| Subject: UNOTIL Daily Media Review 08 June
2005
[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 Wednesday, 08 June 2005 ---------- Alkatiri denies religion comments Member of Parliament from the Social Democrat Party Joao Goncalves criticized the Prime Minister's recent lecture topic in Lisbon, Tradition and Religion Are Obstacles to the Construction of a Democratic State. Speaking in the Parliament Plenary Session on Tuesday, Goncalves said that such a declaration will only create instability and further confrontation between the Catholic Church and the Government. He said that this is just a Government excuse for their inability to run the Government well. But speaking at a press conference at the National Airport on Tuesday after returning from his two-week visit to Europe, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri denied that he ever said that religion hinders the development process. He confirmed that what he did actually say was that traditional values sometimes mix with religious values and that this is what hinders development. He re-emphasized his point on the danger of inequality between women and men hindering development. Alkatiri said that he did not ever mention Catholicism in particular. Meanwhile, Vice-President of the Fretilin Faction in the National Parliament Adaljiza Magno launched a strong criticism against daily Suara Timor Lorosae in yesterday's Plenary Session, saying that the paper had published false information, with an incorrect translation of Alkatiri's comments in Portugal. Another Member of Parliament Madalena da Silva also criticized the paper and went further as to say that STL reporting has been inaccurate for some time, using the recent Uatolari case as an example of manipulation. STL has printed an explanation of the misunderstanding in today's paper (Timor Post, STL) TL interests Portuguese business community Many Portuguese investors are interested in investing in Timor-Leste in the future, according to Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. Speaking upon returning from his two-week visit to Europe, Alkatiri said that when he and his delegation held a meeting with the Portuguese business community, they indicated their interest in a range of areas, including tourism and electricity. Alkatiri added that while he was in Portugal he also met with the Timorese student community there, and that some of them are beginning to speak very good Portuguese. He added that for future Timorese students who will study in Portugal, it is best if they study Portuguese before they leave home, otherwise they may escape to England or Ireland when they experience difficulties grasping Portuguese. (Timor Post) One F-FDTL member dismissed One of the three F-FDTL members known to have been involved in the recent Church Demonstration in Dili has been dismissed. Chief of Staff of the F-FDTL Colonel Lere Anan Timur said that the soldier's dismissal is due to a violation of an internal military regulation. He said that the other two soldiers have not yet given statements on their involvement in the demonstration. However, Colonel Timur said that he believes that he will take the same course of action for them also. (Timor Post) [This message was distributed via the east-timor news list. Write info@etan.org.]
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