segunda-feira, junho 19, 2006

"Há muitos grupos bem armados"-Ministro José Ramos...

Leutala, Timor-Leste, 19 Jun (Lusa) - Em Timor-Leste continuam a existir "muitos grupos bem armados", cujo número total se desconhece, disse hoje em Leutala, 50 quilómetros a ocidente de Díli, o ministro da Defesa timorense à Agência Lusa e à televisão portuguesa RTP.

José Ramos Horta falava no final de uma visita ao alegado "esquadrão da morte", que acusa o primeiro-ministro, Mari Alkatiri, e o ex-ministro do Interior Rogério Lobato de terem distribuído armas para eliminação de adversários políticos.

Os alvos dessa missão eram os cerca de 600 ex- militares demitidos das forças armadas timorenses pelo Governo, líderes de partidos políticos da oposição, padres e membros do Comité Central da FRETILIN contestatários da liderança de Mari Alkatiri, secretário-geral do partido.

"Custa-me a crer que seja verdade. Mas este grupo parece ser fidedigno, sério e sentem-se defraudados", salientou.

"Acharam que as ordens que receberam não eram justas nem correctas e, por isso, recusaram cumprir as ordens e falar", acrescentou.

José Ramos Horta salientou que se deslocou a Leutala, nas montanhas do distrito de Liquiça, a pedido do comandante "Railos".

"Está aqui um grupo de que se tem falado bastante, numa situação bem grave e delicada. São cerca de 30 homens com 17 armas. Armas alegadamente distribuídas por altos responsáveis do Governo" timorense, justificou.

"Eles estão dispostos a entregar as armas ao Presidente da República (...) Mas essas armas não são umas armas quaisquer. Eles exigem que essas armas sejam preservadas como evidência de um crime", adiantou.

O ministro vincou que ainda durante o dia dois Procuradores da República se encontrariam com o grupo, para se iniciar o processo de investigação sobre a origem das armas.

Questionado sobre o número de grupos armados existentes no país, José Ramos Horta, citando o comandante "Railos", respondeu que são vários.

"Além deste grupo, segundo eles próprios, há outros grupos armados da mesma maneira e com os mesmos objectivos", ou seja, a alegada missão de eliminação física de adversários políticos de Mari Alkatiri, disse.

O comandante "Railos" alega que apenas entregará as armas se Mari Alkatiri for julgado em tribunal internacional.

Os elementos do grupo, que distribuíram a imprensa uma declaração intitulada "Equipa de Segurança Secreta da FRETILIN - Grupo Railos", afirmam-se militantes da FRETILIN, e três deles tinham ao pescoço o cartão de identificação de delegado ao recente congresso do partido, realizado em Maio passado em Díli.

Neste congresso, Mari Alkatiri foi reconduzido como secretário-geral com 97,1 por cento dos votos dos delegados.

"São antigos combatentes das FALINTIL e militantes da FRETILIN mas não dizem nada de negativo em relação ao partido. São quadros muito leais e que se sentem defraudados pelas ordens que receberam", vincou.

As FALINTIL (Forças Armadas de Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste) dirigiram no mato a resistência contra a ocupação de 24 anos da Indonésia.

Com a restauração da independência, em 20 de Maio de 2002, as FALINTIL transformaram-se em forças armadas regulares, passando estas a denominar-se FALINTIL-Forças de Defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL).

José Ramos Horta anunciou domingo que poderia visitar hoje o grupo de veteranos da resistência que alegam terem sido armados pelo primeiro-ministro Mari Alkatiri para eliminarem adversários políticos.

Mari Alkatiri já negou as acusações, mas o ex- ministro do Interior e vice-presidente da FRETILIN, Rogério Lobato, reconheceu em entrevista publicada sábado pelo semanário Expresso, que o alegado "esquadrão da morte" foi preparado para ajudar a polícia a "actuar numa situação de guerrilha".

Mari Alkatiri rejeitou que a FRETILIN tenha um grupo armado clandestino e que tenha ordenado a distribuição de armas a civis, afirmando que se trata de mais uma tentativa para o desacreditar.

"Estão a tentar diabolizar a minha imagem. É a única coisa que posso dizer", comentou Alkatiri, citado pela estação de televisão australiana ABC, o primeiro órgão de comunicação a revelar a existência do alegado "esquadrão da morte".

José Ramos Horta defendeu no passado dia 09 a realização de uma investigação urgente sobre o caso, conduzida por timorenses e peritos internacionais.

De acordo com o chefe da diplomacia timorense, o objectivo do contacto é persuadir o grupo de veteranos, liderado por Vicente "Railos" da Conceição, a entregar a suas armas e debater as alegações sobre o envolvimento do primeiro- ministro e do ex-ministro do Interior.

As Nações Unidas iniciaram este fim-de-semana uma investigação sobre os actos de violência registados desde finais de Abril em Díli, incluindo a actividade de grupos armados, para descobrir quem procedeu à distribuição de armas.

A investigação está a ser coordenada com o Ministério Público timorense, tendo na passada quinta-feira, em declarações à agência noticiosa francesa AFP, o procurador António Osório declarado que serão seguidas todas as linhas de investigação, incluindo as alegações do grupo de veteranos liderado por Vicente "Railos" da Conceição.

EL.

11 comentários:

Anónimo disse...

Civilian hit squad claimed
From: AAP
June 19, 2006

FRESH evidence has emerged backing up claims that East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri arranged for civilians to be armed so they could destroy his enemies.

The claims were made by Vincente "Railos" da Concecao, the leader of a group of armed resistance fighters, who says Dr Alkatiri's orders were carried out by former interior minister Rogerio Lobato, a close ally of the Prime Minister.
ABC TV's Four Corners tonight revealed a memo from Commander da Concecao, purported to be from Mr Lobato, detailing the names of the civilian hit squad and the weapons supplied to them.

In an interview with ABC TV, Cmdr da Concecao claimed to have had a 30-minute meeting with Dr Alkatiri, where the prime minister outlined the purpose of the hit squad.

"In this meeting he instructed Comrade Rogerio to distribute weapons to the Fretilin secret security team," he said.

He described the mission given the men, which included eliminating the Opposition, military leaders and even members of Dr Alkatiri's Fretilin party who opposed the Prime Minister's policies.


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"I realised Mari wanted to divide the people and keep control of the Government," Cmdr da Concecao said.

Dr Alkatiri has consistently rejected the allegations, which Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta says could be investigated.

"I do believe that there is no civil (army) ... that was armed by the Government," Dr Alkatiri told ABC TV.

But Antonio de Cruz, national commander of the Border Control Unit, confirmed that he had been asked by Mr Lobato to give guns and ammunition to Cmdr da Concecao.

"I received an order from our interior minister," he told ABC TV.

He supplied the ABC with a list of the weapons supplied to the minister, the majority of which corresponded with the arms on the memo from Mr Lobato to Cmdr da Concecao.

The ABC also detailed a letter by East Timor's Police Commissioner Paulo Martins to Dr Alkatiri, informing him that he had seen a man by the name of Arakat and eight others using weapons that belonged to the border police.

"(The guns were) the 17 weapons that had been handed over to the minister of the interior," the letter stated.

Mr Martins said he had not given the letter directly to Dr Alkatiri, but to his secretary, however, the prime minister was definitely aware of the matter.

He said the next time he spoke to the Prime Minister, Dr Alkatiri asked him not to raise the matter of the weapons at their next meeting.

The ABC also reported that Dr Alkatiri had asked Timorese police, who were gunned down by soldiers last month, to stop firing during the deadly gun battle.

An investigation has been launched into the massacre of 12 police officers outside the UN police headquarters in Dili.

Senior police officer Afonso de Jesus told ABC TV that the Prime Minister called him on the morning of the gun battle, asking the police not to fire.

As a result, the officer asked his colleagues to surrender their weapons.

But as they emerged from the compound, they were fired on by the renegade soldiers.

Reports at the time suggested the men who fired on the police were dressed in irregular military uniforms and thongs, leading to allegations some may have been civilian militia.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19523056-401,00.html

Anónimo disse...

Dear all,

just take a look at this.... and make your justment...


-----------
Timor minister equipped police as private army
(sydney morning herald)

NEW details have emerged about an East Timorese Government minister's efforts to turn police into a private army for the ruling Fretilin party and arm civilian hit squads to cow voters and rivals before next year's elections.
The former interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, arranged to secretly import high-powered weapons for the East Timor National Police, who are responsible to the Interior Ministry, on a visit to Kuwait with the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, about two years ago, the Herald has been told. "These were not police weapons. This was serious military hardware," a well-placed source said.
The Herald has also been given a copy of an invoice showing Mr Lobato imported a massive quantity of ammunition for assault rifles at the end of 2004. A group of about 30 men in the coastal town of Liquica have displayed about 20 automatic assault rifles of the sort held by police, claiming they were supplied the weapons by Mr Lobato and Mr Alkatiri to intimidate and kill Fretilin's political rivals.
In a move that might lead to Mr Alkatiri's dismissal under constitutional emergency powers, the President, Xanana Gusmao, is sending a key ally, the Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, to Liquica today to meet Reilos Vicente, the leader of the armed group.
Mr Ramos Horta said yesterday evidence of arms distribution - "that might breach the very principles enshrined in our constitution" - could induce the President to open an inquiry against ministers.
"What is important is, we try to collect the weapons, disarming people who are carrying them through dialogue, then we move to the next step, find out who gave weapons to them," Mr Ramos Horta said. If Mr Alkatiri is cited, this would almost certainly force him to resign or step aside from his office.
East Timor observers believe Mr Lobato was preparing a show of force to intimidate voters in April's parliamentary elections, against a background of disappointment with the Government's failure to deliver the prosperity many expected after independence. Mr Lobato was dismissed three weeks ago at the height of the country's security crisis but
remains powerful as Fretilin's deputy party chief.
The ammunition order shown to the Herald will firm suspicions that Mr Lobato was trying to build the 3500-member police force as a counter to the 1800-member army. The army was built on the guerilla force Falintil, which fought the Indonesians and which Mr Gusmao, its former leader, detached from Fretilin.


The invoice, made in December 2004, shows Mr Lobato approved the $US107,940 purchase of 257,000 rounds of 5.56mm assault rifle ammunition from Cavalo Bravo, a company owned and run by Bader Alkatiri, a brother of the Prime Minister. A certificate of registration for Cavalo Bravo shows it was set up to import military and police equipment, including heavy and light arms, munitions, grenades, tanks, helicopters, boats and supplies.
Bader Alkatiri said Cavalo Bravo was not a monopoly, but mainly focused on military supplies. "But I didn't import weapons, only ammunition," he said.
Mr Lobato's efforts to build police firepower started as the former United Nations interim administration handed over to the Fretilin government at independence in May 2002.
Filipe Sousa-Santos, then representing a Danish trading firm, was involved in a UN-authorised importation of a small number of automatic weapons from the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal. The order comprised 129 portable light machine-guns for the army, plus 64 FNC assault rifles and seven F-2000 automatic rifles for the police.
The police imported 3500 to 4000 Glock pistols as sidearms, and were given 200 Steyr automatic rifles by Malaysia.
It was the F-2000 guns that raised eyebrows. The most powerful weapon of its size, it has a high rate of fire and good accuracy. "This is what you would want to have if you were going to give the army a go," Mr Sousa-Santos said.
The order was vetted by Australian and American intelligence agents, and queried by Belgium, but allowed when the police said the weapons would be used to patrol the then tense Indonesian border, a police responsibility.
"Then FN Herstal started to see the weapons were not being used for what they were supposed to," Mr Sousa-Santos said. "People started to see them in the hands of ministerial bodyguards and the rapid reaction police unit."
Other reports say the police gained 20 of the F-2000s, but Mr Sousa-Santos believes these could only have come second-hand from other governments, as his firm retained exclusive rights with FN Herstal.
An Australian Federal Police official said yesterday 509 firearms had been collected from civilians since peacekeepers began arriving on May 25, but it was not clear how many more there were.

Anónimo disse...

Vejam, se podem captar alguma coisa... Isto nao é o que costuma dizer em Latim "Contra Factum non Argumentum"...
---------
Timor minister equipped police as private army
(sydney morning herald)

NEW details have emerged about an East Timorese Government minister's efforts to turn police into a private army for the ruling Fretilin party and arm civilian hit squads to cow voters and rivals before next year's elections.
The former interior minister, Rogerio Lobato, arranged to secretly import high-powered weapons for the East Timor National Police, who are responsible to the Interior Ministry, on a visit to Kuwait with the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, about two years ago, the Herald has been told. "These were not police weapons. This was serious military hardware," a well-placed source said.
The Herald has also been given a copy of an invoice showing Mr Lobato imported a massive quantity of ammunition for assault rifles at the end of 2004. A group of about 30 men in the coastal town of Liquica have displayed about 20 automatic assault rifles of the sort held by police, claiming they were supplied the weapons by Mr Lobato and Mr Alkatiri to intimidate and kill Fretilin's political rivals.
In a move that might lead to Mr Alkatiri's dismissal under constitutional emergency powers, the President, Xanana Gusmao, is sending a key ally, the Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, to Liquica today to meet Reilos Vicente, the leader of the armed group.
Mr Ramos Horta said yesterday evidence of arms distribution - "that might breach the very principles enshrined in our constitution" - could induce the President to open an inquiry against ministers.
"What is important is, we try to collect the weapons, disarming people who are carrying them through dialogue, then we move to the next step, find out who gave weapons to them," Mr Ramos Horta said. If Mr Alkatiri is cited, this would almost certainly force him to resign or step aside from his office.
East Timor observers believe Mr Lobato was preparing a show of force to intimidate voters in April's parliamentary elections, against a background of disappointment with the Government's failure to deliver the prosperity many expected after independence. Mr Lobato was dismissed three weeks ago at the height of the country's security crisis but
remains powerful as Fretilin's deputy party chief.
The ammunition order shown to the Herald will firm suspicions that Mr Lobato was trying to build the 3500-member police force as a counter to the 1800-member army. The army was built on the guerilla force Falintil, which fought the Indonesians and which Mr Gusmao, its former leader, detached from Fretilin.


The invoice, made in December 2004, shows Mr Lobato approved the $US107,940 purchase of 257,000 rounds of 5.56mm assault rifle ammunition from Cavalo Bravo, a company owned and run by Bader Alkatiri, a brother of the Prime Minister. A certificate of registration for Cavalo Bravo shows it was set up to import military and police equipment, including heavy and light arms, munitions, grenades, tanks, helicopters, boats and supplies.
Bader Alkatiri said Cavalo Bravo was not a monopoly, but mainly focused on military supplies. "But I didn't import weapons, only ammunition," he said.
Mr Lobato's efforts to build police firepower started as the former United Nations interim administration handed over to the Fretilin government at independence in May 2002.
Filipe Sousa-Santos, then representing a Danish trading firm, was involved in a UN-authorised importation of a small number of automatic weapons from the Belgian arms manufacturer FN Herstal. The order comprised 129 portable light machine-guns for the army, plus 64 FNC assault rifles and seven F-2000 automatic rifles for the police.
The police imported 3500 to 4000 Glock pistols as sidearms, and were given 200 Steyr automatic rifles by Malaysia.
It was the F-2000 guns that raised eyebrows. The most powerful weapon of its size, it has a high rate of fire and good accuracy. "This is what you would want to have if you were going to give the army a go," Mr Sousa-Santos said.
The order was vetted by Australian and American intelligence agents, and queried by Belgium, but allowed when the police said the weapons would be used to patrol the then tense Indonesian border, a police responsibility.
"Then FN Herstal started to see the weapons were not being used for what they were supposed to," Mr Sousa-Santos said. "People started to see them in the hands of ministerial bodyguards and the rapid reaction police unit."
Other reports say the police gained 20 of the F-2000s, but Mr Sousa-Santos believes these could only have come second-hand from other governments, as his firm retained exclusive rights with FN Herstal.
An Australian Federal Police official said yesterday 509 firearms had been collected from civilians since peacekeepers began arriving on May 25, but it was not clear how many more there were.

Anónimo disse...

nao restam duvidas sobre o que Mari Alkatiri e Rogerio Lobato e ....? estavam a tramar. A consquista dos 50/100 anos da governacao fretilin.
Claro que a sua verdadeira preocupacao era continuar no poder ate o fim dos seus dias.
Levantam se agora serias questoes sobre a razao pelo qual estavam tao interessados a "servir" o povo por tantos anos. quando se fala de petroleo, comercio de armas e municoes, bombas de gasolina, e outros negocios mais talvez se comprende a sua tao grande vontade de "servir" o povo estando no governo.

Ja existem demasiadas alegacoes que parecem mesmo ser fidedignas mesmo antes de uma investigacao final.

Espera se agora saber para quando mesmo a sua inevitavel queda definitiva.

Mais cedo ou mais tarde? o que acham os leitores

Anónimo disse...

Acho que a investigacao tem que ser feita antes de se aplicar a pena adequada aos culpados.

O povo continua a ser vitima de ambicoes desmedidas de certos individuos

Anónimo disse...

Mr. Horta agora também acumula a da secreta? Não lhe bastavam as anteriores? E já deu conta do que alegadamente sabe à tal comissão? Ou como é costume, tornou a falar para se manter na onda da crista mediática?

Anónimo disse...

Ramos Horta:
"Custa-me a crer que seja verdade. Mas este grupo parece ser fidedigno, sério e sentem-se defraudados", salientou.

"Acharam que as ordens que receberam não eram justas nem correctas e, por isso, recusaram cumprir as ordens e falar", acrescentou"

Como pode qualificar um grupo de civis armados de "sério" Senhor Ministro !!!!

Explique Senhor Ministro se se recusaram a cumprir ordens e a falar porque é que não falaram para o Senhor Ministro ou para o Presidente da República?

Uma vez que não o fizeram porque falam para uma jornalista australiana e não para todos os jornalistas presentes em Timor?

E já agora que são tão sérios explique-nos Senhor Ministro porque é que ainda não entregaram as armas ao seu Presidente da República e ainda se torna necessária a sua deslocação a tal "quartel".

Senhor Ministro poupe-nos a tão má qualidade!

Vá lá tenha um pouco mais de inteligência imaginativa.
Por favor lembre-se que não está só a falar para australianos porque isso é mesmo só para australiano ver!

Anónimo disse...

Até o NOBEL se "engana"... coitado!

Ah, agora os procuradores também já se "encontram" com gangs / grupos?!

Os Prémio Nobel não deveriam estar obrigados a serem pessoas minimamente instruídas e comedidas?! Não acham?!

Anónimo disse...

Ó meu querido "EL" o Ministério Público só pode ser timorense.
Ai querido que distraído! Ainda não reparaste que Timor é um país independente!
Sempre, sempre a mesma coisa!
A continuares assim ainda vais ficar australiano
CORROR!!!!!!

Anónimo disse...

Ó meu querido "EL" o Ministério Público só pode ser timorense.
Ai querido que distraído! Ainda não reparaste que Timor é um país independente!
Sempre, sempre a mesma coisa!
A continuares assim ainda vais ficar australiano
CORROR!!!!!!

Anónimo disse...

tanta critica gratuita contra um homem que ate agora tem sido incansavel em tentar resolver esta tragedia.
Gostaria de saber em que pe estaria agora a situacao se o Interior e a Defesa continuassem com os mesmos minitros.
Criaram a merda(desculpem o meu fraces)e esconderam-se nas suas tocas numa altura em que mais se precisava de lideranca para por termo aos confictos. Ou sera que estavam a "liderar" do conforto das suas tocas? Sinceramente,
deixem o Horta fazer o trabalho que deve ser feito e deixem-se de fazer birras!

Traduções

Todas as traduções de inglês para português (e também de francês para português) são feitas pela Margarida, que conhecemos recentemente, mas que desde sempre nos ajuda.

Obrigado pela solidariedade, Margarida!

Mensagem inicial - 16 de Maio de 2006

"Apesar de frágil, Timor-Leste é uma jovem democracia em que acreditamos. É o país que escolhemos para viver e trabalhar. Desde dia 28 de Abril muito se tem dito sobre a situação em Timor-Leste. Boatos, rumores, alertas, declarações de países estrangeiros, inocentes ou não, têm servido para transmitir um clima de conflito e insegurança que não corresponde ao que vivemos. Vamos tentar transmitir o que se passa aqui. Não o que ouvimos dizer... "
 

Malai Azul. Lives in East Timor/Dili, speaks Portuguese and English.
This is my blogchalk: Timor, Timor-Leste, East Timor, Dili, Portuguese, English, Malai Azul, politica, situação, Xanana, Ramos-Horta, Alkatiri, Conflito, Crise, ISF, GNR, UNPOL, UNMIT, ONU, UN.