposed Law N0 13/II Revision of Law on Military Service;

2. Continuation of the discussion and vote in specialty on N0 8/II Proposed Law on Education.

Topics scheduled in the Period of the Agenda were carried out as the following information:

Debate and vote on the proposed amendment N0 5 on the Article 11 paragraph 5 by Deputies Virgilio Dias Marcal, Moises Romeo and Francisco Jeronimo. The result was 16 votes in favor, 10 against and 13 abstentions.

The draft amendment by the Government was approved and the original was changed.

Therefore the vote was held on Article 11 paragraph 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of the original proposal of the government and the result was 33 votes in favor, 0 against and 4 abstentions.

After the dinner interval, the Plenary Session continued with the Proposed Law N0 8/II scheduled in the Period of the Agenda as follows:

Debate and vote on the 12th par (Objectives of Basic Education). The vote was 35 votes to 0 against and 3 abstentions. The government's original proposal passed.

Debate and vote on Proposal for Amendment N0 6 to par the 13th paragraph 1 a, b, and point 3 b. The vote was 14 in favor, 11 against and 19 abstentions. The proposed amendment passed N0 6. Proposers were Deputy Virgilio Dias Marcal, Deputy Moses and Deputy Romeo Francisco Jeronimo. Therefore the vote was held on the 13th Article of Amendment to the Proposal N0 6. The vote was 35 votes to 0 against and 3 abstentions. Original Proposal of the Government passed with the results as 36 votes in favor, 0 against and 8 abstentions.

Debate and vote on the Subsection II (Secondary Education) of Article 14 until the 16th. The vote was 36 votes in favor, 0 against and 4 abstentions.

Debate and vote on the Proposal for Amendment N0 18. The vote was 10 votes in favor, 17 against and 6 abstentions. This proposal has not passed the Amendment. Therefore the vote was held on Subsection III (Higher Education) to Rule 17. The vote was 27 votes in favor, 1 against and 5 abstentions. This par passed.

Finally Mrs. President closed the session by saying that tomorrow 1st of October 2008 until 3 October 2008 will be holidays because of Idul Fitr. End.
---
O Parlamento Nacional
Secretariado
Gabinete de Relações Publicas

Agenda N0 135/II Reunião Plenária de Terça-Feira, de 30 de Setembro de 2008

A Sessão Plenária de hoje foi presidida pela II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixão, coadjuvada pela II Vice-Secretária da Mesa, Sra. Deputada Teresa Maria de Carvalho.

Antes de entrar na agenda a Sra. II Vice-Presidente determinou que só 12 Deputados fossem permitidos em eventuais declarações políticas porque havia Lei importante para ser discutida.
Estiveram presentes nesta, como redactores da Proposta, o Sr. Ministro da Educação Câncio Freitas, o Sr. Vice-Ministro Paulo Assis e um Assessor.

No período de Antes da Ordem do Dia foram realizadas as informações seguintes:

1. Informação sobre a justificação de faltas dos Senhores Deputados. O Sr. Dep. Alberto da Silva Cruz faltaou no dia 29 de Setembro de 2008 por motivo de saúde e Sra. Dep. Teresa da Conceição Amaral faltou nos dias 23 de Setembro de 2008 até 26 de Setembro de 2008 pelo mesmo motivo;

2. Eventuais declarações políticas. Neste assunto os Senhores Deputados apresentaram as informações colhidas na base, especialmente sobre as necessidades do povo e corrupções em Timor-Leste.

No período da Ordem do Dia foram agendados os assuntos seguintes:

1. Anúncio da admissão e baixa à Comissão de Negócios Estrangeiros, Defesa e Segurança Nacionais da Proposta de Lei N0 13/II. (“Revisão da Lei do Serviço Militar”);

2. Continuação da discussão e votação na especialidade da Proposta de Lei N0 8/II (“Lei de Bases da Educação”).

Os assuntos agendados no Período da Ordem do Dia foram realizados conforme as seguintes informações:

Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Alteração N0 5 sobre o Artigo 11o alínea 5 dos Deputados proponentes Sr. Deputado Virgilio Dias Marçal, Sr. Deputado Romeu Moises e Sr. Deputado Francisco Jerónimo. O resultado foi 16 votos a favor, 10 contra e 13 abstenções. A Proposta de Alteração foi aprovada e a original do Governo foi prejudicada. Consequentemente foi realizada a votação sobre o Artigo 11 alinea 1, 2, 3, 4 e 6 da Proposta Original do Governo e tendo como resusltado 33 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções.

Depois do intervalo/jantar, a Sessão Plenária continuava com a Proposta de Lei N0 8/II agendada no Periodo da Ordem do Dia conforme as seguintes informações:

Discussão e votação sobre o Art. 12o (Objectivos do Ensino Básico). O resultado da votação foi 35 votos a favor, 0 contra e 3 abstenções. A Proposta Original do Governo passou.

Discussão e votação sobre Proposta de Alteração N0 6 ao Art. 13o alínea 1 a, b e alínea 3 b. O resultado da votação foi 14 votos a favor, 11 contra e 19 abstenções. A Proposta de Alteração N0 6 passou. Os Deputados Proponentes foram Sr. Dep. Virgilio Dias Marçal, Sr. Dep. Romeu Moisés e Sr. Dep. Francisco Jerónimo. Consequentemente foi realizada a votação sobre o Artigo 13o com a Proposta de Alteração N0 6. O resultado da votação foi 35 votos a favor, 0 contra e 3 abstenções. Proposta Original do Governo e tendo como resusltado 36 votos a favor, 0 contra e 8 abstenções.

Discussão e votação sobre a Subsecção II (Ensino Secundário) do Artigo 14o até 16o. O resultado da votação foi 36 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções.

Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Emenda N0 18. O resultado da votação foi 10 votos a favor, 17 contra e 6 abstenções. Esta Proposta de Emenda não passou. Consequentemente foi realizada a votação sobre a Subsecção III (Ensino Superior) ao Artigo 17o. O resultado da votação foi 27 votos a favor, 1 contra e 5 abstenções. Este Art. passou.

Finalmente a Sra. Presidente da Reunião encerrou a Plenária, dizendo que amanhã dia 1 de Outubro de 2008 até 3 de Outubro de 2008 serão feriados porque serão os dias do Islam, dias de Idul Fitri.

Fim.

From Progress of the World's Women 2008/2009 Who Answers to Women? Gender and Accountability UNIFEM - As elections approached in Timor-Leste in the Spring of 2007, the Timorese people and the international community looked on with both anticipation and trepidation. Would Timor-Leste, one of the world's youngest nations, continue on its path to democracy and the consolidation of democratic institutions, which began with the independence referendum of 1999?

The remarkable voter turnout quickly assuaged the anxiety of observers: 81% of registered voters went to the polls, 47% of them women. They elected 65 new members of parliament, including 20 female MPs. During the election, women candidates signed on to a Women's Political Platform, emphasizing their common goal of giving women's issues a prominent place on the political agenda, and the General Election Monitoring Commission (KOMEG), a group of men and women advocating women's political participation, closely monitored the commitments of political parties to gender equality.

Today, women in Timor-Leste are represented in significant numbers at the highest levels of political decision-making and increasingly at the local level: they constitute close to 30% of MPs, hold 3 out of 9 cabinet posts including three key ministries – Justice, Finance and Social Solidarity – and an increasing number of seats on village councils. Numeric representation, furthermore, is reinforced by a strong public commitment to gender equality: Timor-Leste has a women's parliamentary caucus, a parliamentary committee devoted to Gender Equality, Poverty Reduction and Rural and Regional Development; a Secretary of State for the Promotion of Equality under the Office of the Prime Minister, and, most recently, a Prime Ministerial Commission for Gender Equality, among other mechanisms devoted to women's rights and empowerment.

Accountability in Timor-Leste, however, as in all other countries emerging from the trauma of prolonged violent conflict, remains an enormously complex political and institutional project. In the new state of Timor-Leste the public administration literally had to be built from scratch. In 1999, for example, there were only 70 lawyers in the country and no formal judicial system, no civil service and no political institutions to ensure citizen's access to justice in the emerging independent state.

Unlike many other post-conflict contexts, Timorese women were able to engage centrally in state-building from the start. In this they were assisted by the United Nations peacekeeping missions that sought to support national accountability to women. The first United Nations mission (2000-2002), for example, promoted gender equality in policy, programmes and legislation in the East Timor Transitional Administration. This eventually evolved into a policy-making mechanism strategically integrated into the new government. With the support of a representative network of women's organizations and a critical mass of women in high-level decision-making positions, this work provided the foundation for the comprehensive institutional framework for gender equality that exists today. As the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Atul Khare, has pointed out, "Women are strong advocates for justice and accountability. Therefore, the alliance between peacekeeping operations, women and women's organizations is crucial for promoting long-term stability in any country."

Other excerpts from the full report

Efforts to professionalise the senior civil service rarely include ‘fast tracking’ to bring women into managerial roles. In the few countries that have civil service quotas for women, such as Bangladesh and Timor-Leste, efforts concentrate primarily on placing women in entry-level positions, where the quota can rapidly become a glass ceiling.
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In Timor-Leste and South Africa, for example, women’s groups organised to develop Women’s Charters — published statements about government responsibilities to women — to promote gender equality across the public sector during periods of national reconstruction.
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In Timor-Leste, the government established Vulnerable Persons Units within the National Police that are responsible for receiving and investigating allegations of gender-based violence. Working closely with women’s groups that provide counseling, legal assistance, shelters and judicial escorts, the presence of these Units has led to marked increase in women reporting gender-based violence cases.
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In Timor-Leste, Centro Feto, a local NGO in the province of Oecusse, works with informal systems on “fi nding good solutions for women.” It seeks to educate villagers on issues related to gender-based violence, such as rape, domestic violence and forced marriage. The group also lobbies for women rather than their families to be compensated directly when they are victims of domestic violence.
--
As we celebrate the achievements of Timor-Leste as one the world’s youngest nations, we remain deeply committed to building a country of equal rights for all citizens, both men and women, of equality for all citizens in the eyes of the law. We have come a long way in building a society based on respect for human rights and the ideals of justice, liberty and equality. But great challenges remain. We must continue to create an atmosphere of stability, so that people do not feel afraid and have confidence in the future. We must put an end to domestic violence. We must ensure that the principles to which we have committed ourselves by signing the Convention for the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women translate into real improvements in the lives of women and girls, not only in Timor-Leste, but all over the world. As a nation, we shall never forget the important contribution and sacrifice of the women of Timor-Leste during our struggle for freedom. Accountability to women is the key to building a nation based not on violence but on peace and security, development and human rights. Men and women must work in partnership towards these goals. This is our hope for the future. The women of Timor-Leste expect nothing less.

Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta President of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, 1996

East Timor Women - Raising awareness of the plight of women in Timor-Leste.

Ramona Vijeyarasa2 2October 008 8:00am - East Timor, the world's newest nation, is currently threatened with a soaring population, expected to double by 2020. UNFPA reports that Timor-Leste has the highest fertility rate in the world, averaging 7.8 children per woman. It is additionally alarming that countries with high birth rates tends to have high maternal and infant mortality.

Reliable child and maternal mortality rates are hard to obtain for East Timor, but it is unquestionable that the poor quality and accessibility of family planning has directly impacted the health of Timorese women and children. According to WHO, East Timor has a maternal mortality rate of 380 deaths per 100,000 live births. UNICEF report correspondingly shocking rates of death exist for infants and children under the age of five, with an under-five mortality rate of 55 per 1,000 live births in 2006, and an infant mortality rate of 47 in 2006.

It is promising that the former-President, turned Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, recently noted that "fertility is a matter of education". Improved access to family planning education and services together are vital not only as a matter of reproductive choice but to ensure that East Timor achieves some level of sustainable development. Yet, this "new approach" may have to face the notable influence of the Catholic Church.

If the state of family planning in the Philippines, the other predominantly Catholic country in Asia, is a reflection of what is to come in East Timor, we should be alarmed. Millions of Filipino women of reproductive age have limited or no access to modern contraceptives. National figures suggest almost half of all pregnancies in the Philippines are unwanted, especially in rural areas and amongst low-income families. The entrenchment of fundamentalist religious beliefs in laws and policies and the promotion of "natural family planning" have undermined women's choice and posed grave threats to their health and lives.

Low rates of contraceptive prevalence in East Timor are equally alarming, though, in this case, the Catholic Church has taken a more reasonable stance and has been more receptive to the promotion of contraceptives. According to WHO, only around 22% of the Timorese use modern contraceptives. Lack of awareness about contraceptives amongst the population is potent, with the former first lady and Prime Minister's wife, Kirsty Gusmao affirming that the combination of poor education, poverty and the influence of the Catholic Church means that contraception is rarely discussed. According to a survey conducted in 2003 by the Ministry of Health, over 94% of currently married female adolescents and 87% of 20-24-year-old currently married young women were not using any contraception. The survey also reported that more than 90% of youth did not receive any information on family planning.

When it comes to abortion, the Catholic Church in the Philippines and East Timor are much more in sinc. The Philippines has one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, with no express exception to save a woman's life, and penalizing both the woman and her provider. Criminalization of abortion has resulted in a overwhelming number of illegal and unsafe abortions. In 2000, approximately 473,000 women had abortions and an estimated 79,000 women were hospitalized for complications arising from the abortion. Similarly, the Timorese Government and Catholic Church do not endorse abortion and the Timorese law severely punishes abortion, even when the mother's life is in danger.

Despite the sensitivity of discussing sexual health and family planning, the health needs of Timorese cannot be ignored. Achieving high standards of reproductive health is not only a question of reproductive choice. It is in fact essential to the achievement of sustainable development for East Timor, a country that is evidently still very much undergoing transition.


http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/09/30/dire-need-family-planning-as-population-grows-east-timor

Post sponsored by East Timor Women - Raising awareness of the plight of women in Timor-Leste.

02/10/2008 Tempo Interactive Jakarta: Fretilin demanded a re-election in East Timor, the party Secretary General Mari Alkatiri said on Thursday when meeting the chairman of Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin in Jakarta.

Alkatiri said the current East Timor government is unlegitimate and do not have a strong constitutional ground, we want a re-election Alkatiri stated.

Alkatiri claimed development was halted and conflict potentials have not been contained since he was deposed by his party rivals. He threatened to mobilize up to 200.000 supporters to push the government to hold a re-election immediately giving a maximum time of one month.

Fretilin reigned in May 2002 after the United Nation handed over the sovereignity of East Timor to the winning party on the August 2001 election.

Alkatiri was forced to resign in 2006 as unrest sparked by rebelling troops led by Major Alfredo Reinado. Reinado led the troops based on the western part of the country bordering Indonesia to raise their discontentment of being discriminated by the government compared to their fellow troops in the eastern part of the country.

Alkatiri however run for the post again when a parliamentary election was held in June 2007, Fretilin won the biggest vote. But rival party the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) led by Xanana Gusmao which won the second largest vote took control of the parliament after forming a coalition with the third and fourth largest party by number of votes.

Famega Syafira

Headlines: Court postpones trial for firing into F-FDTL soldiers in 2006 - Government approves national security law - Inquiries for two men who died after drinking traditional gin - Parliamentary table in charge has no right to suspend MP Caminha

Court postpones trial for firing into F-FDTL soldiers in 2006 - Radio Timor Leste 2 October 2008
The Dili District Court have postponed trial for former civilian hit squad commander, Vicente da Conceicao known as Railos and two of his followers, Mateus Dos Santos alias Maurakat and Leandro Lobato who were suspected of being involved in firing into the Timorese Defense Force (F-FDTL) soldiers in Tasi Tolu on 24 May 2006.

The trial should actually have been held on Monday (29/9) but Railos and Maurakat did not appear in the court. Therefore, the court decided to postpone it to 12 January next year.

The accused Maurakat could not appear in the court, because he was still having security deals with security in charge and whereas Railos was currently receiving an intensive medical treatment in Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the court made a decision to release conditionally Leandro Lobato, urging him to report himself at police station.

The exchange shootings between the defense force soldiers and the Railos civilian hit squad left nine dead and three seriously wounded. The Railos Civilian hit squad was set up in 2006 by former Fretilin deputy president Rogerio Lobato who was also the country’s former interior minister.

Government approves national security law - Suara Timor Lorosae 1 October 2008
East Timor’s government had approved national security act, says a government press release on Monday (29/9). The national security act incorporates the internal security act, the national defense act and the civilian protection act.

It would also define levels of cooperation between defense and security forces regardless of their autonomous institutions and rules of engagement. The law will be submitted to the National Parliament.

Inquiries for two men who died after drinking traditional gin continues, says police - Suara Timor Lorosae 1 October 2008

Maubisse Sub-District Police Commander, Sub-Inspector Teotonio Magno said Sunday (28/9) that the investigation into the death of two men after drinking traditional gin during a religious celebration in Maubisse was still ongoing.

Magno said the families of the victims wanted the investigation to be done and that the police had questioned the group providing the traditional gin.

It is believed that the gin was mixed with poison in that after drinking the gin two young men died soon after that and three other men were hospitalized.

In relation to the case, Maubisse Sub-District Administrator Koto Moruk said he did not want to comment on the case since the two men had died. The religious celebration was held in Maubisse in April 2008.

Parliamentary table in charge has no right to suspend MP Caminha, says CNRT MP - Radio Timor Leste 2 October 2008
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) Chief of Bench, Eduardo ‘Dusai’ Barreto, said the parliamentary table in charge had no right to suspend MP Cecilio Freitas Caminha without warning him first.

Dusai said based on information he had, MP Caminha was currently receiving medical treatment out of the country.

MP Fernanda Lay from the Committee I, said the Parliament’s internal rules gave opportunity to the MPs who were absent for five days to provide a notification letter for stating their reason. Lay said the recent comments made by Deputy Parliamentary President were not a threat, but it was a warning for the MPs to abide by.

FRENTE REVOLUCIONÁRIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE
FRETILIN
MEDIA RELEASE

Dili, 1 October 2008

Timor-Leste Parliament pushes for anti-corruption watchdog

An alarming increase in government corruption in Timor-Leste has prompted a cross-party push to establish a parliamentary watchdog to fight graft in public administration.

The biggest party in Timor-Leste's parliament, FRETILIN, announced today it would join with other parties and even some government MPs to support the setting up of a parliamentary commission to tackle corruption.

Parliament debated the issue of worsening government corruption yesterday, following the release of Transparency International's 2008 international Perceived Corruption Index report.

The index showed Timor-Leste under the leadership of Xanana Gusmao's 'Parliamentary Majority Alliance' (AMP) government registered the most significant deterioration of any country.

Timor-Leste's position fell 22 places from 123rd to 145th – behind Kazakhstan and one place ahead of Bangladesh – for the period August 2007 to August 2008. This was the nation's second successive year of decline in the index, following a drop from 112th to 123rd place in the corresponding period for 2006-2007 when Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta was Prime Minister.

FRETILIN's parliamentary leader Aniceto Guterres said today Transparency International's survey followed a steady flow of reports of corruption and maladministration by the AMP government and had 'caused a raging national debate' on Timor-Leste's worsening status.

Guterres said representatives of most political parties, many foreign missions and all multilateral partners publicly or privately had expressed concern over worsening corruption.

'Even those who remained quiet and complicit in regard to the stream of allegations are now taking the situation seriously, especially the multilateral agencies and foreign missions. They have finally grasped what FRETILIN, civil society and our media have been warning about,' Guterres said.

He said specific scandals included:

- The Deputy Prime Minister employing his wife (a non-diplomat) at Timor- Leste's New York mission at a salary three times that of a diplomat.

- Prime Minister Gusmao authorising a single source contract worth US$14.4 million for the supply of rice. The contract went to the Tres Amigos ("Three Friends") company headed by Gusmao's friend and fellow party member Germano da Silva.

- The Gusmao administration's awarding of a dubious single source contract for the purchase of patrol boats from a Chinese company closely associated with Gusmao's political ally Abilio Araujo.

- Secretly negotiated and non-transparent agreements between the Gusmão government and foreign companies to give away 100,000 hectares – one quarter of Timor-Leste's arable land – for bio-fuels crops.

- The Gusmao administration's proposed purchase of 4 Wheel Drive luxury vehicles as a political pay off for MPs.

- Persistent allegations made in the media and from civil society regarding contractors being awarded contracts by ministries where the spouses of the ministers in the very same ministries have an interest in the company supplying the goods and services to that ministry.

Aniceto Guterres pointed to complaints in parliament this week from Mario Carrascalao, the President of the Social Democratic Party, an ally of Gusmao's AMP, that he was 'sick of hearing from ambassadors and foreign businessmen about corruption in this government', and that he was 'tired of feeling embarrassed every day because of the corruption in this government'.

Guterres said Mr. Carrascalao, representatives of the PUN party and some MPs from Gusmao's own alliance had also called for a parliamentary commission to inquire into allegations of corruption against the government.

For information contact: Nilva Guimarães (media officer) on +670 734 0389

01/10/2008 AAP - Worrying signs are emerging of tensions within East Timor's police force, similar to the rift among armed forces that sparked deadly violence in 2006.

ABC Radio Australia 01/10/2008 - Tensions are brewing in East Timor's national police force as the government works to weed out corruption and rehabilitate the force. The administration in Dili hopes it can eventually farewell the 1,500 UN police, who've taken responsibility for internal security for the past two years. But a series of incidents in recent weeks suggest efforts on police reform may not be going as smoothly as the government would wish.

Presenter: Stephanie March Mari Alkatiri, former prime minister and leader of Fretilin opposition party; International Crisis Group analyst Anna Powles; State Secretary for Security Francisco Gutteres

MARCH: Last week members of East Timor's Police Task Force Unit threatened to strike in protest against pay issues. Their anger led to a confrontation at police headquarters. The prosecutor general Longinious Montiero also confirmed that the interim head of the police, Alfonso de Jesus, has been questioned over disciplinary issues.

But the most worrying element for civil society groups in the series of drams surrounding the local police, is an undated, unsigned flyer being passed around Dili about the government's plan to appoint a new commander in November. An excerpt from it is read here by an actor:

LETTER EXCERPT: There is a lot of discrimination in the government structure, as the majority are from the east. If a person is appointed to commander from east we will make a petition in our institution and also organize people from districts to against the government, and we will demand the president call early elections.

MARCH: It was words like those that ignited the crisis of 2006 and tore the nation's military and police apart along regional lines - loro mono from the west, and loro sae from the east. Mari Alkatiri was prime minister in the lead up to the 2006 crisis, and is now the president of the opposition party, Fretilin.

ALKATIRI: This is the repetition of 2006, even in 2006 they started with this kind of thing, the pamphlets and letters accusing, dividing the people into loro mono and loro sae.

MARCH: State Secretary for Security Francisco Gutteres and a United Nations official believe members within the police force are responsible for the flyer. Anna Powles from the International Crisis Group says it's "deeply concerning".

POWLES: I think the government and international community should certainly be cognisant of this and take it seriously because as we have seen before if this sense of discrimination and resentment is left to fester it can cause serious problems down the track

MARCH: The UN police say they are taking the matter seriously and trying to confirm who wrote and distributed it. State Secretary for Security Francisco Gutteres.

GUTTERES: I am not really concerned about it. This letter comes from someone who is concerned about the program that this government is trying to do about the rank adjustment. Maybe some people, when it comes to rank adjustment, they may be affected.

MARCH: Francisco Gutteres says past promotions in the force - known as the PNTL - have often been influenced by nepotism or corruption. The government is now establishing clear criteria for moving up the ranks.

GUTTERES: Many people that probably feel by having these new rules, new systems, they may be affected. They may say, 'well in the past I was undisciplined, I have not much capacity, I became a leader of PNTL because of my closeness to someone, and if this system is established means I will have not have many chance of being promoted.'

MARCH: He plans to appoint foreign police officers to the promotions board that will ultimately choose the new commander to give legitimacy to the controversial position.

GUTTERES: I am quite sure that more than 80 of the PNTL members are quite supportive of these new measures and are not trapped in this kind of issues.

MARCH: While both the UN and government are working to rehabilitate and restructure the politicized and factionalised PNTL, Anna Powles from the International Crisis Group says serious issues still remain.

POWLES: Certainly the major problems seem to be ill-discipline, a lack of professionalism, issues around unity in the force because of the number of different units in the force, issues over pay and moral.

MARCH: She says changes to the force - such as the rank adjustment process- are necessary but are controversial given the current environment.

POWLES: All processes like that have the potential to be both positive and negative, they can be potentially divisive if not handled carefully. Hopefully they will solve issues but rehabilitation of PNTL is extremely complex task and if not handled correctly is going to create resentment among certain parties.

MARCH: The UN said earlier this year it will hand responsibility for internal security to local forces by early next year, but remain in East Timor in a supporting role.

Summary

The 18-paged document presents a scan of a report by the United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET) titled "Executive summary of investigations of police response to the riots on 4 December 2002".

According to the table of contents the report consists of 3 sections:

1. a Cover letter from Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, Special Representative of the Secretary General for Timor-Leste, to H.E. Dr. Mari B. Alkatiri, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

2. an Executive summary of investigations of police response to the riots on 4 December 2002

3. Annexes

The Annex section as well as eventually a part of the executive summary are missing from he scans.

The report as well as the letter are dated 14th of November 2003.

Click this link to read the document.

Unofficial automated translation. Original Portuguese text follows.

The National Parliament
Secretariat
Office of Public Relations

Agenda No. 134/II

Plenary Meeting on Monday 29 September 2008

The plenary session today was presided over by Vice-President II of the National Parliament, Sra Maria Paixao, assisted by Deputy Secretary II of the Bureau, Sra. Maria Teresa de Carvalho. Before joining agenda Sra. II Vice President has determined that only 10 members were admitted into any political declarations.

Mr. Minister of Education Cancio Freitas, Mr. Deputy Minister Paulo Assis and an adviser were present.

In the period before the Agenda, the following information was provided:

Information about the justification anticipated absence of Mrs Deputy Maria Terezinha Viegas, 29 September 2008 to 1 October 2008;

2. Information on the CDAW Workshop;

Information on the inauguration of the Center for the Study of Gender going to help the deputies in the polls. This inauguration will be held on 7 October 2008. It will show films produced by Mr. Max Stahl on the National Parliament of Timor-Leste.

Information on the opening of the Solemn Session of the 2nd Session of the Legislative II Legislature which will be held on the 9th of October this year. Tthis solemn session will be attended by the President of the Republic, Members of the Government, diplomatic corps, leaders of all political parties and NGOs. Message from President of the Republic and annual report of Mr. President of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste to the People's Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste are key issues to be addressed.

Any political statements. In this matter the deputies had the information collected at the base level, particularly on the needs of the people and corruption in East Timor.

During the Agenda was the only scheduled topic:

Discussion and vote in the specialty of the Proposed Law no. 8/II (Law on Education). The discussion was on each section of the draft law.

This was done as the following information:

- debate and vote on Chapter I (Scope, Fundamental Principles and Projects) Section I (Scope, Principles and General Projects) of the 1st to 3rd par. The vote was 38 votes to 0 with 7 abstentions. Section I of Chapter I passed.

- debate and vote on Section II (Fundamental Objectives) of the 4th to 6th par. The vote was 37 votes to 0 against and 4 abstentions, but the 6th Art has not yet been voted on by reason of change. Section II passed.

After the recess/dinner, the Plenary Session continued with the agenda of the Proposed Law N0 8/II.

- debate and vote on the proposal to amend Article N0 3 on the 6th. The proposed amendment was withdrawn by Proposers Mr Virgilio Days Marcal, Mr Moises Romeo and Mr Francisco Jeronimo after having heard the explanations of Mr. Minister of Education. For this reason the original text of the government passed with the result that the vote was 35 votes in favor, 2 against and 7 abstentions.

- debate and vote on Chapter II (Organization of the Educational System) Section I (General Organization) of the 7th to 8th par. The vote was 34 votes to 0 with 7 abstentions. Section I of Chapter II passed.

- debate and vote on the proposed amendment N0 4 on the Article 8 by Deputies Mr Virgilio Days Marçal, Mr Moises Romeo and Mr Francisco Jeronimo. The vote was held on the original text of the government. The result was 33 votes in favor, 2 against and 8 abstentions.

The original text of the Government passed.

- debate and vote on Section II (Pre-primary Education of Art 9th to 10th. The vote was 34 votes to 0 against and 4 abstentions. This section was adopted.

Finally, the President of the meeting asked the deputies to attend the next Extraordinary Plenary Session of September 30, 2008 prior to 09.00 am

End.
--
Gabienete Public Relations
Secretariado
Gabinete de Relações Públicas

Agenda No 134/II 29 de Septembro de 2008

A Sessão Plenária de hoje foi presidida pela II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional, Sra. Deputada Maria Paixão, coadjuvada pela II Vice-Secretária da Mesa, Sra. Deputada Teresa Maria de Carvalho.

Antes de entrar na agenda a Sra. II Vice-Presidente determinou que só 10 Deputados eram admitidos em eventuais declarações políticas.

Estiveram presentes nesta, como redactores da Proposta, o Sr. Ministro da Educação Câncio Freitas, o Sr. Vice-Ministro Paulo Assis e um Assessor.

No período de Antes da Ordem do Dia foram realizadas as informações seguintes:

Informação sobre a justificação antecipada de faltas da Sra. Deputada Maria Terezinha Viegas de 29 de Setembro de 2008 até 1 de Outubro de 2008; 2. Informação sobre o Workshop de CDAW;

1. Informação sobre a inauguração do Centro de Estudo do Gênero que vá ajudar os Senhores Deputados nas pesquisas. Essa inauguração será realizada no dia 7 de Outubro de 2008. Nela serão publicados filmes produzidos pelo Sr. Max Stall sobre o Parlamento Nacional de Timor-Leste e serão convidados também os Senhores Antigos Deputados do Parlamento Nacional, da I Legislatura.
2. Informação sobre a abertura da Sessão Solene da 2^a Sessão Legislativa da II Legislatura que será realizada no dia 9 de Outubro do corrente ano. Nessa Sessão Solene participarão o Sr. Presidente da República, os Membros do Governo, Corpos Diplomáticos, Líderes dos Partidos Políticos e todas as ONGs. Mensagem do Sr. Presidente da República e Relatório Anual do Sr. Presidente do Parlamento Nacional de Timor-Leste ao Povo da República Democrática de Timor-Leste são assuntos fundamentais a serem abordados na agenda dela.
3. Eventuais declarações políticas. Neste assunto os Senhores Deputados apresentaram as informações colhidas na base, especialmente sobre as necessidades do povo e corrupções em Timor-Leste.

No período da Ordem do Dia foi agendado o único assunto:

“Discussão e votação na especialidade da Proposta de Lei n^o. 8/II, (“Lei de Bases da Educação”).
Antes da realização a Presidente da reunião, II Vice-Presidente do Parlamento Nacional deu conhecimentos que o mecanismo ou a metodologia de discussão e votação sobre esta Proposta de Lei fosse secção por secção.

Este assunto foi realizado conforme as seguintes informações:
- Discussão e votação sobre o Capítulo I (Âmbito, Princípios e Objektivos Fundamentais) Secção I (Âmbito, Princípios e Objektivos Gerais) do Art. 1^o até 3^o. O resultado da votação foi 38 votos a favor, 0 contra e 7 abstenções. A Secção I do Capítulo I passou.
- Discussão e votação sobre a Secção II (Objectivos Fundamentais) do Art. 4^o até 6^o. O resultado da votação foi 37 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções, mas o Art. 6^o ainda não foi votado por motivo de alteração. A Secção II passou.

Depois do intervalo/jantar, a Sessão Plenária continuava com a agenda da Proposta de Lei N⁰

- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Alteração N⁰ 3 sobre o Artigo 6^o. Esta Proposta de Alteração foi retirada pelos Deputados proponentes Sr. Deputado Virgilio Dias Marçal, Sr. Deputado Romeu Moises e Sr. Deputado Francisco Jerónimo depois de terem ouvido as explicações do Sr. Ministro da Educação. Por este motivo o texto original do Governo passou com o resultado da votação que era 35 votos a favor, 2 contra e 7 abstenções.
- Discussão e votação sobre o Capítulo II (Organização do Sistema Educativo) Secção I (Organização Geral) do Art. 7^o até 8^o. O resultado da votação foi 34 votos a favor, 0 contra e 7 abstenções. A Secção I do Capítulo II passou.
- Discussão e votação sobre a Proposta de Alteração N⁰ 4 sobre o Artigo 8^o dos Deputados proponentes Sr. Deputado Virgilio Dias Marçal, Sr. Deputado Romeu Moises e Sr. Deputado Francisco Jerónimo. Mas, depois foi realizada a votação sobre o texto original do Governo. O resultado foi 33 votos a favor, 2 contra e 8 abstenções. O texto original do Governo passou.
- Discussão e votação sobre a Secção II (Educação Pré-Escolar do Art. 9^o até 10^o. O resultado da votação foi 34 votos a favor, 0 contra e 4 abstenções. Esta Secção foi aprovada.

Finalmente a Sra. Presidente da Reunião solicitou aos Senhores Deputados para marcarem presenças na próxima Sessão Plenária Extraordinária de 30 de Setembro de 2008 antes das 09h00 do a.m.

Fim.