East Timor Press Review

Monday 10 June 2002

· Suara Timor Loro Sae (SLT) ran a front page story on a press conference given by the President of the National Parliament, Francisco “Lu’olo” Guterres, at which he said that only the East Timor Police Service (ETPS) and the East Timor Defense Force (ETDF) are allowed to carry weapons.

· In a separate article STL reports Guterres as saying that East Timor’s 20 May independence restored 28 November as the historical date of the country’s independence; restored the RDTL flag used at that time; but did not restore FALINTIL as East Timor’s army. “According to the Constitution, FALINTIL/ETDF is the only legal armed force in East Timor.”

· STL reported that Clementino Amaral, a Member of Parliament from the political party KOTA, has stressed that the use of FALINTIL/ETDF as the name of East Timor’s army is legal according to the Constitution passed by the 88-member Constituent Assembly.

· Minister of Education Armindo Maia was reported as saying that his department has prepared a regulation to be presented at next Council of Ministers meeting regarding school activities, including a curriculum for students and teachers. “The education department has put together this regulation to regulate private and state universities because there are many of them being created in East Timor,” he said.

· CPD-RDTL Spokesperson Cristiano Costa told STL “We CPD-RDTL supporters recognize the National Parliament as the National Parliament, although the Timorese people should have had the opportunity to vote again specifically for a Parliament. So therefore this Parliament is still a temporary one.”

· Dili District Tribunal has reportedly resumed its work after being closed for one-week in order that judges, prosecutors and defenders could take part in a training course.

· STL reports that East Timor now has an Association of Men Against Violence. The paper said that due to the strong patriarchal system in East Timor, Timorese women have suffered from systematic violence, especially during the Portuguese and Indonesian periods. East Timor is now reportedly developing in this area, with the country taking strong pride in the role of women. The newly established Association of Men Against Violence reflects these developments.

· The headquarters of the former pro-Indonesian Aitarak militia group has been transformed into a hotel.

· STL reported that the government should pay attention to the issue of HIV/AIDS. The paper reported on a national conference on the issue held last week, noting the presence of UNMISET SRSG Kamalesh Sharma and President Xanana Gusmão

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