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| General Taur Matan Ruak, Commander of F-FDTL |
The agenda for the meeting was about security issues before the end of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) next year.
UNMIT will hand over security responsibility to the Timorese National Police (PNTL) and the F-FDTL.
"The current security situation in the country is normal," General Ruak said.
In regard to the recruitment of F-FDTL's new soldiers, Ruak said it is free for all the young Timorese to compete in the process of recruitment and said they will not treat them differently when selecting their documents.
4 comments:
"The current security situation in the country is normal," General Ruak said.
Of course TMR would say that. But he also knows the truth: normal does not mean good!
Tensions within F-FDTL remain unresolved, and a WORKABLE land law has not been FIVE years after the crisis.
So the truth is that Ti-Les is still on the edge of the cliff, no thanks to the AMP government.
On another issue: why is Alkatiri shy to announce if he wants to become prime minister (for a second time) in 2012?
The same tired three men of yesterday (MA, XG and JRH) remain at the top of politics in T-Les!
Well, East-Timor is a free country. If you are capable of replacing those three men than put yourself forward, of course assuming that you are a Timorese or of a passport holder otherwise you should stay out of timorese affairs.
"Well, East-Timor is a free country"
Yes - free for politicians to become rich with corruption but without accountability.
Yes - free to accept millions of donor dollars but continue corrupt government.
Yes - free for politicians to 'spit in the face' and ignore poor rural Timorese and NGOs.
What sort of a free society is that??
I agree with Anonymous 1. The whole world knows that Taur Matan Ruak played a central role in the 2006 illegal weapons distribution that fed the 2006 crisis. Go see UN Recommended prosecution of East Timor Defence Force Chief Taur Matan Ruak in 2006 at http://easttimorlegal.blogspot.com/2008/10/un-recommended-prosecution-of-east.html.
The following are extracts from the Report of the United Nations Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste. Numbers are paragraph numbers of the report.
134. F-FDTL weapons. The evidence relating to the unlawful movement, possession and use of F-FDTL weapons is described in paragraphs 95 and 96 and demonstrates that those weapons were distributed by and/or with the knowledge and approval of the following persons: Roque Rodrigues, Taur Matan Ruak, Tito da Costa Cristovao, aka Lere Anan Timor, Manuel Freitas, aka Mau Buti, and Domingos Raul, aka Rate Laek Falur. The Commission recommends that these persons be prosecuted for illegal weapons transfer.
147. The transfer of F-FDTL weapons is described in paragraphs 95 to 96 above. The Commission concludes that in arming civilians, the Minister and the Chief of the Defence Force acted without lawful authority and created a situation of significant potential danger. This danger was realized in the Mercado Lama incident described in paragraph 87.
Armed confrontation of 25 May between F-FDTL and PNTL
148. By 25 May the F-FDTL command considered that F-FDTL was subject to a campaign of attack by PNTL. They responded militarily. The armed confrontation on 25 May must be viewed against the background of a lack of coordination and communication between PNTL and F-FDTL. However, it is apparent also that limited steps were taken by the F-FDTL command to verify the extent of the threat posed or to use non-military channels to resolve the perceived threat. On 25 May the F-FDTL High Command did not attempt in the event to contact those in operational command of PNTL or to engage the Prime Minister or President in resolving the situation. The Commission is of the view that it was the duty of the Chief of the Defence Force to exhaust all avenues either to prevent or stop the confrontation with PNTL.
So Taur Matan Ruak's hands - as well as those of other senior leaders of F-FDTL, are far from clean and they have never been held accountable for that.
So anonymous 2, it is everybody's business whether or not this man has integrity - particularly since it falls on the shoulders of the international community to restore and maintain the civil peace in Timor after the institution of which he is head was unable to maintain discipline and its proper place in a modern democracy; thus contributing to the disintegration of the rule of law in 2006. There are also numerous instances of violations of human rights by East Timor Defence Force soldiers.
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