[Poster's note: Long repeats of international articles already sent out
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UNOTIL
Compiled by the Public Information Office from national and international
sources
Daily Media Review
Saturday, 17 Monday, 19 September 2005
National Media Reports
Lu Olo: No Other Party Can Govern Like Fretilin
President of Fretilin Francisco Guterres “Lu-Olo” has reportedly said
that this country will not be peaceful if Fretilin is not governing.
Speaking at Becora on Friday during the final campaigning for the village
elections, Guterres reportedly said that today we are swimming, but tomorrow
we could drown. He asserted that even though the opposition criticises the
government, only Fretilin can maintain a government, as only Fretilin holds
political ideals suitable for the people. (TP, STL, DT)
Menezes: Don’t Be Afraid of Political Intimidation
Speaking at the last day of the campaign for village elections last
Friday, General Coordinator of the Democratic Party (PD) for the election,
Rui Menezes reportedly appealed to PD supporters followers not to be afraid
of political intimidation. According to Menezes, the political intimidation
launched [by certain political opponents] was merely an attempt to mislead
the people, and it would not bring any benefit to the development of Timor-Leste,
adding that the consequence of such intimidation was that it would be the
people who would continue to suffer. Menezes appealed to PD supporters to
have trust in the candidates from the party who run for the elections.
Moreover Menezes assured party supporters, that PD has the legal basis to
run activities as PD has been registered at the Court of Appeal. (Timor
Post)
Corte Real: Government is Trying to Create Conflicts
Member of National Parliament’s Commission on Land and Property,
Alexandre Corte Real was reported to have stated that the decision of the
Government to evict people out of state-owned houses was an indication that
the Government was trying to create conflicts. Corte Real argued that the
Government should not take any decision to evict people out of state-owned
houses because such action is a violation of human rights. “If the
Government wants to evict people, it should be based on a complete [package]
of the development plan. However, [I find that] the objective for this is
not clear, ”Corte Real added. (Timor Post)
Aderito Soares: No Amnesty for Crimes Against Humanity
The Timor Post lead story concentrated on comments of lawyer and former
Director of the Sahe Institute for Liberation Aderito de Jesus Soares has
reportedly said that, according to international law, persons who commit
crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes can never be granted
amnesty. Thus, according to Soares, the terms of reference of the joint
Truth and Reconciliation are problematic because they allow the granting of
amnesty to suspects of the 1999 crimes who admit their guilt. Speaking at a
public meeting about justice at HAK Association last Friday, Soares said
that speaking as someone who understands the law, amnesty can be recommended
from a range of parties including the Presidents of the two countries or
their national parliaments, but never for crimes against humanity. Soares
acknowledged the good intentions of the Timorese government in establishing
the Commission, in the context of the development of democracy in Indonesia
and the need for good relations with its neighbour, but feels that the
strategy is mistaken. (TP)
Government, CTF and NGOs Discuss Justice
NGO La’o Hamutuk on Friday organized a small public meeting at HAK
Association to discuss “the road to truth and justice”, in particular
related to the 1999 crimes. Speakers at the meeting included Secretary
General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Nelson Santos,
one of the members of the Timor-Leste delegation to the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission Felicidade Guterres, and Director of HAK
Association, Jose Luis de Oliveira. Government representative Santos told
the meeting that the justice that the Timorese were seeking for 24 years is
liberation, and this they have already achieved. He reminded the audience of
a range of factors relevant to Timor-Leste’s relationship with Indonesia. He
reportedly said that it is remiss to “put a full stop” at 1999, as there
were also human rights problems in the Portuguese period, that Indonesia’s
1975 invasion of Timor-Leste was a consequence of the Cold War, and that the
weapons and aircraft used to launch the invasion and maintain the occupation
were not made by Indonesia itself but by the United States. He asked the
audience whether they really believed that Timorese didn’t kill anyone
during the war, and reminded them that the Indonesian people also suffered
as a consequence of Indonesian policies at the time, not just the Timorese.
Santos acknowledged the value of the ideal of an International Tribunal
to try the perpetrators of crimes in Timor-Leste, but explained the
difficulty in gaining approval of such a move from the UN Security Council.
He said that Russia would have difficulty in approving the Tribunal
considering the issue of Chechnya, and questioned also China’s acceptance in
the face of the Tibetan issue. He reiterated that the view of the Ministry
is that it is important for this nation to move forward now. CVA
representative Guterres explained the mandate and the tasks given to the
Commission including truth seeking, the cementing of reconciliation and
friendship, and how to secure the two nations from similar problems in the
future. NGO representative de Oliveira told the meeting that in his opinion
the Commission is unconstitutional as it is not based on the principles of
the Constitution, and that an International Tribunal is still the right
path, as the crimes committed here in 1999 are international crimes, and,
according to Timor-Leste’s Constitution, crimes must be tried in a court. He
ended by asserting that Timor-Leste’s independence means nothing without
justice. (TP)
Conditional Sentence for PNTL Member and Assault of PTL Officer in Ermera
A member of the Timor-Leste National Police Force has been sentenced to
an eight-month conditional sentence on an assault charge. The defendant will
serve the sentence outside prison on the condition that he does not commit
or become involved in any further crimes. The international judge granted
the light sentence on the basis of the family responsibilities of the
defendant. In separate news, four citizens appeared in Dili District Court
on Friday afternoon charged with the assault of a police officer. According
to the Prosecutor the assault committed in November 2002 in Ermera was the
result of a family problem. (TP)
National News Sources
Timor Post (TP) Suara Timor Lorosae (STL) Diario Tempo (DT) Diario
Nacional Seminario Lia Foun (LF) Televisaun Timor-Leste [TVTL] RTL Radio
Timor-Leste [RTL]
These items do not reflect the positions or views of the United Nations.
UNOTIL Public Information Office
-End-
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