03 November 2013

Timor Leste Legal News 23 October 2013

ETLJB 24 October 2013. There follows translations of reports on legal issues in the East Timor media on 23/10/2013 distributed by the Timor Leste Media Development Centre.

Allegations of involvement of marine police in illegal fishing Source: Suara Timor Lorosae 23/10/2013 According to a report in STL, there are suspicions that the East Timor Police Maritime Unit officers were involved in the activities of two ships allegedly involved in illegal fishing in the territorial waters of East Timor. STL reported comments by the police Deputy Commander, Afonso de Jesus, that, while allegations of involvement in illegal activities may be made, there must be evidence to prove those allegations.

The Deputy Commander is reported to have said “We are ruled by law, therefore, if we suspect someone of involvement in illegal activities, we should provide evidence in order to process the matter according to the applicable law.”

The maritime police unit Deputy Commander, Luis da Costa,  said that the unit had not yet received any reports about the involvement of his members in illegal fishing but the unit had opened its doors to people who had evidence about the involvement of maritime police members in illegal fishing to report it.

Meanwhile, the Dili District Court has temporarily freed seven Indonesian citizens charged with illegal fishing who were arrested by the East Timor Defence Force Naval Component in the Kristo Rei and Hera areas recently.

According to a report by Independente on 2310/2013, the Timorese National Police Criminal Investigation Service (SIK) Acting Commander, Manuel Alves, said that at the first hearing of the case, the Dili District Court decided to set free temporarily the seven Indonesians. In Caicoli on Tuesday 22, Manuel Alves said, “we do not know why TDD lets these people free but we continue to pay attention to these people and wait until the next time the Court hears the case".

Related reports on illegal fishing in East Timor
Conservation International records illegal exploitation of trochus in Nino Konis Santana National Park
Court has not tried illegal fishermen
F-FDTL’s marine force captures illegal Indonesian fisher

Anti Corruption Commission established but law not yet enacted - Although East Timor has established the Anti-Corruption Commission (KAK), the Commission is unable to discharge its durty to combat corruption properly because the anti-corruption law has not yet been enacted.

At National Parliament (PN) on Monday 21/10, National Parliament Committee A on law, justice, human rights, and corruption member, Arao Noe de Jesus said, “when establishing KAK, the  Parliament created an anti corruption law draft but it has never passed it so now KAK is working together with Committee A to create a new anti corruption law draft.”

National Parliament member member, Olinda Morais, said that the anti corruption law was very important to be discussed in the Parliament to support KAK’s work. Source: Suara Timor Lorosae 23 October 2013

Suspects in murder case in Surabaya not yet arrested - National Parliament members are concerned that the suspects who killed two Timorese students in Surabaya in Indonesia that have not yet arrested. The MPs therefore appealed to both the Timorese and Indonesian Governments to pay serious attention to the case.

In the plenary session of the Parliament on Tuesday 22/10, MP Inacio Moreira said, “I am calling on Timorese Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MNEC), the Ministry for Defence and Security and the Indonesian authorities to sit together to find a solution to Surabaya case to capture the suspects.”

He added that the case had caused Surabaya communities to ban Timorese students studying in the city. Source: Suara Timor Lorosae 23 October 2013 See also Timor-Leste Legal News 14 October 2013


East Timor and Indonesia agree to resolve diputes over land border -The East Timorese and Indonesian Governments have agreed to resolve the confrontations that have occurred between East Timorese communities in the Oecusse District enclave and Indonesian Communities who live in the border areas. The disputes have occurred over the use of land near the border between the two counties in the regions.

The East Timorese Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MNEC), Jose Luis Guterres, said the confrontations between the two communities recently had caused concerns to the two countries so the two Governments had agreed to resolve the problem.

“The Indonesian and Timorese Governments are currently trying to resolve the problem. There are two possibilities to resolve the problem between the Oecusse and Indonesian communities that live on border areas; either through traditional mechanisms or through political interventions,” Jose Luis Guterres said at Governmental Palace on Tuesday 22. Source: Diario 23 October 2013 Edited by Warren L. Wright

Related posts
The Complexities of Timor-Leste-Indonesia Border Control - See more at:
Clash Erupts Between Indonesians, East Timorese in Neutral Zone
Indonesian military suspected of torturing and murdering East Timorese citizen in Oecusse

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