Subject: UNMIT Daily Media Review 8 February 2007

Thursday, 08 February 2007

UNMIT ­ MEDIA MONITORING THE UN INTEGRATED MISSION IN TIMOR-LESTE DOES NOT VOUCH OR THE ACCURACY OF THESE REPORTS

National Media Reports

PG Irresponsible In Issuing Letter: Soares

Aderito de Jesus Soares, human rights advocate, said Timor-Leste Prosecutor-General lacks serious sensibility to the public's right to understand the judicial process. Soares stressed that before issuing the letter to Mari Alkatiri about dropping charges against him, the Public Ministry should have explained to the public the efforts made and their conclusion for the public to understand the process and why the investigation stopped. He said the letter has created confusion among the public and is not helping to resolve the crisis. Soares would like the Prosecutor-General to clarify the issuing of the notification letter. He said that the Prosecutor-General was in Australia and aware of the letter while his Deputy made public that he was not aware of it. The announcement of the letter was made public by Mari Alkatiri. According to Soares, the work of the Prosecutor is unprofessional and he does not have the competence to be in charge of an institution as it is clear that both the Prosecutor-General and his deputy are not speaking the same language. (TP)

I would Have Become SG If It Wasn't For The Crisis: Ramos-Horta

Prime Minister Ramos-Horta has reportedly said that if it was not for the military and political crisis in the country, he had the chance to become the United Nations Secretary General.

He said many nations, including permanent members of the UN Security Council and high-level US politicians supported his candidacy to replace Kofi Annan, noting it was not his intention to become the Prime Minister for nine months. In relation Alkatiri's demand for the Prime Minister and the President to publicly acknowledge their mistake, Ramos-Horta said he would not comment. He said he wanted to emphasise that his work was not to become the Prime Minister for a short period and if it wasn't for the crisis, today he would probably be sitting in New York. He said that even before presenting his candidacy officially he already had many supporters. Ramos-Horta said the population knows that during the crisis he was the 'bridge' for dialogue in Timor-Leste to prevent the country from falling into a civil war. He further said that right from the beginning he believed that Mari Alkatiri was not involved in distributing guns to civilians. (TP)

Case Involving Malaysia UNPOL Needs Investigation

Military and political observer Julio Tomas Pinto said the government, the Malaysian Embassy and the UN must establish a team to investigate the case involving the damage of religious symbols allegedly caused by the UNPOL officers from Malaysia. Pinto said that during the Indonesia period, Indonesian soldiers also did the same and the population stood against the military. He is of the opinion that with such an attitude, the population will have a bad perception of the Malaysian police officers, therefore the investigation is crucial as an apology for their actions. (STL)

Candidates Kick Start Campaign

The Presidential candidates have already kick started their campaigns. On Wednesday, Manuel Tilman (KOTA) launched his campaign accompanied by the national well-known singer Leo Moniz and his band at Hotel Timor. Materials to support his campaign included white T-shirts with the slogan “Vote for me, Tilman”, red caps and black and white flags. Tilman said if he becomes the President, his focus would be on PNTL and F-FDTL, the youth, the IDPs and his first program would be focused on F-FDTL, and then the petitioners. He said he would station F-FDTL throughout the country the same as during the Portuguese period and he would then look into the petitioners' problems and a large recruitment as per the latest legislation, which had just been approved. Tilman wants PNTL to become an institution with prestige and have their own living headquarters.

Another candidate, Avelino Coelho said if he is elected as President his priority would be to defend the economy for the people, as it is the main factor for social injustice in the country. He said if his party wins the Presidential elections they would put pressure on the government and the parliament to define the investment politics and become partner in the investment process to the population. (STL)

Rice Shortage in TL

In response to rice shortages in Timor-Leste, the company Timor Food has pledged to import up to 10,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand. The owner of the company who refused to give his name said the warehouse is now empty and consumers would have to wait two weeks. He said that the imported rice would be expensive but of better quality. (TL)

NATIONAL NEWS SOURCES: Timor Post (TP) Radio Timor-Leste (RTL) Suara Timor Lorosae (STL) Diario Tempo (DT) Diario Nacional Seminario Lia Foun (LF) Televisaun Timor-Leste [TVTL]

UNMIT MEDIA MONITORING


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