30 April 2010

Sunrise Joint Venture Selects Floating Processing Option

Woodside, on behalf of the Sunrise Joint Venture (JV), advises that a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility has been unanimously selected as the preferred processing option for Greater Sunrise gas.

The Greater Sunrise fields, which include the Sunrise and Troubadour discoveries, are located about 450 km north of Darwin. The fields, which have a total contingent dry gas resource of 5.13 Tcf and 225.9 MMbbls of condensate, are partly located in a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA) administered by the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia.

Woodside Chief Executive Officer Don Voelte said that the International Unitisation Agreement (IUA) signed by the governments of Timor-Leste and Australia in February 2007 required the Sunrise JV to develop the Greater Sunrise fields to best commercial advantage consistent with good oilfield practice.

“Following an extensive and rigorous commercial and technical evaluation of the various development options available to the Sunrise JV including building onshore processing plants at Darwin and in Timor-Leste, a floating LNG processing facility best satisfies the key development requirements outlined by the IUA,” Mr Voelte said.

“We expect that the selection of a floating LNG processing option will, in addition to generating significant long-term petroleum revenue, provide a broad range of social investment, employment and training opportunities for Timor-Leste.”

Mr Voelte said the Sunrise JV participants would continue to work with both the Australian and Timor-Leste authorities to progress the development of the Greater Sunrise fields.

The Sunrise JV participants include Woodside (Operator) which has a 33.4% interest, ConocoPhillips (30%), Shell (26.6%) and Osaka Gas (10%).

Contacts: MEDIA Roger Martin W: +61 8 9348 4591 M: +61 413 018 674 E: roger.martin@woodside.com.au INVESTORS Mike Lynn W: +61 8 9348 4283 M: +61 439 691 592 E: investor@woodside.com.au

The Greater Sunrise Oil and Gas Project Background by Lao Hamutuk

Lao Hamutuk Dili 29 April 2010 The Greater Sunrise oil and gas field in the Timor Sea has been the subject of exploration, controversy, and negotiations since it was first discovered in 1974. In particular, the question of where to liquefy the natural gas -- converting it into LNG which can be shipped to overseas customers -- has been vociferously debated since Indonesia was forced out of Timor-Leste in 1999.

After moving ahead in fits and starts, the Sunrise project is now getting closer to reality. This web page will include information and analysis about the project, especially events in 2010. For background and basic information, see the references linked to from the history section below.

Over the last few months, the discussion over Greater Sunrise has intensified, with Timor-Leste’s government, other Timorese politicians and NGOs, Woodside, the Australian government and many commentators offering their views. Timor-Leste media have been filled with polemics and misinformation regarding the Greater Sunrise gas field and the LNG plant that will go with it. La'o Hamutuk is a Timorese civil society organization which hopes that this project will give the maximum benefit to the Timorese people. We are concerned that many of the reports misrepresent the reality of the situation, which has economic, legal, technical and environmental aspects, not only politics, and we hope that this web page will help people better understand the issue.

History and background

In February 2008, La'o Hamutuk published a book Sunrise LNG in Timor-Leste: Dreams, Realities and Challenges, which is on-line in English and Bahasa Indonesia, with a summary in Tetum. The report includes a history of relevant events from 1970 through 2008. Read the full article here.

Timor Government Dismisses Woodside's Sunrise Floating LNG Concept

Timor Government Dismisses Woodside's Sunrise Floating LNG Concept

Australian Ambassador Media Release on Media Reports on Greater Sunrise Oilfield

The Australian Embassy Dili, East Timor Media Release: Australian Ambassador 28 April 2010 Media reports about Greater Sunrise development - I am concerned at recent media reports about the development of the Greater Sunrise oil and gas resource.

Any suggestion that Australia has threatened Timor-Leste on the issue is incorrect.

Australia’s long-standing position is that a decision about development of Greater Sunrise is for the commercial partners to make, consistent with the treaties Australia and Timor-Leste have negotiated.

Australia will continue to discuss the management of Timor Sea resources with the Government of Timor-Leste in a consultative manner.

Australia is committed to the security and prosperity of Timor-Leste.



Reportajem kona ba dezenvolvimentu Greater Sunrise nian



Hau hakfodak kona ba reportajem nebe fo sai foin dadaun ne’e kona ba dezenvolvimentu mina-rai no gás iha kampu Greater Sunrise.

Dehan katak Australia halo ameasa hasoru Timor Leste, ida ne’e sala.

Australia nia pozisaun kona ba dezenvolvimentu iha kampu Greater Sunrise ne’e kleur ona, katak sai hanesan desizaun ida ba parseirus de negosius sira atu halo, nebe haktuir tratadu sira nebe halo entre Australia no Timor Leste.

Australia sei kontinua konsulta nafatin ho Governu Timor Leste kona ba jestaun rekursus iha Tasi Timor nia laran.

Australia iha kompromisu ba Timor Leste nia seguransa no prosperidade.

Change in Visa on Arrival Law in Timor-Leste

The Embassy wishes to inform American citizens of a change in Timorese visa regulations.

Effective March 16, 2010, Americans seeking to enter Timor-Leste at a land border crossing must have received a visa in advance.

Visa on arrival at a land border crossing is no longer permitted for Americans and most other nationalities.

Americans needing a Timorese visa can attempt to access a list of Timorese diplomatic facilities on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website at www.mne.gov.tl. American citizens arriving at Dili airport, however, are still eligible to receive visas upon arrival.

29 April 2010

Domestic violence remains high: Police Commander Superintendant Fernandes

Timor Post, April 20, 2010 language source: Tetun - The Timorese Operational Police Commander Superintendent Mateus Fernandes has confirmed that the number of cases of domestic violence in the country is staying in high based on the investigation result of the National Investigation Development (NID) of the PNTL.

Fernandes said that those cases been investigated by NID were sent to the court to be processed legally.

He added that based on the NID report to his department domestic violence cases are a huge number.

“We all know that most cases that have been registered are domestic violence cases, assaul cases and martial arts clash cases, Fernandes said.

Fernandes: “Martial art followers should not limit residents' freedom”

Diario Nacional, April 20, 2010 language source: Tetun - The Timorese Operational Commander Superintendent Chief Mateus Fernades has called on the martial arts gangs who conduct their movement at night not to imped the local residents’ freedom.

“We thank the residents for their opinion saying that the situation in their area is under control," Fernandes said.

Fernandes pledged that the National police will continue undertaking their duty in the field based on the law and order, so that the local residents can conduct their daily activities freely.

“PNTL will collaborate with the United Nations Police and other institutions to ensure security in the country so that people can freely undertake their daily activities,” Fernandes said.

He also called on the martial followers in Bucoli of Baucau district to conduct their movement in a proper manner so that it can not affect people’s activity or freedom.

Police officers should not be involved in politics: Colonel Coca

Diario Nacioná, April 20, 2010 language source: Tetun - The Spanish Force representative Colonel Angel Alba Coca, has called on the Timorese National Police (PNTL) officers and civil security guards not to involved in politics otherwise they will not undertake their duty properly and optimally.

Colonel Coca made the comment yesterday at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Aitarak-Laran, Dili, when he was invited by the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) to share his experience with the National Police.

He said that the police officers in his country had undertaken their duty well because they conduct their task based on the law and order.

“The Spanish police conduct their task and respond to any case based on the law and order. They had never detained people based on their own will,” Colonel Coca said.

Meanwhile, the Timorese Operational Police Commander, Superintendent Chief Mateus Fernandes, believed that the experience of Colonel Coca will benefit the national police officers to more carefully in responding to any case.

Tribunal reopens 2006 case of shooting at Defence Force Commander Matan Ruak’s residence

Televizaun Timor-Leste, April 20, 2010 language source: Tetun Dili District Court has reopened the case of shooting at the residence of Timor-Leste’s Defence Force Commander Taur Matan Ruak in May 2006.

The attack was alleged to be directed by Abilio ‘Mausoko’ Mesquita, Artur Havelar, Arlindo da Costa, and Valente de Araujo who were members of the National Police Force (PNTL).

According to Paulo dos Remedios, a lawyer for Abilio Mesquita, the case is reopened because their appeal to the Court of Appeal regarding the case was successful.

Dos Remedios said that he appealed against the decision of the court because the court failed to do the defendant’s request to have a visit to the residence of Taur Matan Ruak.

“The request was for the court to authorise a visit to the residence of Major General Taur Matan Ruak due to the principle of special diligence, as the right of the defendant based on the Process of Criminal Proceedings Article 252,” said Dos Remedios.

He added that in the previous judgment in 2007 and 2008, the court violated this right of defendant, the reason which made the Court of Appeal to over-rule the decision of the Dili District Court.

The hearing on Monday was presided over by Judge Joao Paulo and aided by Constancio Basmery and Deolindo de Jesus.

In the hearing, the office of public prosecution read the charges against the defendants.

On May 25, 2006 the residence of Taur Matan Ruak was under attack from PNTL members following the institutional conflict involving the two security and defence institutions.

Taur Matan Ruak, a Brigadier General, was at the Defence Force’s headquarters but his children were in there residence.

A team rescued Ruak’s children unharmed but Ruak’s body guards involved in a shoot-out with the attackers.

Image added by ETLJB: Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak

La'o Hamutuk on the draft Expropriation Law

La'o Hamutuk has launched a new web page on the draft Expropriation Law at:
http://www.laohamutuk.org/Agri/land/10ExpropriationLaw.htm

Expropriation is a process through which the State can compel people to sell their property, to use it for public benefit. On 6 April the Government presented Parliament with a draft Expropriation Law as part of a "land package". Committee A is now reviewing the law.

In many countries expropriation is a source of conflict and rights violations. Many Timorese people lost their land to forcible expropriation during the Portuguese and Indonesian regimes, and these traumas leave deep scars. When expropriation is perceived to be unfair or arbitrary, communities will resent, rather than welcome, projects of genuine local benefit.

La'o Hamutuk and many others believe Timor-Leste needs to approach expropriation carefully. It should only be done rarely, when every alternative is exhausted. The draft law has too few safeguards to prevent the State unfairly taking people's land.

The Ministry of Justice did not consult the public on this law before presenting it to Parliament. We hope that Parliament will send this law back to the Ministry of Justice to conduct a meaningful public consultation that can determine what Timorese people believe is a fair process for expropriation.

The web page outlines the expropriation process described in the draft law. It also suggests safeguards that could be explored further through a government public consultation process.

We welcome further documents, analysis and commentary from all sources.

See also Rede ba Rai (East Timor Land Network) Statement on the Expropriation Law
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La'o Hamutuk - The Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis
1/1a Rua Mozambique, Farol, Dili
Mob: +670 730 2439
Office: +670 332 5013
Web: www.laohamutuk.org

Rede ba Rai (East Timor Land Network) Statement on the Expropriation Law

Two weeks ago the government approved and sent to parliament 3 laws that will have a huge impact on the people of Timor-Leste’s land rights. The first of these laws, the Lei de Terras, was the product of much work and debate and 5 months of public consultation. The other two, The Property Fund Law (Lei Fundo Financeiro Imobiliario) and the Expropriation Law (Lei Expropriacoes) were written by law firms[1] and (unlike the Lei de Terras) were not opened for public consultation by the Minister of Justice. They have not yet been translated to Tetun.

In particular the Expropriation Law (Lei Expropriacoes) which establishes when and how the state can take peoples’ land will have a very significant impact on our rights and access to land.

What is Expropriation?

Expropriation is the process through which the state takes land in order to undertake developments in the public interest (for example to build roads, ports or hospitals). Almost all countries have some sort of process for doing this, however the act of evicting a person, family or a community from their home and taking their land is huge incursion on their rights and should only be allowed to happen in exceptional circumstances where there are no alternatives, and where the development is necessary ‘for the public interest’.

The definition of ‘public interest’ during state expropriation of land is one of the world’s most contentious land issues. If we define ‘public interest’ very broadly we give the government huge power to take land. Considering this, in order to prevent conflict and create a law that can contribute to creating peace and strengthening development it is important that there is deep consultation. If we give a wide definition to this concept of public interest we give the state strong powers to take land.

In many parts of the world we can see examples of powerful states evicting the population arbitrarily in the name of economic development. Cambodian Law for example states that ‘no person may be deprived of his ownership unless it is in the public interest’ and yet, in Cambodia over 150,000 people live everyday under the threat of eviction for the creation of luxury housing, hotels, shopping malls etc. In a recent case over 4,200 families in Phnom Penh lost their land when they were evicted in order to make way for state sponsored private economic development.

What does the draft Expropriation Law say?

Timor-Leste’s new Expropriation Law does not give any definition to this concept of ‘public interest’. It gives the government almost no limitations therefore allowing it to determine cases arbitrarily on a political basis what is in the public interest.

Under this law the government could decide that clearing communities from their lands in order to give large tracts of land to companies like SAPT or P.T. Salazar is in the public interest. Or that evicting people from their homes in order to allow foreign companies to come and build hotels is also within the public interest.

Expropriation of land and people’s homes should never happen arbitrarily. We need a law that establishes not only sufficient compensation but also lays down sufficient protections against unjust, arbitrary, corrupt or forced expropriation of land. We need a law which allows the state to expropriate land only in exceptional circumstances and where no other alternatives exist. We need a law that guarantees the role of the people in decisions and consultations about expropriation.

How to ensure fair and just policies on expropriation

A crucial part of writing appropriate expropriation policies and rules is ensuring that marginal communities and those who are likely to be affected by expropriation are involved in their creation. Without their involvement in the process laws will favour the richer and more powerful groups in society.

§ This law was written with no consideration of the Timor-Leste context. It does not look at Timor’s historical complex relationship with expropriation, or how the realities of expropriation might affect the nation. We should not forget that conflict in 1975, 1999 and 2006 was all linked to land and the independence of land.

§ It was written undemocratically with no participation from the people on whom it will most impact. Expropriation of land affects most severely those living in poverty. Special efforts should have been made to ensure the participation of these groups in the creation of these laws. The law should look more specifically at providing protection to vulnerable land groups in Timor-Leste.

§ It was written in a language that our population cannot understand.

§ At no point have we been asked how and when we would feel that it would be justified for the state to take our lands.

Most importantly, we must ask why the Government is trying to sneak in this law as part of a package of transitional land laws? The Expropriation Law was sent to parliament at the same time as the new Lei de Terras. The Lei de Terras aims to resolve uncertainty over land claims in Timor-Leste, it is the product of significant debate and public consultation. It is very important that we consider these two laws as distinctly separate. The Lei de Terrasconsultation process which was carried out last year (June 2009 – November 2009) at no stage discussed or consulted with communities on the issue of expropriation.

Why no consultation?

Government representatives have said that expropriation is a very technical issue and that the population of Timor-Leste would not have the capacity to give opinions on these types of issues. This is not only inaccurate, but also seeks to justify the dilution of our rights of participation. Asking people when and how they feel it is justified for the state to take their land is not a complicated question.

§ If this issue is considered a technical and complicated issue, government, civil society and communities need to re-think their strategies for disseminating information and consulting on land rights and legal issues,

§ A lack of capacity to understand the issues does not negate the duty of government to allow participation in governance and legislative issues. In the case of the Expropriation Law the problem is not that there was insufficient or weak consultation, but that the public was not given any opportunity to access or contribute to the development of this law.

Recommendations

To S.E. Sra. Fernanda Borges the President of Commission A, the members of Commission A, and the Members of Parliament

We ask you as representatives of the people, to take into account the massive impact that this law will have on the rights of the people of Timor-Leste and to;

1. Consider the Expropriation Law as a law that is completely separate to the Lei de Terras,

2. Send the Expropriation Law back to the Ministry of Justice requesting them to carry out sufficiently deep, democratic and participative public consultation on this important issue

To S.E. Sr. Xanana Gusmao, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste and S.E. Sra. Lucia Lobato, the Minister of Justice

We congratulate you on the public consultation process and subsequent approval of the Lei de Terras and ask you to look to the constructive experiences of the Lei de Terras consultation process, and to;

1. Acknowledge the important role that the people of Timor-Leste play in the creation and definition of our policies, laws and development path,

2. Guarantee and implement a public consultation process in relation to the Expropriation Law that will allow effective participation from the people of Timor-Leste

3. Guarantee the role of the public in the creation of future Land Policies and Laws, and in particular guarantee that all laws that will have a large impact on our land rights and access to land will undergo sufficient and substantial consultation.

To all partners, donors and actors within the justice sector of Timor-Leste

We ask you to follow the good examples laid down by current land sector actors and to commit to a renewed culture of consultation and participation, and to;

1. Emphasize the need for solutions that are specifically suited to the Timorese context,

2. Ensure that there is widespread co-operation, consultation and co-ordination between government institutions, organizations, civil societies and other stakeholders,

3. Guarantee their commitment to participatory and democratic approaches to legislation and policy creation.

The Timor-Leste land network is a group of 20 organisations working to protect land rights in Timor-Leste. Our vision is a nation where all people have land rights and access to land that is just and sustainable. Since 2001 we have been monitoring, researching and advocating on land issues. To find out more about Rede ba Rai, the Expropriation Law or other land issues please contact the secretariat of Rede ba Rai at Fundasaun Haburas +670 730 7800

[1]The Expropriation Law was written by Portuguese law firm Miranda.


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Land Issues Mentor
Rede ba Rai Timor-Leste (The Timor-Leste Land Network)
Fundasaun Haburas,
Rua Celestino da Silva,
Farol,
Dili,
Timor-Leste

+670 730 7800
+353 85 1461435
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Statementu Rede ba Rai kona-ba Lei ba Espropriasaun

Semana rua liubá governu sira mak approva no haruka ba parliament lei tolu(3) ne’ebe sei fó impaktu bo’ot ba povu Timor-Leste nian direitu ba rai. Lei primeiru, naran Lei de Terras, mak hakerek liu husi servisu no debát barak no liu husi konsultasaun publiku fulan 5. Lei rua seluk, ida kona-ba Fundu Propriedade (Lei Fundo Financeiro Imobiliariu) no ida kona-ba espropriasaun (Lei Expropriacoes)mak hakerek liu husi kompania avogadu sira[1] no Ministra Justisa la loke lei rua ne’e ba konsultasaun publiku, prosesu nebe hanesan ‘lei ba rai’ nian. Lei rua ne’e dezenvolve esklusivu liu no taka ba publiku, no sira seidauk tradus ba lian Tetun.

Liuliu Lei kona-ba Expropriasaun ne’ebe establese bainhira no oinsa estadu bele foti povu nian rai mak fó impaktu bo’ot ba ita nian direitu no asesu ba rai.

Saida mak Espropriasaun?

Espropriasaun mak prosesu ida liu husi estadu bele foti rai atu uza ba dezenvolve projetu ruma ba intereses publiku (ezemplu atu harii dalan, porto ka ospital sira). Normalmente nasaun hotu-hotu iha prosesu ida hodi halo ida ne’e. Maske ne’e atu hasai ema, familia ka komunidade ruma husi sira nian fatin ka atu foti sira nia rai mak iha jerál konsidera hanesan aksaun ida ne’ebe amiasa bo’ot ba sira nian direitu. Bele deit hasai ema husi sira nian rai iha kazus exesional, bainhira alternativu la iha, no bainhira dezenvolve projetu mak nesesidade ba intereses publiku.

Iha mondu hotu definisaun ba phrase ne’e ‘tuir intereses publiku’ mak assuntu ne’ebe hetan debát bo’ot. Definisaun ne’e bele iha interpretasaun la hanesan entre jerasaun sira nebe kaer ukun. Ho konsiderasaun ne’e mak hakarak husu atu iha debat klean nune bele evita konflitu nomo bele produs lei ida nebe bele ‘kontribui ba hari pas no hametin desenvolvimentu’. Se ita fó definisaun luan liu hodi interpreta katak interese publiku deit ba konseitu ne’e ita fó póde bo’ot ba estadu atu foti rai.

Iha nasaun barak ita bele hare’e estadu ho póder bo’ot hasai arbiru povu husi sira nia rai ho naran dezenvolvimentu ekonomiku. Lei Kambozia establese katak ‘la bele hadera ema sira nian direitu ba rai nebe la tuir interese publiku’ maske nune’e iha Kambozia liu ema 150,000 hela loro-loron ho amiasa duni-sai tamba estadu hakarak harii uma luxu, otels no sentru komersial sira. Foin dadaun iha kazu ida estadu mak hasai familia nain 4,200 ne’ebe hela iha Phnom Penh atu fó dalan ba dezenvolvimentu ekonomiku privadu patronisa husi estadu.

Ezbozu Lei Espropriasaun establese saida?

Timor-Leste nian Lei Espropriasaun foun la fó naran definisaun ida ba konseitu ‘intereses publiku’. Lei fó ba governu póder bo’ot kuaze laiha limitasaun atu halo determina kazu saida kona-ba asuntu rai ho deit base politika interese publiku.

Tuir lei ne’e katak governu bele determina atu hasai komunidade husi sira nian rai atu fó rai luan ba kompania hanesan SAPT ka P.T. Salazar mak tuir interese publiku. Estadu bele mos halo desizaun katak halo duni-sai ba ema husi sira nian uma atu husik kompania husi rai liur mai hari otel mak tuir intereses publiku nebe bele dehan atu hari kampo servisu.

Foti ema sira nian rai no uma nunka bele halo arbiru deit. Entaun ita presiza lei ida ne’ebe establese la’os deit hodi determina kompensasaun ne’ebe sufisiente maibe mos lei ida ne’ebe fó protesaun kontra espropriasaun ne’ebe la justu, ne’ebe arbiru deit, korupsi ka forsadu. Ita presiza lei ida ne’ebe husik estadu atu hasai ema husi sira nian rai iha kazu exsesional deit bainhira alternative la iha. Presiza lei ida ne’ebe garante povu sira nian knar halo desizaun no atu hetan konsultasaun kona-ba expropriacoes

Oinsa bele harii politika kona-ba espropriasaun ne’ebe justu?

Parte bo’ot hakerek politika no lei espropriasaun ne’ebe serve ba kontextu sosial, ekonomia, cultural no politika nian mak asegura katak komunidade kbiit-laek sira no ema ne’ebe ba oin hetan impaktu husi politika espropriasaun sira involve iha prosesu kria politika hirak ne’e. Se sira la involve iha prosesu hari politika sira ne’e, politika hali’is liu ba ema bo’ot no riku ne’ebe bele influensa maka’as liu prosesu.

§ Lei ida ne’e mak hakerek laiha konsiderasaun ba kontextu Timor-Leste nian? Lei ne’e la hare ba povu Timor sira nian istoria komplexu ho asuntu espropriasaun. Lei la hare oinsa espropriasaun iha tempu ukun rasik an bele impaktu ba nasaun nian. Keta haluha katak konflitu 1975, 1999, 2006 sira ne’e hotu iha ligasaun kona-ba rai no ukun ba rai.

§ Lei ne’e hakerek ho metodu ida nebe la’os demokratiku nolaho partisipasaun ida husi ema ne’ebe hetan impaktu bo’ot liu? Ema kbiit-laek sira no ema kiak hetan impaktu bo’ot liu bainhira iha espropriasaun. Entaun presiza esforsu spesifiku atu asegura sira nian partisipasaun iha prosesu hari lei no lei ne’e devia hare liu ba protesaun grupu rai kbiit-laek iha Timor-Leste. Oinsa ukun nain sira atu interpreta espektativa populasaun nian wainhira sira sei hetan ‘espropriasaun’ husi Estado?

§ Lei ne’e mak hakerek iha lian ne’ebe povu sira la bele komprende?

§ Governu la husu ba povu sira bainhira no oinsa bele justifika atu foti populasaun nia rai.

Importante liu, sosiedade sivil sira (Rede ba Rai) presija hetan informasaun husi Governu sira, no Ministra Justisa tamba sa sira koko atu la’o subasubar ho lei ida ne’e?Lei ne’e haruka ba Parlimentu tempu hanesan Lei de Terras? Lei de Terras mak hakerek atu rezolva konfusaun kona-ba se mak nain ba rai iha Timor-Leste, Lei de Terras mak hetan debate no konsiderasaun maka’as liu. Presiza duni rekonyese katak Lei rua sira ne’e mak ho moos ketak-ketak (la bele kahor). Prosesu konsultasaun Lei de Terras ne’ebe halo tinan kotuk nunka temi ka halo diskusaun kona-ba asuntu espropriasaun.

Presiza Konsultasaun

Representante Governu sira beibeik dehan katak assuntu espropriasaun mak assuntu ida tekniku liu, no dehan katak povu Timor-Leste nian la iha kapasidade atu fó hanoin kona-ba assuntu hanesan ne’e. Ne’e la’os deit argumentasaun ne’ebe sala maibe mos liafuan ne’e koko atu justifika Governu sira nian perspektiva politika ba hamihis ba direitu partisipasaun povu nian. Maibe atu husuba ema bainhira no oinsa sira senti estadu bele foti sira nian rai maka pergunta simples no klaru, la’os asuntu ‘tekniku’,

§ Se ita senti katak konseitu ruma mak komplexu, Governu, sosiedade sivil no komunidade sira presiza hanoin fali ba ita nian stratejia fahe informasaun, eksplika konseitu no halo konsultasaunn kona-ba assuntu lei no rai.

§ Kuran kapasidade la signifika katak governu iha direitu atu taka prosesu ba publiku. Governu iha nafatin dever atu garante partisipasaun iha assuntu governasaun ba nasaun nian.Problema ho Lei Espropriasaun ne’e la’os katak konsultasaun la sufisiente ka la forsa, problema mak ita la simu oportunidade ida atu asesu Lei ne’e no fó ita nian kontribuisaun iha prosesu desenvolvimentu lei ne’e.

Rekomendasaun Sira

Bodik ba S.E. Sra. Fernanda Borges, Presidenta Komisaun A, membru Komisaun A sira no Membru Parliamentu

Ami husu ba ita bo’ot sira hanesan representante povu nian atu hare’e ba impaktu bo’ot husi lei ne’e ba ita nian direitu no atu;

1. Konsidera Lei Espropriasaun ne’e hanesan assuntu ida ne’ebe ketak (labele kahor) ho Lei de Terras transitoriu,

2. Haruka fali ba Ministra Justisa Lei Espropriasaun no husu ba sira atu halo konsultasaun ida ne’ebe klean, demokratiku, no partisipativu ba asuntu importante ne’e.

Bodik ba S.E. Sr. Xanana Gusmao, Primeiru Ministru Timor-Leste no S.E. Sra. Lucia Lobato, Ministra Justisa

Ami hakarak hato’o ami nian parabems kona-ba konsultasaun publiku maka’as no aprovasaun Lei de Terras. Ami husu ba ita bo’ot sira atu hare’e ba esperiensia konstruktivu prosesu ne’e no nune bele;

1. Rekonyese knar importante povu Timor-Leste iha prosesu harii no fó definasaun ba politika, lei no dalan dezenvolvimentu Timor nian,

2. Garante no implementa prosesu konsultasaun maka’as kona-ba Lei Espropriasaun ne’ebe fó dalan efetivu ba partisipasaun povu Timor nian,

3. Garante povu sira nian knar ba oin iha prosesu harii lei no politika rai nian no garante katak Lei sira hotu ne’ebe impaktu ba povu sira nia direitu rai sei hetan konsultasaun nebe klean.

Ba parseiru, doadores no ema seluk servisu ho sector justisa iha Timor-Leste

Ami husu ba ita bo’ot sira atu tuir ezemplu diak ne’ebe bele agora dadaun hare’e iha parte balun setor rai, no atu haburas komitmentu ba kultura foun konsultativu no partisipativu, no mos atu bele;

1. Fó enfaze atu buka solusaun sira ne’ebe tuir kontextu Timor nian,

2. Asegura katak iha kooperasaun, konsultasaun, no koordinasaun entre ita bo’ot sira, instituisaun governu, sosiedade sivil, povu Timor no makletak sira seluk,

3. Garante ita bo’ot sira nian komitmentu ba prosesu kria politka no lejislasaun ne’ebe partisipativu duni no demokratiku.

Rede ba Rai mak grupu organizasaun local, nasional no internasional ne’ebe servisu atu proteje direitu ba rai iha Timor-Leste. Ita nian vizaun mak povu Timor-Leste ne’ebe moris nafatin ho direitu no asesu ba rai ne’ebe justu no sustantivel. Husi tinan 2001 ita halo monitorizasaun, peskiza no advokasia kona-ba asuntu rai. Atu hetan informasaun liu kona-ba Rede ba Rai, Lei Espropriasaun ka asuntu rai seluk favor ida kontaktu sekretariadu Rede ba Rai liu husi telemovel +670 7307800.

[1] Ministra mak emprega kompania avogadu Portugues Miranda atu hakerek Lei Espropriasaun.

28 April 2010

Fretilin-CNRT to form coalition to govern Timor-Leste: Alkatiri

Diario Nacional, April 27, 2010 language source: Tetun - Fretilin Secretary Genera Mari Alkatiri has said that he did not want to have a fresh conflict with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, because Fretilin and the National Congress for the Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) is in the process of making a coalition to govern this country in the future.

“CNRT and Fretilin will make a coalition to lead this country onward and therefore PM Gusmao and I will not take various challenges and we will not be angry with each other,” Alkatiri said.

Alkatiri made the comment yesterday regarding allegations made by PM Gusmao in STL newspaper saying that Alkatiri instructed people to burn down Timorese Customs office during the 2006 crisis.

Alkatiri said that it impossible for PM Gusmao to allege him as the one who ordered the arson of the office of the Customs department because PM Gusmao has data about Fretilin Governance and what had happened in the past.

Alkatiri: Press has fabricated statement by Gusmao accusing me of ordering burning of Customs building in 2006 crisis

Televizaun Timor-Leste, April 27, 2010 language source: Tetun - Secretary General of the Fretilin Party has said Monday (26/4) during a press conference at the Headquarters of the party in Komoro that he does not believe that Xanana Gusmao had accused him saying that he ordered to set fire to the Customs’ Office in 2006 but it was a mere fabrication of the STL.

“If it (the statement of Gusmao) happened in 2007, I might have believed it. However if he said so in 2010, he is a liar because he has had all the data about it,” said Alkatiri.

Alkatiri made the statement after Suara Timor Lorosae (STL) daily newspaper on Monday published the statement of PM Xanana who had accused Fretilin as being more corrupt than AMP and accused Alkatiri of ordering the burning down of the Customs’ office in Kolmera in 2006.

“I don’t believe that Xanana said so but it is fabrication of the STL made with the intention create tensions between Fretilin and CNRT because there is a possibility for the two parties to have a coalition,” said the former Prime Minister who was toppled in 2006.

He said Fretilin members are everywhere to attend the consultation of the Prime Minister and his sources said that there was so such statement from Prime Minister Gusmao.

“We (Fretilin) follow the process because Fretilin is everywhere,” said Alkatiri.

He argued that the document was totally backed up and therefore there was nothing lost about the data of the Customs’ Department.

Regarding the consultation of the 2020 National Development Plan, Alkatiri said Gusmao is indeed doing a pre-campaign.

He said that consultation should be done by his technical staff but his direct involvement in the process is more than a political campaign.

Speech by HE Prime Minister Xanana Díli International Dialogue closing session April 2010

Speech by HE Prime Minister Xanana Díli International Dialogue closing session April 2010                                                                   

Justice Minister at the United Nations Security Council on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

From United Nations S/PV.6299 Security Council Sixty-fifth year 6299th meeting Friday, 16 April 2010, 10 a.m. New York Provisional Agenda Post-conflict peacebuilding

President:

The President: I now give the floor to Ms. Lucia Lobato, Minister of Justice of Timor-Leste.

Ms. Lobato (Timor-Leste): It is indeed an honour for me to represent my Government and my beloved country in this important debate and to present our Timorese experience in recovering from conflict over the past 10 years. I will keep my statement within the time limit, but I have circulated a more detailed text to representatives for the record.

As Minister of Justice, I am able to present a perspective on the development of peace through the legal institutions and the rule of law in my country. But I also wish to discuss some broader aspects of reconciliation, economic development, security and political stability, which are essential. I intend to focus more on the solutions we are providing to our problems than on the problems themselves. Let me share our experience.

This debate is particularly timely for us, as we have just hosted the Dili International Dialogue conference, which served as an opportunity to exchange experiences and find common ground among the so-called g7 Plus — the “small g seven plus” of fragile States. There was strong consensus among fragile countries and development partners to move from fragility to agility and seek greater and more focused engagement with development partners.

We have found that Timor-Leste has much to offer and to gain in the discussions about peacebuilding strategies. While eight years is but a short time since our national independence, we have made many achievements. We addressed some burning issues in the short term that were indeed critical to our recovery. Important social security measures were introduced, including recognition for the heroes of our nation who made sacrifices so that we could be free. Our relationship with Indonesia has been strengthened through initiatives such as the Truth and Friendship Commission and the ongoing dialogue between our leaders. Camps for internally displaced person were gradually and sensitively decommissioned and people were assisted in relocation and rebuilding. The Government intervened to ensure food security when rising rice prices threatened to limit supply.

The police and defence forces began to define their peacetime mandates and work together on joint operations when the internal security of the nation was threatened. The success of this was evident following the 2008 attacks on the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. Thanks to sound leadership, this crisis inspired our security forces and provided a platform to pursue further security sector reform, greater professionalism and independence from political interference. The police are now adopting a community policing ethos, an approach by which the police serve and work together with the community to identify potential conflicts and to solve problems before they escalate to violence.

Timor-Leste is fortunate to be blessed with income from natural resources managed by the Petroleum Fund, a success story in transparency and good governance. Our Government believes that we need to invest the income we make back into our own country to improve the lives of our citizens. It is hard to explain the sense of keeping money in the bank while our people suffer. We need to create a dividend for peace and stability.

Yes, we have come a long way, but we have also learned many lessons, including some painful ones. We have learned that, without exception, countries can recover from conflict only if they can create a window of time in which they are free from further conflict. In Timor-Leste, we at last have that window, but we are not taking peace for granted. As our Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão, has recently said,

It can be easy to breathe a sigh of relief when you begin to show signs of progress, when you achieve a level of apparent stability, because in times of peace we can forget the hardships of conflict”.

We were not only emerging from a violent conflict; we were also, for the first time in our history, creating a new, independent State. In this spirit, I would like to share three observations on peacebuilding from our perspective, grounded in the recent history of Timor-Leste and enriched by pertinent themes from the Dili International Dialogue Conference.

In regard to the need for an inclusive political dialogue, in Timor-Leste we are aiming for a new maturity in political relations. Following independence, the Government set about addressing the roots of conflict. The world will remember that, at the birth of our new nation, our country lay in ruins. We were building our new country on a destroyed infrastructure, a limited economic sector and problematic social cohesion between ourselves and our neighbours. Our people had independence, but its benefits of it were as yet unfelt by many in their daily lives.

Not surprisingly, we faced conflict again in 2006. This conflict set back our development, but also presented valuable lessons. Our political actors learned that the way to our future was not through violence but through positive and active leadership, professionalism and commitment to development. From the 2006 conflict, we arose stronger as a nation, less afraid of expressing political differences, in a process enriching our political maturity without the need to revert to violent conflict. We confront each other every day, but we do so in our national Parliament. In addition, the parliamentary opposition is regularly included in public debates to forge a truly national consensus about issues of common interest to all Timorese, such as the package of major security laws that was approved last month.

As to setting the right national priorities within a flexible and long-term vision, in 2006 Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão and the fourth constitutional Government set about changing the course of Timor- Leste’s future. Continued stability depends on our success not only in managing crises but also in forming respected State institutions that address all the needs of our society, from ensuring basic services to reducing poverty. In 2008, we realized that the only way to achieve sustainable development was to coordinate all our efforts. That same year, we presented a set of national priorities for the country.

Those priorities are consistent with the five areas identified as recurrent peacebuilding objectives in the Secretary-General’s 2009 report on peacebuilding in the immediate aftermath of conflict (S/2009/304). In addition, we include a specific national priority area dedicated to access to justice and another to good governance and accountability, as well as one that deals with human resource development. A focus on youth and gender is mainstreamed into all our priority areas because we have a rapidly growing population which we want to be productive members of society, not alienated or frustrated over a lack of jobs.

We have reviewed our national priorities on an annual basis to ensure that we are adaptable to the changing situation. With the improvement in the security situation since 2008, we have been able to shift our priorities for 2010 to infrastructure and rural development. To provide an umbrella for this and prepare us for the long term, the Prime Minister is finalizing a strategic development plan for 2011-2030 that will ensure the coordination of all development activities in the country for the next 20 years.

Concerning justice and the rule of law, we know that one of the foundations of a stable and secure society operating within the rule of law is a respected justice system, whereby the rights and obligations of the State and its citizens are understood by citizens and are enforceable. We aim to give particular attention to the voices of vulnerable groups, especially women and children. Timor-Leste has also consistently prioritized the building of strong institutions of justice that complement the work done in policing and security sector reform. Justice cannot be neglected in our progress towards long-term security, peace and economic development.

A fortnight ago, the Council of Ministers endorsed a strategic plan for the justice sector, following a highly participatory process. This process informed and subsequently took account of the recommendations of the 2009 independent comprehensive needs assessment, facilitated by the United Nations. The justice sector strategic plan can be explained by its motto, “Bringing justice to the people”, and in order to achieve that we have addressed five thematic areas, which are covered in more detail in the written version of this statement: institutional development; the completion of Timor-Leste’s legal framework; the development of human resources; creating an infrastructure and applying information and communication technology; and providing access to justice.

We see justice as a fundamental part of this debate on peacebuilding and the prevention of conflict. Let me quote Pope John Paul II, in his address for the 2002 World Day of Peace, when he said that there is no peace without justice, no justice without forgiveness”. Forgiveness is not the opposite of justice. In fact, true peace is the work of justice. We are working on a justice system that safeguards the rights of all citizens, including by providing legal remedies where their rights have been violated. We also acknowledge that there is no justice without forgiveness. While our country ensures the rule of law, we want to tell the Council that we suffered for many years, and in some cases the wounds are still fresh. We need to help heal these wounds, and we need to do so in our own way and in our own time.

As there is no peace without justice, there is also no peace without development. To conclude, I would like to share some important points.

Concerning the question of quality over expedience in capacity-building, in Timor-Leste we were criticized many years ago for choosing quality over expedience in preparing judicial actors, but we can now show results, and we encourage this principle to be applied as the only way of achieving confidence in State institutions.

On the alignment of all foreign development support to our development plans, in order to reach a lasting peace we still need support. Initiatives such as the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund could help us enormously. We highly appreciate the assistance of our development partners, including the United Nations Development Programme, all of which are now working with us as close associates rather than as faraway donors. We know that we are not alone. In order to achieve development, we cannot allow the existence of uncoordinated or competing implementation mechanisms. The only way to create confidence among our people and sustainable progress is to ensure that the development agenda is led by the Timorese leadership, taking the national dialogue to all parts of the country. Peacebuilding must be a genuinely national process if it is to be a productive element for stability and reconciliation. A process of national consultation led by the Prime Minister will begin in rural areas next month.

Concerning the adoption of modern, user-friendly technology, we need to automate Government services and make them more accessible to the public, more transparent and more accountable. Developing countries may at times be offered clumsy, outdated solutions, as we were in Timor-Leste, because people think we are not ready for modern technology. We do not agree with that thinking. We need to jump into the future. Recent advances in technology have resulted in systems that are more intuitive and easy to use, and we need to go straight to these solutions. Many of our people are already comfortable with technology, and we are working with our partners to ensure that they are trained to develop, support and adapt systems owned by Timor-Leste. In addition, we need to use environmentally friendly technology. Here, we can learn from the mistakes of our development partners. We can keep the beauty and the resources of our countries while advancing towards peace and stability.

With regard to strengthening the partnership between Government and civil society, the growth and progressive impact of our civil society organizations have demonstrated the engagement of the people of Timor-Leste. Timorese civil society has evolved from providing humanitarian support to representing the voices of the most vulnerable. It is inspiring to see more and more young people volunteer to serve their communities and join the fight for peace and justice.

To achieve peace, we must fight not conflict, but the causes that might lead us to conflict. While some States have taken centuries to build their State institutions and achieve social and economic development, we must do it in decades. As our Prime Minister has stated,

To unite an entire people who have been scarred from conflict in the struggle for peace is more difficult than to achieve unity in times of conflict. As we know, there are so many legitimate expectations from people who have fought for so many years for the ideals of freedom, equality and development that we can say that achieving true peace also means freeing people from poverty.”

In Timor-Leste we believe that peacebuilding and development are not abstract words or theories, but as tangible and real as a hand to hold. My friends and colleagues in the Security Council took my country’s hand when we reached out to them at the start of our journey and helped pull us out of war. Our famous Timorese spirit survives and grows, and I now offer our hand again and ask for theirs as true partners in development, so that we can walk together along the road to a lasting peace and a brighter future in Timor- Leste.

27 April 2010

Amending the Petroleum Law needs the support of the people

Timor Post, April 26, 2010 language source: Tetun - Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has said that the Government needs as much as US$10 Billion to implement its new strategic development plan therefore he called on all people to support his proposal to amend the present law on the petroleum fund.

PM Gusmao said that the Government was not capable of improving the living conditions of the poeple as it was difficult to spend or take much money from the Petroleum Fun d because it was allowed that the Government can spend 3% of the petroleum fund only.

PM Gusmão added that it was not enough for the government to spend US$430.00 million to develop this country.

“Residents of this village have demanded that they need clean water, electricity, good roads and irrigation, but the Government can not do such things with little money,” PM Gusmão said.

He added that he will burn up his document of PDN if the people of 56 sub-districts disagree with the Government to amend Law for Petroleum Fund to spend more money to develop this country.

“If you all say that we do not want to amend this law of Petroleum Fund. It is better to keep it for future generations then I will burn up this PDN (National Development Plan), but if you agree to amend this law then the Government will do it,” PM Gusmao said.

Meanwhile, Jose Asaloy, a local resident has said that it is impossible for the Government to manage big amounts of money because in reality the Government was incapable to managing even small amounts money.

“The Government is incapable to manage small amount of money and it will be worst if the money is increased.

According to local resident of Tutuala, Iliomar Lospalos, Lautem and Luro sub-districts, the PDN of the Government was good and they hoped that the Government will really implement this PDN to develop the country.

Government to ‘eliminate’ Timor Telecom

Suara Timor Lorosae,   April 26, 2010,   language source: Tetun - Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has said that Timor-Leste has got proposals from Indonesian Telkom and Irish Digicel to compete in the area of telecommunication in the country in order to ‘kill’ the monopoly of Timor Telecom.

“We have accepted the proposals from Indonesian Telkom and Irish Digicel to get into Timor-Leste to compete with Timor Telecom,” he said.

Gusmao added that in 2009 his government had approved a liberalisation law for the telecommunications sector which gives more opportunities for other telecommunication companies to compete in investing in Timor-Leste.

He said that telecommunication is a very important factor in the development of the country.

Sub-district Administrator of Iliomar, Abilio Quintao, said that he supports the idea to have more than one telecommunication company in Timor-leste so that they can provide a better service for the people.

He added that many people can now afford to buy Alcatel but unable to have contact with their family members in Dili because there is no network.

26 April 2010

Timor-Leste: World's Worst Football Team

World's worst football team happy to win first point Ek Madra PHNOM PENH Thu Oct 30, 2008 4:18pm GMT - After six fruitless years playing international football, FIFA's lowest-ranked nation East Timor are beginning to see the romance of the beautiful game. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

The East Timor national football team pose before their match against Brunei during their Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifier at the Olympic national stadium in Phnom Penh October 23, 2008 . After six fruitless years playing international football, FIFA's lowest-ranked nation East Timor are beginning to see the romance of the beautiful game.

Credit: Reuters/Chor Sokunthea

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - After six fruitless years playing international football, the world's worst team are beginning to see the romance of the beautiful game.

When the rag-tag national side of East Timor drew 2-2 with fellow strugglers Cambodia last week, they clinched the first point they had ever won to stem a seemingly endless run of defeats.

FIFA's lowest-ranked nation finally had something to celebrate.

"It was the first game we didn't lose -- we're all very proud," said long-serving, long-suffering coach Pedro Almeida, a motorcycle mechanic in the country's sleepy capital Dili.

"We are not happy with our world ranking and we are hoping our players will continue to improve," he told Reuters.

Almeida says it is no surprise that his team of inexperienced misfits have never won a match.

Although aid and investment have trickled into the cash-strapped Southeast Asian nation since it gained full independence in 2002, hardly any has been spent on sport.

The country's handful of balding soccer pitches are barely usable and its federation chiefs say it is almost impossible to find opponents for friendly matches.

GRASSLESS PITCHES

The soldiers, grocers and port workers who make up the national side receive no money or expenses and many struggle to fulfil their international soccer commitments.

"We have no resources to keep this team together and we barely have grass to play on," added the 53-year-old Almeida, who has introduced 12 new players in the last month alone.

"The squad changes constantly because the players have families and cannot afford time off work. When they are 21 or 22, they have to quit."

There are signs of better things to come, however.

East Timor were only 10 minutes away from their first win when they conceded a late goal against the Cambodians, while a clumsy own goal denied them a shock draw on their World Cup qualifying debut against Hong Kong a year ago.

World governing body FIFA has pledged to improve some of East Timor's rugged playing surfaces by the end of next year and Almeida says the team's confidence is growing fast.

Defender Alfredo Esteves, who plays for unfashionable Australian outfit Wollongong FC, is East Timor's only professional player but he believes others will soon follow in his footsteps.

"Everyone has seen that East Timor's performance has been improving," said the Portuguese-born Esteves, who reached the peak of his career playing in the United States with the Minnesota Thunder and the New Hampshire Phantoms.

BETTER FUTURE

"We have a lot of young players and we now feel the future will be better for us.

"I believe that we will grow and we will show to other national teams that even East Timor can play football too," added Esteves, who at 32 is the team's most experienced campaigner.

The inspirational captain, however, does not have high hopes for the team, who in 2006 reached their highest ranking -- 198th of the 200 competing countries.

"My ambition is just to have more games for East Timor to play," he said.

With a little help, coach Almeida believes his side can pull away from teams such as the Cook Islands, American Samoa and Montserrat, their long-time friends at the foot of the rankings table.

He does not ask for much. For now, a pitch with grass will do.

"We cannot see our first win coming in the next few years but we will never quit," he said.

"But soon we will get our first good pitch and we hope to have another. That will help our players to develop and represent their country at a much better level."

(Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Clare Fallon)

Image: The East Timor national football team pose before their match against Brunei during their Asean Football Federation Suzuki Cup 2008 qualifier at the Olympic national stadium in Phnom Penh October 23, 2008

New recruitment for PNTL is waiting law approving recruitment criteria

Timor Post, April 26, 2010 language source: Tetun - Deputy Timorese Police Commissary Afonso de Jesus, has said that the National Police Command has planned to open new a recruitment process, but it will happen after the law approving the criteria for recruitment.

“We are elaborating the draft law, particularly law about the criteria for the recruitment process,” de Jesus said.

De Jesus said that it was possible to postpone the recruitment process until next year if the draft law on the recruitment criteria will not be finished this year.

Police confirm illegal groups in Ermera hold weapons

PNTL acknowledge illegal weapons in Ermera  Timor Post, April 26, 2010 language source: Tetun - Deputy Timorese Police Commissary Afonso de Jesus has said that the recent information about illegal weapon in Ermera district was true.

“You asked me about illegal weapon two days ago and I responded saying that I had no information about illegal weapons in Ermera, but now I have information from our officials in the area that this information is true and that some illegal group have weapon,” Commissary de Jesus said.

Commissary de Jesus also called on local residents of Ermera to cooperate with the local police officers and provide clear in formation about this case so the police can take necessary action to respond to this case soon.

“We ask for all people of Ermera to give the local police information concretely, so that the police can make a proper plan and strategy to respond to this case,” Commissary de Jesus said.

He added that the PNTL commando has deployed a special team of the national Police to the area to collect more clear information about this case, adding that he had no information about illegal weapon in the other twelve districts except Ermera.

Plan International-UN Police hold friendship footbal match

Timor Post, April 26, 2010 language source: Tetun - The United Nations Community Police has collaborated with Plan International to hold a friendship football match between young men as it was a way of moving their minds to think about conflict.

“This match is a strategy to make young people to think about conflict and how they can get close or more friendly with community police in their daily life,” a UN Community Police officer, Azhar Abu Bakar said.

He added that Community Police from Malaysia and Singapore had always conducted such matches in order to unite young people, adding that they provide uniforms to the winning team or club.

Traffic police ban long vehicles operating during day

 Radio Timor-Leste, April 26, 2010 language source: Tetun - The National Traffic Police, Inspector Antonio da Costa, has said that the Timorese National Police (PNTL) of the traffic department will ban long vehicle from operating during the day loading container starting from April 26 next Monday.

“Based on the authorisation letter, starting from April 26th long vehicles can only operate at early morning 1:00 up to 6:00 AM and therefore the traffic police will take strong action to against those long vehicle that breach this rule,” da Costa said.

Da Costa said that the Traffic Police will continue conducting civic education to the public by distributing pamphlets and putting up posters at public places so that people can access more information about this case.

Customs Department of Dili harbor confiscate electronic tools

Televizaun Timor-Leste, April 26, 2010 language source: tetun The Timorese Customs Department of Dili harbor has confiscated electronic tools imported by of Royal Electric because there was no legal document for those tools.

Those tools confiscated include  370 items such as hand phones, receivers, digital camera, video cameras and so forth that were imported from Surabaya in Indonesia and were hidden inside speakers.

Director General Receipt and Customs Department, Cancio de Oliveira, said that his department will process this case based on the customs law of Timor-Leste.

“Firstly I would like to thank the Customs Departments’ staffs who have make efforts to check imported goods and able to confiscate these illegal electronic tools. Those electronic tools are hidden inside speakers and they are found when my staffs conducted a physical check. The owner of these tools is Royal Electric Company. They should pay the fine based on the Timorese Custom’s laws,” de Oliveira said.

Besides that the Custom Department staffs also confiscate beer in a container imported by a Company from China last year due to no legal document of importation.

Meanwhile, Vice Minister of Finance and Planning, Rui Hanjan, has said that the Government will take strong action against those companies which had not fulfilled the criteria for importing goods into the country.

“We will make efforts to see this case as soon as possible because we do not want this case to be pended otherwise similar cases will continue happening in the country. And the Government will take strong action to regulate the importers who will import goods from other countries to Timor-Leste,” Vice Minister Hanjan said.

TLForAffairs: Zacarias Albano da Costa retains the full exercise of his portfolio

Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros
Gabinete do Ministro

PRESS RELEASE

Díli, 12 de April 2010

 Following some media reports of the last few days, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Zacarias Albano da Costa wishes to make clear the following:

 The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Zacarias Albano da Costa retains the full exercise of his portfolio and affirms as he always has, his loyalty to H. E. the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao;

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Zacarias Albano da Costa awaits a meeting with H. E. the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao;

Under the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, it is the prerogative of the President to appoint, swear in and dismiss members of the Government at the proposal of the Prime Minister;

Thus, all news reports which are not in accordance with the constitutional provisions referred to above shall not be understood as anything other than divisionist maneuvers intended to promote instability contrary to the highest interest of the nation ;

  * The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Zacarias Albano da Costa remains firm in not letting himself tangled up in back stage actions meant to satisfy personal ambitions ;
 The Minister for Foreign Affairs takes notice of the so –called “credible sources” being quoted in media reports that continue to be disseminated in the media allegedly from the Office of the Prime Minister or the Secretary of State of the Council of Ministers, without there being a named source.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, as party leader of a political party which is part of  the AMP, is fully aware of his ministerial and party responsibilities.

  * The Minister for Foreign Affairs reaffirms that it is the exclusive competence of H.E.  The Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao and the Prime Minister only to   resolve all matters in relation to Cabinet members.

For more information please contact: :

Maria-Gabriela Carrascalao H.
Assessora de imprensa
Gabinete do Ministro
Ministério dos Negócios Estrangeiros

Email : mgabrielacarrascalaoh@gmail.com
tel .(670) 730 4231   ou   (670) 723 5288

Tough task to tackle corruption in East Timor

Global Post Analysis: Tough task to tackle corruption in East Timor The new anti-corruption commission will need to take action ­ and fast ­ in order to justify its existence. By Matt Crook ­ Special to GlobalPost Published: April 18, 2010 08:58 ET - DILI, East Timor ­ Over the past year or so in East Timor, a slew of top officials have been implicated in corruption scandals.

The justice minister was charged with influencing government contracts; the finance minister was criticized for allegedly giving jobs to her friends; and one of the country’s deputy prime ministers was accused of misusing power by giving his wife a well-paid U.N. job.

The list goes on. The ruling coalition maintains that these allegations are based on half-truths and misinformation, while opposition lawmakers accuse the government of whitewashing the issues. Stuck in the middle are the country’s 1.1 million people, who often don’t know what to think.

The tiny nation of East Timor has only been formally independent since 2002 after a savage occupation by the Indonesian army that caused more than 100,000 deaths and in 1999 saw the destruction of much of the country’s infrastructure.

Many are hopeful that the country has finally broken its cycle of falling back into strife every two years, as the past 25 months have seen the country's longest period of peace and stability in recent memory.

But, as the government plans to up spending more than $5 billion of oil wealth, corruption has become a hot topic in the capital, Dili. The government is under pressure to push on with development in key areas, such as infrastructure and education, while retaining the trust of the people in the face of fiery political bickering and a gaggle of gung-ho local journalists.

In an effort to show they are cleaning up their act, the government has established a new Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission will deal solely with corruption cases, which used to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman for Human Rights.

The commission must now achieve concrete results ­ and fast ­ to justify its existence. The stakes are high in the run up to a general election in two years. Unless they see action and closure on the cases they read about in the press, the people of East Timor will be left in the dark.

None of the recent corruption allegations have been proven in court and each “scandal” has fizzled out.

Sebastiao Ximenes, East Timor’s Ombudsman for Human Rights, said from his office in Dili that he handed over 28 cases of corruption during his first term to the prosecutor general’s office, but not one has made it to court yet.

He attributes this oversight to an ill-equipped justice system that is struggling to get through thousands of backlogged cases.

“We cannot expect more from this commission if we don’t change or make a new strategy to develop the prosecutor general’s office, in particular how to provide more resources like human resources or maybe financial resources, recruit more prosecutors and provide special training on corruption issues,” he said.

The Anti-Corruption Commission must now pick up where Ximenes left off, but it won’t be an easy task.

The government has in the past lacked effective oversight and disciplinary measures, as was evident last year when Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao shifted $70 million of unused cash from a heavy oil project over to 774 small infrastructure projects dotted around the country.

The projects were dished out with no tenders and money was paid to a body created by Julio Alvaro, head of the Business Forum of East Timor, to be disbursed to contractors. This led to an alleged discrepancy of $3 million and accusations of shoddy work done by contractors, some of which are part-owned by Alvaro.

Dinora Grandineira, director of East Timor’s NGO Forum, said it was a “learning experience” for the government, albeit an expensive one.

“[U]nplanned, off-budget, unspecified, poorly-overseen small projects cannot substitute for a national infrastructure plan which identifies priority needs and projects and integrates them into [East Timor]’s national requirements,” she said in a statement earlier this month.

Mario Carrascalao, East Timor’s other deputy prime minister, defended the prime minister's decision. “The idea of the prime minister was to give a chance to small enterprises in the districts and sub-districts to give them an opportunity to get some money and also to create jobs there,” he said.

“The idea I believe is fine, but there was no planning, no management system created to deal with it and no evaluation of the capabilities of the enterprises that received the projects,” he added. “So a few were done well, but for most of them the quality was very low.”

A government team has been investigating the quality of the projects while the office of the prosecutor general is looking into the missing money.

Looking to the future, a lot is riding on this Anti-Corruption Commission, which is supposed to keep the government and civil service in check.

Christopher Samson, head of Timorese anti-corruption watchdog LABEH, said education is key.

“If we start now teaching our children how to stop corruption, implanting good governance, trying to put anti-corruption in the national curriculum, we will have people who are already a different culture of behavior,” he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Carrascalao has been firing daggers, saying the commission probably won’t even be operational until next year.

“I don’t believe this is the real solution. ... Corruption comes from many sources in the government, so we have to know what is wrong in the government. One thing that is wrong is the administration. There are too many holes where people can put their hands,” he said.

Samson from LABEH said Carrascalao's stance is counter-productive.

“The Anti-Corruption Commission that has the competence to draw the line on the strategy that the nation will use to fight against corruption,” he said. “As a deputy prime minister, the people want to see action that you have put in place, what have you done? People don’t want to hear gossip,” he added.

It remains to be seen how effective the commission will be ­ and for the people of East Timor, who are left without answers and without leadership they know they can trust, the unanswered questions continue to pile up.

Matt Crook is an English journalist currently based in Dili, East Timor. He has been based in Southeast Asia for five years, and has also reported from Thailand and Indonesia.

Gang violence is threatening to ruin the chance for peace and prosperity in East Timor

Mean streets Rory Callinan From:The Australian April 17, 2010 12:00AM

Gang violence is threatening to ruin the chance for peace and prosperity in East Timor


THE lethal projectile was a rama ambon, a 20cm dart with a barbed, razor-sharp tip. It is the preferred weapon of Dili's gangs, who often coat them in battery acid. It speared deep into Jose da Silva's chest, stopping a millimetre from his heart. Doubling over with pain, he grabbed the wound and held it to stop the bleeding, then staggered to the main road to get a taxi to hospital.

A week later, lying on his bed in his small airless bedroom, wincing from the incision which doctors made to remove the dart, he says: "I've told my friends not to get revenge. I want the guy who did it - and I know who he is - to face justice. To be arrested and go to court."

But official justice may be slow in coming for da Silva. The police haven't even bothered to interview him, let alone his attacker - something that has become common in East Timor. It's a measure of the power and immunity of the gangs, which many believe now pose a significant threat to the nation's security.


On the surface, East Timor appears to be undergoing a miraculous transformation, thanks to its oil and gas industries and the government's decision to expend revenue from the nation's $5-billion petroleum fund on infrastructure and other projects. President José Ramos-Horta recently announced East Timor had experienced 14 per cent economic growth in 2009 - among the highest rates in the world. And where once burnt-out buildings lay smothered in weeds, a modern city is emerging. A three-storey shopping mall is half-built; a beachside resort is planned; fleets of new government cars hog the streets; and on weekends businessmen take the afternoon air in their European convertibles.

But the development picture is misleading. East Timor is ranked 162nd out of 182 countries in the United Nations' human development index. AusAID, the Australian Government's overseas aid program, says it is estimated that almost half of East Timor's  1 million people live on less than $US1 a day; half are illiterate and more than 40 per cent of young males are unemployed, offering the gangs plenty of recruitment opportunities.

Even on the new construction sites, freshly painted gang signs are daubed - demonic skulls and murals, such as the distinctive four-pointed symbol that designates the PSHT, or Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate ("Brotherhood of the Faithful Heart of the Lotus Flower"). Formed during Portuguese and Indonesian occupation, the 15 or so major gangs have an estimated membership of around 90,000 and boast names such as Commando or Korka. Australian-based gang expert James Scambary, who compiled a Who's Who of the groups for AusAID in 2006, says many were originally established as a form of resistance to Indonesian rule; others were set up by the Indonesian military as a means to impose order.

Fighting for turf

TO view Dili therough a gang member's eyes is like looking through night-vision goggles: suddenly you see the invisible markers and boundaries that etch out each gang's territory. "See the old fence over there? That is their territory, and the other boundary is the dirt road over here," says Lucio Borgas, signalling the stamping grounds of his enemies, the 7-7 gang, who are fighting for control of the Bairo Pite district. By day Borgas is at college, studying public administration, but after hours he is a member of the PSHT. He trains regularly with the gang, practising their special brand of martial arts, which incorporates Portuguese and Indonesian styles of unarmed combat. The groups imply that their training is primarily for recreational purposes, but the bonds go much deeper. In a dangerous city, gang membership offers security. "I joined in Indonesian times for the sport, but there is more," says Borgas. "There is a doctrine we must follow, and we help one another."

Enhanced by the absence of an effective police and judicial system, by corruption, political ambition and tribal or family loyalties, the gangs' power has long been on violent display, notably during 2006, when the country was on the brink of civil war, and during the 2007 election. Few Timorese can forget the images of hundreds of youths battling on Dili's streets with samurai swords, firing rama ambon darts at each other and burning down rivals' houses.

Unable or unwilling to eradicate them, the government has instead recognised many of the gangs as legitimate martial arts groups, which take part in official competitions. But their activities often go well beyond sport. The gangs have political connections and access to weapons; many of their leaders are linked to serious criminal activity. Others foster cult-like beliefs and practices that appear at odds with the country's Catholic tradition; one gang has latched on to an 11-year-old boy whom they represent as the son of Christ, according to media reports.

Scambary says the gangs represent "a huge problem" that is spreading across the country. "Conflict is breaking out all over Dili in about eight areas," he says. "Not all is gang-related, but there seems to be a new rivalry between PSHT and [another gang] Kera Sakti." Scambary warns that if nothing is done, the gangs will become institutionalised, and East Timor will go the way of Papua New Guinea or Indonesia, with gangs ever more closely tied to political parties that use them as rent-a-crowd thugs. "Already, you see leaders from some of the gangs in 2006 have now got business contracts," he says.

In 2007, the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste (UNMIT) set up a task force comprising a wide range of stakeholders including the UN, the local police and military to deal with the gangs. When efforts at mediation failed, the task force raided the headquarters of PSHT, arresting its leader and 47 other members and seizing a variety of home-made weapons.

For the Dili locals who live among these groups, they have become a sometimes dangerous but depressingly normal feature of the country's landscape, now intertwined with the concept of traditional justice and rights, and vigilantism.

The power vacuum

Near Comoro, in the city's west, Father Pankras's Catholic Church stands on the front line between some of the most feared gangs in Dili.  He says the gangs have been empowered by the authorities' failure to enforce the law. This has led to gangs being called in to resolve the many land disputes in the country, to conduct revenge attacks, and to settle family feuds or clan disputes.

"In 2006, some people were killed and it has not been resolved; and families of those that have been killed will take revenge," Pankras says. "In 1999, the Indonesians abandoned a lot of houses when they left. The problem is, people went and occupied the houses and then [during the riots] in 2006, people left their houses and moved to IDP [refugee] camps; when they came back the house was occupied. It's the root of all the problems," he says. "It's very difficult for us to resolve the problems in the community. Today they seem resolved, but tomorrow they are back again."

Pankras says the gangs are allied with significant politicians. "When political leaders have a big argument, this is picked up at the level of the martial arts groups and they fight on their behalf," he says. "I can't say who is paying them to fight, but martial arts groups have the link to the politicians and the politicians have the link to the martial arts groups."

Aniceto Neves, whose NGO works with gang members to try to encourage non-violent resolution of their disputes, agrees. "Right now there is no justice. Who should be responsible for this violence or attack, the police do not find out. They do not arrest anybody. Both sides feel injustice," he says.

He cites a murder where a gang member from PSHT was killed by one from Kera Sakti, but the killing was related to a land dispute in Baucau, on the other side of the country. "They wear the uniform of the martial arts gang to do the killing," he says. "The police don't catch anybody. It's very hard for the UNPOL [UN police] to do these cases, as only the Timorese police know how to get information."

Following the UN police as they patrol through eastern Dili gives a sense of the difficulty of monitoring gang violence. Blue lights flashing, hazard lights on, a small group of four-wheel-drives weaves its way through the darkened streets. Locals smile to see the convoy. "They often do this. There was some trouble, but it was way over there," says a local.

Another afternoon, the gangs return to Aimutin, where da Silva was wounded. According to locals they block the road and the East Timorese police are called. The rapid response unit arrives but, like ghosts, the gangsters melt back into the back alleys and the police walk pointlessly among the silent shacks for about an hour before leaving empty-handed. "No, it is nothing," says one officer, asked if it was gang-related.

His dismissive attitude is explained a few days later, when our photographer arrives to document a PSHT gang martial arts session (pictured above). Dressed all in black to avoid detection by the UN patrols, the gangsters freeze into invisibility as the police car's spotlight sweeps across their training ground. Some of the participants refuse to have their faces photographed. The reason? They are serving police officers.

An UNPOL spokesman says later that police membership of martial arts groups is not an issue as long as the officers follow the local police code of conduct.

As the corrupt links between gangs, politicians and police solidify, the prospect of a peaceful, settled society developing in East Timor seems to recede. When the UN leaves, it will require "a very strong dictator to stop the gangs", says Father Pankras. "If this problem is not dealt with, the people will live in instability and the nation will be unstable." When dictators are seen as the answer, the battle for stability may already be lost.

Cognates, Calques and False Friends - Finding common ground between 4 language in Timor-Leste

Arguidu Na’in Lima ba Kazu Homisidiu iha Same hetan Sentensa Tinan Sanolu Resin Rua iha Prizaun

Tetum Arguidu Na’in Lima ba Kazu Homisidiu iha Same hetan Sentensa Tinan Sanolu Resin Rua iha Prizaun Abril 2010 - Iha loron Tersa Feira, 13/04/10 Tribunal Distrital Suai (TDS) hala’o julgamentu ba kazu krime homisidiu ho numeru prosesu 79 /Crim/TDS/2009. Kazu krime homisidiu ne’e akontese iha tinan 2009 ne’ebé involve arguidu na’in 7 (MRS, CM, LKS, VC, IN, VdL  MZS). Husi arguidu na’in hitu ne’e, arguidu na’in lima deit mak prova duni katak halo  ka komete krime homisidiu hasoru vítima tuir  saida mak haktuir iha  Ministeriu Publiku ninia akuzasaun. Entertantu, ba arguidu na’in rua seluk (MRS no IN) Ministeriu Publiku la bele hatudu evidensia ka provas autentiku ba sira nia involvimentu nune’e tribunal deside hodi absolve sira hosi kondenasaun ba prizaun.  

Julgamentu ba leitura sentensa ne’e hahú iha oras 14:40 ho kompozisaun husi Juizes kolektivu ne’ebé lidera husi Juiz Dr. Joao Paulo Raposo (Juiz Internasional), Ministeriu Publiku reprezenta Reinato Bere Nahak no arguidu sira hetan assistensia no repezentasaun legal hosi Defensor Publiku Marcal Mascarenhas.

Substansia  husi desizaun ne’e deklara katak aktu homisidiu ne’e akontese tanbá arguidu sira deskonfia no la kontente ho vítima VP. Arguidu sira deskomfia katak vítima ne’e hanesan ema buan (uza magia preta hodi halakon ema seluk nia vida) ne’ebé halo homisidiu kontra familia arguidu sira nian. Arguidu halo aktu homisidiu ne’e tanbá konsidera ezistensia husi vítima ne’e perigu ba ema seluk iha Same, fatin ne’ebé vítima no arguido sira domisilia  ba.

Iha deskripsaun desizaun juiz nian ne’e haktuir  katak desizaun tribunal ne’e bazeia ba iha evidensia no depoimentus sira ne’ebé mak produz iha tribunal laran  durante prosesu julgamentu ne’e la’o, tantu depoimentus husi vitima no testemuña sira, nomos deklarasaun husi arguidu sira rasik. Bazeia ba deklarasaun ne’ebé mensiona iha leten tribunal hamonu sentensa ba arguidu na’in lima ne’ebé kada ema ida hetan tinan 12 ba aktu violensia ne’ebé sira halo kontra vítima VP.

Bazeia ba konteudu husi desizaun ne’e, katak aktu ne’ebé arguidu sira komete hanesan   kontra lei hodi halo aktu homisidiu hasoru vítima VP. Tanbá ne’e arguidu sira tenki responsabiliza ba asaun sira bazeia ba Artigu 338 KUHP tanbá sira ho intensaun no hakarak rasik hakarak halakon ema seluk nia vida. Iha desizaun tribunal nian, juiz afirma katak  asaun  arguidu sira la bele justifika   tuir lei nia  tanba deit deskomfia ema ruma nu’udar  buan ka kaer aimoruk aat hodi halakon ema seluk nia vida. Aktu ne’e la bele prova tantu liu hosi aspeitu mediku nomos aspeitu juridiku iha julgamentu tribunal nian katak familia arguidu sira nia mate ne’e  tanba kauza  ne’ebé mai hosi vítima. Tanbá ne’e, bazeia ba Artigu 338  Kodigu Penal Indonesia ninian defini  katak: “Ema ne’ebé ho intensaun no hakarak rasik halakon ema seluk nia vida, tanbá komete aktu homisidiu sei hetan pena prizaun kleur liu tinan sanolu resin lima (15)”

Bazeia ba provizaun artigu refere,Tribunal Distrital Suai hamonu sentensa ba arguidu na’in lima ho pena prizaun tinan 12. JSMP hanoin  katak tribunal pena tinan 12 ne’ebé tribunal hamonu  ba arguidu sira desizaun ida ne’e merese no  realistiku  ba arguidu ida-idak  ne’ebé komete ona krimi homisidiu. Tanbá tuir JSMP aktu kriminal ho razaun saida deit la bele husik hodi kompensa ho ema seluk nia vida inklui iha kazu refere  ne’ebé baziea deit ba senteimentu deskonfia   ne’ebé pratikamente konserteza susar atu bele prova ninia lia-loos. Mesmu sosialmente JSMP mos konsiente katak problema ne’e fenomenal tebes, maibe tantu  husi aspeitu legal no aspeitu mediku la bele justifika iha tribunal nia oin. .Wainhira situasaun sira hanesan ne’e la hare didiak no proporsionalmente sei fo impaktu ba iha arguidu sira tanbá situasaun ne’e  la bele uza hodi halo defeza ba sira nia aan iha tribunal.

JSMP hare katak kna’ar Defensor Publiku iha prosesu desizaun ba kazu homisidiu ne’e la duun halo defeza ne’ebé mak efetivu ba nia kliente. Ne’e bele hare iha tribunal laran wainhira tribunal fo oportunidade atu fo ninia komentariu legal ka ninia defeza ba desizaun tribunal ninian, maibe  Defensor Publiku  nem fo komentariu ida. JSMP hanoin  katak kustume hanesan ne’e sei ofende direitu ema hirak ne’ebé  reprezenta ba. Mesmu depois de prosesu julgamentu  remata,, adogadu deklara katak sei halo rekursu ba desizaun ne’ebé mak konsidera todan liu ba nia kliente.

JSMP apela  atu servisu reprezentasaun ka assistensia legal husi advogado  sira tenki halo ho ativu. Tanbá iha kazu barak ne’ebé JSMP observa  JSMP deskobre  katak sempre iha Defensor Publiku ka Advogadu balun   ne’ebé halao servisu reprezentasaun legal ho maximu ba sira nia kliente. Tanbá JSMP kompriende no konseiente katak kna’ar no involvimentu servisu advokasia la’os deit atu fo defeza ba interese ema balun deit ka ema ida deit, maibe kna’ar Defensor Publiku ka Advogadu Privadu atu ajuda determina sistema administrasaun iha tribunal ne’ebé diak no asegura serteza legal (kepastian hukum) ba komponente nasaun tomak nian, atu realiza no atinzi  estadu de direitu ida ne’ebé ho dignidade iha nasaun ida ne’e.

Atu hetan informasaun kle’an favor kontaktu:

Luis de Oliveira Sampaio Direitór  Ezekutivu JSMP Diresaun  e-mail: luis@jsmp.minihub.org Landline: 3323883
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Indonesia

Lima Orang Terdakwa atas Sebuah Kasus Pembunuhan di Same Divonis Dua Belas  Tahun Penjara

April 2010

Pada hari Selasa, 13/04/10 Pengadilan Distrik Suai mengadakan sidang dengan agenda pembacaan putusan kasus tindak pidana pembunuhan dengan nomor perkara 79 /PEN/ 2009. Kasus pembunuhan ini terjadi pada tahun 2009 yang melibatkan 7 orang terdakwa`(MRS, CM, LKS, VC, IN, VdL  MZS). Ketujuh terdakwa  melakukan tindak pidana pembunuhan terhadap korban (VP). Dari ketujuh orang terdakwa tersebut hanya 5 terdakwa yang terbukti melakukan tindakan pidana pembunhan terhadap korban sebagaimana dituduh oleh Jakwa Penuntut dalam dakwaanya. Sedangkan untuk kedua terdakwa lainnya (MRS dan IN)  Jaksa Penuntut  tidak dapat menghadirkan  bukti-bukti akurat atas mereka  keterlibatan mereka sehingga keduanya dibebaskan.  

Sidang pembacaan putusan ini dimulai Pkl. 14:40  dengan komposisi hakim koletif dengan dipimpin oleh Hakim Dr. João Paulo Raposo (Hakim Internasional), sementara pihak Jaksa Penuntut diwakili oleh Jaksa Reinato Bere Nahak dan para terdakwa didampingi oleh Pengacara Umum  Marcal Mascarenhas.

Isi putusan tersebut menyebutkan bahwa peristiwa pembunuhan itu dilatar-belakangi oleh rasa curiga para terdakwa terhadap korban VP. Para terdakwa mencurigai bahwa korban adalah seorang suangi (pengguna obat atau praktek yang berakibat mematikan orang lain) yang telah membunuh keluarga para terdakwa sebelumnya. Para terdakwa melakukan tindakan pembunuhan tersebut karena menganggap keberadaan korban membahayakan  banyak orang di daerah Same tempat dimana korban tinggal.

Dalam uraian putusan menyebutkan bahwa putusan pengadilan tersebut berdasarkan keterangan dan bukti-bukti lain yang dikumpulkan selama proses persidangan, baik berupa keterangan dari para saksi, maupun keterangan dari para terdakwa sendiri.

Berdasarkan keterangan tersebut di atas pengadilan menjatuhkan vonis hukuman kepada kelima orang terdakwa masing-masing selama 12 tahun penjara, untuk tindakan kejahatan yang mereka lakukan terhadap korban VP.

Berdasarkan isi putusan tersebut, bahwa tindakan para terdakwa merupakan perbuatan yang secara terbuka telah melanggar hukum dengan membunuh korban VP. Karena itu mereka harus mempertanggungjawabkan tindakan mereka berdasarkan  Pasal 338 KUHP Indonesia, karena tindakan para terdakwa dinilai telah memenuhi unsur-unsur kejahatan dalam Pasal 338 KUHP karena mereka dengan sengaja telah menghilangkan nyawa orang.  Dalam putusan pengadilan, hakim juga menegaskan perbuatan para terdakwa  tidak dapat dibenarkan secara hukum bahwa ada dugaan seseorang sebagai suangi yang dapat menghilangkan nyawa orang lain. Hal ini tidak dapat dibuktikan secara medis maupun secara hukum dihadapan pengadilan bahwa kematian keluarga para terdakwa  dilakukan oleh korban (VP). Oleh karena itu, dengan mengacu kepada  Pasal 338 KUHP Indonesia yang menyebutkan bahwa:   “Barangsiapa dengan sengaja  menghilangkan nyawa orang, karena pembunuhan biasa dipidana dengan pidana penjara selama-lamanya lima belas tahun penjara.

Berdasarkan ketentuan pasal tersebut di atas Pengadilan Distrital Suai menjatuhkan vonis 12 tahun penjara bagi kelima orang terdakwa. JSMP Menilai Pengadilan Menjatuhkan hukuman 12 merupakan keputusan yang tepat dan tegas terhadap setiap pelaku pembuhuhan. Karena menurut JSMP kejahatan dengan alasan apapun juga tidak bisa dibenarkan untuk dikompensasi dengan nyawa orang lain. termasuk dalam kasus ini yang dilandasi oleh dugaan yang tentu saja sangat sulit dibuktikan kebenarannya. Walaupun, secara sosial JSMP juga menyadari bahwa persoalan ini sangat fenomenal, namun baik secara hukum maupun secara medis hal ini tidak dapat dibuktikan secara akurat di hadapan pengadilan. Jika situasi ini tidak dicermati secara proporsional akan merugikan pihak para terdakwa karena hal ini tidak bisa digunakan untuk membela diri di Pengadilan.

JSMP melihat bahwa Peranan Pengacara Umum dalam proses putusan kasus pembunuhan ini justru tidak melakukan upaya pembelaan secara efektif bagi klienya. Hal ini dapat dilihat pada saat pengadilan memberikan kesempatan untuk memberikan komentar dan tanggapan atas putusan pengadilan, justru Pengacara tidak memberikan komentar apapun. JSMP menilai bahwa  kebiasaan seperti ini  akan sangat merugikan pihak yang diwakilinya. Meskipun kemudian setelah proses persidangan selesai pembela mengatakan akan melakukan banding terhadap putusan pengadilan yang mana menurut pembela terlalu berat bagi para klienya.

JSMP Menghimbau agar upaya pendampingan dan pembelaan hukum harus dilakukan oleh para pengacara secara aktif. Karena dalam kebanyakan kasus, JSMP mengamati terdapat pengacara/pembela tertentu yang tidak secara efektif dan aktif memberikan  pendampingan dan pembela hukum secara maksimal. Sebab JSMP memahami dan memaklumi bahwa peranan dan keterlibatan seorang pengacara tidak hanya untuk membela kepentingan seorang atau beberapa orang terdakwa, melainkan peranan pengacara juga sangat menentukan sebuah administrasi pengadilan yang baik dan menjamin kepastian hukum bagi segenap komponen bangsa demi terwjudnya sebuah tatanan Negara hukum yang berwibawa.

Untuk informasi selanjutnya hubungi: Luis de Oliveira Sampaio Direktur Eksekutif JSMP Alamat e-mail: luis@jsmp.minihub.org Landline: 3323883