25 May 2012

From unlikely undercover agent to East Timor's first lady

The Christian Science Monitor -
Australian Kirsty Sword Gusmao played a key role in the resistance movement in the 1990s. Today, as first lady of East Timor, she advocates for women's rights.

By Kate Hodal, Contributor / May 23, 2012


DILI, EAST TIMOR

Young, blonde, and Australian, she was an unlikely undercover agent for an unlikely cause: a far-flung province on a Southeast Asian island that had been in a bloody fight for independence for more than two decades.


Most of her colleagues were either guerrilla soldiers fighting Indonesian troops in the jungle-thicketed hills of their native East Timor, or resistance leaders serving life sentences in prison in Jakarta.

From her apartment in the Indonesian capital, however, Kirsty Sword Gusmao – who worked as a human rights activist by day and as Ruby Blade, her nom-de-guerre, by night – was a key element in the eventual success of the underground Timorese movement that become the cause-célèbre among Western outsiders in the mid-1990s on the heels of a bloody massacre.

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Working as a courier shuttling correspondence between guerrillas, Ms. Sword Gusmao also facilitated asylum applications, lobbied for international media coverage, and acted as personal secretary to the leader of the resistance, Jose Alexandre “Xanana” Gusmao, who was serving a life term in Cipinang prison in Jakarta.

“Most evenings, I would have Timorese knocking on my door," Sword Gusmao explains from the home she shares with her now-husband Xanana and their three boys in Dili, East Timor's dusty, village-like capital of roughly 250,000 that overlooks a turquoise bay framed by palm-fringed hills.

"They were either in trouble or the military was coming after them, or they needed help getting out of the country, or a human rights report that needed translating and safely e-mailed out of the country.”

Her relationship with Xanana began as furtively as her work in the resistance. Smuggling in English grammar lessons and document translations to his Jakarta prison cell, Sword Gusmao also managed to smuggle in video cameras, laptops, and cellphones – materials that greatly helped Xanana’s capacity to undermine Indonesia’s hold over East Timor.

Xanana was released from prison in 1999 and, after serving as the country's first president in 2002, was elected prime minister in 2007.

“Kirsty has greatly understood my personal limitations and obligations, and without her, my life would have been very difficult,” says Xanana today from his office in the colonnaded Government Palace.

The new struggle

It has been 10 years since East Timor finally declared independence from Indonesia after a UN -brokered peace deal three years earlier. Sword Gusmao has transitioned from helping the nation fight for independence to fighting for women’s rights – keeping with her the resistance movement’s motto “a luta continua” (the struggle goes on).

Through the Alola Foundation, a women’s empowerment organization that she founded in 2001, Sword Gusmao has lobbied for greater gender equality by establishing literacy, advocacy, economic development, and maternal and children’s health programs. One of the foundation’s greatest successes, she says, has been helping to secure a 2010 law criminalizing domestic violence.

While considerable improvements have been made since independence, the challenges still facing this nation of 1.1 million are vast. Only 2 in 5 homes have electricity, more than 40 percent of the country lives on less than $1 a day, youth unemployment is a staggeringly high 70 percent, and domestic violence is rampant, affecting nearly one-third of women older than 15, according to government statistics. More than 1 in 2 women suffer from domestic abuse in the capital alone.


“The law is a great step forward and awareness among the public has greatly improved that domestic violence is a crime – and a barrier to development, and to women’s health and well-being,” Sword Gusmao says. “But we still have a long way to go in terms of providing our law-enforcement agencies with the tools to be able deal with it adequately, and we need more and better women’s shelters, and legal and other services for women who have survived domestic violence.”

Come a long way

Activists point to a long and brutal history of colonization as one reason for the violence and trauma that still scar Timorese society.

After nearly 500 years of Portuguese rule, East Timor became an independent state in 1975, only to be bloodily annexed one week later by Indonesia. During the 24-year takeover, one-third of the Timorese population died from famine, violence, and disease.

Uprisings were routinely stamped out, demonstrators forcibly disappeared and the tortured, headless bodies of activists dumped around villages served as macabre threats to those hoping to for an end to foreign rule.

The mass shooting of at least 250 pro-democracy demonstrators in the capital in 1991 thrust the country into world view and helped its fight for self-rule become an international cause.

When East Timor finally voted for independence in a 1999 referendum, Indonesian troops ransacked the country, destroying essential documents, burning down private homes and public buildings, and sending thousands of Timorese into the relative safety of the hills. “The country was smoldering. The population was traumatized,” Sword Gusmao sighs. “Rebuilding from scratch has been no easy task.”

New documentary on Sword Gusmao

“Behind her gentle façade, she has a steely determination,” says British documentary filmmaker Peter Gordon, who hired Sword Gusmao in East Timor as a researcher for a 1991 Yorkshire Television documentary on the country. He says that at the time, “everywhere we filmed, [Sword Gusmao] seemed to embrace and be embraced by all those she had contact with.”

Despite being the subject of two new films – Peter Gordon’s second documentary on East Timor, "Bloodshot: The Dreams and Nightmares of East Timor," and the feature documentary "Alias Ruby Blade" – Sword Gusmao plays down her contribution.

“A lot of people think what I did was terribly dangerous and terribly intriguing, but really it’s what you do when you’re a human rights activist, you’ve got a conscience and you’re able to do something.”

Not all her work has been free of controversy: She’s recently come under fire for spearheading a pilot education program for children during an election year for her husband.

Sword Gusmao is hopeful for the future, pointing to legislation requiring one-third of all seats in parliament to be reserved for women, improvements in maternal and children’s health, and great reductions in infant mortality rates.

“Expectations have been huge, not just among ordinary citizens but policymakers and leaders of the country as well – everyone has been impatient for change to come,” she says. “But I think what we have managed to achieve is commendable and a cause for celebration.”


http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2012/0523/From-unlikely-undercover-agent-to-East-Timor-s-first-lady

Victims of Independence

May 25, 2012 - The 25th of May 2012 marks the 6th Anniversary of the conflict between the F-FDTL & PNTL at their HQ in which many people on both sides were killed. Those killed on that tragic day as well as all the men and women that have lost their lives in violent circumstances should be remembered and honoured. Like the veterans, Fundasaun Mahein (FM) hopes that the families of those deceased that day have also been receiving state pensions for their tragic loss.

Last week, FM released a short article that reflected on the 10 years of independence. Timorese should rightly be proud of their accomplishments since 1999. Timorese should also correctly remember the sacrifices made by the victims and their families during the civil war that we fought against each other in 1975. Timorese should equally remember the sacrifices made by the victims and their families during the conflict we had with our neighbour Indonesia.

We have now celebrated the 10th anniversary of our restoration of independence and have been able to think about how far we have come. However are we not forgetting something? We speak of the victims of the conflicts between 1975 and 1999 but are we not forgetting the victims of Independence? Those victims of violence since independence are often overlooked.

Victims of violence since independence include the following:

• The martial arts fighting in Maliana Market in 2001
• Community violence in Quilecai in 2001
• The Baucau protest of November 2002
• The Dili riot of December 2002
• The militia attacks in Atsabe and Atabae in 2003
• Community violence in Uatulari in 2007
• 2006-2008 crisis
• Individuals killed by rogue police officers and soldiers in various places (ie Kuka, Laivai)
• Various martial arts clashes in Dili and the districts
• 2012 presidential election violence
• More community violence in Uatulari during the country’s commemoration of restoration of Independence Day on May 20th resulting in one death and 5 houses burnt. On this latest tragedy,
FM asks what strategies does the F-FDTL & PNTL, permanently stationed in the area, as well our leaders in Dili have to break the cycle of violence that has plagued the community of Uatulari?

Let us not forget the victims of our independence, who gave their lives during the growing pains that marked the early days of our struggle to build the nation that our friends and family died for during the occupation.

http://www.fundasaunmahein.org/2012/05/25/victims-of-independence/

CNE publicizes list of candidates for parliamentary election

Radio Timor-Leste, May 23, 2012 language source: Tetun - National Election Commission (CNE) has officially publicised the list of the
political parties’ candidates and coalition parties which will compete in the parliamentary election, CNE Commissioner Arif Abdullah Sagran said.

The publication of the lists was made after going through two-day verification of the lists by CNE, he said. Mr. Sagran said they were waiting for any claims from the political parties, but if there were no claims, publication would be considered legal and was valid. There are 18 political parties and three coalition parties will compete in the legislative election that will be held on July 7.

Amnesty International Annual Report 2012 - Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste

Head of state
José Manuel Ramos-Horta

Head of government
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão

Death penalty
abolitionist for all crimes

Population
1.2 million

Life expectancy
62.5 years

Under-5 mortality
56.4 per 1,000

Adult literacy
50.6 per cent

Perpetrators of gross human rights violations committed during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975-1999) remained at large. There were reports of human rights violations, including ill-treatment, by security forces. Levels of domestic violence remained high.


Background

In February, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste by another year. That same month, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances visited Timor-Leste. In October, the country’s human rights record was assessed under the UN Universal Periodic Review. Several states noted that perpetrators of human rights violations had gone unpunished. Timor-Leste agreed to consider calls from five states to implement recommendations made by the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR).



Impunity

Impunity for human rights violations persisted despite ongoing investigations by the Serious Crimes Investigation Team. Victims, their families and Timorese NGOs continued to call for justice for human rights violations committed by Indonesian security forces between 1975 and 1999. Nevertheless, the government continued to promote reconciliation with Indonesia at the expense of justice. The majority of those accused of human rights violations were believed to be at large in Indonesia.
In July, Valentim Lavio, a former Besi Merah Putih militia member, was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by the Dili District Court. He was charged with murder as a crime against humanity committed in the aftermath of the 1999 independence referendum. His appeal was rejected on 26 September. However, by the end of the year the authorities confirmed that he was still free and had fled to Indonesia.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the Provedor (Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice) and the Indonesian Human Rights Commission on the implementation of recommendations of the CAVR and the joint Indonesia-Timor-Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) lapsed in January and was renewed in November. No progress was reported (see Indonesia entry).

A debate on two draft laws establishing a National Reparations Programme and an “Institute for Memory”, mandated to implement recommendations of the CAVR and CTF, had yet to take place by the end of the year after parliament postponed it in February.


Police and security forces

In March, the UN handed full responsibility for police operations in the country to the Timor-Leste National Police Force. There were reports of human rights violations, including ill-treatment, committed by police and military officers.



Violence against women and girls

Domestic violence cases were prosecuted in the courts, as per the 2010 Law Against Domestic Violence. However, levels of such violence remained high, and some cases continued to be resolved through traditional justice mechanisms which restricted access to justice for victims.



Country Reports

Timor-Leste: Justice delayed, justice denied – Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, October 2011


Country Visits

Amnesty International delegates visited Timor-Leste in February and November.

USGov: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 - Timor-Leste

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor


Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011

Timor-Leste

To link directly to this report, use: http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?dynamic_load_id=186312


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Timor-Leste is a multiparty parliamentary republic. President Jose Ramos-Horta was head of state. Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao headed a five-party coalition government formed following free and fair elections in 2007. National security forces reported to civilian authorities, but there were some problems with discipline and accountability.

Principal human rights problems included police use of excessive force during arrest and abuse of authority; arbitrary arrest and detention; and an inefficient and understaffed judiciary that deprived citizens of due process and an expeditious and fair trial.

Other human rights problems included gender-based violence, violence against children including sexual assault, corruption, uneven access to civil and criminal justice, warrantless search and arrest, and poor prison conditions.

The government took concrete steps to prosecute members of the security services who used excessive force or inappropriately treated detainees. However, public perceptions of impunity persisted.

Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:




a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

There were no politically motivated killings by the government or its agents during the year; however, on May 14, a Falintil Defense Forces (F-FDTL) soldier beat an elderly woman to death for engaging in witchcraft. The soldier was convicted of murder and was dismissed from the F-FDTL following a disciplinary process.

The investigation into the 2010 case of F-FDTL soldiers who beat a civilian to death in Laivai, Lautem, remained ongoing.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The law prohibits such practices, and the government generally respected the prohibition against torture; however, there were incidents of cruel or degrading treatment of civilians by police and military personnel. Parliamentarians, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), and the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice received complaints about the use of excessive force by security forces. Most involved beatings, use of excessive force during incident response or arrest, threats made at gunpoint, and intimidation.

In August, members of the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) were accused of beating a woman in their custody in the district of Baucau. The PNTL denied the accusation, but an official investigation opened by the Ministry of Justice continued at year's end.

In 2010 the police detained individuals who were alleged members of the Popular Council for the Defense of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (CPD-RDTL), as part of a larger operation against “ninjas” in the Bobonaro and Covalima Districts. Accusations that some of the detained were beaten were not investigated.

Prison and Detention Center Conditions

Prison conditions generally met international standards. Despite some improvements in 2010 and 2011 with regard to access to food and potable water, police station detention cells generally did not comply with international standards and lacked sanitation facilities and bedding.

The authorities ran two prisons, located in Dili (Becora) and Gleno. Together the two prisons held 260 individuals and had an estimated capacity of 420 inmates. About half of the inmates were pretrial detainees charged with homicide, robbery, or sexual assault. Eight of the prisoners were women, and 17 were juveniles. Although there were no separate facilities for women and youth offenders, all female inmates were housed in a separate block of the Gleno prison. Conditions were the same for male and female prisoners. Alternative sentences for nonviolent offenders were not available.

Prisoners and detainees had reasonable access to visitors and were permitted religious observance. Authorities permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities without censorship and to request investigation of credible allegations of inhumane conditions. Authorities investigated credible allegations of inhumane conditions; the results of such investigations were shared with NGOs and the UN. The government investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions.

UNMIT and NGO personnel noted allegations of mistreatment of prisoners by prison guards during the first 72 hours of imprisonment and a lack of special facilities for the mentally ill, who consequently were detained with other prisoners.

The government permitted prison visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross and independent human rights observers. The Ombudsman's Office was able to conduct detainee monitoring in Dili. It was not clear whether an ombudsman could serve on behalf of prisoners and detainees more broadly, could address the status of juvenile offenders, or could improve pretrial detention, bail, and recordkeeping procedures.

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

The law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, there were many instances in which these provisions were violated, often because magistrates or judges were unavailable to issue warrants or make determinations on detentions.

Role of the Police and Security Apparatus

The law designates the PNTL as the body with responsibility for law enforcement and maintenance of order within the country. The Border Police Unit, Immigration Unit, and Maritime Police Unit of the PNTL also have some responsibility for external security as it relates to the border, in coordination with the F-FDTL. By law, the F-FDTL has no role in internal security unless specifically requested and approved by the government, the president, and parliament but it may be used to support the police in joint operations. In practice, the roles and relationship between the PNTL and F-FDTL were still evolving. The prime minister also serves as minister of defense and security. Civilian secretaries of state for security and defense oversaw the PNTL and F-FDTL, respectively. The president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, but the chief of defense, the F-FDTL's senior military officer, exercised effective day-to-day command. The police commissioner handles the day-to-day operations of the PNTL and answers to the secretary of state for security.

The PNTL, with UNMIT assistance, continued efforts to reform, restructure, and rebuild in the wake of its collapse during the political crisis of 2006. During the year UNMIT returned executive policing authority to the PNTL after UNMIT determined the PNTL demonstrated the ability to perform policy responsibilities adequately in the remaining three districts under UNMIT authority. More than 460 International Stabilization Force personnel from Australia and New Zealand supported the police and security forces.

When UNMIT returned executive policing authority to the PNTL in March, 199 officers had not been screened for integrity and past crimes or misbehavior. Following the handover, the Office of the Secretary of State for Security completed its review of these officers, with criminal and/or disciplinary action recommended against 121 officers. At year’s end the cases were still pending referral to the Office of the Prosecutor-General or further internal disciplinary investigation.

In spite of improvements, the PNTL remained poorly equipped and undertrained, subject to numerous credible allegations of abuse of authority, mishandling of firearms, and corruption. During the year an opposition parliamentarian and an international NGO continued earlier criticism of the emphasis on a paramilitary style of policing, which includes highly armed special units and does not sufficiently delineate between the military and the police.

Efforts were made to strengthen the PNTL's internal accountability mechanisms. At year's end the Professional Standards and Discipline Office (PSDO) had only 67 cases, down from 456 cases the previous year. At the district level there were serious obstacles to the functioning of the PSDO. PSDO officers were appointed by, and reported to, the PNTL district commander. Persons with complaints about police behavior experienced obstacles when attempting to report violations including repeated requests to return at a later date or to submit their complaint in writing. The Organic Police Law promulgated in 2009 does not provide for guaranteed participation from the civilian sector in police oversight.

Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention

The law requires judicial warrants prior to arrests or searches, except in exceptional circumstances; however, this provision was often violated. The extreme shortage of prosecutors and judges outside of the capital contributed to police inability to obtain required warrants.

Government regulations require a hearing within 72 hours of arrest to review the lawfulness of an arrest or detention and to provide the right to a trial without undue delay. During these hearings the judge may also determine whether the suspect should be released because evidence is lacking or because the suspect is not considered a flight risk. The countrywide shortage of magistrates meant that police often made decisions without legal authority as to whether persons arrested should be released or detained after 72 hours in custody. This contributed to an atmosphere of lawlessness and impunity. Judges may set terms for conditional release, usually requiring the suspect to post some sort of collateralized bail (whether financial or property based) and to report regularly to police.

The law provides for access to legal representation at all stages of the proceedings, and provisions exist for providing public defenders to indigent defendants at no cost. Public defenders were in short supply. Most were concentrated in Dili and Baucau, with other areas lacking the same level of access. Many indigent defendants relied on lawyers provided by legal aid organizations. A number of defendants who were assigned public defenders reported that they never saw their lawyer, and there were concerns that some low priority cases were delayed indefinitely while suspects remained in pretrial detention. Detainees were not held incommunicado, and when lawyers were available they did not have issues accessing their clients.

Pretrial Detention: Pretrial detainees comprised approximately 50 percent of the total prison population. Trial delays were most frequently caused by judicial inefficiency and staff shortages. In many cases the length of pretrial detention equaled or exceeded the length of the sentence upon conviction. The pretrial detention limit of six months and the requirement that such detentions be reviewed every 30 days need not apply in cases involving certain serious crimes. The 30-day review deadline was also missed in a large number of cases involving less serious crimes, exacerbating the pretrial detention problem.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The law provides that judges shall perform their duties “independently and impartially without improper influence” and requires public prosecutors to discharge their duties impartially; however, judicial independence did not exist in practice. Access to justice was constrained by a wide array of challenges in the judicial system, including: concerns about the impartiality of some judicial organs, a severe shortage of qualified personnel, a complex legal regime and a legal regime that is based on different legal sources, including Portuguese-era, Indonesian-era, and interim UN administration-era law and regulation in addition to laws enacted since independence. A major challenge is the fact that laws were written and courts operated in Portuguese, a language not spoken by the majority of the population.

Trial Procedures

Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, trials are before judges, and defendants do not have a right to trial by jury. Defendants have the right to consult an attorney, and the government provides attorneys to indigent defendants. Defendants can confront hostile witnesses and present other witnesses and evidence; however, immediate family members cannot be compelled to testify. Defendants and their attorneys have access to government-held evidence and have a right of appeal to higher courts.

Political Prisoners and Detainees

There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.

Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies

Civil judicial procedures were beset by the same problems encountered by the judicial system as a whole. The Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice can sue government agencies/agents for alleged human rights abuses; however, the ombudsman's approach has been to refer allegations of abuse to the prosecutor general or the leadership of the PNTL or F-FDTL.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice.

A 2003 land law broadly defines what property belongs to the government and was criticized as disregarding many private claims. Some residents of land defined as public property were evicted during the year, and many of those evictions were criticized by some local human rights groups.

Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:



a. Freedom of Speech and Press



Status of Freedom of Speech and Press

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.

Freedom of Press: The independent media were active and expressed a wide variety of views without restrictions.

Violence and Harassment: In June 2010, PNTL officers at the Government Palace beat a journalist from Diario Nacional. The journalist later withdrew his complaint, so no investigation was conducted.

Internet Freedom

There were no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms. Individuals and groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail.

Academic Freedom and Cultural Events

The government generally did not restrict academic freedom or cultural events. Academic research on Tetum and other indigenous languages must be approved by the National Language Institute.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The law provides for freedom of assembly and association, and the government generally respected these rights in practice.

Freedom of Assembly

The law on assembly and demonstrations establishes guidelines on obtaining permits to hold demonstrations, requires police be notified four days in advance of any demonstration or strike, and establishes set-back requirements at some buildings. However, in practice demonstrations were allowed to take place without the requisite advance notification, and the set-back requirement was rarely observed.

Freedom of Association

The constitution provides for freedom of association, and the government generally respected this right in practice. However, in 2010 there were accusations that during the anti-”ninja” activities, the PNTL intimidated members of CPD-RDTL, trying to force their resignations from the organization.

c. Freedom of Religion

See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at www.state.gov/j/drl/irf/rpt/.

d. Freedom of Movement, Internally Displaced Persons, Protection of Refugees, and Stateless Persons

The law provides for freedom of movement within the country, foreign travel, emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these rights in practice. The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in providing protection and assistance to internally displaced persons, refugees, returning refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons, and other persons of concern.

Travel by road to the western enclave of Oecussi required visas and lengthy stops at Timorese and Indonesian checkpoints at the border crossings.

Protection of Refugees

Access to Asylum: The laws provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status, and the government has established a system for providing protection to refugees. The government granted refugee status; however, there were concerns that the country's regulations governing asylum and refugee status may preclude genuine refugees from proving their eligibility for such status. For example, persons who wish to apply for asylum have only 72 hours to do so after entry into the country. Foreign nationals already present in the country have only 72 hours to initiate the process after the situation in their home country becomes too dangerous for them to return safely. A number of human rights and refugee advocates maintained that this time limit contravened the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. These advocates also expressed concern that no written explanation is required when an asylum application is denied.

Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government

The law provides citizens the right to change their government peacefully. Citizens exercised this right in practice through periodic, free, and fair elections based on universal suffrage.

Elections and Political Participation

Recent Elections: The president and parliament were separately elected to five-year mandates in generally free and fair national elections in 2007. The government headed by Prime Minister Gusmao is a five-party coalition controlling 37 seats in the 65-seat parliament.

Participation of Women and Minorities: There were 19 women in parliament. Women held three senior ministerial positions--finance, justice, and social solidarity--one vice-minister position, and one secretary of state position. In May, the president approved changes to the election law that included a provision requiring that women make up at least one third of the candidates on each political party's list for parliamentary elections.

The country's small ethnic minority groups were well integrated into society. The number of members of these groups in parliament and other government positions was uncertain.

Section 4. Official Corruption and Government Transparency

The law provides for criminal penalties for official corruption; however, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. By law the Anticorruption Commission is charged with leading national anti-corruption activities and has the authority to refer cases for prosecution. The Anti-corruption Commission was established in 2010, taking responsibility for corruption cases from the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice.

The Anti-Corruption Commission transferred to the Prosecutor General's Office several high-profile corruption cases, including accusations against two cabinet ministers. Charges were pending in both cases.

There were accusations of police corruption in the country. Some of the accusations involved bribes accepted by the border police along the extensive land borders with Indonesia, and bribes accepted by police from brothels that engaged in trafficking in persons.

The country does not have financial disclosure laws. In 2009 Prime Minister Gusmao demanded that all cabinet officials in his government complete financial disclosure documents, but during the year only the vice foreign minister completed the disclosure.

The law stipulates that all legislation, Supreme Court decisions (when the court is established), and decisions made by government bodies must be published in the official gazette. If not published, they are null and void. Regulations also provide for public access to court proceedings and decisions and the national budget and accounts. In practice there were concerns that public access to information was constrained. For example, the official gazette was published only in Portuguese, although the law requires publication in Tetum as well.

Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

A wide variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials usually cooperated with these organizations, but during the year there were instances of security authorities preventing or resisting efforts to monitor human rights compliance.

Government Human Rights Bodies: The independent Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice is responsible for the promotion of human rights and good governance and has its own budget and dedicated staff. It has the power to investigate and monitor human rights abuses and governance standards, and to make recommendations to the relevant authorities. The Ombudsman's Office was located in Dili, with satellite offices in Same, Bobonaro, Oecussi, and Baucau. It had limited ability to conduct outreach or activities in other districts. The Human Rights Monitoring Network, made up of ten NGOs, closely cooperated with the ombudsman. There were no reports of government interference in Ombudsman activities.

Based on recommendations from the Indonesia-Timor-Leste Commission on Truth and Friendship (CTF), parliament debated a national reparations program and creation of an “Institute for Memory” during the year, but at year's end no legislation implementing the CTF recommendations had been passed.

Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons

Government regulations prohibit all forms of discrimination. Nonetheless, violence against women was a problem, and discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, and members of minority groups occurred.

Women

Rape and Domestic Violence: Gender-based violence remained a serious concern. Although rape is a crime, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, failures to investigate or prosecute cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse were common, as were long delays. Authorities reported that the backlog of court cases led some communities to address rape accusations through traditional law, which does not always provide justice to victims. The definition of rape under the penal code appears broad enough to make spousal rape a crime, although that definition had not been tested in the courts. An UNMIT report released in September described a lack of accountability in the cases of nine women with disabilities who were raped during the year. The UNMIT report suggested the women were targeted for attack because of their disability.

In May 2010, parliament passed the Law against Domestic Violence. The law was enacted to provide protection and defense to vulnerable groups including women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities, against all forms of violence, exploitation, discrimination, abandonment, oppression, sexual abuse, and mistreatment. During the year, the authorities received 210 reports of domestic abuse. The Ministry of Justice was investigating 81 cases, the police were investigating 16 cases, the court was processing 20 cases and two people were convicted of domestic abuse.

Domestic violence against women was a significant problem, often exacerbated by the reluctance of authorities to respond aggressively. Cases of domestic violence and sexual crimes generally were handled by the PNTL's Vulnerable Persons Units (VPUs). Women's organizations assessed VPU performance as variable: Some officials actively pursued cases and others preferred to handle them through mediation or as private family matters. VPU operations were severely constrained by lack of support and resources. Police at times came under pressure from community members to ignore cases of domestic violence or sexual abuse. The new PNTL disciplinary code allows the PNTL to impose disciplinary sanctions on police who commit domestic violence in their own homes. The government actively promoted awareness campaigns to combat violence against women, including rape.

Sexual Harassment: No law prohibits sexual harassment, which was reportedly widespread, particularly within some government ministries and the police.

Reproductive Rights: The government recognized the right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, and violence. Women's access to family planning information, education, and supplies was limited principally by economic considerations. Contraceptive use was low, although the Ministry of Health and NGOs promoted both natural and modern family planning methods, including the distribution of intrauterine devices, injectable contraceptives, and condoms. The results of a demographic and health survey released in 2010 indicated significant improvements in mortality rates, but adult women continued to suffer from higher mortality than men, and 42 percent of such deaths were associated with pregnancy and childbirth. According to 2010 estimates by the UN Population Fund, the maternal mortality rate in the country was 370 deaths per 100,000 live births. Thirty percent of women had skilled attendance during childbirth, 61 percent of mothers received antenatal care from a medical professional, and only 32 percent of mothers received postpartum care. Women and men had equal access to diagnostic and treatment services for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. An UNMIT report released in September described a woman with disabilities who was sterilized without consent after giving birth.

Discrimination: Some customary practices discriminate against women. For example, in some regions or villages where traditional practices hold sway, women may not inherit or own property. Traditional cultural practices such as payment of a bride price also occurred. Women were also disadvantaged in pursuing job opportunities at the village level.

The constitution guarantees equal rights to own property, but in practice traditional inheritance systems tended to exclude women from land ownership. Parliament debated a national land law, which included more specific rights for women's ownership of land, but at year's end no land law legislation had passed.

The secretary of state for the promotion of equality in the Prime Minister's Office is responsible for the promotion of gender equality. UNMIT's Gender Affairs Unit also monitored discrimination against women. Women's NGOs worked under an umbrella organization called Rede Feto (Women's Network). Rede Feto coordinated the work of NGOs working on women's issues and provided input to draft legislation on women's issues, such as the recent Law on Domestic Violence. The secretary of state for the promotion of equality and the advisor to the prime minister for civil society coordinated and supported the work of Rede Feto.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity and women's organizations offered some assistance to female victims of violence, including shelters for victims of domestic violence and incest, a safe room at the national hospital for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and escorts to judicial proceedings.

Children

Birth Registration: Children acquire citizenship both through birth within the territory of the country and by having a citizen parent. A Central Civil Registry registers a child's name at birth and issues birth certificates. The rate of birth registration was low.

Education: The constitution stipulates that primary education shall be compulsory and free. Legislation has been adopted requiring compulsory education until 14 years of age; however, no system has been established to enforce compulsory education, nor has a system been established to ensure provision of free education. According to UN statistics, approximately 20 percent of primary-school-age children nationwide were not enrolled in school; the figures for rural areas were substantially higher than those for urban areas. In the aggregate, male children were more likely to attend school than were female children.

Child Abuse: In rural areas heavily indebted parents sometimes provided their children as indentured servants as a way to settle the debt. If the child was a girl, the receiving family could also demand any dowry payment normally owed to the girl's parents.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: There is no clearly defined age below which sex is by definition nonconsensual. Violence against children and child sexual assault were significant problems. Some commercial sexual exploitation of minors occurred. The penal code describes a vulnerable victim for purposes of rape as a “victim aged less than 17 years” and provides an aggravated sentence. The penal code separately addresses “sexual abuse of a minor,” which is described as one “age less than 14 years,” and also separately addresses “sexual acts with an adolescent,” which it defines as “a minor aged between 14 and 16 years.” The penal code also makes both child prostitution and child pornography crimes and defines a “child” for purposes of those provisions as a “minor aged less than 17 years.” The penal code also criminalizes abduction of a minor, although it does not define what constitutes a minor for purposes of that section.

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Anti-Semitism

There was no indigenous Jewish population, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts.

Trafficking in Persons

See the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.

Persons with Disabilities

Although the constitution protects the rights of persons with disabilities, the government has not enacted legislation or otherwise mandated accessibility to buildings for persons with disabilities, nor does the law prohibit discrimination against persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities. There were no reports of discrimination against persons with disabilities in employment, education, or the provision of other state services; however, in many districts children with disabilities were unable to attend school due to accessibility problems.

Training and vocational initiatives did not address the needs of persons with disabilities. In the past some persons with mental disabilities faced discriminatory or degrading treatment due in part to a lack of appropriate treatment resources or lack of referral to existing resources; it was not clear whether this situation had improved. Mentally ill persons were incarcerated with the general prison population and were denied needed psychiatric care. An office in the Ministry of Social Solidarity was responsible for protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are eligible for monthly special monetary stipends through the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Tensions between persons from the eastern districts (Lorosae) and persons from the western districts (Loromonu) appeared to be greatly reduced, and no specific incidents were observed during the year.

Societal Abuses, Discrimination, and Acts of Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

The law makes no reference to homosexual activity. Gay men and lesbians were not highly visible in the country. There were no formal reports of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, due in part to limited awareness of the issue and a lack of formal legal protections.

Other Societal Violence or Discrimination

According to the East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin (ETLJB), the principal international NGO that runs an HIV/AIDS transmission reduction program excludes gay men from its program.

Section 7. Worker Rights



a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining

The law permits workers to form and join worker organizations without prior authorization, provides for the right to strike, and allows for collective bargaining. Unions may draft their own constitutions and rules and elect their representatives; however, attempts to organize workers generally were slowed by inexperience, a lack of organizational skills, and the fact that more than 80 percent of the workforce was in the informal sector. There are official registration procedures for trade unions and employer organizations. By year's end the government had begun compiling data on the percentage of unionized workers in the formal sector.

Freedom of association and collective bargaining rights were respected in practice. While the law prohibits dismissal for union activity, it also allows for financial compensation in lieu of reinstatement, thus partially weakening the protection against employers' interference. The law prohibits foreigners from participating in the administration of trade unions, although there was no evidence that this prohibition was enforced.

The law on assembly and demonstrations could be used to inhibit strikes but was not used in this way.

In practice workers generally had little experience negotiating contracts, promoting worker rights, or engaging in collective bargaining and negotiations. The Ministry of Social Solidarity is the government agency charged with labor dispute settlement.

b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

Government regulations prohibit forced or compulsory labor, although there were reports that such practices occurred. The placement of children in bonded labor by family members in order to pay off family debts occurred during the year.

Also see the Department of State's Trafficking in Persons Report at www.state.gov/j/tip.

c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment

The law generally prohibits children under age 15 from working. However, there are circumstances under which work for children between the ages of 15 and 18 is restricted and circumstances under which children under 15, can work legally. The minimum age does not apply to family-owned businesses, and many children worked in the agricultural sector. Child labor in the informal sector was a major problem. In practice, enforcement of the labor code outside of Dili was limited.

Also see the Department of Labor's Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/tda.htm.

d. Acceptable Conditions of Work

The law does not stipulate a minimum wage. The law provides for a standard work week of 40 hours, standard benefits such as overtime and leave, and minimum standards of worker health and safety. The Ministry of Social Solidarity is responsible for enforcing the labor code. A National Labor Board and a Labor Relations Board exist, and there are no restrictions on the rights of workers to file complaints and seek redress. Workers have the right to remove themselves from hazardous conditions without jeopardizing employment; however, it was not clear whether they could avail themselves of this right in practice. The official national poverty income level is $0.88 per day. (The U.S. dollar is the local currency.) An estimated 41 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.

Government evicts residents in Aitarak-Laran

Radio e Televizaun de Timor-Leste, May 24, 2012 language source: Tetun - The Government through the National Police, Justice Ministry and Civil Security officers yesterday evicted 11 households in Aitarak-Laran, in Dili because the referred places will be used to construct an office building for the Finance Ministry.

The evicted residents were dissatisfied with the Government’s decision as it had not issued any dispatch, asking them to leave the place.

“We have not yet been informed to leave this place today. We received a letter and met them but we disagreed with what they are going to give us,” A resident said. He added, “This country is built because of the citizens and if there is no citizens then this country would have never been built.”

Another resident said that, “I am calling on the new elected President Taur Matan Ruak to look at the issue. He said that he would be together with the people but where was it? He should pay attention to this case. We are the grassroots people and we will remain the same and the state makes a decision based on their own will and has never thought about the poor.”

Dili District Police Deputy Commander, Superintendent Assistant Mateus S. de Jesus affirmed that they received a dispatch from Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to maintain the security in the area during the eviction process.

Dili district court summons Elia Vong and Henriques Ximenes

Diario Nacional May 24, 2012, Language Source: Tetun - Dili District court continues to try Minister for Justice, Lucia Lobato in relation to the abuse of power and corruption cases.

The Court summoned Elia and Henrique Ximenes to testify in the court regarding the case. Defendant Antonio de Araujo Freitas said the civil conservatory registration offices built in eight districts had been mired in corruption.

Freitas said the Dili district court summoned the witness Elia Vong as a director of Zorro construction Lda to give her declaration in the court. “It is right Elia Vong Company won the tender and I myself signed the tender document in the ministry of justice,” Vong said.

Committee B condemns arson case in Uatulari

Diario Nacional May 24, 2012, Language Source: Tetun - President of the Committee B for defence and security Duarte Nunes has condemned the incident in Uatulari, the Eastern District of Viqueque, killing one person and burning down seven houses.

“The incident is a crime; therefore PNTL should take the necessary action against the suspects involved in the incident,” MP Nunes said.

He said as a people’s representative in the house of the parliament he condemned the violence in Uatulari; therefore he called on PNTL to investigate it based on the existing law in the country.

Uatulari arson case: Three suspects appear in court

Suara Timor Loro Sa’e, May 24, 2012 language source: Tetun - The National Police Deputy Commander Commissioner Afonso de Jesus said the suspects who engaged in the arson case in Uatulari had appeared in the district court of Baucau.

The commander said affirmed that he had confirmed with Viqueque district police about the case.

There were three suspects and they had been taken to the district court of Baucau for hearing, he said.

Commander de Jesus affirmed that, the special police force (UFP) officers were being deployed in the area to boost Viqeque police to respond to the situation.

KNLS disseminate information about HIV/AIDS to F-FDTL and PNTL

Independente, May 25, 2012 language source: Tetun - The Timorese National Commission for Fighting HIV/AIDS (KNLS) held a seminar sharing information with the members of the Timorese Defence Force (F-FDTL) and the National Police (PNTL).

Secretary General of KNLS Rui Carvalho said that they held the seminar in order to share information about this fatal disease because numbers of this type of illness in the country continued increasing.

The Timorese Operational Police Commander Superintendent Armando Monteiro said the seminar was important for the members of F-FDTL and PNTL about how they could prevent this type of illness in the future.

Statistics of the Timorese Health Information System (SIS) of the Health Ministry indicating that the number of patients who had been infected by HIV/AIDS was 273 or 0.002% of the total population of Timor.

Public Prosecution presents new witnesses for Minister Lobato's case

Independente, May 25, 2012 language source: Tetun - The Public Prosecution yesterday presented three new witnesses in the trial of the Justice Minister Lucia Lobato so that they could give their testimony.

A witness, Fonciano da Cruz, who is the Director for Administration and Finance of the Justice Ministry, said that he knew nothing about the process related to the construction project of the office of the Notaries in eight districts.

Another witness, Ricardo Soares who is also a staff of the Justice Minister and President of The Tender Committeefor the referred construction projects of the Notary's office in Ermera and Aileu districts, said that 16 companies competed in the tender process for the referred projects.

He added that there were only three companies passed or won the tender, but finally Minister Lobato only approved Ladi Construction.Lda to manage the project.

He added that he knew nothing about the process for the same project in Lospalos

Displaced people appear in the Parliament to make claims

Radio Timor-Leste, May 25, 2012 language source: Tetun - Eleven families of displaced people have appeared in the Parliament making claims regarding the Government's decision to evict them from their homes.

Representative of the displaced people, Amelia Freitas said they appeared in the House of the Parliament to help resolve this problem with the Government.

Freitas affirmed that they were evicted from their homes in Aitarak-laran without receiving any notification letter from the Government; therefore she called on the Parliament address this matter.

She also called on the Government to provide them new spaces so that they could live with their family members.

She added that they went through this way as the police had not respected their rights by giving them notification first.

During a press conference, MP Antoninho Bianco said the Government did not respect the human rights of its citizens.

According to him, the Government should have provided the people with compensation before evicting them.

MP Carascalao concerned about justice minister in PSD's party's candidate list

Radio Timor-Leste, May 25, 2012 language source: Tetun - MP Mario Viegas Carrascalao said he was concerned about the list of candidates of the PSD Party as Justice Minister Lucia Lobato's name also inserted there.

Carrascalao said the party should not include Ms. Lobato in the list as she was currently facing legal charges regarding her involvement in corruption allegations.

He affirmed that the justice minister's name was number two on the list and it had made him dissatisfied.

Carrascalao disagreed with the president of the party's national council who had included Lobato in the list.

In memoriam of the 25th of May 2006 Massacre Victims and Families

East Timor Legal News 25 May 2012 Source: East Timor Law Journal - Exactly 6 years ago today, on 25 May 2006, at the height of what has become known as "The 2006 Crisis" in East Timor, a horrifying massacre of unarmed police officers, walking under the protection of the UN, took place right in front of the Justice Ministry in Kaikoli in the country's capital city of Dili.

This massacre was the dreadful culmination of the institutional conflict between the military and the police in East Timor, the seeds of which were planted by the incompetent and opprobrious administrators of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) under the leadership of the late Sergio de Mello and which was compounded by the manipulation of ethnic tensions by domestic vested political interests that lead to the deaths of dozens and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of citizens who fled in yet another wave of terror that engulfed the community.

The perpetrators of this massacre were soldiers from the East Timor military, some of whom were brought to justice; some, who were behind the scenes of this and other terrorist events of that year, maintain prominent positions in East Timorese state organs notwithstanding that recommendations were made that they be prosecuted for the participation in the violence in 2006.

It behooves all of us to remember the police officers who were brutally murdered on that day and to hope that such events never again occur in East Timor.

Andrew Harrington wrote an analysis of this event in 2007 for publication on the East Timor Law Journal and we recommend this analysis to interested parties.

https://easttimorlawjournal.blogspot.com/2012/05/25th-of-may-2006-massacre-war-crimes-in.html

24 May 2012

JSMP: Deputadu husi Aliansa Maioria Parlementar (AMP) hili la konsidera Pareser PR Horta: JSMP rekomenda atu lori hikas Pakote Lei ba Rai ba Terseira Lejislatura

Komunikadu Imprensa
Periodu : Maiu 2012
Edisaun: 22 Maiu 2012

Deputadu husi Aliansa Maioria Parlementar (AMP) hili la konsidera Pareser PR Horta: JSMP rekomenda atu lori hikas Pakote Lei ba Rai ba Terseira Lejislatura

Bloku Aliansa Maioria Parlamentar (AMP) ne’ebé kompostu husi Partidu CNRT, PD, ASDT/PSD no Partidu UNDERTIM, balun hili la konsidera pareser husi Prezidente Repúblika Dr. Jose Ramos Horta (agora eis Prezidente da Repúblika) hodi veta Pakote Lei ba Rai, kompostu husi Lei Definisaun Titularidade husi Bems Imóveis, Lei ba Expropriasaun no Lei Fundu Finanseiru Imóbiliariu.

Deputadu sira husi AMP hola pozisaun ne’e tanbá konsidera katak argumentu Prezidente da Repúblika iha ninia pareser la vinkula ba interese nasionál.
Antes ne’e, Prezidente da Repúblika Dr. Jose Ramos Horta aprezenat nia paraser ba Parlementu Nasionál depois simu audiénsia husi ativista Rede ba Rai, husu ba membrus parlamentar sira atu haree hikas pontus importante husi pakote lei ba rai ne’ebé nia konsidera komplikadu ho sujestaun katak sé karik la konsege debate, bele husik ba Terseira Lejislatura no governu foun ne’ebé eleitu iha 2012.

Diretóra Interina JSMP Flora Soriano Meneses afirma katak husi observasaun tomak ba iha prosesu diskusaun no aprovasaun ba pakote Lei ba Rai, JSMP realmente konkorda ho pareser husi Prezidente da Repúblika Dr. Jose Ramos Horta atu oinsá bele husik Pakote Lei ba rai ba iha Terseira Lejislatura hodi bele konsolida kle’an liu tan lei-ne’e antes aprova.

JSMP hanoin atu garante membrus Parlamentu Nasionál bele produs lei ida-ne’ebé responde duni ba konflitu ba rai ne’ebé eziste iha Timór-Leste durante ne’e, liu-liu oinsá garante duni direitu sidadaun sira nian no dever estadu nian ne’ebé konsagra ona Konstituisaun RDTL iha artigu 40 kona-ba rai no artigu 60 kona-ba objetivu husi estadu.

JSMP hola pozisaun ida ne’e tanbá haree mós katak pakote Lei ba Rai sei sai duni konfuzaun iha nia implementasaun. Ezemplu, iha artigu 40 alinea 2) husi lei expropriasaun kona-bá kompêtensia halo expropriasaun ba propriataria privada ne’ebé fó podér ba Konsellu Ministru mak deside liu husi sub-pareser Ministériu Justisa. Iha alinea 2.b), define katak expropriasaun ba propriataria privada iha mós posibilidade fó ba setór privadu husi cariz empresarial alende fó ba pessoas kolektivas ba direitu públiku.

JSMP konsidera pontu ida ne’e sai prekupasaun bo’ot tanbá iha artigu ne’e la define loloos definisaun ba interese públiku iha prosesu foti propriataria privada. Ida ne’e sei fó posibilidade bo’ot atu hamosu duni abuzu podér husi setór privada sira hasoru povu kbi’it la’ek sira. Tuir loloos governu tenki utiliza podér ba expropriasaun ba kazus exepsional de’it no tenki kria kriteria ne’ebé forte iha prosesu halo expropriasaun husi setór privada sira.

Tanbá ne’e, JSMP la konkorda ho pozisaun bankada CNRT no aliadu AMP sira seluk ne’ebé propoin halo konfirmasaun ba votus ho intensaun ignora tiha pareser husi Prezidente hodi mantein ba rezultadu votasaun ne’ebé parlamen hala’ó tiha ona. Maske intermus baze legál, veta husi Prezidente laiha duni forsa legál atu kesi membru parlamentar sira iha prosesu foti desizaun.

Prezidente da Repúblika Dr. Ramos Horta ofisialmente aprezenta argumentu lubuk bo’ot hodi veta pakote lei ba rai ne’ebé aprova husi Parlamentu Nasionál iha loron 13 Fevereiru 2012. Iha pareser ne’e, prezidente konsidera lei ba rai laduun hetan konsensu iha sosiedade sivil, fó diskrisaun no podér bo’ot liu ba estadu atu deklara nain ba rai, definisaun ne’ebé fraku kona-ba rai saida maka estadu sei foti ba interese públiku no la klaru ba definisaun no protesaun ba direitu komunidade nian ba propriedade. Nune’é mós kona-bá lei ba expropriasaun iha ne’ebé Prezidente Horta konsidera laiha definisaun loloos kona-bá interese públiku no pior liu iha posibilidade ba abuzu podér iha prosesu halo expropriasaun hodi servi liu ba interese públiku.

Observasaun ikus husi JSMP nota katak, diskusaun ba apresiasaun Pakote Lei ba Rai paradu, tanbá opozisaun Fretilin hola pozisaun wolkout tanbá desde inisiu la konkorda ho lei ne’e. Pozisaun Fretilin nian ne’e fó defikuldade ba Parlamentu Nasionál atu alkansa ba votasaun tanbá konstituisaun RDTL artigu 88 kona-bá kompêtensia Prezidente da Repúblika iha promulgasaun no veto, ejize kourum tenki maiória baluk-tolu (2/3) atu halo konfirmasaun ba votus katak presiza votus afavór 33 husi totál membru parlamentar atuál 65.

JSMP: Ministériu Públiku kondena arguidu ba kazu violasaun seksuál ba menor tinan 15 iha prizaun

Komunikadu Imprensa

Periódu : Maiu 2012

Edisaun : 23 Maiu 2012

Ministériu Públiku kondena arguidu ba kazu violasaun seksuál ba menor tinan 15 iha prizaun

Iha loron 09 Maiu 2012, Tribunál Distritál Suai hala’ó audiénsia julgamentu ba kazu abuzu seksuál ba minoridade ne’ebé rejista ho Nú. Prosesu 30/PEN/2012/TDS. Arguidu ba kazu ne’e ho inisiál VdS hasoru vítima BA. Kazu ne’e akontese iha loron 15 Juñu 2011, iha Aldeia Mau Lau, Suco Mau Nuno, Distritu Ainaro.

Prosesu julgamentu hala’ó ho kompozisaun Juízes kolektivu ne’ebé kompostu husi Juíz Dr. Costançio Barros Basmery nu’udar prezidénte, akompañadu husi Dr. Âlvaro Maria Freitas no Dra. Florençia Freitas. Iha parte seluk, Ministériu Públiku reprezenta husi Dr. António Tavares da Silva no arguidu hetan defeza husi Dr. João Henrique de Carvalho husi Eskritóriu Defensória Públiku.

Diretóra interina Flora Soriano Menezes, haktuir katak aktu krime ne’ebé komete husi arguidu hasoru vítima, nu’udar krime violasaun seksuál, tanbá ne’e husu ba tribunál kompetente hodi hamonu pena ne’ebé justu ba gravidade krime ne’ebé arguidu komete atu nune’é bele proteze vítima husi kualker violénsia ne’ebé afeita ba sira nia futuru.

Bázeia ba akuzasaun Ministériu Públiku (MP) haktuir katak iha loron 15 Juñu 2011, arguidu nia feen ba Ainaro no toba iha ne’ebá. Iha uma hela mesak arguidu ho vítima, bainhira vítima toba iha kuartu laran, derepenti arguidu tama tan vítima hodi dehan “hakilar agora hau oho tiha o”, rona liafuan ne’e, vítima mós tauk, nune’é arguidu hasai nia roupa no kolu sai vítima nia roupa hodi halo relasaun seksuál ho vítima.

Depois de halo relasaun seksuál arguidu ameasa vítima “ atu lalika hateten sai ba vítima nia inan no ema seluk”. Aleinde ne`e iha akuzasaun hateten mós katak arguidu sempre ameasa vítima hodi halo relasaun seksuál bainhira laiha ema iha uma.

Relasiona ho faktus akontesimentu hirak ne’e, Ministériu Públiku (MP) akuza arguidu nu’udar autór material ba krime abuzu seksuál ba menor ho artigu 177.2 Kódigu Penál (KP) konjugadu ho artigu 182.1 alinea (d) Kódigu Penál Timór Léste.

Tuir JSMP ninia observasaun nota katak arguidu rekuñese ba nia hahalok no faktu hirak ne’ebé haktuir iha akuzasaun laran. Maibé arguidu deklara katak relasaun seksuál entre arguidu ho vitima la’os obrigatóriamente no ameasa. Iha fatin seluk, arguidu deklara liu tan katak arepende ba ninia hahalok ne’ebé halo hasoru vítima no promete katak sei la halo tan iha tempu oin mai.

Mesmu nune’é, vítima deklara ba tribunál hodi kontinua reforsa faktus akontesimentu sira ne’ebé hakerek iha akuzasaun laran. Vítima deklara ba tribunál katak vítima rezeita ba hahalok arguidu nian, maibé arguidu nafatin ameasa hanesan haktuir ona iha akuzasaun laran. Hatutan liu katak depois de halo hotu tiha relasaun seksuál arguidu nafatin ameasa dehan “labele dehan sai ba ema sé lae arguidu sei fó aki ben ba vítima hemu hodi mate tiha”.

Iha alegasaun finál, Minisériu Públiku (MP) husu ba tribunál atu kondena arguidu ho pena tinan 15 iha prizaun. Pozisaun Ministériu Públiku bázeia ba deklarasaun husi arguidu, vítima no liga ba akuzasaun tuir artigu 177.2 konjugadu ho artigu 182.1 alinea (d) Kódigu Penál (KP) Timór Léste.

Entertantu, parte defeza solisita ba tribunál katak atu aplika pena ne’ebé mak kma’an ba arguidu ho razaun tanbá arguidu hatudu arependimentu ba nia hahalok no foin primeíra ves mai hatan iha tribunál. Iha parte seluk, defeza hatutan katak arguidu nu’udar xefe ba família hodi hatutan vida moris família nian.

Relasiona ho faktu no karakter kazu ne’ebé akontese hasoru vítima ho idade menoridade, tanbá ne’e JSMP husu ba tribunál atu konsidera faktu hirak ne’e no kondena arguidu tuir krime ne`ebé mak nia komete hodi fo justisa ne’ebé justu ba vítima no família vítima atu nune’é bele hametin justisa ba ema hotu ne’ebé sente prekoupadu ba krime ne’ebé arguidu komete.

Leitura akórdaun ba kazu ne’e, sei hala’ó fila fali iha loron 15 Maiu 2012, iha oras tuku 09.00

23 May 2012

UN police officer flees after collision

Timor Post, May 23, 2012 language source: Tetun - A UN staff member named MIN When Kang left the country after the car he was driving collided with a private car last Friday night (18/5) at the junction near the Ministry of Justice.

The accident injuring three people who were on board the private car number 20-632 TL. The owner of the car, Sergio Gudinho had made a claim to the UN Headquarter on Tuesday (22/5) at Obrigado Barrack, in Dili. Mr. Gudinho has information that, the suspect [the UN staff] left the
country, heading to America.

One person killed and seven houses set on fire

Diario Nacional May 23, 2012, Language Source: Tetun - An unknown group attacked communities in the sub district of Uatulari, the eastern
District of Viquerque, killing one person and burning down seven houses.

Operational commander for the Timorese National Police (PNTL) superintendent Armando Monteiro said they had information, saying the incident happened during the ceremony for the country’s independence restoration day last Sunday.

Monteiro said in the afternoon after lowering the national flag the unknown
group of people attacked the local residents who were participating in the
ceremony. “Based on the information from Viqueque police our communities from Uatulari sub district took part in the ceremony suddenly a group of people attacked them. During the attacks one person was killed and seven houses were set ablaze,” Monteiro said.

A young girl raped and murdered in Liquisa

Radio Timor-Leste, May 23, 2012 language source: Tetun - A 17-year old girl Beatriz da Silva was murdered by unknown suspects after she
returned from taking part in the ceremony for the commemoration of Timor-Leste's independence restoration day on May 20, RTL reporter Helio Lobato said.

The dead body of the girl had been handed back to the family by the
police after the process of autopsy, he said. Lobato affirmed that the girl's
dead body was found in the sub village of Pahata, village of Daraileten, sub
district of Liquisa.

He also explained that the victim was sexually assaulted before the suspect murdered her. The investigation police are currently doing investigation into the case for legal proceedings.

East Timor Law Journal now on Wordpress

23/05/2012 ETLJ Due to a lack of funding, the East Timor Law Journal which was previously at http://www.eastimorlawjournal.org has moved and is now located at http://easttimorlawjournal.wordpress.com

Articles published on the ETLJ have been widely and frequently cited.

Not all articles have yet been transported to the new blog site but it is hoped to complete that in the coming months.

If any one or any agency would like to support the reactivation of the original web site, please contact the editor at wwright1961atgmail.com. The cost of maintaining the original site is about $500 per year.

Timor PM's party denies receiving illegal political donations

Radio Australia Connect Asia 21 May 2012, 15:33 AEST - On Friday, Connect Asia carried a story about alleged illegal political donations raised by East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao's party, the CNRT.

The Global Organisation of Parliamentarians against Corruption in Timor-Leste says the donations appear to have come from a range of local and international companies that have also won large government construction contracts.

It says it has referred these allegations to the country's Anti-Corruption Commission, Prosecutor-General and the National Election Commission.

Presenter: Bill Bainbridge

Speaker: Dionisio Babo Soares, Secretary General of CNRT

SOARES: I think first of all these allegations actually came from Fernanda Borges, a member of the national parliament. I think she was addressing the fundraising evening that our party conducted 12 days earlier. I think it was actually a meeting of party members and we didn't expect that of course there were also people coming from other sections of the community, and of course in the evening a lot of them, some of them were also included in the list of people who were actually wanting to contribute to the party, the fundraising evening. And we were very much aware of the law that is in place at the moment and we actually knew that we'll have to actually scrutinise everything before we accept anything. What happened at that night was just promises from these individuals who the party still need to actually scrutinise, analyse, see if those commitments are acceptable or not. So we have not received any money at all, it's just a fundraising evening and the people who turned up there actually promised that they want to contribute a certain amount of money individually, not in the name of their private companies whatsoever. So there is not any money that the party has received so far, only promises.

BAINBRIDGE: But will you reject these donations then?

SOARES: Absolutely if the donations are against the law we will absolutely reject them.

BAINBRIDGE: But you seem to be saying that you won't accept them if they come from their company, but you may accept them if they are given as individual donations. Isn't that also in contravention of East Timor's law?

SOARES: No I think that law no.6 2008 stipulated that the party, any political party as other political parties have done, which has not been surprisingly scrutinised in the past. Now Fernanda Borges is just very, very eager to do, and we are open to be scrutinised, be investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission or the Prosecutor-General. In that law it stipulates that (words indistinct) to funding or can get donations from private individuals, not private entities or from foreign entities. Some people who actually turned up that night happen to be people from other companies or from other countries, which we didn't actually identify one by one.

BAINBRIDGE: But isn't that just making a sort of technical distinction, if these people say they're giving it as private individuals but happen to be the CEO of a large company which gets a big construction contract from the government?

SOARES: This is why I think we have, the party has decided before this allegation if any such thing happened the party will have to actually, the judicial commission of the party will have to scrutinise and see if those promises are acceptable or not.

BAINBRIDGE: So what is the criterion for deciding whether they are acceptable then?

SOARES: First of all we have to look at the form of donation, second, is were they compliant with the law or not? If they are private individuals of course we will accept, but if they are from private entities or companies both nationally and internationally, the law prohibits, So we will not accept any donation or touch a thing.

BAINBRIDGE: So how has the CNRT been raising funds to pay for its election campaign?

SOARES: Well most of the funding actually comes from the party members who contribute individually so far. We have not made any fundraising in the past, unlike other political parties here, Fretilin has done so, and have raised so much amount of money from all these different kind of people. But the issue has never been raised. Fernanda Borges I think has done privately as well and other political parties also. They have opened up to this kind of fundraisers, it's just that it's never been actually put on (words indistinct) for the language.

BAINBRIDGE: Have you made your list of donors public or will you make your list of donors public before the election?

SOARES: Oh yes of course, I mean the fundraising evening itself was public, all journalists were there. The journalists actually did not write down or note down the names of the people, but they noted down the name of companies and the amount of donations that were promised. That is why actually this global anti-corruption commission in the parliament headed by Fernanda Borges, which did not even consult all the members which are members of CNRT party in the parliament, made a unilateral decision by bringing this thing out to the surface. I think it's for political consumption, it's only for political consumption, it has nothing to do with their intention, their nominal intention to scrutinise the party.

BAINBRIDGE: Well to be fair to Fernanda Borges and her party she was responding to press reports, it had been reported in East Timor before she made her call that it should be investigated?

SOARES: I think she should have verified first with the party, with us to find out what is really, I mean she just actually picked up something on the media, something actually which was published on Fretilin's blog... and then she started speaking out, and I know very much it all came about. So we are ready to be investigated, we are open because the fundraising evening dinner with the President was done openly, all the journalists were present, it was very transparent. So I don't see any problem with that.

BAINBRIDGE: The CNRT will be going to the elections like all the other parties in East Timor in less than two months. Do you think that these allegations are going to affect your election campaign?

SOARES: Well first of all the allegation was intended and directed to actually influence CNRT growing popularity among our own population. That was very clear. Second, is that the opposition is trying to use any issue that they consider can create any problem for CNRT to the public, because the issue of corruption has been again and again uttered during the last four years, but it'll never work. CNRT has the full support for Taur Matan Ruak for president. This party is very strong, the leadership is very strong and nothing has been reported about corruption, even the members of the government have never been recorded of any corruption or allegations of corruption in the past. So they're trying to use all the possible weapons that they can to actually fail CNRT. Trust me it won't have any impact at all in the election.

East Timor police in the firing line as UN exits

22 May 2012 03:22:23 GMT | By Agence France-Presse


East Timor police in the firing line as UN exits

With UN peacekeepers set to leave East Timor at the end of the year, local police are striving to shed a reputation for rough justice as the nation learns to fend for itself 10 years on from independence.

Every day at 8:00 am, Carlos Almedia Jeronimo Sousa inspects a class of recruits at the East Timorese police academy, the first to go into training without the support of UN forces.

In less than a year the 250 recruits, chosen from more than 9,000 applicants, will join the 3,100-strong police force, which celebrated its 12th birthday in March last year, just as it took over policing duties from the UN.

"We are ready," declared Almeida, who heads the academy, after inspecting cadets who line up for him in complete silence every morning in crisp uniforms with hands clasped at the back.

He pointed to the peaceful conduct of East Timor's presidential election last month. The run-off winner, former army chief Taur Matan Ruak, said Sunday that the former Portuguese colony was becoming "a state under the rule of law".

Ruak was speaking as East Timor celebrated 10 years of formal independence, following a period of UN administration after its bloody separation from Indonesian occupation in 1999, when UN peacekeepers first arrived.

The current UN deployment -- the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor -- came in 2006, after a political crisis in which dozens were killed and tens of thousands displaced, with a mandate to restore security.

The only major major violence since then was a 2008 failed assassination attempt on Jose Ramos-Horta, the Nobel laureate president who on Saturday handed power to Ruak.

The next big test is on July 7, when East Timorese elect a new prime minister and government in general elections.

Ameerah Haq, the top UN representative in the capital Dili, has said that if the elections go well, the remaining 1,280 UN peacekeepers will be able to pull out as planned at the end of this year.

Despite bountiful oil and natural gas off its coasts, East Timor remains hobbled by extreme poverty and corruption. The challenge for the fledgling police force is to administer justice impartially, and professionally.

On the lawn of the police academy's training ground, the cadets are divided into small groups to simulate the arrest of a violent suspect.

The practical training of these youngsters -- they are aged from 18 to 22 -- began two weeks ago and will last for the next six months. Their gestures are still hesitant as they rehearse disarming and arresting the suspect.

"It's good that they train like this. Usually here the police do anything they want," said Sejanto da Silva, a 27-year-old social worker.

"Lawful or not, they don't care. They catch you and they hit you for no reason. They are not yet developed," he said, sitting in a cafe in Dili.

While UN peacekeepers still carry out patrols, security enforcement has been entirely in the hands of local police for more than a year.

Damien Kingsbury, an expert on East Timor at Australia's Deakin University, said there was "still a relatively high level of police impunity", particularly in the rural areas outside Dili.

"But the police, while a bit rough, are generally not sadistic and not heavily involved in organised crime," he said.

"The law and order situation in Timor-Leste (East Timor) is pretty good, although some people are still learning that they need to take their disputes through more formal channels."

Haq, the UN secretary general's special representative for East Timor, said that the police force had come a long way, but still needed time to improve.

"I think PNTL has developed a lot of its capacity since we started this mission (in 2006)," Haq told AFP, using the Portuguese acronym for the National Police of Timor-Leste.

"Does that mean that PNTL is an absolutely top-notch police force if you compare it to countries that have existed for 100 or 200 years? Absolutely not. An institution is not built in 10 years," she added.

About 20 burly officers from the National Republican Guard of Portugal are helping with the training.

"The goal is to improve skills, to have a police force better and stronger in all areas," said Captain Luis Candeias, a Portuguese officer who teaches ethics in law enforcement.

"It is not only about technical and professional training," he said. "One must also work on their mentality, so that they manage to win the confidence of the Timorese people."

East Timor's head Taur Matan Ruak opens arms to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

BY:PETER ALFORD, JAKARTA CORRESPONDENT From:The Australian May 21, 2012 12:00AM - EAST Timor's new President, Taur Matan Ruak, has called for an alliance between his country, Australia and Indonesia.

The former guerilla leader and first commander of East Timor's armed forces made the call at a flag-raising ceremony yesterday commemorating the tiny nation's 10th Independence Day.

"With regard to our region, we want to boost the close and friendly relations we have with our neighbouring countries, Indonesia and Australia, and turn them into relations between allies, where our respective states will engage in a mutually respecting, equitable relationship, thus creating an alliance to safeguard the security, peace and wellbeing of our peoples," he said.

Taur Matan Ruak, sworn in on Saturday night to succeed Nobel Peace Prize-winner Jose Ramos Horta, spoke in front of Independence Day guests including Indonesia's leader, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, and Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

His speech is not an expression of East Timor policy, although the new President has indicated he wants to influence government thinking on defence and other issues. Australian troops lead the International Stabilisation Force, a peacekeeping contingent despatched in 2006 at the height of a breakdown of law and order preceding the last round of national elections. Providing the July parliamentary elections are as peaceful as was the presidential campaign, the ISF will withdraw late this year or early next year.

Australian and East Timorese officials are discussing avenues of closer military co-operation, and Canberra has allocated $10 million this year to aid defence.

East Timor's vote for independence in August 1999, after 24 years of heavy-fisted Indonesian occupation, marked a low point in Indonesia's relations with Australia, which had belatedly advocated self-determination.

Taur Matan Ruak is not a member of the government and has no executive powers. Even before his election last month, however, he indicated he would use the office to make policy proposals to the government of the day.

Taur Matan Ruak has a close relationship with the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao, who is also Defence and Security Minister. His election campaign was strongly backed by Mr Gusmao's governing party, CNRT.

Mr Gusmao will seek another five years as Prime Minister at the elections on July 7, after which it will be Taur Matan Ruak's responsibility to select a leader to form the next government.

Whereas Mr Gusmao's relations with Canberra have often been prickly, he has worked assiduously at strengthening ties with Jakarta. However, the Prime Minister indicated last week an interest in engaging Australia and Indonesia together in economic development. "We have some ideas about sub-regional co-operation that would include neighbouring provinces, including the Northern Territory," he told The Australian on Friday.

The new President called yesterday on political leaders to campaign for the July 7 elections on policies and manifestos, rather than emotion and personalities.

"We have seen this fragmentation occurring again and again and it is a cause of concern, for it tears the national fabric apart," the President said.

Timorese intelligence detains two Indonesians

Independente, May 22, 2012 language source: Tetun - The Timorese Intelligence Authority has detained two Indonesians who were believed to be members of "Gerakan Aceh Merdeka" (GAM) or "Republik Maluku Selatan" (RMS) along with one Timorese activist.

The detainees were believed to be in the country to make preparations to protest the official visit of the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yodhoyono to the Indonesian Heroes Cemetery in Santa Cruz.

The Timorese intelligence detained them as they were disguised as journalists but they did not have any journalist identification cards.

"They said they are journalists but when we asked them for their ID, they had none. So, they are illegal people who want to make document about the visit of SBY or they want to do something against SBY," the intelligence said.

Program manager for the Timorese Human Rights Association (HAK), Manuel Monteiro denied such an allegation and asked the intelligence service to prove it as the Indonesians detained were not members of a prohibited organisation like GAM and RMS, but the detainees were students from Atmajaya University in Jogjakarta. Monteiro added that they [detainees] were here to gather some data about the official visit of SBY to the Indonesian Hero Cemetery in Santa Cruz, Dili.

One killed and six houses set on fire in Uatulari

Radio Timor-Leste, May 22, 2012 language source: Tetun - One local resident was killed and six houses were set ablaze in Uatulari sub district, in the eastern district of Viqueque during the country's commemoration of Independence Restoration day on May 20, police have said.

Viqueque district Police Commander Justinho Menezes said the police had arrested four people who were suspected of being engaged in the killing and arson.

The commander confirmed that the suspects were being detained for investigation purposes.

According to him they will take these four suspects to Baucau District Court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday (22/5). He explained that 20- year old man Cipriano Pinto alias Maumeta was killed after the arson attacks.

21 May 2012

A decade on, struggle for justice continues

Independente, May 18, 2012 - Families of Ana Lemos who was the Secretary of the Timorese Women Organization
(OPMT) was calling on the perpetrators to be responsible for their attitude of
sexually assaulting and killing Lemos in front of her mother in Bugasa home in
Ermera District.

“I don’t seek any revenge, but I miss my children. My three daughters. Two died of illness and one, Ana, (her death) injured my heart and it is sad to this day because the perpetrator who killed my child still walks freely in Indonesia,” the late Ana’s mother said. Ana Lemos who worked for UNTAET for organizing the August 30 referendum, was captured by an
Indonesian militia group led by Bola Guling, adding that she was sexually
assaulted and killed in front of her mother.

19 May 2012

Mobs attack police car in Manufahi

Radio Timor-Leste, May 8, 2012 language source: Tetun

Mobs attacked one police patrol car on Sunday (6/5) in Manufahi district, RTL reporter, Julio Guterres said. The attack left the car damaged, but it was not totally destroyed, he reported.

Guterres said the mobs from Nunulau of Holarua attacked the car as they were not satisfied with the police’s response to a clash in the area. He explained that, at that time the residents of Nunulau tried to attack the residents of Nu-laran as a young man from Nunulau was attacked by two young men from Nu-laran. The police continue doing patrol in the area to prevent these people from appearing another conflict.

Five political parties set up coalition: CNE

Radio Timor-Leste, May 8, 2012 language source: Tetun

Five political parties have set up their coalition to compete in the parliamentary election, National Election Commission (CNE) President Faustinho Cardoso said.

Coalition parties and 23 political parties would compete in the parliamentary election, he said. “For the parliamentary election; there will be three coalitions; one is called Bloku Proklamador which composes of PMD and PARENTIL.” “Another is called Aliansa Demokratika KOTA-Trabhalista. And coalition which was set up by Povu Aileba Party and PDRT Party,” Cardoso said.

Police continue pursuing suspect who murder Viana

Suara Timor Loro Sae May 8, 2012 language source: Tetun - National Police Deputy Commander, Commissioner Afonso de Jesus said the police continued pursuing the suspect who had murdered Mareclino Viana last April 20 in Akanuno of Hera, the eastern part of Dili.

Mr. de Jesus affirmed that the process of pursuing the suspect took time as there was no one who witnessed the murder.

The police investigation service (SIC) is continuing to hold investigations into the case and is continuing to pursue the suspect, he said. He added that the communities and family’s cooperation was necessary to help gather information to be provided for the police.

Police do not discover any illegal guns in Ermera

Independente , May 16, 2012 language source: Tetun Deputy Commander for the Timorese Police, Commissioner of Police Afonso de Jesus has called on the politicians not to politicise the security situation, because they [PNTL] had never discovered any illegal guns in Ermera district.

"I just want to call on the politicians not to politicize the security institution, because PNTL has not received any official report about illegal guns in the country up to date," he said. De Jesus said that, the recent statements of MP in the Parliament were baseless as there was no evidence to prove it.

He added the police would make efforts to monitor and collect information on the illegal guns which might be still large in Ermera. The State Secretary for Security (SES) Francisco Guterres thanked MPs who made the statement in the Parliamentary Plenary about illegal guns, as it was a motivation for PNTL to search for illegal guns in the country.

Woman raped and murdered in Bobonaro

Diario Nacional, May 16, 2012 language source: Tetun- District Police Commander Joao belo said the police had identified suspects who raped and murdered a woman called Etelevina recently in Bobonaro.

Commander Belo confirmed that community policing officers were currently approaching the victim's family and the suspects to remain calm as the findings of the investigation had been submitted to the court.

"We cannot point our finger at anyone, saying there is the suspect, but there is an indication and the process is going on,"he said.

According to the recent TVTL [Public TV] report, Etelvina was sexually assaulted by the suspects before being murdered.

KAK investigates Abilio Lima

Diario Nacional, May 16, 2012 language source: Tetun - Anti-Corruption Commission (KAK) yesterday investigated State Secretary for Environment, Abilio Lima as he is suspected of being engaged in an abuse of power.

KAK investigated Mr. Lima as he used a public car for his personal interest, Diario Nacional reported. According to this newspaper, numbers of the Government officials had been taken to the court and been investigated by KAK regarding their involvement in corruption allegations.

TLGov: Council of Ministers Meeting on May 9, 2012


IV CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
SECRETARIAT OF STATE OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS PRESS RELEASE - The Council of Ministers met this Wednesday, May 9, 2012, in the Council of Ministers Meeting Room at the Government Palace in D=EDli and approved:

1. Presentation of the project for celebration of an Integrated Regional
Development Agreement between Timor-Leste and Indonesia

The Ministry of Economy and Development presented to the Council of Ministers a draft for an Integrated Regional Development Agreement, which shall be concluded between Timor-Leste and Indonesia to strengthen the sharing of
infrastructure covering and servicing, land, air and sea between the two
countries in order to promote and strengthen regional economic cooperation.

The Council of Ministers approved the signing of a letter of intent, between
the Ministry of Economy and Development and the Coordinating Minister forEconomic Affairs of Indonesia, which provides for the creation of a working
group to conclude a memorandum of understanding to implementing the project of Integrated Regional Development between the two countries.

2. Government Resolution that approves the appointment of Dr. Jose
Ramos-Horta as a Special Envoy to the Rio +20 Conference

The Council of Ministers decided to appoint the outgoing President, Dr.
Ramos-Horta, as Special Envoy to the United Nations Summit on Sustainable
Development, the Rio +20 Conference to be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil from 13 to 22 June 2012.

3. Government Resolution that adopts the model of free transit-cards to members and former members of the Organs of Sovereignty

The Council of Ministers approved the free transit card template to members and former members of Organs of Sovereignty, in accordance with the Statute of the Holders of the Organs of Sovereignty, establishing that such members and formermembers who have performed their duties for a minimum period of forty-two
months have the right to free transit.

4. Decree-Law that creates the Registry and Verification of Enterprise Service
(SERVE) and establishes the "New Registration System"

With the creation of the Registry and Verification of Enterprise Service
(SERVE) and the "New Registration System=94 activities related to business registration and licensing will now be located in one place, in order to facilitate and expedite the registration and initiation of commercial
activities by businesses and the entrepreneurs. The process is simplified and some procedures are eliminated.

An Inter-ministerial Commission was established that will administer and manage the areas of registration, licensing and commercial tax of SERVE.

The creation of this service is in accordance with the Strategic Development Plan and demonstrates that the Government and the various ministries involved have made important efforts to make Timor-Leste an attractive and economically
competitive country.

5. Government Decree that establishes the Prosecutor Workforce Career

This diploma establishes the framework for the career of prosecutor, and defines the vacancies for each of the career categories, in accordance with the provisions of article n.=B0 56 of Law n0 14/2005 of September 16, which approved the Statute of the Prosecution.

The Council of Ministers also analyzed:

1. Presentation of the Master Plan for Renewable Energy

The Secretariat of State for Energy Policy presented to the Council of
Ministers a Renewable Energy Master Plan for the Development of Electricity in Timor-Leste.

The document is based on studies made on various sources of renewable energy in Timor-Leste, and concluded that the country has the potential to generate a large quantity of energy for electricity production.

By 2020, it is expected that at least half of the Timor-Leste energy needs will be provided by renewable energy, including, in order of viability, hydropower,
biomass, solar, and wind energy.

2. Presentation of Study on Human Resources

This study, presented to the Council of Ministers by the National University of
Timor Lorosa=92e (UNTL) contains preliminary results for devising a national strategy for human resource development.

Generally, the document reports and analyzes national needs in terms of human resources to allow the Government to make the appropriate decisions taking into
account the financial and economic benefits for the development of a unique integrated long term and strategic program of education and training of human resources.

More than 53,000 surveys to employees (23,951) and students (29,243) were undertaken, which involved the study of Timor-Leste=92s human resources profile, including the identification of areas of study and staff and students
qualifications.