[Poster's note: Long repeats of international articles already sent out to the east-timor list have been removed.]

UNOTIL

Daily Press Review

Compiled by the Public Information Office from national and international sources

Daily Media Review

Thursday, 30 June 2005

In-depth Investigation Required for Becora Case

PNTL Commander Paulo de Fatima Martins said in-depth investigation is required to detain the suspects involved in the fight between two groups in Becora a few weeks ago, which led to the death of a 47 year old man. According to Martins, there were many people involved in the clash between Klak Fuik and Kulau and the police have an idea who the suspects are. Martins said so far the police have identified three suspects believed to be involved when the problem led to the death of Abilio da Conceição. Regarding the death of a Timorese musician Antoninho Mascarinhas, last week as a result of home-made alcohol, the police commander said the case will be presented to the Minister of Interior to look into the sale of alcohol in Timor-Leste and the home made spirits on sale throughout the country as there has also been reports of deaths in Ainaro in relation to home-made alcohol, reported Timor Post on Thursday. (TP, STL)

Valentim: National Electoral Commission Needs Proof

Valentim Ximenes, a member of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) said that evidence is required to substantiate rumors of intimidation, threats and manipulation during the election of sub-village chiefs. He said that the commission has not taken any action yet on the latest rumors of discrimination during the election of sub-village and villages chiefs, as sufficient proof has not been presented. “We, as CNE, require information that substantiates complaints, as this is part of the election procedures. It is open for the public to present their complaints through us or STAE when there are any problems,” Ximenes said. He added that CNE will investigate reports of intimidation and other cases during the election process. CNE will also analyze STAE reports regarding voting results and present findings to the Court to make a decision on the complaints. Valentim Ximenes stressed that the election has been carried out smoothly and as a Timorese he feels that Timor-Leste knows how to respect democracy. (STL)

No Building for PNTL in Ermera District

PNTL officers in Ermera District are sharing one building with other civil servants. Despite this, the PNTL officers have been carrying out duties and retaining part of the building as their headquarters, reported Diario Tempo Nasional on Thursday. The Minister of Interior has reportedly already requested the PNTL District Commander to present a proposal to request the Minister of Justice for a building. Meanwhile BPU commander, Antonio da Cruz said following the shooting incident between BPU and TNI in the border a few months ago, he is working on establishing good relations again with TNI. The two national security agencies continue to conduct border patrols. (DTN)

Police Too Weak to Stop Illegal Business: Lobato

Minister of Interior Rogerio Lobato said the amount of of illegal trade has increased along the borders between Timor-Leste and West Timor as the Police are too weak to prevent the illegal trade. Lobato pointed out that the PNTL officers are too busy listening to music and telling stories despite all the materials purchased for them to do their work. (DTN)

Editorial: UNOTIL Mission

In today’s editorial Timor Post reports the message of President Gusmão to UNOTIL during the one day seminar organized on the first UNOTIL consultative group meeting, to pay further attention to the needs of people of Timor-Leste. The editorial says the President’s message clearly shows his concern about the difficulties faced by the population on a daily basis. The message also shows that the Timorese people still require assistance to be able to live peacefully and to work better to face future work. With regard to assistance from international workers, the editorial states that the area needs to be analyzed in order to determine what assistance is required from other countries ­ not such things like “rusty irons,” and tasks that the Timorese can do themselves ­ but bring in support in areas where the population still cannot perform the tasks themselves. According to the editorial, during the three years of independence Timor-Leste has become a place for foreigners to run illegal trade and business in items such as expired medicines and prostitution noting that it is sad as it cannot be predicted what this situation will lead to. The editorial expresses hope that the RDTL government will take concrete measures rather than neglect the situation as it has done until now. (TP)

Population Faces Food Shortages

About 2000 people from sub-villages in Laga (Baucau) are likely to face food shortages due to the lack of rain. The information has been gathered by the Sub-district Administrator of Laga, Baltazar Belo last Monday. Belo said that between December and January, farmers planted maize which died due to lack of rainfall. He said that the maize that managed to grow did not provide corn and was used for feeding animals. He added that the population is going through difficult times without sufficient food at present. (DTN)

WFP to Buy Local Rice to Feed Population

The World Food Program is planning to buy local produced rice to be distributed to people affected by food shortages in some districts. Minister of Agriculture, Fishes and Environment, Estanislau da Silva said that the WFP initiative is very positive however the problem is that there may not be sufficient rice. (DTN)