12 November 2008

Fretilin statement on the ill-functioning of the National Parliament of East Timor

FRENTE REVOLUCIONARIA DO TIMOR-LESTE INDEPENDENTE F R E T I L I N Secretariado Nacional Sede: Avenida Martires da Patria, Comoro, Dili, Timor-Leste EXTENDED MEETING OF THE FRETILIN CENTRAL COMMITTEE STATEMENT REGARDING THE ILL FUNCTIONING OF THE NATIONAL PARLIAMENT

The FRETILIN Central Committee (CCF), in extended meeting with the FRETILIN parliamentary bench, former MPs, former members of government and with the district representative organization of the party, held in Dili, on 8 November 2008, analysed exhaustively the role of the National Parliament as a constitutional body, representative of the people, with legislative powers, oversight power over the government, which are conferred upon it by the Constitution of the RDTL (articles 67 and 92 of the CRDTL) and concluded that the National Parliament was not properly functioning.

During the first legislative session of the second legislature, we saw the systematic breaching of the National Parliament’s Standing Orders and various breaches of the Constitution of the Republic following its subordination to the irrationally so called parliamentary majority Alliance, and under the designs of the self proclaimed fourth constitutional government.

The absence of constitutional responsibility, the lack of sentiment of state allowed the subordination of the Parliament thorugh the AMP members of Parlaiment to the AMP Government, which compromises the separation of powers and the balance of powers and impedes the National Parliament in its effective oversight of the Government activities.

Continuing with this state of events, the Parliament cannot exercise its constitutional obligations, namely, its role as the oversight body, which compromises the whole constitutional system that defines the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as a Democratic State under the Rule of Law, based on the separation of powers and supremacy of the law.

During the first legislative session we sae the continuance of the following:

- Non compliance with the terms of the constitution and the law by the Government as well as the National Parliament;

- Interference by the Government in the functioning of the National Parliament;

- Negation of the right of the opposition in our democracy in accordance with article 70 of the Constitution of the Republic by impeding opposition members of parliament from speaking or by cutting short debate time on important issues to the national political life, such as the General Budget of the State (GBS);

- Approval of laws with unconstitutional provisions.

Taking into account the above:

1) The exercise of the right to interpellate/question the Government regarding the GBS by FRETILIN was boycotted by the President of the parliament;

2) Numerous and multiple questions from FRETILIN presented in writing to the President of the Parliament have not been answered by the AMP Government;

3) A request by the FRETILIN bench to the president of the parliament for an urgent debate on the execution of the budget was neither answered by the government or scheduled by the president of the parliament;

4) There has never been any session for questioning of the government in accordance with the standing orders of parliament, due to a boycott of same by the president of the parliament, whilst he clearly knew that FRETILIN had the right to demand the presence of the AMP Government in the national parliament, once every month, to answer questions regarding their activities and how they are managing the funds of the state and people.

The FRETILIN Central Committee considers this situation the parliament is undergoing to be grave and worrying and decides as follows:

a) If this situation continues, the CCF delegates to the National Central Committee (CPN) the powers to determine the renunciation by FRETILIN from the National Parliament on terms and conditions to be defined at the opportune time;

b) Appeals to all MPs from the other benches to safeguard the democratic state under the rule of law, to preserve the independence of the National Parliament, to prevent undue interference and gurantee the separation of powers.


Dili, 8 November 2008

By the FRETILIN Central Committee

Francisco Guterres Lu Olo
President of FRETILIN

Mari Alkatiri
Secretary General of FRETILIN


Image: Mari Alkatiri, Secretary-General of Fretilin

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