Please find below media release in both English and Bahasa Indonesia. Please circulate.

Media Release

23 March 2001

KIRSTY SWORD GUSMÃO & KIDNAPPED GIRL’S FAMILY TO PLEAD CASE IN GENEVA

Dili, East Timor, Thursday, 23 March 2001

The wife of President Xanana Gusmão, East Timor’s President of the CNRT-CN, will travel to Geneva tomorrow with the Aunt of Ms Juliana dos Santos, the 15 year old East Timorese girl brutally kidnapped and held since 1999. Together they will attend a conference organised by UNHCR on Gender Based Violence and make a statement to the Human Rights Commission to express their deep concern over the lack of progress in the case.

At the height of the militia led violence which followed East Timor´s Popular Consultation of August 1999, Ms dos Santos watched as her brother was murdered by Vice Commander of the LAKSAUR militia group, Igidio Manek. The Suai massacre of September 6, 1999, left some 200 East Timorese dead. One eyewitness to the Suai killings claims that it was Igidio Manek who gave the order to kill local priests and nuns, including the popular Father Hilario.

Following the murder of a large group of men in Suai Juliana and her Aunt, Mrs Domingas Santa Mouzinho, were taking refuge in Father Hilario’s house. Igidio Manek seized Juliana and proclaimed "This is the one I want to be my wife". When the women resisted Manek fired a shot into the air and took Juliana away. Later the same day Manek took Juliana to her mother and Aunt, and in front of them placed his a gold chain around her neck stating "now she is officially my wife". This was the last the family saw of her.

Juliana was then taken by Manek and his militia men across the border into West Timor. After being paraded as a war trophy, she was repeatedly raped and fell pregnant. She gave birth to a son, Carlos, on 27 November, 2000. Ms Sword Gusmão has personally taken up Juliana’s case since giving birth to her own son, Alexandre, on 30 September last year.

Ms Sword Gusmão and her family believe that Juliana must be considered a kidnapped person, and as a minor, her case merits special attention. They hope their Geneva visit will increase pressure for assurances to be honored by the Indonesian Government and military made to a UN Security Council delegation to reunite Juliana with her family. Also on commitments made at a UN Joint Border Committee meeting held in Bali in January for Juliana dos Santos and her baby to be placed in a safe environment to make her own free choice.

They also hope that if Juliana can be returned it will offer a glimmer of hope to other women, their families and communities and believe that other East Timorese women being held in West Timor by militias in similar circumstances must also be returned.

All media are invited to farewell the delegation at Dili Airport Friday 24 March at 9.30am where Mrs Sword Gusmao and Mrs Domingas Santa Mouzinho will be available for comment.

Contacts: English Ms Sarah Niner 0417 357 298 Tetun/Portuguese Lurdes Bessa 0417 834 709

PERNYATAAN PERS

23 Maret, 2001

KIRSTY SWORD GUSMÃO BESERTA KELUARGA PEREMPUAN YANG DICULIK MILISI AKAN MEMBAWA KASUS KE GENEVA

Dili, Timor Lorosaé, Kamis 23 Maret, 2001

Isterinya Presiden CNRT-CN akan berangkat ke Geneva besok bersama bibinya Juliana dos Santos, seorang perempuan berusia 15 tahun yang diculik dan ditahan di Timor Barat sejak tahun 1999. Di Geneva Kirsty Sword Gusmão akan menghadiri suatu konperensi yang diselenggarakan oleh UNHCR dengan tema kekerasan terhadap kaum perempuan. Bersama dengan Ny. Domingas Santa Mouzinho, Ny. Sword Gusmão juga bermaksud untuk menyampaikan suatu pernyataan mengenai situasi Juliana pada Komisi PBB untuk Hak Azasi Manusia.

Sebagai akibat daripada kekerasan yang melanda Suai pada bulan September 1999, kira-kira 200 penduduk setempat dibunuh. Setelah adik laki-lakinya dibunuh dengan kejam oleh milisi, Juliana dos Santos dipilih oleh Wakil Komandan kelompok milisi LAKSAUR untuk dijadikan “isterinya”, lalu dipaksa untuk ikut ke Timor Barat.

Diharapkan oleh Ny. Sword Gusmão bersama keluarga Juliana bahwa kunjungan ini ke Geneva akan meningkatkan tekanan pada pemerintah Indonesia agar bersedia memulangkan Juliana dos Santos beserta bayinya yang lahir pada tanggal 27 November, 2000. Meskipun pemerintah Indonesia menyatakan mau menyelesaikan kasus Juliana dos Santos dan telah berjanji kepada misi Dewan Keamanan PBB yang berkunjung ke Timor Lorosa´e dan Timor Barat bulan November tahun lalu bahwa Juliana akan diberikan kebebasan untuk menentukan nasibnya sendiri, sampai sekarang tidak ada perkembangan yang memuaskan. Ny Sword Gusmão dan Ny. Domingas Santa Mouzinho sangat berharap agar penyelesaian kasus Juliana ini akan memberikan harapan baru kepada perempuan Timor Lorosa´e lainnya yang mengalami penganiayaan yang sama dan masih berada di Timor Barat.

Para wakil pers yang berada di Dili dipersilahkan untuk hadir di Bandar Udara Komoro pada saat rombongan berangkat ke Geneva, yaitu pada pukul 09:30 pagi tanggal 24 Maret, 2001. Ny Kirsty Sword Gusmão dan Ny Domingas Santa Mouzinho bisa diwawancarai pada kesempatan tersebut.

Untuk menerima informasi lebih lanjut, silakan menghubungi:

(Bahasa Inggris) : Ms Sarah Niner Tel: 0417 357 298 (Bahasa Tetum/Portugis) : Ms Lurdes Bessa Tel: 0417 834 709

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