FORUM-ASIA is deeply concerned over the recent turmoil in Timor Leste and urges the government to take necessary measures to end political tensions immediately by ensuring full official cooperation with international and national inquiries into deaths which resulted from ongoing violence in Dili, its capital city.

FORUM-ASIA is deeply concerned over the recent turmoil in Timor Leste and urges the government to take necessary measures to end political tensions immediately by ensuring full official cooperation with international and national inquiries into deaths which resulted from ongoing violence in Dili, its capital city.

We urge all parties to undertake effective and swift application of the law against continued looting, arson and shootings in the main city and to provide for the protection of internally displaced persons.

Reports estimated that 100,000 families have evacuated the city for safer grounds. We fear the longer it takes for families to return to their homes the more vulnerable they are to the onset of diseases due to harsh weather conditions and the lack of water and sanitation in camp areas.

The situation prompts an urgent compliance to the United Nations Guiding Principles 4 (2), on Internal Displacement, such that:

“…certain internally displaced persons, such as children, especially unaccompanied minors, expectant mothers, mothers with young children, female heads of households, persons with disabilities and elderly persons, shall be entitled to protection and assistance required by their condition and to treatment which takes into account their special needs”.

Much of the violence of the past months spiraled from a deep sense of injustice that Timor Leste’s government had failed to resolve such as proper accounting for the post referendum violence.

Impunity remains a serious issue, its persistence in Timor Leste’s society continue to breed distrust among the population even as growing unemployment and poverty threaten to tear apart its frail democracy.

Timor Leste’s government must demonstrate a stronger commitment towards addressing impunity and enforcing the rule of law. It must stay united in its common goal of a better life for its people.

We also call upon International aid agencies undertaking humanitarian assistance and emergency relief to ensure the full participation of the people in the practical implementation of humanitarian assistance such that victims are not merely passive beneficiaries of external assistance but become active actors in defining strategies of response, practicing principles of non-discrimination and the rebuilding of their lives.

We emphasise the crucial role of the United Nations in seeking a political solution as well as preventing further bloodshed, through a multi-national peacekeeping effort and high-level diplomacy.

There is an immediate need to disarm unidentified groups and gangs loitering the streets of Dili. At the same time, the UN must assist through all possible means the strengthening of state institutions which are responsible for peace and order, law enforcement and the judiciary.

Sincerely,

Anselmo Lee
Executive Director