International Judges sworn-in in the Court of Appeal

Dili: On the 28th of September, at 2h30 pm, the President of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, Cláudio Ximenes, swore in international judges Ivo Nelson de Caires Batista Rosa (from Portugal) and Telma Angélica Figueiredo (from Brazil) to perform functions as judges in the district courts of Timor-Leste.

The two judges were recruited by the UNDP Justice System Program. Both candidates have extensive experience as acting judges in their countries.

The President of the Superior Council of the Judiciary said "the judge has to decide, according to the law, with independence and impartiality. Independence means that nobody, authority, or group can pressure a judge so that he or she decide in a determined sense. The judge cannot decide according with individual opinions, authority or group's will. Impartiality means do not favor or prejudice any of the process parties. Until now the judges have been providing their decisions according to the laws in force in Timor-Leste, based on the evidence before them, with independence and impartiality. This is the performance demanded from them and they will continue to perform as such, with independence and impartiality, even if it means rendering decisions that do not please everyone".

http://tinyurl.com/rhgvk

Rogério Lobato formal accused by the Public prosecution service

The former-minister of the Interior Rogério Lobato, held for alleged distribution of weapons the civilians and attempt of revolution, among others crimes, formal was accused by the Public prosecution service, said judicial source today.

The source, that requested the anonymity, added that Rogério Lobato was accused, appointedly, them crimes of attempt of revolution, embezzlement and ownership and illegal distribution of weapons.

Between the shares whose responsibilities are imputed the former-minister, who asked for to the resignation the 1 of June and since 22 of the same month if he finds in domiciliária arrest, count the slaughter of nine Timorese policies, occurred the 25 of May in Díli, to the hands of military.

The source contactada for the Lusa advanced that relatively to the same process, of distribution of weapons the civilians, the inquiries on old the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri "go to continue".

Mari Alkatiri was so far heard an only time for the Public prosecution service, in the past day 20 of July.

Different outcome in this in case that it had Eusébio Salsinha, former-head of cabinet of Rogério Lobato, whose process the Public prosecution service decided to file for "lack of tests".

The man who is in the origin of the opening of the process against Lobato and Alkatiri, the veteran of the fight of resistance against the Indonesian occupation Vicente of the Conceição "Railos" appears with the witness statute.

Mari Alkatiri was accused by "Railos" to have commanded the Rogério Lobato that proceeded to the distribution from weapons for the elimination from adversaries politicians, inside and is of the FRETILIN, broken maioritário in East Timor, of that it is secretary-generality.

 

The United Nations Independent Special Commission of Inquiry
for Timor-Leste nearing the completion of its report

Good afternoon to all Media Representatives,
Good afternoon to representatives of various organizations,
Good afternoon everyone.

Before opening the floor for questions, I have a short statement to make.

We would like to thank you all for coming to this press conference.

The Commission is in the process of completing its work with the second visit of the Commissioners in Timor-Leste. For the past 10 days Commissioners have been working intensively with the members of the Commission's team, reviewing information gathered by the investigators and interviewing or re-interviewing key actors. The Commissioners will leave at the end of the week and resume their work in Geneva at the end of September in order to finalize the report.

As many of you are aware, our mandate is:
Ø      to establish the facts and circumstances relevant to the incidents on 28-29 April, 23-25 May and other related events or issues which contributed to the crisis;
Ø      to clarify responsibility for those events; and
Ø      to recommend measures to ensure accountability, taking into account the existing legal and judicial mechanisms in Timor-Leste, for crimes and serious violations of human rights allegedly committed during the period.

In carrying out our mandate the Commission has enjoyed the full cooperation of the Government and all the institutions and individuals relevant to its inquiry.

The Commission has an international team of 12 criminal and human rights investigators and Legal Advisors. About 200 witnesses were interviewed and more than 3000 documents were collected from different institutions, including F-FDTL, PNTL, Government offices, non-governmental organizations, Australian police, UNOTIL and other United Nations Agencies, and other international institutions. These materials provide the basis for the Commission's report.

We are conscious of the fact that there are high expectations on the part of the leaders of the government, representatives of various groups and individuals we met, and by the general population that our report will contribute to the rebuilding of confidence in the institutions of the Government and the rule of law.

In accordance with our mandate,
            1) our report will give an objective and balanced account of the incidents of April
            and May.
2) the report will identify individuals who, in the view of the Commission, were responsible for crimes committed in April and May, as far as evidence establishes their responsibility beyond reasonable suspicion.
3) it will identify the failure of institutions whose acts or omissions contributed to the crisis.
4) it will make recommendations as to how to ensure accountability.

The report will be submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the National Parliament of Timor-Leste within the three-month timeframe foreseen for the work of the Commission, i.e. on or about 7 October.

We strongly hope and trust that the representatives of the Government and all relevant institutions will give serious consideration to our recommendations, and utilize the report as a step towards reinforcing the institutions of the country. We also hope that the report will be made available to the public in a readily accessible form, so that all the people in this country can work together to make the first step in a total transparency.

Finally, we would like to thank every individual and institution that cooperated with us. We can say that we were able to count on a very good cooperation from everyone.

We thank you very much again for your interest and presence here today.

Now we would like to invite you for related questions you may have for us.

Commissioners
                        Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (chair)
                        Ralph Zacklin
                        Zelda Holtzman

The United Nations Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-Leste



  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Declarasaun Press Nian
Komisaun Inkeritu Independente Espesial Nasoens Unidas nian
ba Timor-Leste besik dadauk ona atu kompleta
nia relatoriu
13 Setembru 2006


Boa tarde ba Representativus Media sira tomak,
Boa tarde ba Representativus Organizasoens Oi-oin,
Boa tarde ba Ita Boot Sira tomak.

Antes atu loke ba perguntas, hau iha declarasaun badak ida atu hato'o.

Ami hakarak hato'o agradese barak ba ita boot sira hodi mai iha konferensia press ida ne'e.

Komisaun ne'e atu besik kompleta ona nia knar ho visita ba dala-rua komisariu sira mai Timor-Leste. Iha durante loron 10 liu ba komusariu sira servisu ho intensivu hamutuk ho membrus husi tim komisaun ne'e nian hodi hare fali informasaun ne'ebé rekolha ona husi investigadores no intervista ou re-intervista hela autores importante (key actors) balun. Komisariu sira sei fila iha semana ne'e nia rohan no halo rezumu ba sira nia servisu iha Geneva iha fulan Setembru ne'e nia rohan hodi finaliza relatoriu.

Hanesan ita boot sira barak mak hatene ona, ami nia mandatu hirak mak tuir mai:
Ø      atu establese faktus no sirkumtansia sira ne'ebé relevante ho insidente sira ne'ebé  akontese iha loron 28 – 29 de Abril, 23 – 25 de Maiu no eventu sira seluk ou isu ruma  ne'ebé kontribui ba krize sira ne'e;
Ø      atu klarifika responsabilidade ba eventu sira ne'e; no
Ø      sei rekomenda medidas hodi asegura akontabilidade, hamutuk ho konsiderasaun ba sistema legal ho justisa iha Timor-Leste ba krime ho violasaun grave ba direitus umanus ne'ebé alegamente komite durante periode ne'ebé mentiona iha leten.

Hodi hala'o mandatu ne'e, komisaun hetan coperasaun nebe diak teb-tebes husi Governu no instituisoens no inviduals hotu nebe relevante ba inkeritu.

Komisaun ida ne'e ho tim internasional na'in 12 nudar kriminal nian no investigadores direitus humanus ho consileiro Legal nian. Sasin na'in maiz ou menus hamutuk ema 200 mak komisaun intervista ona. Rekolha ona dokumentus nebe liu 3000 husi instituisoens oi-oin, inkluindu F-FDTL, PNTL, edifisius Governu nian, organizasoens non-governamentais, Policia Australianus, UNOTIL no agensias Nasoens Unidas no institusoens international sira seluk. Material hirak ne'e hanesan baze nebe supporta relatoriu komisaun nian.

Ami rekonhese konaba realidade katak iha esperansa maka'as husi parte lideres Governu nian, representativus husi grupo oi-oin no invidual sira nebe ami hasoru ona, no husi populasaun geral katak ami nia relatoriu sei kontribui ba hamosu fali konfiansa ba instituisoens Governu nian no Estadu do Direitu.

Bazeia ba ami nia mandatu,
1)      ami nia relatoriu sei fornese reportajen ho objetivu ida no balanso konaba incidentes Abril no Maio nian.
2)      relatoriu ne'e sei identifika individual sira nebe mak responsivel ba krimis komete ona iha fulan Abril no Maio, bazeia ba evidensia ne'ebé establese ba sira nian responsabilidades liu razaun suspeita nian.
3)      sei identifika failansu institusoens nian nebe mak halo aktu ka omisaun kontribui ne'ebé ba krize ne'e.
4)      sei halo rekomendasoens hanesan oinsa atu assegura akuntabilidade

Relatoriu ne'e sei submete ba Sekretariu Jeral Nasoens Unidas nian no Parlementu Nasional Timor-Leste iha tempo fulan 3 nia laran husi komisaun ne'e hahu nia servisu, mais ou menus iha dia 7 de Outubru oin mai.

Ami ho esperansa maka'as no konfiansa  katak representativus Governu nian no institusoens hotu nebe relevante atu fo konsiderasaun seriu ba ami nia rekomendasoens no utiliza relatoriu ne'e nudar pasu ida ba reinforsa instituisoens nasaun nian. Ami mos husu-boot atu relatoriu ida ne'e ba publiku mos sei hetan, ho formatu nebe prontu ba asesu husi publiku, nune'e povo tomak iha nasaun ida ne'e bele servisu hamutuk atu halo pasu primeiru ba iha transperensia total.

Ikus mai, ami hakarak atu agredese individual ida-idak no instituisaun nebe kopera ona ho ami. Ami bele dehan katak ami hetan ona koloborasaun di'ak teb-tebes husi ema ida-idak.

Ami fo obrigadu barak ba ita boot sira nia interese no presensa ohin iha ne'e.

Agora ami hakarak atu konvida ita boot sira atu fo perguntas nebe relevante ba ami.

Komisariu
                        Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (Xefe)
                        Ralph Zacklin
                        Zelda Holtzman

Komisaun Inkeritu Independente Espesial Nasoens Unidas nian ba Timor-Leste 

Police give up on East Timor's rebel major

AUSTRALIAN and UN police have conceded they lack the numbers to track down East Timorese rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, who has been on the run after breaking out of a Dili prison almost two weeks ago.

The fugitive army major, interviewed by The Australian in a secret location, looked fit, healthy and not harassed by the law as he launched a scathing attack on a "corrupt" justice system.

He also took a swipe at the new interim Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, who he accused of spending too much time overseas and making promises he was unable to keep.
In his first face-to-face interview with a foreign journalist since escaping from Becora prison, Major Reinado called for the Catholic Church and President Xanana Gusmao to lead a national debate on ways to solve the political crisis.

Thumbing his nose at the attempts to recapture him, he said he was willing to negotiate with the Government about handing himself in, but not if it meant a return to prison. "I'm ready to face the tribunal, but when everything is fixed," he said.

The Australian found Major Reinado in the country's southern mountains after a week of protracted negotiations. This involved a series of calls to changing mobile numbers, text messages and the exchange of a secret password with one of Major Reinado's supporters at a rendezvous four hours drive over East Timor's main mountain range.

The police are now waiting on urgent reinforcements to help round up the rogue elements that remain a threat in the half-island state.

The Commissioner of UN police, Antero Lopes, said that extra numbers, which should start arriving next week, were needed to defeat a wall of silence created by family and friends of the rebels.

"We are getting more police and with more of police presence we can get a better result."

Australian Federal Police spokesman Tim Dodds conceded yesterday there were not enough police to comb wide areas of East Timor to track down the Australian-trained rebel leader, who escaped from Dili's Becora prison with 56 other inmates on August 30.

"I don't know anyone who knows exactly where he (Reinado) is. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack," Mr Dodds said.

With about 120 AFP officers, Australia has one of the largest police deployments in East Timor but, like the 1000-strong military force, they are currently under national and not UN command.

Unlike the defence forces, the AFP will join the UN but negotiations are continuing between Canberra and UN headquarters in New York about their terms of engagement.

Major Reinado, 39, admitted he escaped in a four-wheel-drive vehicle and boasted that he waved to New Zealand soldiers as he left. But he said the UN and international security forces in East Timor should concentrate on catching the other criminals who were worse than him.

But he also reserved the right of self-defence, saying he had done nothing wrong and was entitled to protect himself in his own country.

But recent claims he is prepared to fight Australian troops made him angry.

"I did not say that. I've had good relations with the Australian military," he said.

Major Reinado trained in Australia and his wife lives in Perth, where she is expecting the couple's fourth child.

"I miss them very much. My oldest kid I hear is sick. That worries me and they are alone but I'd like to thank the Australians for looking after them," he said.

The rebel blamed his current plight on a corrupt legal system and self-serving politicians but said he had no intention of waging guerilla war or taking up arms against his country.

Major Reinado remained fiercely loyal to Mr Gusmao, saying he was "like a father".

"Gusmao is the only East Timorese leader to be trusted and the only one with a capacity to heal the broken nation," he said.

And he said his arrest in Dili for illegal weapons possession was concocted by pro-Portuguese political interests designed to thwart reconciliation talks planned by the President.

However, he was cagey about the issue of weapons in his possession.

Although Mari Alkatiri had resigned as prime minister in June, Major Reinado said, "Maputo socialists like Alkatiri" remained in the ministeries and the influence of the former prime minister was still evident.

Indonesia: No Justice Two Years After Munir's Death

Investigation Stalled, Killers of Leading Rights Activist Remain Free

  Two years after the murder of Indonesia's leading human rights activist, the architects of Munir Said Thalib's killing remain free, Human Rights Watch said today. Despite the conviction of an airline pilot involved in the killing, the police and Attorney General's office continue to ignore the evidence and recommendations of a Presidential Fact-Finding Team that has implicated senior intelligence officers and airline officials in Munir's murder.

Best known as a founder and director of the highly effective Commission for "Disappeared" Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Munir was the director of the Jakarta-based human rights group Imparsial before his murder. The 38-year-old lawyer was one of Indonesia's most prominent human rights activists.

Human Rights Watch called on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to become personally involved in ensuring that those responsible for Munir's murder are held accountable, no matter where the evidence leads. Yudhoyono should establish why key recommendations and findings of the Presidential Fact-Finding Team appear to have been ignored. In addition, Human Rights Watch called on Indonesia's State Intelligence Body (Badan Intelijen Negara, or BIN) to extend full cooperation to the police and any subsequent independent investigation body.

"Identifying and punishing the masterminds behind Munir's murder is a test for Yudhoyono's commitment to human rights and the rule of law," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Yudhoyono is widely seen as a reformer, but if he can't ensure that justice is done for the murder of the country's most prominent human rights activist, there will be serious doubts about his commitment to reform."

Munir was found dead on September 7, 2004, on a Garuda flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam. Autopsy results conducted by the Dutch Forensic Institute, released in November 2004, showed that Munir had died as a result of a fatal dose of arsenic poison.  In December 2005, a Garuda pilot traveling as a passenger on the same flight, Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, was convicted of premeditated conspiracy to murder and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The verdict was upheld on appeal last April. The judge's decision, however, noted that evidence during the trial indicated that Pollycarpus had not acted alone. The judge urged the police to conduct a further investigation to uncover those ultimately responsible for the death of Munir.

In a welcome move, President Yudhoyono instructed the police, prosecutors and intelligence officers to follow up the investigation after the Pollycarpus verdict. But nearly 10 months after the judgment, the police and the prosecutor have done little to follow up the case.

"It's clear that Pollycarpus followed someone's orders to murder Munir," said Adams. "Civil society in Indonesia cannot operate with freedom and security so long as the masterminds of this killing remain free."

Two years after Munir's murder, Human Rights Watch calls on the Indonesian government to:

*   Make public and publish the final report and recommendations of the Presidential Fact-Finding Team established to investigate the murder of Munir;

*   Establish an independent body to audit the police investigation and Attorney General's response to Munir's murder;

*   Establish another independent fact-finding team with a clear and strong mandate to continue investigations into the possible role of the security forces in Munir's death, and ensure the full cooperation of all state agencies with the police and any independent body investigating Munir's murder, especially BIN, as well as that of any senior airline officials who may have facilitated Pollycarpus's actions on the plane; and

*   Extend invitations to the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit Indonesia in connection with Munir's case.

Human Rights Watch also urged the prosecuting authorities to dismiss all criminal defamation charges filed by General Hendropriyono against Usman Hamid and Rachland Nashidik, members of the original Independent Fact-Finding Team.  Criminal defamation violates the international right to freedom of expression and has a chilling effect on free speech.

Background

Munir, best known as a founder and director of the highly effective Commission for "Disappeared" Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), was the director of the Jakarta-based human rights group Imparsial.

Munir's legal aid career began in Surabaya in 1989 and included stints as director of the Semarang Legal Aid office and as chief of field operations for the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) in Jakarta. He represented many human rights victims and activists in high profile cases, and regularly spoke out for justice in the face of intimidation, including death threats. His work encompassed the full range of human rights concerns in Indonesia, from abuses by the Indonesian military and police to attacks on labor activists, from impunity for human rights crimes in Aceh, East Timor and Papua to the rights of Indonesia's ethnic Chinese minority.

Munir was the winner of numerous honors, including being named Man of the Year in 1998 by a leading Indonesian Muslim periodical UMMAT, and a "young leader for the Millennium" by Asiaweek in 2000. The same year, he was one of the recipients of "The Right Livelihood Award"-known as the "Alternative Nobel Prize"-for "his courage and dedication in fighting for human rights and the civilian control of the military in Indonesia."

In December 2004, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono established, by presidential decree, an independent fact-finding team to conduct investigations into the killing. The Fact-Finding Team (Tim Pencari Fakta) ended its six-month mandate on June 23, 2005, and produced a lengthy report with detailed findings and recommendations, which they presented to the president.

The Fact-Finding Team included an impressive range of civil society members, a senior police official and a prosecutor from Indonesia's attorney general's office. The investigation was conducted with the strong endorsement of President Yudhoyono, who also issued instructions to all state agencies to collaborate fully with the investigation.

When the Fact-Finding Team issued a summons to retired army officer, Lieutenant General Hendropriyono, head of Indonesia's State Intelligence Body at the time of the murder, he refused to comply. He accused the team of "arrogance" and "character assassination." Hendropriyono subsequently filed criminal defamation charges against two members of the fact finding team, Usman Hamid, the head of Kontras, and Rachland Nashidik, the head of Imparsial. They are still being investigated for violating articles 310, 311 and 335 of Indonesia's Criminal Code. The police have issued a summons for questioning to Usman Hamid.

Reported findings from the Fact-Finding Team identified Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Priyanto as a primary suspect in the case. Pollycarpus had been issued with a special "aviation security" assignment to travel on Flight 974, traveling on the first leg of the flight only, from Jakarta to Singapore. According to Munir's widow, Pollycarpus also made several phone calls to their home to check on her husband's flight plans. When the passengers boarded the aircraft in Jakarta, Pollycarpus allegedly offered Munir an upgrade to business class.

The Fact-Finding Team examined mobile phone records of Pollycarpus and traced several dialed numbers, one of which was a confidential line to the intelligence branch directed by retired Major-General Muchdi Purwoprajoyo, a deputy director of the State Intelligence Body. Records reportedly show that as many as 26 calls were made to Muchdi's line, before and after Munir's death, and that there had been multiple calls between the personal mobile numbers of Pollycarpus and Muchdi. Muchdi, a former head of Kopassus, the army's special forces, resigned from the State Intelligence Body in 2005 but maintains informal ties to the agency. He declined two requests from the Fact-Finding Team to appear for questioning. He has denied that
he had made calls to Pollycarpus, alleging that his phone may have been used by someone else.

On August 9, 2005, the trial of Pollycarpus began at the Central Jakarta District Court, with chief public prosecutor Domu P. Sihite reading the charges against him. He was charged with committing or participating in the planned murder of Munir, either alone or in collaboration with two other named suspects, Yeti Susmiarti and Oedi Irianto, Garuda staff on Munir's flight. However, in the indictment against Pollycarpus, the prosecution made no mention of the findings of the Fact-Finding Team, which suggested the involvement of senior employees of the Garuda airline and high-ranking intelligence officials in Munir's death.

In mid-August, the Jakarta daily newspaper Koran Tempo reported that the police had arrested a second suspect in the case. They identified him as Ery Bunyamin, a business class passenger on the same flight as Munir. In December 2005, Pollycarpus was found guilty of premeditated conspiracy to murder. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. This verdict was upheld by a court of appeals in April 2006.

For more information please contact:

In London, Brad Adams: +44 (0)20 7713 2767 (o), +44 (0)7908 728333 (m)
In Jakarta, Charmain Mohamed (Bahasa Indonesia): +62 813 4476 3798 (m)
In New York, Sophie Richardson: +1 917 721 7473 (m)

UN steps up its support to public prosecution

Referring to the parliamentary debate that took place on 31 August, Sukehiro Hasegawa, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Timor-Leste today stated that the UN is strengthening its support to the Judiciary.

UNDP has just recruited two additional prosecutors who have already assumed their duties at the Prosecutor-General's Office. They are Mr. Bernardo Fernandes from Portugal and Mr. Baltazar Monteiro from Cape Verde. “Given the importance of an independent and impartial public prosecution service and the need to ensure that the courts can continue functioning, UNDP has taken every effort to expedite the arrival of the international prosecutors,” Hasegawa added.

In addition, UNMIT is making arrangements for three prosecutors - Marek Michon (Polish), Shyamala Alagendra (Malaysian) and Wambui Ngunya (Kenyan) - to be deployed on a temporary basis from international judiciary institutions located in other countries in order to sustain the rule of law in Timor-Leste. These prosecutors had earlier served in the Serious Crimes Unit. Hasegawa said, “Prosecutor-General, Mr. Longuinhos Monteiro also knew these prosecutors and welcomed their return.”

SRSG Hasegawa welcomed the indication of the Prosecutor-General, Mr. Longuinhos Monteiro that he would accept prosecutors from non-lusophone countries with a civil law system. “This approach will widen the pool of well-qualified prosecutors who are willing to serve in Timor-Leste and will enable the country to benefit from their legal service based on the civil law system,” said Hasegawa.

Such efforts will assist the Timorese judiciary institutions in not only handling the increased number of arrests by the UN Police and the international police as a result of continued unlawful acts of violence but also will benefit the national justice system in general through vast expertise and experiences from a range of different countries.

Hasegawa noted that once the additional prosecutors arrive, judicial proceedings will be stepped up to address not only the pending but also newly emerging cases.

East Timor jailbreak result of failed
judicial system, say Catholic Church leaders

DILI, East Timor (UCAN) - Church leaders and other East Timorese say the escape of a rebel military leader and other prisoners from jail is the result of the government's inability to administer justice in the country.

Fears are mounting that violence may flare up again in the capital after Major Alfredo Reinado, a key figure in the revolt that plunged East Timor into chaos in May, broke out of a jail near Dili on Aug. 30. Some of the 56 other prisoners who escaped with him were charged in incidents of looting and burning during the May violence.

Father Martinho Gusmao, head of the commission for justice and peace of Baucau diocese, suggests that some of those who escaped could have felt unjustly punished for their role in the recent violence.

He told UCA News Aug. 31 that these people could have been "accidentally involved" in the violence, "but those people like former interior minister Rogerio Lobato and former prime minister Mari Alkatiri, who should be held responsible ... are still free."

The priest added that the church is greatly concerned about how the jailbreak will affect national stability. "What the church can do now is to pray with the people for peace. Calling for peace is something the church has done many times, but violence still continues."

In his view the recent violence springs from the "leadership crisis" in the country, and the best way to "solve it is to uphold and speed up the judicial process for the masterminds of the violence."

Father Domingos Soares, spokesman for Dili Diocese, told the press Aug. 31 that the Jose Ramos-Horta government should ensure justice, because that is what people are seeking now for those involved in the recent violence. "If the government is not able to establish a good judicial system, then the consequence will be to lose the people's trust," he said.

Ramos-Horta, who was sworn in July 10 as prime minister, was foreign affairs minister under Alkatiri, who resigned under pressure on June 26.

Minister of Justice Domingos Sarmento said at an Aug. 31 press conference in his office that the Aug. 30 jailbreak occurred when visiting hours ended. "One of (the escapees) threatened some guards near the gate with a grass cutter saying, 'Open the door or you are dead.' Then the guards could not do anything, they just opened it and the prisoners ran away," Sarmento explained.

The minister added that he has asked the country's general procurator to contact airport and immigration authorities to prevent the escapees from leaving the country.

At a separate press conference, United Nations police commander Antero Lopes said that U.N. police and international peacekeepers are working together to recapture the prisoners. Sukehiro Hasegawa, the U.N. secretary general's special representative for Timor Leste (East Timor), called on the escaped prisoners to return to jail or turn themselves over to international peacekeeping forces.

East Timorese who spoke to UCA News say they fear the jailbreak will worsen the already tense situation in the country. "This has created fear in us, especially those still in refugee camps," remarked Celestino da Costa Alves, 43, who is living in a refugee camp in Dili because of the past months of violence.

The businessman said the Ramos-Horta administration made many promises but has not delivered on them. "A promise to install international police in hotspots has not been realized. How can we go home?" he asked. "Now, another problem. ... If something happens, we are all going to die for sure."

Rita dos Santos, 42, a mother of four who has been living in a refugee camp near Dili, said the government appears to have forgotten what led people to flee to refugee camps in the first place. The latest incident, she said, should serve to "alert the government" to the serious problems in the country.

Dili suffered a series of protests that evolved into widespread violence in May after Alkatiri dismissed 600 of the 1,400 members of East Timor's army. The 600 were protesting what they said was widespread discrimination against troops from the western part of the country. An estimated 150,000 people were displaced and at least 20 killed in the violence, which led to deployment of a 2,500-strong international peacekeeping force.

The United Nations agreed on Aug. 25 to deploy 1,608 more police in East Timor to shore up security. According to media reports, Ramos-Horta said he expects the mission to arrive in the fledgling nation within a month.

International media reported on Sept. 1 that gangs armed with stones and machetes clashed in Dili, and that at least eight people were wounded in the violence before international security forces arrived to restore order.

East Timor emerged as an independent nation in 2002 after more than two years under a transitional U.N. administration. An August 1999 referendum had brought an end to Indonesian rule, which began when Indonesian troops entered the territory in 1975 after the Portuguese colonial administration withdrew, ending more than four centuries of Portuguese rule.

The United Nations oversaw the elections that produced independent East Timor's first government. The country's first presidential and parliamentary elections as an independent nation are scheduled for 2007.

Catholics form an estimated 90 percent of the nearly 1 million population.

Rights activists want Truth & Friendship Commission
disbanded

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta -- Disappointment. This was how human rights organisations greeted an extension to the mandate of the Truth and Friendship Commission (KKP) by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor. They also called for the KKP to be disbanded because they say its mandate is unclear.

"We are calling on the governments of Indonesia and East Timor to disband the KKP, and implement the principles and international norms in the context of human rights and justice, along with being pro-active in responding to the results of the United Nations report", said Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) coordinator Usman Hamid at a press conference at the Kontras offices on Jl. Borobudur in Menteng, Central Jakarta.

Also present at the press conference were representatives of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Center for Democracy and Human Rights (Demos) and the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI).

According to Hamid, the extension of the KKP's mandate further tarnishes Indonesia's commitment to upholding human rights. Moreover the extension will also attract adverse international attention, including from the UN secretary general.

In addition to this, after one year the KKP has yet to explain who exactly has been questioned or to say who perpetrated the gross human rights violations in East Timor following the 1999 referendum. "This indicates a lack of accountability and transparency within the KKP", exclaimed Hamid.

He added that the existence of and extension of the KKP's mission goes against the spirit and substance of the UN secretary general's report to the UN Security Council, which said that the international nature of such crimes means that the perpetrators cannot receive clemency or amnesty.

Meanwhile under the terms of reference for the formation of the KKP, it still stipulates amnesty will be guaranteed to perpetrators of human rights violations that admit their guilt. This puts the KKP in contradiction with the basic principles of the law and international norms.

"In addition to this the KKP is not accountable and transparent with regard to its budget that was taken from the state budge. This has also not been explained", added Hamid.

The KKP was form to reconcile past human rights problems between Indonesia and East Timor related to human rights violations following the referendum in East Timor in 1999 and signed formally by the two governments on March 9, 2005. Since its formation, the KKP has received a cold reception from rights organisations. (nvt)

The INDOLEFT news service is produced by the
Institute of Liberation, Media and Social Studies
(LPMIS) and Action in Solidarity with Asia and the
Pacific.

INDOLEFT News Service
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