Global Voices » Keta Haluha

East Timor: The Past is Present

Keta Haluha — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:11:28 +0000

(left) Regina Magalhaes with her son, Fidelis, a human rights officer with Jesuit Refugee Services in East Timor. Her husband, Manuel, was killed in the violence that followed East Timor's bid for independence. Photo by Stephen Steele

We combed the whole Bobonaro district and paid repeated visits to Batugade and Palaka, where bodies were dumped according to rumours. We only found few body parts scattered in different places. There was one case where we found one skull miles away from a decapitated body which we assumed belonged to the same person. Despite the recoveries many, including my own father and friends, have not been found. Worse, it has been eleven years and we still do not know what really happened.

Fidelis Magalhães wrote the above poignant words [see footer note] marking the eleventh anniversary of the UN run Popular Consultation which resulted in 78% of the population voting for independence from Indonesia. This ended an occupation lasting 24 years, which had resulted in the deaths of over 150,000 people. However, in a paroxysm of violence organized and implemented by the Indonesian military and its Timorese proxies, over 1,500 people were killed in the period before, during and after the vote. The victims and their families have not achieved much in the way of closure.

Fidelis’ story generated considerable interest in Timor, being run by the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) weblist. He talks about the murder of his father, Manuel Magalhães, who was one of the top leaders of the pro-independence movement in Bobonaro district (on the border with Indonesia). Magalhães was murdered along with fellow pro-independence supporters on 9 September 1999, as Chega [Enough, pt], the final report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation, reports:

according to the Deputy General Prosecutor for Serious Crimes, on 9 September, Timorese Sergeant M147 (…) (Maliana, Bobonaro) received information from a villager that a group of people who had escaped from the police compound had been discovered on the river bank (…). Sergeant M147 then ordered a group of Dadurus Merah Putih militia to accompany him to Mulau. In this operation, 13 pro-independence supporters were killed. The victims were: Lamberto de Sá Benevides, Abilio Marques Vicente, Augusto dos Santos Marques, José Barreto, Pedro Luis, Lucas dos Santos, Luis Soares (Luis dos Santos), Jeroni Lopes, Domingos Titi Mau, Manuel Magalhães, Carlos Maia, Ernesto da Coli and Paul da Silva. The first nine of them, from Lamberto de Sa Benevides to Domingos Titi Mau, were ordered by Sergeant M147 to kneel down and raise their hands. Sergeant M147 shot them one by one with an automatic rifle. The other four were separately captured and killed. Manuel Magalhães and Ernesto da Coli were each shot and then stabbed. Carlos Maia was stabbed to death and Paulo da Silva was shot several times while trying to surrender. Manuel Magalhães was a CNRT leader and Carlos Maia a prominent pro-independence activist. All the bodies, except that of Paul da Silva, were carried to the beach in Batugade. Under the command of the two commanders of Saka Loromonu the bodies were also dumped at sea.

The same report says that only the body and remains from three victims were discovered and buried, though it was not the case of Manuel Magalhães.

According to one media report, Magalhães knew that his pro-independence activities were potentially fatal: “In his final conversation with his eldest son, Nivio, 19, on Aug. 26, 1999, he told the young man, “If I die, I don't want you to take revenge. I want you to build a country of peace.”" A few days after the tenth anniversary of Magalhaes' death, last year, his daughter Ivete Liete Oliveira, wondered

is justice too big to ask? (…) We shouldnt just forget the past because past is what has brought us to where we are today.

Now it is the turn of the younger son, Fidelis, a former adviser to Nobel Prize Winner President Jose Ramos-Horta, now studying in London. He was one of the first advocating for national reconciliation in 1999, “in various parts of the country in different communities encouraging people to reconcile, to live without hatred and respect the rights of others”. In his note, he states that the other side of reconciliation is to “one day learn about what really happened and recover the remains of our loved ones”, as he explains:

For me the question is not about revenge, and I don’t even care about arresting the Indonesian generals. What I want is for the Timorese government to pressure Indonesia to let us know what happened and possibly help us to recover the remains. At the moment for many families of the victims there is still no proper closure. They were told to reconcile with the militias and forgive the Indonesians, but until now their own state seem absolutely incompetent to even ask for as little as truth and identification of burial sites. All seem to be overshadowed by pragmatism.

Photo from the memorial to Manuel Magalhães and those killed in the police station at the beach of Batugade, by Flickr user Rusty Stewart shared under a CC Attribution - Non-Comercial - Share Alike license

While Fidelis together with the help from friends “led families of the victims sweeping through every place we suspected of any significance, (…) gathered information from local communities regarding either possible execution or burial sites [and] searched in many places for almost two years.”, he now pressures the Timorese state for action:

The Timorese state seemed to be incapable to acquire any information from the Indonesian government regarding what happened and the whereabouts of their remains. The only things I found that belonged to my father were his trousers and a half burned bike registration card (according to some sources he and twelve or thirteen others were undressed, hacked to pieces and dumped in the ocean). But even the trousers, I later handed over to the UN Serious Crimes Unit and have not managed to recuperate after all these years. Last year I was summoned by the Serious Crimes Investigation Team in which they handed a couple of photos of the trousers and the card with the accompanying words of consolation that the real trousers and card could not yet be returned because the investigation was still “ongoing”.
Before I end, a youth leader threatened to hit me for organizing the celebration of the international human rights day in 2000. What he said is worth remembering: “you are a traitor, you betray your own friends and father. The so called human rights is simply a way for us to forgive and do no harm to those who harmed us. The deaths will be forgotten. The UN and the government will forget”. I still hope he was not right…But perhaps it is just me, a chronic optimist.

“Some Thoughts of the Past…” by Fidelis Magalhaes posted on Facebook (Sunday, 12 September 2010 at 18:56) is quoted throughout this article with permission.

Timorese on Facebook

Keta Haluha — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:59:16 +0000

In the last year and a half there has been something of a surge in the use of the social media by Timorese. This is due less to an increase in users, but an increase in use by existing users, both Timorese inside and outside the country. Although there have been dramatic drops in internet access prices by Timor Telcom in the last 6 months, which suggests more people might be getting online.

While blogs are proliferating, Facebook appears to be increasingly the platform of choice.

This should come as no surprise given that Timor Leste's neighbour Indonesia, has the fourth largest number of facebook users in the world, with 14,000,000 as of December 2009. One source states that Indonesia is third, with only the US and UK exceeding it.

Indonesians are also the fastest growing group of facebookers in the world with a 1,500% increase in 2009. Despite the fact that Indonesia invaded Timor in 1975 and brutally occupied it until 1999, resulting in over 150,000 deaths, its social and economic ties to Timor remain deep and entrenched.

Internet penetration in Timor-Leste is still very low when compared to other countries. According to Internet World Stats Timor-Leste has a population of 1,131,612, while the capital city has a population of 166,903 ('07). However, it states that TT says that there are only 1,800 Internet users as of Sept/09. This means that only 0.2% of the population has access to the internet. For background one can read “Timor: 9 years of Internet, still one ISP and a huge digital gap” by Global Voices Contributor Sara Moreira

However, with an increasing population of Timorese, who have one of the highest birth rates in the world, both inside and outside the country Facebook use is clearly on the rise. With 4,000 students in Indonesia there appears to be direct correlation.

The Media - first in.

Timorese media have been among the most active. One of the first major users of Facebook in Timor-Leste was the weekly newspaper Tempo Semanal, its Facebook site launched in late 2008 jumped to over 2,000 friends in its first 6 months and now tops 5,000. No doubt it might be alot more if it got more serious about social media. One thing is for certain Tempo Semanal and its editor Jose Belo, have lead the charge on web media in Timor-Leste, with aggressive reporting and an active online presence through the web-blog version of the print paper and a big facebook following.

J. Belo as FALINTIL 20 Aug 1996 - attack on Indonesian Army (ABRI).

J. Belo as Editor of Tempo Semanal, and Facebook Fanatic

Tempo Semanal on Facebook - with permission from Tempo Semanal

Other media outlets have followed suit. CJITL - Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor-Leste has a Facebook fanpage with 673 fans, Timor News Net has over 1,728 friends. There is even Tau Matan ba TVTL / Media Watch group.

Opposition Politics

Soon after the media got involved in spreading their message via Facebook politicians realised its power. Probably the first, and certain one of the most active on Facebook has been the Member of Parliament Arsenio Bano (Vice-President of the Opposition party FRETILIN). Bano's Facebook is used to highlight Parliaments work as well as promote anti-government news and information as put forward by the Opposition. It has proved popular, and now numbers over 5,000 friends in less 12 months of use.

Member of Parliament Arsenio Bano on Facebook - with permission.

Bano Facebook photo - Parliament Defence and Security Committee Questions Police Commander Longuinos Monteiro - with permission.

Other Opposition Members of Parliament are also getting in the Facebook game to play politics; FRETILIN Member of Parliament Jose Teixeira, with 1,109 friends, aired a police brutality video on Facebook ending up causing a storm in Parliament in December 2009. FRETILIN MP Osorio Florindo da Costa is also a facebooker. TATOLI, a FRETILIN leaning political blog has recently taken to posting facebook comments online - in this case relating to accusation and counter accusation to and from the Timorese Foreign Minister. Meanwhile Agio Pereira, the Government's Chief Spokesman keeps a much lower profile on facebook.

Social Media and Political Celebrities

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has a fanpage with over 2,436 fans.

Chief of the Defence Force Maj-General Taur Matan Ruak has a fanpage with over 3.600 fans. Some people in Timor-Leste are hopeful the General will stand for President one day.

Deputy Prime Minister Mario Carrascalao has a page here with 615 fans, and a counter page “SAY no to Mario Carrascalao” fanpage with over 1,705 fans here.

Interestingly, now deceased rebel leader, Maj Alfredo Reinado has a fanpage with just 101 fans.

Below is just a very very small sample of Timor-Leste related Facebook activity, groups, fanpages etc

Business

East Timor Business, East Timor Tourism, K-LINK INTERNATIONAL, BRANCH TIMOR LESTE, Timor Leste Management Society, Peace Dividend Marketplace Timor-Leste, Roberto Carlos Hotel - Lospalos/Timor Leste, the Ministry of Tourism Commerce and Industry (MTCI).

Sport

The Dili Marathon, Timor-Leste Dive Club, Timor-Leste national football team, the Tour de Timor.

Society and Culture

Kafe Timor ( Café Timor/Timor Coffee), Justice NOW for East Timor's war crimes (1975-1999), East Timor Student In Java, Community District Manufahi Group, Timorese Students In The Philippines, I am Timorese, Schools of Esperanca in Atauro, Timor Leste, Friends of Lospalos, Amazing Timor Photographs, Baucau, TIMOR LESTE Pride!, Rede Feto and IT Ba Futuru. And here is a new one about Aussie commandos in Timor-Leste during WWII, Timor Sparrow Force.

Social Media and Telcoms

Social media relies on good service providers. Reflecting a general discontent with the monopoly held by Timor Telcom a host of anti-Timor Telcom Facebook pages and groups have appeared in the last 18 months.

Ijiji Aumenta tan operador Telekomunikasau iha Timor states in its leader that:

TT besik tinan 8 ona hari ‘i iha Timor maibe ne rede seidauk bele tama subdistritu hotu, nia kualidade rede la diak. Ijji atu aumenta tang operador 3 iha Timor. atu bele fo benefisiu diak ba timor oan tomak.

Its nearly 8 years that TT [Timor Telcom] in Timor but its network does not yet reach all subdistricts, the quality of the existing network is not good. Demand that 3 more operators are in Timor in order to be able to provider better service for Timorese.

Other Facebook groups opposed to the ongoing Telcom Timor monopoly include AKSAUN 50.000 PESOAS FACEBOOKERS ANTI TIMOR TELECOM (2,500 members), Why Timor Telecom sux?!, New Timor-Telecom's SLOGAN, to name just a few.

The future.

Certainly most people in Timor-Leste have no idea what Facebook is.

With poverty being endemic and internet access ridiculously poor Timorese are not yet “online”. One of Timor-Leste's most famous former FALINTIL resistance guerrillas, Lere Annan Timor, likes to joke that the first time he saw a computer in 1999 he thought it was a television.

Brigadier General Lere Annan Timor

However, there can be no doubt that the future of social media in Timor-Leste is going to be one of growth. As the access to technology expands the young population of Timor-Leste (with 50% being less than 17 years old) will take to it like ducks to water. As they are already.

Is a Twitter revolution next? Perhaps, as Timor Telcom is now advertising 3G networks coming soon in Dili, Baucau, Gleno, Aileu and Los Palos. Thats over half the population. There are already more than a few people in Dili with smart phones waiting for it to happen - not least of all the politicians. With a Blackberry Bold dropping in price from $600 in January 2010 to less than $300 in September 2010 - its just a matter of time before we see smart phones in the hands of people in the mountains. Just a matter of time. With rising salaries, a wave of public spending in play the cash to buy is increasingly there.

One has to wonder what social, political and economic change will occur as a result. While there has been a huge increase in the use of social media in Timor-Leste in the last 2 years its impact is likely quite minimal in the short term. But with a general election to be held in 2 years time there may be room yet for it to potentially play a role.

Justice for Timor. A 2010 point of view.

Keta Haluha — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:29:37 +0000

Timorese activist and accomplished photographer Zésopol Caminha interviews Australian academic Dr. Clinton Fernandes on the prospects for justice for crimes against humanity committed between 1975 and 1999 during Indonesia's occupation of Timor-Leste.

East Timor: Portuguese Language Under Attack

Keta Haluha — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:26:44 +0000

In what is a dramatic reversal of official position Timor Hau Nia Doben reports that the President of the National Parliament agrees with recent statements by General Taur Matan Ruak that Portuguese language should be removed from Timor-Leste. [Addendum 16 March: a reader very correctly point out an error, Ruak did not for the complete removal of the Portuguese language. He called for the removal of Portuguese from the Timorese court system. Tempo Semanal has posted video of the interview - thus clarifying the matter].

Timor Police Ninja Operation

Keta Haluha — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:19:13 +0000

There has been much ado about Ninjas in Timor-Leste recently. In response to “ninja activities” there has been a robust Government response to the threat, and in turn there has been considerable national and international civil society criticism of the Government.

However, these are not the ninja of Japanese lore which are described by “military historian Hanawa Hokinoichi: They travelled in disguise to other territories to judge the situation of the enemy, they would inveigle their way into the midst of the enemy to discover gaps, and enter enemy castles to set them on fire, and carried out assassinations, arriving in secret.”

Japanese Ninja - Yamato Takeru dressed as a maidservant, preparing to kill the Kumaso leaders. Woodblock print on paper. Yoshitoshi, 1886.Wikimedia Commons License

Beginning in January 2010 the Timorese National Police have conducted a series of paramilitary police operations in Cova Lima and Bobonaro border districts, adjacent to Indonesia, in an effort to put an end to so-called Ninja group activities. These murky groups have been accused of murder, extortion, and other crimes. Some suggest that the matter is being overblown and is a political game.

On 27 January 2010 the new Timorese blogger Atay Lariwa reposted a CJITL report in which one of the alleged ninja leaders, “Karau Timor” [Tetun translation: Timor Buffalo] states:

“Labele mai buka atu kaer hau, tamba hau la'os ninja, ne'e bosok, labele manipula fali komunidade” Karau Timor hateten iha intervista ne'e.

Don't come look to arrest me, because I am not ninja, its a lie, don't manipulate the community” explained Karau Timor in an interview.

In the 17 February 2010 CJITL - Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor-Leste reported on its website here that the matter had reached a fever pitch in the National Parliament. This saw Opposition FRETILIN party and the Partido Democratiko (PD is key a member of the governing AMP coalition lead by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao) aggressively challenging each other over the “Ninja Affair”. During a plenary session of the National Parliament the FRETILIN bench accused the Government of launching a paramilitary police operation in search of ninja groups for political reasons designed not to solve a murder case, but to intimidate FRETILIN's political supporters.

The next day on 18 February 2010 CJITL reported that fighting had broken out in the Parliament.

Parlamentu Nasional Tersa foin lalais ne’e manas no sai rungu-ranga hafoin deputadu bankada Fretilin Osorio Florindo atake Deputadu Partidu Demokrata (PD) Vital dos Santos iha sesaun plenaria tanba du’un malu konaba gurpu ninja iha Distritu Bobonaro no Suai. Asaun ne'e mosu tanba deputadu opozisaun ne’e lasimu deklarasaun politika PD nian ne’ebe rezeita akuzasaun bankada Fretilin kona ba involvimentu militante PD iha grupu ninja. Situasaun ne’e sai manas depois membru PN husi bankada Fretilin hotu hamriik hakilar deputadu PD Vital dos Santos, atu lalika defama partidu Fretilin nia naran.

This past Tuesday the National Parliament became heated and scuffling broke out when FRETILIN Member of Parliament Osorio Florindo attacked PD Member of Parliament Vital dos Santos in plenary session as a result of exchanging accusations about ninja groups in Bobonaro and Suai. This incident occurred as Opposition Members of Parliament did not accept the declaration of the PD bench rejecting FRETILIN accusations that PD militants are involved in ninja groups. The situation heated up when all the Members of Parliament from FRETILIN stood up and shouted at PD Member of Parliament Vital dos Santos demanding that he stop defaming FRETILIN's name.

Finding its roots in the brutal December 2009 murder of a woman in a remote village in the border regions, a crime has rapidly become a politicised national issue. Pro-government supporters suggest that the murder, and possibly other crimes, are being committed by a mixture of groups known as CPD-RDTL on the one hand, and the Bua Malus on the other. These groups have cloudy historical and political ties to FRETILIN, and other parties such as PD, and are popular in some mountain hamlets, while viewed with suspicion by others. In the parochial and fluid village politics that dominates much in Timor-Leste, the membership of these groups is often poorly defined and even overlapping. Emanating from the confused and violent history of resistance to the 24 year occupation of Timor-Leste by Indonesia these groups remain powerful political movements in the poorest regions of the country.

In the meantime hundreds of people were rousted from their homes day and night, and dozens arrested by a police operation notable for the use of hundreds of paramilitary police under the direct command of the national police commander Longuinos Monteiro.

National Police Commander Longuinos Monteiro

The FALINTIL-FDTL (Timor-Leste's national defence force) was also called upon the assist. On 1 March 2010, CJITL reported that “Kaju Ninja, Ema Nain 534 Entrega A’an Ba Komando PNTL” [Tetun translation: Ninja Case, 534 people have surrendered themselves to PNTL (Timorese national police) Command].

Members of the Bua Malus Group, arrested by civilians 5 March 2010. CJITL

Fundasaun Mahein posted an abridged English version of a report by respected human rights NGO HAK Association in which the Government and national police are accused of human rights violations - the full Tetun version was also posted.

HAK states that it is concerned “that the PNTL commando operation does not respect the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste” in addition to that “During the operation individual police have violated human rights, carried out actions contrary to the law or abused their power such as arresting people without a court order and persecuting members of an organization”.

Amnesty International has also voiced its concerns.

With Cova Lima and Bobonaro being a past political battle ground between FRETILIN and PD in the 2007 national elections, there is a strong likelihood that the current jostling both in the Parliament as well as in the mountain villages is a sign of things to come. There are possibly forthcoming municipal elections but what is really at stake is the 2012 general election. Since 2007 the national budget has dramatically increased on the back of newfound oil wealth, and accusations of Government corruption have blossomed across the pages of national newspapers. With many more contracts and much more money at stake, politics is now a much more tangible “business”.

Of note is the apparent absence of the United Nations with regards to this issue. Despite the fact that UNMIT (the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste) retains executive policing authority for Cova Lima and Bobonaro districts it would appear that it is toothless in preventing possible human right abuses. Nor has it spoken publicly in the Timorese press on the matter. With an annual budget of approximately $200 million/annum, the largest portion of which is designated towards the United Nations Police, it begs the question: is UNMIT good value for money?

Interestingly, the term ninja is powerfully evocative in Timor-Leste, and it does not stem from Japan's occupation of Timor-Leste between 1942-45. Rather it is an Indonesian import.

Former Indonesian General and recent Vice Presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto is understood to have been “in control of ‘ninja squads', [during the Indonesian occupation] operated by the paramilitary groups in East Timor, which have been used by Kopassus and other elements of the military to terrorise and torture East Timorese suspected of supporting the pro-independence resistance.”

As such, while The Lost Boy wittily blogged about the comic aspect of the use of the term, it is not comic in the minds of many Timorese.

Timor Police Brutality Video

Keta Haluha — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:20:21 +0000

Police brutality in Timor-Leste is not new, but getting it on video is. This is something of a “Rodney King” moment for Timor-Leste and its police service.

Timor Police (PNTL - Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste) brutality captured on video. (Screen grab courtesy A.Tilman)

On 21 January 2010 a video showing what is apparently a serious case of police brutality was published online via facebook and then very quickly afterward on YouTube. The video speaks for itself. The video was picked up almost immediately by some Timor bloggers, including but not limited to Timor Hau Nia Doben.

During the Portuguese colonial period, the administration and its police were regularly abusive towards Timorese. Between 1975-99 Indonesia's Suharto regime occupied Timor-Leste and police brutality was both regular and extreme. Since Timor-Leste gained its independence in 2002 police brutality has been at a much lower level although no one keeps decent records. However, it has been the subject of considerable media attention recently. Tempo Semanal weekly newspaper has covered the issue several occasions in the past two months on its weblog (Story one, two and three).

The video was released initially by Opposition Member of Parliament for the FRETILIN party, Jose Teixeira. His facebook page comment attached to the video is read below.

Ida nee mosu iha Atauro bainhira iha inaugurasan ba kompetisaun internasional kail ikan…….asaun viola direitus humanus neebe labele tolera iha ita nia rain.

This occurred in Atauro when they inaugurated the international fishing competition…..this action is a violation of human rights and cannot be tolerated in our country.

Atauro island, lies 10km off the coast of Timor-Leste north of the capital city, Dili - and as such lies within the jurisdiction of Dili District. Dili District is supposedly under the executive police control of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).

Interestingly, at least two United Nations Police officers are seen in the video, and they watch events calmly even as one PNTL officer rushes into the fracas to hit the victim with the butt of a shotgun. The video ends with them and other bystanders, both Timorese and foreign, watching the police drag the victim off the beach, out of frame and into the bushes.

United Nations police officer watchs as Timorese police bash a local youth with fists, feet and a shotgun shoulder butt.

It is unknown if any investigative or disciplinary action took place. It appears unlikely seeing as the person who released the online version of the video appeared surprised and shocked by events. This individual is also member of the National Parliament's Committee B for National Security, Defence and Foreign Affairs, and as such oversees the police.

Killing Kuka: Timorese Youth Gunned Down

Keta Haluha — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:19:22 +0000

On Monday 28 December Kuka Lebre was shot and killed, and 2009 ended in tragedy for the Lebre family.

Baldir Cesar do Nascimento Lebre Correia, known by his friends and family as “Kuka”, was just 25 years old.

It is bitter irony that Kuka survived the Santa Cruz massacre as a 7 year old in 1991. During this event 200-300 protesters were gunned down and killed at a funeral procession for another young man, killed by the police of the occupying power - President Suharto's Indonesia. Having survived this ordeal and living to see independence from Indonesia, Kuka fell victim to his own community's police service.

Kuka Lebre 1984-2009

Since the Indonesian invasion in 1975 a lot of young people have suffered from violent death in the former Portuguese colony of Timor-Leste, but Kuka's passing, while mundane in some ways, is unique in others.

The blogosphere first became aware of Kuka's death when Timor-Leste's largest Opposition Party, the Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente (FRETILIN) issued a press release via its Parliamentary bench blog, Bancada FRETILIN, calling for an investigation into a possible police shooting.

This press release, issued on Tuesday 29 December 2009.

Tuir informasaun neebe bancada parlamentar FRETILIN simu, ohin dader jovem ida mate tanba hetan tiru horikalan iha insidente violensia neebe mosu iha festa ida nia laran iha salaun Delta Nova, Delta Comoro, Dili. Jovem ida tan hetan tiru kanek no baixa hela iha Hospital Nasional Guido Valadares iha Dili. Iha tempo hanesan agentes PNTL tenke tu’un ba fatin neeba halo intervensaun atu hapara konflitu violente neebe mosu iha festa fatin.

According to information that the FRETILIN bench has received this morning one youth was killed last evening as a result of being shot during a violent incident during a party at the Delta Nova Rooms, Delta Comoro, Dili. One other youth was shot and wounded and remains in Guido Valadares National Hospital Dili.

The press release continued by stating that:

Ita hare ona to’o ohin loron katak investigasaun barak ba atuasaun polisial la lao to’o hotu, la iha kredibilidade, no la iha resultadu ba familia no vitima sira.

Until the present day we have witnessed that many investigations into police actions do not reach completion, lack credibility, and provide no results for victims and their families.

On New Year's Day 2010 the Timor Lorosea Nacao blog posted press coverage from one of Dili's big daily newspapers on Kuka's death. In this posting the Timor Post describes what are the reported circumstance of Kuka's killing. While the investigation is under way it appears as though Kuka was shot by Timorese police (PNTL) officers responding to a violent clash at the Delta Nova party/conference rooms in western Dili.

Interestingly, the Delta Nova is where well heeled Timorese have wedding parties and other special events - suggesting it was an important crowd of people present. Kuka was also the son of an important and well known family based in Bemori, central Dili. In a strange twist of fate Kuka is the nephew of Fransisco Guterres, Secretary of State for Security - the politician responsible for the police.

The Timor Post, as put online by Timor Lorosae Nacao, features this headline,

Baldir Mate ho Bala Polisia: Familia Ejiji Team Investigasaun Independente

Baldir Dead by Police Bullet: Family Demands Independent Investigation Team

The story states that at 2300 28 December Kuka was shot during a violent incident in which police had been called to restore order. According to the report a police officer shot the unarmed Kuka during the affair. Despite being shot in the stomach Kuka survived the initial wound but was not however taken immediately to hospital as the police had blockaded the premises. According to an interview with Kuka's brother, the Timor Post reports that Kuka was eventually taken to the national hospital at 2355 but died on the operating table at approximately 0130 29 December.

Dili District Commander Pedro Belo later confirmed that a police officer had in fact shot Kuka, and the Secretary of State for Security Fransisco Guterres announced an investigation. Accident, unprofessional or malicious act - the matter of PNTL carrying, pointing and firing weapons without any consequence, while not common, is regular in Timor-Leste.

On 4 December 2009 Tempo Semanal, a national weekly newspaper, video blogged an interview with a very annoyed maverick FRETILIN Member of Parliament, David Ximenes. Ximenes was angry over the fact that a PNTL officer had shot and seriously injured a youth a party the evening before.

David Ximenes

The matter of how the Timorese police procures, stores, manages and uses its firearms is of longstanding and contentious debate in Timor-Leste. Critically, when weapons are misused penalties are generally not forthcoming.

On 28 November 2002 PNTL shot and killed a youth at a demonstration outside the main police station in the eastern town of Baucau. A week later on 4 December 2002 a riot occured in Dili and several people were shot dead by PNTL. In 2006 PNTL and rogue elements of PNTL shot and killed a number of people in the Political Crisis of that year. Few if any police officers have been penalised for any of these, and other similar events.

One has to question if the killing of Kuka, a prominent and popular youth, will cause the Timorese establishment to question the matter of how guns are managed in Timor-Leste. It would appear from the level of concern that it might.

A Twitterer observed that both President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao met with Kuka's family.

PM and President Meet Victim's Family

Interestingly, the same twitterer and other sources say that President Jose Ramos-Horta suggested that the Government could be sued if the officer is found at fault.

President: Family Can Sue

Below: Some photos from Kuka's family home before the funeral. They tell a story of public attitudes towards the police in Timor-Leste.

Police Your Mentality is Like An Animal

The State of Timor Buys Guns and Kills the People

What are you Doing UNPOL? (UNPOL= United Nations Police)

Photos from the Facebook page of FRETILIN Member of Parliament Jose Teixiera

Disturbing Images Blogged on alleged Timor Assassin

Keta Haluha — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:20:43 +0000

On the 15th November Portuguese language blogger, Timor Lorosae Nacao, posted disturbing images of the corpse of Major Alfredo Reinado undergoing an autopsy in Dili in February 2008. Major Reinado led a group of armed men to the house of Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta on the morning of 11 February 2008. Reinado was killed during this encounter.

Indonesia, East Timor: Border Dispute Heats Up

Keta Haluha — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:36:03 +0000

On 4 October 2009 the Timorese online media TimorOhin [Tet.] [TimorToday], reported that an old border dispute between Indonesia and East Timor has flared up once again in the Oecusse Enclave.

Broadcasting a radio report in the Tetun language from Candidus Elu of Radio Atoni Oecusse, TimorToday reported that;

Polisia fronteira detein TNI nain 9 tama illegal iha Oe-Cusse [Tet.]

Border police detains 9 TNI [Indonesian Army] for illegal entry into Oe-Cusse.

The full story has an MP3 file which can be downloaded via the TimorOhin website here.

It has also been picked up by blogger TimorNewsNetwork as well. On 5 October, the weekly Tempo Semanal blogged an internet feature out of it.

TimorOhin provides a service for previously unheard journalists from the far reaches of Timor-Leste to report to the nation at large, Timorese, abroad, and the international community.

In the story Radio Atoni Oecusse reporter Elu explains that the community of border village Naktuka in Subdistrict Nitibe, working with the Timorese Border Police detained 9 members of the Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI) for illegal entry into Timor-Leste on 3 October 2009.

Google Maps shows a missing border

Radio Atoni Oecusse quotes Simao de Carvalho, Chefe Suco (village head) of Ben-Ufe (within which Naktuka is located), as saying that the TNI entered Timor-Leste at 0900 with military vehicles and that they were armed. However, by 1400 Timorese National Police Headquarters in Dili instructed local authorities to release the TNI and allow them to return to Indonesia. Radio Atoni Oecusse quotes local youth as being upset that Timorese are jailed for illegal border crossings but not the Indonesian Army. Local police have explained to residents that the border area remains disputed and that decision to release the TNI came from the highest levels in Dili.

This is an old border dispute. Both the Dili Insider and East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin blogs carried news about a brewing problem in June 2009. At stake is a rice paddy complex in contested land, in addition to a betel nut forest which has significant traditional “adat” importance to people across the Oecusse Enclave.

The dispute predates June and is part of a wider set of border issues in the Enclave. Most notably, after a show of force by the TNI, including a fighter jet and a gunboat in January 2004, Timor-Leste ceded ownership of the island Pulau Batek, or Fatu Sinai as it is known in Oecusse, to Indonesia in 2005. Public opinion in the Enclave was resigned frustration mixed with a refusal to cede Naktuka if asked.

Significantly, this is not the first time that TNI have been detained in this area. During the Fatu Sinai / Batek spat, Timorese police detained TNI in the same area.

In June Indonesian blogger berita hankam posted a story in which TNI border commander Lt.Col. Yunianto is quoted as saying,

TNI hanya bertugas menjaga keamanan dan pertahanan negara. Sehingga kami tidak bisa masuk ke wilayah yang diduduki untuk mengusir warga Timor Leste tersebut. Kami sudah menyampaikan protes keras kepada polisi penjaga perbatasan Timor Leste,” lanjutnya. [Bahasa]

TNI's only duty is the security and defence of the country. So we do not go into the area which is the responsibility of someone else to order the Timorese community out. We already sent a strong protest to the Timorese border police.

Close Up of Naktuka Area - from Dili Insider

Some important people on the Indonesian side of the border have spoken publicly and aggressively over the matter of who owns Naktuka. The Dili Insider reveals that Robby Manoh, quoted by the Jakarta Globe saying “if this injustice continues, we have no choice but to force”, is actually the King of Amfoan community - across the border from Naktuka.

Indonesian blogger Radio Sahabat reported that Manoh had again raised the issue of Naktuka with the Governor of Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) province less than a month ago.

Interestingly, with the case of Maternus Bere, former pro-Indonesia militia commander penned up in the Indonesian Embassy, in addition to recent tri-lateral security and development meeting between Indonesian, Australia and Timor-Leste - Indonesia is putting pressure on Dili via one of its soft spots. The soft spot being Dili's 60,000 citizens in the enclave in Indonesian West Timor - Oecusse.

Cova Lima, East Timor: Political conflict can lead to consitutional crisis

Keta Haluha — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:18:55 +0000

The isolated district of Cova Lima, Timor-Leste has produced two remarkable stories in the last month. Both involving Timorese men with a violent political background supporting Indonesia's invasion, occupation and subsequent integration of Timor-Leste in 1975. Both stories, set in the present, involve President Jose Ramos-Horta. While one is headline news in the English and Tetun speaking press, the other has received little attention beyond Tetun print and web media.

On 23 September 2009 a prominent former pro-autonomy leader from the Timorese southern coastal district of Cova Lima made a stunning revelation in Dili District court during the trial of those accused of shooting President Jose Ramos-Horta, and attacking Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on 8 February 2008. Rui Teixeira Lopes admitted to providing now deceased, rebel leader Major Reinado, and the man that lead the attack on Horta, with uniforms procured in Indonesia.

As the increasingly active Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor Leste (CJITL), [Centre for Investigative Journalism Timor-Leste] reported in a Dili Flash news segment on 25 September 2009 states:

“Rui Texeira Lopes ne’ebe kolega diak grupu Alfredo nian mak sosa husi Indonezia.” [Tet.]

Rui Teixeira Lopes an ally of the Alfredo Group bought [them] in Indonesia.

The report quotes Lopes as saying,

“ Farda Militar nebe Alfredo ho nia grupo hatais ne’e hau mak sosa husi Marina Amerika iha Indonezia” dehan Rui Lopes ba Tribunal.”

The military uniforms worn by Major Alfredo and his group were bought by me from American Marines in Indonesia, said Rui Lopes to the Tribunal.

Lopes further stated:

“Maibe osan ne'e laos hau nian tanba montante osan ne’e Salsinha intrega mai hau hafoin hau ba sosa farda mai fahe ba sira iha subar fatin. Hau deklara buat ne’ebe los ba tribunal mais kuandu ida ne'e mak hau sala karik ohin kedas hau prontu ba tur hamutuk ho maluk arguidu sira ne’e” Rui Lopes hatutan.

But the money was not mine, as the amount of money was given to me by Salsinha [Reinado's deputy] and then I bought the uniforms and distributed them in their hiding place. I declare this to be true but if this is a mistake I am today ready immediately to sit with the accused.” Rui Lopes

Who is Rui Lopes?

In addition to being a former colleague of many wanted war criminals - he is the former Bupati (Indonesian term of District Head) of Cova Lima District, an honourary member of the Indonesian special forces unit Kopassus, and a successful businessman with interests in cross border trade, trucking and is known for breeding racing horses. In 1999 he supported the pro-autonomy option until the last moment, and then turned on his Indonesian general masters and told the world about TNI plans and actions to “torch” Timor in the wake of a vote for independence. In June 2006 he lead a anti-FRETILIN protest convoy to Dili as part of the effort to oust then Prime Minister Alkatiri. He was caught on film claiming he was “prontu atu mate - ready to die”. As blogged by FRETILIN leaning blogger Tatoli, and posted on You Tube.

Rui Lopes Leads Anti-FRETILIN protest convoy near Dili June 2006

Meanwhile the international press, Timorese websites, blogs and newslists are flooded with stories, gossip and commentary on the Bere Case. The domestic print media has literally used up a valuable forest on the issue.

Who is Bere?

Maternus Bere, was a subcommander of the infamous pro-Indonesia Laksaur militia, organised, funded and directed by the Indonesian military, and based in Cova Lima district on the south west border with Indonesia. Laksaur was an extension of the pro-autonomy apparatus funded by the Indonesian military and lead by Rui Lopes and others in Cova Lima. Laksaur, and Bere, were responsible among other crimes, for the Suai Church Massacre on 6 September 1999, in which over 200 people were killed for their support of the Independence option in the 30 August 1999 UN run Popular Consultation. Bere was subsquently indicted by the United Nations Special Panel on Serious Crimes, along with numerous other members of Laksaur for the Suai Church Massacre along with other human rights violations.

In summary Bere, a minor government offical in Indonesia and a wanted man for the last decade, crossed the border from Indonesia into Cova Lima district in August 2009. Critically, Tempo Semanal has obtained a copy of Bere's passport, showing it was issued in July 2009 by the Indonesian government, and that he was provided a visa by Timorese police on 5 August, three days before his arrest in Suai. Bere was arrested by local people on 8 August, handed over the police, and subsequently released on 30 August 2009 by President Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and Minister of Justice. Bere is currently believed to be in the Indonesian Embassy in Dili

Maternus Bere - subcommander Laksaur Militia, 1999 - Tempo Semanal

Civil society reaction has been overwhelmingly negative. On 25 September the leading weekly newspaper Tempo Semanal, blogged a video taken from the National Commission for Victims of Human Rights Congress meeting in early September, capturing the feelings of civil society - being frustration and anger.

The leading Opposition party, FRETILIN has introduced a motion to censure the Government, and is suggesting it will quit Parliament if the vote goes in support of the Government.

FRETILIN argues that the release is grossly unconstitutional, and is the last straw after a series of allegedly illegal actions by the Government and its Ministers over the last 2 years. These actions include but are not limited to corrupt activities by the Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, the husband of the Minister of Justice and the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, to but a few. Tempo Semanal has published dozens of corruption stories in the last year.

Additionally, Tempo Semanal obtained a copy of dispatch by Claudio Ximenes suggesting that the release of Bere was unconstituional and thus illegal, even going so far as to indicate that the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, if found in breach of the law face jail terms of 2-6 years. Prime Minister Gusmao responded by stating. ““I know where Becora prison is so as soon as a court sentence I will go there my self.”

Indeed the grand old man of Timorese politics, the country's first President, and the Proklamador (Proclaimer) of independence on 28 November 1975, Fransisco Xavier Amaral has declared that President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao “La Iha Klamar - Have no Soul”.

The politico-legal witch's brew emanating from Cova Lima is threatening to engulf the country in a constitutional crisis, once again. The events of 1975, 1999, and 2006 reverberate in 2009. And to think, the Government wants investors to join it in pumping hundreds of million of dollars into major oil and gas infrastructure projects in Cova Lima and other south coast areas.

About CJITL

Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor Leste (Centre for Investigative Journalism Timor-Leste) - CJITL

CJITL has been online for a year or so, but is proving to be a powerful new media outlet in Timor-Leste.

CJITL Screenshot

Written almost entirely in Tetun, an obscure language to those outside of Timor-Leste, and even to most foreigners inside Timor-Leste, CJITL is a daily online publication. It compliments the groundbreaking work that weekly Tempo Semanal is doing. Indeed, the CJITL see Tempo Semanal as something of an inspiration.

A little known fact about CJITL is that its webmaster is a Timorese working in the IT section of a major UN peackeeping mission in Africa - he learned his trade working for the UN in Dili. Probably one of the UN's more successful acts of capacity building, even if by accident.