Internet Exclusive: Criminal Defamation Charges Against Tempo Semanal Dropped. A Victory For Media in Timor-Leste.

The Criminal Defamation Case Against Tempo Semanal Closed

A year ago Tempo Semanal published a series of stories that became known as the "SMS Scandal" in which it alleged corruption by the Minister of Justice, Lucia Lobato, along with Timorese and Indonesian business people in relation to projects under her Ministry.  These projects included the Becora Prison, uniforms for prison guards and Timor-Leste national identity cards projects.

The stories include

1. Tempo Semanal: Edition 108: SMS texts evidence: Minister for Justice Gives Herself And Friends Projects 
2. Tempo Semanal Edisaun 108 SMS: MJ Fo Projektu ba An Rasik no Ninia Belum Sira
3. Translation Tempo Semanal Edition 135 (Minister of Justice SMS Corruption Scandal Continues)
4.  "Identity Card Project Breaches Law No. 10/2005 and Confirms Allegations of KKN." [In the Ministry of Justice] "Identity Card Project Breaches Law No. 10/2005 and Confirms Allegations of KKN[1]."

Minister Lobato reacted angrily and in October 2008 she lodged a criminal defamation case against Tempo Semanal and its Director Jose Antonio Belo.

Read stories on the criminal defamation case here:

1. Justice minister sues East Timor newspaper 
2. Pacific Freedom Forum Petitions Against "Unconstitutional" Defamation Case
3. Defamation Case against Tempo Semanal: Lao Hamutuk
4. ETAN urges dropping of defamation charges against Timorese editor
5. TAPOL protests against defamation charges against Timorese journalist

She reported the case of criminal defamation against Jose Belo to prosecutors. Belo was investigated by the International Prosecutor on 19 January 2009 and has been under city detention since then. He has to report to the prosecutor if he wants to travel away from Dili more than 15 days. Since last year Belo only made two trips out from Timor-Leste and had to refuse three invitations for foreign travel. He went to Australia for 10 days and to Indonesia for 4 days.

Lucia Lobato - Minister of Justice, 
Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

On 13 November 2009 PNTL delivered a two page notification letter to Tempo Semanal Offices in Palapaso Dili.

Video Footage Here:

These letters informed Tempo Semanal officially that the case of Criminal Defamation has ceased on 15 June 2009 and was signed by International Prosecutor Jose Landim.

The Notification letter stated, “The crime of defamation was decriminalized by the new Timor-Leste Criminal Code, DL No. 19/2009 of 8 April 2009, as a result of which the accused can no longer be held criminally liable. 

It continued, “In effect, pursuant to the provisions of article 3, 1. of Timor-Leste's new Criminal Code, "nobody can be held criminally liable as a result of facts prescribed as criminal acts at the relevant time it was carried into action if the law subsequently ceases to consider it as a crime." 

“As such, because it is not now possible to continue with the criminal proceedings against the accused, the proceedings currently on foot are hereby ordered to be closed pursuant to article 235, 1. c) of the Criminal Code."

Tempo Semanal Director Jose Antonio Belo congratulated the Prosecutor General and all her staff to put the law in it's highest place. However, at the same time Belo was disappointed the case would not reach court, where the facts of the corruption case might come to futher public light.  Belo stateed that he is aware that the then Prosecutor General had demanded the Minister for Justice Madam Lucia Lobato to submit more evidence before the case could be sent to the court. 

“I and Tempo Semanal have been left in confusion for an entire year and we don't know the situation of the case against us but this afternoon we have receive this notification letter,” said Belo on 13/11/09 in Tempo's office.

“I as a Timorese journalist very sad to see our Minister of Justice's actions by lodging a criminal difamation case against myself and Tempo Semanal while her office producing the New East Timor Penal code which decriminalized defamation,” Belo said.

He continued to say that, “it seems like the Minister for Justice is confused about Timorese law.”

Belo stated that he would like to make it cleared to Tempo Semanal readers that, “we are not afraid to go the court to prove our story that's why we have request the kindness from the good office of the two deputy Prime Minister to encourage the Minister of Justice to carry on the case.”

In this opportunity Jose Belo and Tempo Semanal would like to thanks to all those friends who give courage and support  this in this diffucult time.

It remains unclear if the Minister of Justice will ever faces charges in relation to the accusations of corruption that have been made against her by this newspaper, the Provedor, the Parliamentary Opposition and many others.

Bere Returned to Indonesia: Amnesty International and National Civil Society Condemn the Move.

For more than two months the case of Maternus Bere has created scandal for the Timor-Leste Presidency, Government, National Parliament and civil society.

On Friday afternoon 30 October 2009 the Indonesian Embassy called the Minister of Justice Lucia Lobato to inform her that Maternus Bere has been sent back to Indonesia.

“On 30th, last Friday, I have received information from the Indonesian Embassy which to informed the Government that Maternus Bere's health situation was getting worse,” said Lucia Lobato. 

The Minister of Jusktice tried to convince the public that it was for humanitarian reasons that the Government let Bere out of prison.

“Because of the Humanitarian reason I think we can concede to this situation. Once again after we have past through a long process I would like appeal to all the Timorese people for their understanding to see this case as the one which is in the national interest.”

Lobato stated that “He is suffering from three or four kinds of illness such as kidney ailments, Tifu Afudu (Portuguese language), malaria and high blood pressure and the Indonesians were very preoccupied with his health situation also the medical team have went to do test in the embassy,” Lucia said

“The Indonesian Government placed alot of attention on the matter as bere is their citizen so with urgency they have evacuated Maternus Bere out of Timor-Leste into Indonesia on Friday last week.”

However, the Minister of Justice would not give details at the press conference stating that, “there were a lot of concerns and the Government have to give full information to the public which willing to know the last details information of maternus Bere's case.”

She reiterated that, “at this moment Maternus Bere is in Indonesia and he has left Timor-Leste on 30 October last and he is no longer in the Indonesian Embassy.”

“We all know that we have dealt with a big issue in regard to Maternus Beres Case,” Justice Minister Lucia Lobato informed journalist in Dili today.

She said that, “We have confronted a difficult situation.” But she praised the ability of Timorese to solving their own problem as, “Once again it shows that Timor-Leste can resolve our own problem even we have a lot of challenges but we can overcome this situation.”

The Opposition party in the National Parliament alleged that the Government help Martenus Bere to escape from justice.

Minister Lobato rejected to give any comment to the allegations and she only referred to the Prime Minister Gusmao's statement before the Parliament during the motion debate last month. “I think I will not come here to explain again this case because we all must informed by the PM's declaration before the parliament,” Lucia said.

Lucia Lobato doesn't know when Maternus Bere left Timor Leste but she only confirmed that she was informed by the Indonesian Embassy in Dili on Friday Last week.

“I don't know whether he has left on Friday morning or he was still in Dili when they informed me.” She told the journalists if they want more details to ask the Indonesian Embassy.

But the civil society and youth groups disagree with the government position. 

Just more or less a hundred meter from the government building a large group of young people were preparing to celebrate the anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre in 12 November 1991 in which Indonesian security forces massacred over 300 people.

These groups have photo exhibitions to remind the Timorese younger generation that many people are still missing and the families have not found their remains.

Edio Saldanha a member from the organising committee said the justice must occur in order to prevent more violence in the future.

“In relation to Maternus Bere case we are also not satisfied and do not accept the Government's position.”

“He [Bere] was involved in  [the Suai Church] massacre in which three priests, and many people were killed and there were also many sexual assaults against our sisters in the past.  And now our leaders like President Horta and Prime Minister Gusmao released him in violation of our laws - and the Prime Minister even said so in the National Parliament - so the act is in violation of our laws" explained Mr. Saldanha

Edio said, “We demand the Prosecutor General start to process these violations of our law and our Constitution."

"The release of Maternus Bere is viewed as insult to the justice system in Timor-Leste and Government gives priority to the militia and pro Autonomy people then justice for the victims of TNI and pro Jakarta Militia.{ “We can see from this means the state does not give justice to the victims,” said Mr. Saldanha.

On 19 October this year Mr. Saldanha himself me with with the survivor and relatives of the victims of the Suai church massacre. The people are very concern about Maternus Bere released and feel that the state is not concern about the justice for the victims.

“They feel sad and angry because the government took decision without consulting with them, the leaders made a decision which is against the law. The leaders always said everybody must be same before the law but later they released Maternus Bere this is make people are sad because the woman lost their husband, the kids suffer trauma because they lost their father, the parents angry because their children were killed so if there is no justice like today they promised if there any other militia member came again better we kill them as they did to our love ones. Means and eye for an eye because they killed our relatives they are still free means when we get killed any militia the government have to let us free as well.”

Amnesty international sent a three paragraph statement to Tempo Semanal stating that, “The transfer to Indonesia of this fugitive from justice perpetuates the pattern of impunity for crimes against humanity and other crimes which occurred during Indonesian occupation of East Timor. Both the Indonesian and Timor-Leste governments appear unwilling to uphold the rule of law and ensure that perpetrators of crimes against humanity are brought to justice, in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.”

In the weeks before Bere's release Amnesty International issued a recommendation to the United Nations Security Council to establish an international tribunal for Timor-Leste.  This agered President Horta, B=Nobel Peace prize winner.

”In this context, Amnesty International renews its call to the United Nations Security Council to step in and establish an international criminal tribunal to bring to justice all those responsible for crimes under international law between 1975 and 1999 in Timor-Leste and to ensure reparations to the victims."

“Over 300 individuals who were indicted by the UN Special Panels for Serious Crimes for crimes against humanity and other crimes remain at large and are outside the territorial jurisdiction of Timor-Leste. It is believed that most of them live in Indonesia. The Indonesian government has so far refused to facilitate the extradition of those indicted on the basis that it did not recognize the UN mandate to try Indonesian citizens in Timor-Leste.'[Amnesty International]

The release of Maternus Bere on 30/08/2009 from Becora Prison and transfered to the Indonesian Embassy in Dili angered various groups in Timorese society. 

Hours after the release of Maternus Bere the President appealed for peoplel to forget the past and declared publicly that there will be no International Tribunal for the past crimes in Timor-Leste.  The authorities dispersed a demonstration in front of Hotel Timor and arrested several studnt demonstrators who were calling for an International Tribunal

In September 2009 the National Parliament voted against allowing the President to leave the country to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

President Horta threatened to resign in reaction to this move by Parliament. The next day on 08/09/09 Parliament acceded and voted to allow Horta to travel.

The High Court President Claudio Ximenes said that those who released Bere have committed crimes and has called for an investigation

In mid October Opposition Parties generated a Motion to Censure the Government in Parliament over the Bere case.  Appearing before Parliament Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao accepted responsibility for the release but claimed it was legal as it was not a release but a transfer.  AMP/Government Members of Parliament who form a majority in the legislature defeated the opposition motion to censure.

Maternus Bere came to Suai on 05/08/2009 for some family reasons but he was threatened to be beat up by the locals on 08/08/2009 after the Sunday church ceremony in the same church were he and his man gun downed 3 priests and many Timorese refugees on 06/09/1999.

Internet Exclusive: Minister of Justice Apparently Abuses Her Power - Again.

TEMPO SEMANAL TV


This video was taken yesterday afternoon at 16:34 Dili time 7 October 2009

The video shows the Minister of Justice has ordered the Land and Property Department of her Ministry to evict the occupants of the fuel station in Vila Verde Dili in Tuana Laran.  This fuel station is currently own by Antonio Putra Baukau.



A notification letter was signed by the Minister of Justice, Lucia Lobato, ordering Antonio Putra Baukau to vacate the property. Several Land Property Department officials escorted by a group of Timorese police (PNTL) came and put the eviction notice signs around the fuel station while some cars were still being are still filled with fuel inside the station.

Pedro Aparico, a Dili lawyer, alleged the Minister of Justice has abused her power regarding this eviction notice because the Government should not intervene in the matter of land disputes between two individuals. Minister Lobato can issue an order letter to some body to vacant the land which belongs to the state. Pedro added that the case still in court, so questioned the motives behind the Minsiter's intervention around the court system.

This problem of Antonio Putra Baukau and the other alleged property owner, Maria Lemos, is similar to the City Cafe issue (reported by this newspaper here)  in which the Minister of Justice also issued an eviction notice to the occupant to vacate but was rejected and the Police and the Government security were used to forced out the occupant Maria Fatima and her husband from City Cafe.

During a discussion among the journalist about abuse of power by government officials  Joao Mintan said, "I agreed that Minister of Justice is using her power even it was wrong. When she got the power she has to use it. If she committed some wrong doing lets fixed it later." "I salute the Minister of Justice because she not like the other Minister that never practises their power but always Yes boss, yes boss."

The land which was used to set up the fuel station is in dispute between Antonio Putra Baukau and Maria Lemos. According to some Government officials they told Tempo Semanal that Maria Lemos is holding an Indonesian Passport. According to the Constitution and regulation that foreigners are not allowed to own land in Timor-Leste. If it true then that Maria Lemos is an Indonesian then it menas that the Minister of Justice is breaking the law and the Constitution.

Pualaka Scandal: 3 Million Misappropriated? BPA makes BNU official Pay the Price.

The Director-General Ajunto da Caixa Geral de Depositios, Succursal Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) Timor-Leste, Mr. Artur Amaral Jorge was seen in Nicolau Lobato National Airport today. He was acoompanied by his wife and friends. Today Mr. Artur departed Timor-Leste for Singapore, and onwards to Portugal. He leaves after being foiund guilty of being in breach of Regulamento 2000/8 Article 36 No 3 Line A.

Mr. Artur lost his post because of complaints made against him on 13/04/2009 by Joao Alves and Luis Oliveira (shareholderss in Pualaka Petroleo) to the Banking and Payments Authority (BPA). The BPA verified the irregularities made in the transaction of  $3,029,000.00 USD from the bank account of of Pualaka Petroleo Lda. to bank accounts held in the names of Atauro Oil, and Mau Huran Printing without appropriate authorisation. The Third Shareholder in Pualaka Petroleo is Americo Lopes (click here and here for related stories), husband of Minister of Justice Lucia Lobato.

More than 100 Timorese business people have signed a petition in support of Mr. Artur in an effort to force the BPA to stop its decision to expel him from BNU. The petition states that he "is very helpful to Timorese business people", said a well known Timorese businessman who did want to be identified. There is strong pressure from high level government officials to BPA to reconsider the decision.

Tempo Semanal was told by its source close to the BNU in Dili that the BPA did not give opportunity to Mr. Artur to defend himself against the accusations.

While Tempos Semanal tried to get a comment from Mr. Artur at the airpor he refused to comment. According to Tempo Semanal sources Mr. Artur has registered a complaint against the Banking and Payments Authority (BPA).

Internet Exclusive: Maternus Bere Case - Breaking News: Bere has a VISA.

Tempo Semanal has just been provided with a with a leaked copy of Maternus Bere's passport.

In this passport is shows his visa and the documents also include a letter from the Ministry of Justice which justifies the release of Maternus Bere from custody in Becora prison.

Next week's edition will be a Special Edition focussing on the Maternus Bere case. 

Tempo Semanal staff are in Suai gathering the information and views about justice from victims and family of victims of 1999 violence perpretrated by the Laksuar Militia of which Bere was a Commander.

To date victims and those civilians who arrested Bere express their anger at the Government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and are very disappointed with the United Nations and especially UNMIT and its SRSG Khare who continues to have a executive policing mission, but seem "toothless" once again.

Once survivor of the Suai Church Massacre, named here as DA, who was present when Bere was arrested in Suai Market on 8 August 2009 said;

"I saw Maternus.  People yelled at him near the market, and we the victims arrested the prepretator then handed him over to UNPOL and PNTL to bring justice.  But the Government has delivered injustice to us - the victims.  An the UN has just washed their hands of us, and has finished the Special Panel on Serious Crimes. 

So if one day I get another member of the Laksaur Militia, I will make my own judgement, with my own hand."

To read more get next weeks' edition of Tempo Semanal.

*************************

For more information on Maternus Bere you can refer to the Lao Hamutuk website for complete history and information to date. 

You can also join the relevant Dont Let Maternus Bere Escaoe Justice facebook site if you wish.

Minister of Justice Overrides Tribunal to Modify City Café

City Cafe (above)

MJ Overrides Tribunal to Modify City Café

Dili, Tempo Semanal 21 September 2009 Edition 157

Institutionally, the Ministry of Justice (MJ) and its branch, the National Directorate for Land and Property Registration has enough power to take notifications of evictions to all citizens who occupy the state's assets (for example, a house).

But according to legislation number 1/2003 (chapter three article seven), the MJ does not have power to evict City Café's owners because it is not the state's property.

According to decree 32/2008, the MJ's eviction is worthless.

Despite this, the MJ has used its institutional power to evict Mrs Rita Fatima Lopes Tsan da Costa from City Café. The aggravation this caused has led to a case being lodged with the Dili District Tribunal to confirm the rights of Timor-Leste's citizens who receive such notifications.

The DNTPSC sent the notice of eviction (number 522/272-473) on 29 April 2009 at the MJ's direction, which stated Mrs Fatima had not been successful in her attempts to retain the establishment.

Mrs Fatima was initially asked to voluntarily vacate the premises according to an established schedule, but was eventually forced from City Café through orders from the MJ.

Polemics such as this are also occurring to current occupants of Hotel Tourismo, according to a Letter of Notification Process (number 522/688-875) from the DNTPSC on 10 August 2009 that has asked occupants to vacate the hotel for a period of 30 days from that date.

Based on documents which Tempo Semanal has acquired, on 2 January 2009, the MJ—through DNTPSC—gave final notification to City Café's occupants to vacate the premises in four days, but they did not want to because they were waiting for a decision from the Tribunal.

Although the Tribunal is yet to make a decision on the case, on 8 June the DNTPSC and a security institution forced Mrs Fatima from City Café.

This attitude shows that the Minister of Justice has used her power through DNTPSC to force occupants from this establishment. A submission to the Tribunal by the legal representative for the City Café building's tenants, Rita Fatima and Ted Lay, stated the MJ has contradicted Article 10 (32/2008, points 1-3) and Article 11 (1/2003, points 1-7) of the Civil Code.

According to chapter three, article 7 of law 1/2003 which regulates administrative evictions, the MJ doesn't have competence to conduct evictions in this way, because City Café was not property of the state; as such, the eviction is based on false terms.

The Minister of Justice's letter of eviction clearly states that flats or houses such as these are private property – on what grounds then did the Minister of Justice force City Café's owners from their premises?

This eviction has also not followed appropriate process because the DNTPSC gave only four days' notification before it required the tenants to vacate the premises, alluding to a token-esque timeframe to comply with regulations.

City Café's Tribunal submission states, "Mr Lay Min Ing notified the interior Minister of Justice, Domingos Sarmento, on 14/11/2003, that the former Minister of Justice declared that, on 03/02/2003, this is the private property of Lay Min Ing".

"For these reasons, on 31/03/2005, the DNTPSC through its interim director Horacio da Silva, gave notice to City Café's occupants that the Government will not continue its contract because it recognises this as private property; the premises occupants must recognise their contract of payment with the owner," it continued.

From 2005, City Café's tenants commenced a skewed contract with the building's owner, Lay Min Ing through his son, Bobby Lay, to negotiate rent prices, but did not manage to reach a clear agreement.

"Because a clear agreement has not been reached about the price to be paid, Bobby Lay has taken civil action at Dili District Tribunal, and the Tribunal has already taken note of these matters," said Rita Fatima regarding the matter.

This submission also declared that until now, the Tribunal has not passed judgement on this case; so why did the Minister of Justice evict City Café's tenants? The facts state that the Minister of Justice's behavior does not set a good example for the future, because this is an example of discrimination against the land process and all private residences which currently are registered with the Tribunal.

In addition to this, Article 26 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste gives all people the freedom to ask a tribunal to protect and defend their rights and legal positions, but the MJ has tried to use its power to contravene the judicial process and oppress the small people.

On 31 August 2009, Rita Fatima delivered a letter to Antonia Verdial Sousa, director of DNTPSC, attempting to prolong the DNTPSC's decision to renovate City Café on grounds that the Tribunal had not yet made a judgement; yet the DNTPSC continued with its plans to renovate the premises, stating that the decision was that of its owner, Bobby Lay. Bobby Lay had already written a contract with a man from Sagres Hotel who stated his name is Eduardo, but until now there has not been a response from DNTPSC regarding this.

In response to questions on this topic, Rita Fatima last week informed Tempo Semanal that those in her local area, Bairru dos Grilos, were very sad at the Minister of Justice's decision, which does not have a sound legal basis. According to Rita Fatima, the Government stopped collecting tax from City Café as a business because it recognised the building as private property, and consequently left rent negotiations to the owner and tenant.

"We've paid tax to the State for almost two years at a rate of US$503.00 per month. The Government may not say that we've not paid tax because we have receipts from [bank] Kaixa Jeral de Depozitu," stated Rita Fatima. She also believes that Bobby Lay has taken up the case at Dili District Tribunal because he was unsuccessful in increasing the rent charged to City Café.

"We, the occupants, will continue to wait for a decision from the Tribunal, but why has the Minister of Justice forced us out?" she continued.

"Bobby Lay recently declared that this property is his father's (Lay Min Ing), so we made a contract with them, but until now I've only heard that this is the property of Ted Lay's father. We stopped the contract with Bobby Lay because Ted Lay is my business partner," she explained.

Although Bobby Lay has lodged the case with the Tribunal, based on an official bulletin from during the Portuguese occupation, the property which pertains to City Café is owned by Ted Lay's father.

"The letter of eviction that was sent to us isn't from the Tribunal, but from the Minister of Justice because the Tribunal hasn't yet reached any decision," said Mrs Fatima.

"The [former] Minister of Justice Domingos Sarmento recognised that the property we refer to is that of Bobby Lay's father, and we ask that they give back the money which we've used to restore the building. Only then will we leave, but because they don't want to, we won't leave; as a result, they've taken this case to the Tribunal," said Mrs Fatima.

"Although we already have the letter of eviction from the MJ, we continue to hope for a decision from the Tribunal, because this case has already been registered with the Tribunal," finished Mrs Fatima.

Mrs Fatima has extended her willingness to reply with the Tribunal, and also is ready to present her testimony when it calls.

"If we win at the Tribunal, we'll certainly demand that Bobby Lay pays back our name," claimed Rita Fatima.

In other areas, the former Minister of Justice, Domingos Sarmento, conveyed in his house to Tempo Semanal that, "The MJ has definitely stopped the the contract with Rita Fatima because Bobby Lay claimed that the property is that of his father, Lay Min Ing, and has asked to hand over the property to its owner; but they have taken this case to the Tribunal because she doesn't want to".

"According to my comprehension, the eviction notice may only apply to State property, not to private property; because of this one should ask the Minister of Justice to clarify the reasons and legal base for her wanting to issue this notice," said Mr Sarmento.

The former Minister of Justice followed that this case is pending at the Tribunal which has not yet come to a final decision, but asked why the Minister of Justice delivered the eviction notice.

Last Wednesday (09/09/09) at 3:40pm, a Tempo Semanal journalist visited the DNTPSC's office to ask clarification about the City Café case which has thus far become polemic – yet the director, Antonio Verdial de Sousa did not want to give in-depth commentary about this issue. With an angry face and loud voice he told that things the DNTPSC does indeed follow the law and, because of this, the DNTPSC continues to stand strong in its principles.

According to Verdial, this case at the Tribunal is a separate matter and that it should definitely not be mixed with any others: "But those who aren't satisfied with this decision may deliver a case through tribunal processes," he challenged.

After hearing the DNTPSC director's words, the Tempo Semanal journalist tried to record them, but the director shouted to turn off his recorder.

Despite this, the Tempo Semanal journalist continued his attempts to ask about the documents delivered by Rita Fatima last Friday, but the DNTPSC director said it was not his area to deal with at all and that he'd deliver them to the Minister of Justice.

Last Thursday (10/09/09) a Tempo Semanal journalist inquired with a judge at the Dili District Tribunal about this case, who wished to remain anonymous. He smiled as he said that some prats of the Minister of Justice's work were done correctly, but the Tribunal will see to it that things follow the law.

This Tempo Semanal journalist consequently wished to confirm the situation from Bobby Lay's point of view, so last Thursday afternoon (09/09/09) he visited him at his workplace in Colmera, but a colleague said Bobby had left for Singapore. According to Mr Eduardo from Sagres, they do not have anything to do with the problems of City Café case at the Dili District Tribunal.

"We commenced rehabilitating the hotel based on the five-year agreement which we made with the landlord, but when a problem arises it is up to them to resolve it, not us," said Eduardo from Hotel Sagres in Pante Kelapa.

He added that if the rehabilitation process was to end on schedule, the hotel would commence operation on 1 October 2009. "When I received an email from Bobby that said DNTPSC has already granted the property to him, I felt that there wasn't a problem," he said.

Mr Eduardo said, "There were accusations that before the tenants intended to leave the premises, they destroyed part of the facilities inside; but in a telephone conversation on 12 September 2009, Rita Fatima informed Tempo Semanal that these accusations are not true".(ts)

Internet Exclusive: Timor Leadership Threatened By High Court

TL High Court Theatens to Arrest The Timorese Leaders

The head of the Court of Appeal, Timor's highest court, Mr. Claudio Ximenes has declared that he will seek to bring to justice those wjo released Marternus Bere from Becora Prison on August 30th 2009. Claudio Ximenes in his statement said, "those authority is not judge have no power give order to freed someone from the prison whom been order to be jailed by a judge."

Acording to East Timor Penal code article 245, section 1 stated by Mr. Ximenes said who ever with illegal action freed from prison those acording to the law has lost their freedom or help the person to escaped would receive prison terms minimum 2 years and maximum 6 years imprisonment.".

East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao after his meeting with East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta in the Presidential Palace on Thursday responded, "I am ready because I did released him." The Former East Timor head of state challenge the High Court braveness by said, "I know where Becora prison is so as soon as a court sentence I will go there my self."

The Marternus Bere released case is hit the division of the state institutions too. On 08/09/09 the Parliament vote against President horta Trip to New York and make the 1996 Peace Price winner angry and threaten to resigned if the Parliament would not retrieve their vote. The case of freed Marternus Bere has creat a division among the victims and Leaders of the country. After a sunday mass in Suai church Marternus Bere was beaten up by the community near the market. Later Marternus was taken to a police station for questions and his pasport was removed. He then taken to Becora Prison for a three years preventative detention but less then a month the state leaders intervene in the Judicial process for his released.

Internet Exclusif: The Provedor Issues Damning Report Accusing the Minister of Justice

In mid July 2008 Tempo Semanal first reported on allegations of corruption collusion and nepotism being perprerated by the Minister of Justice in the awarding and implementation of Ministry of Justice tenders, contracts and projects. One case in particular bring the Gleno and Becora Prison Rehabilitation Project. In December 2008 the Minister of Justice lodged a charge of defamation against Tempo Semanal. In mid July of 2009 in the last 2 weeks the Provedor of
Timor-Leste has issued a report sending its findings and recommendations to the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers and the Prosecutor-General.

Minister Lobato and her UNDP Colleagues that assisted in rehabiitating the prison wall at Becora.

Among the findings are

1) that the Minister of Justice abused her power
2) that the Minister of Justice exercised gross nepotism as the company which one the award has a family member as director
3) that the Minister of Justice is corrupt in exercise of Gleno/Becora Prison project
4) that there was a conspiracy between the companies which one the contracts and the Minister of Justice

To read the full report - download here (7MB)

PM signs off on project for Minister’s husband TS Edisaun 149

PM signs off on project for Minister’s husband,

Soares: Why didn’t anyone complain when Mari signed?
Dili, Tempo Semanal

The murky waters of the dispute between kin inside the company Pualaka Petroleum Fuel Ltd has not just spilt over from Santacruz (the head office for Pualaka Petroleum Fuels) to the door of the Minister for Justice, but has spilt beyond into the Ministry of Finance right up the Government Palace to flood right up to the legs of the Prime Minister’s chair.

It happens that on the 19^th of September 2008, Prime Minister Gusmão signed the contract with Americo Lopes, for his company Pualaka Petroleum Fuel Ltd to supply fuel to EdTL (Electricity of Timor-Leste). Luckily, the case of the locked out Pualaka employees at Tibar Port, and the falsification of the company shareholding statutes, which put an end to the continued supply of fuel to EdTL, otherwise, Pualaka and its boastfulness would still be supplying fuel to EdTL despite the ongoing power cuts which keep Dili’s electricity blinking on and off. The legal procedures for the Prime Minister to sign the contract with the Justice Minister’s husband, was not as a consequence of the PM exercising his whim, but the duty and powers given by law to the PM to sign contracts, but which is affected by the provisions of article 3 of Law No. 7/2007 on Constitutional Officeholders, in that bit creates certain prohibitions with regards to certain companies.

Clause 1 of this law states that Companies whose capital belongs in a percentage over 10% to a person who holds the office at a constitutional body will be prohibited from entering tenders for the supplying of goods or services, as well as for the exercise of trade or industry activities, in contracts with the State and other entities.

Clause 2, line a) of the law states that Companies whose capital, in the same percentage, belongs to the spouse of the holder, when there is no separation of persons and assets, to their

ascendants and descendants in any degree and to collaterals up to the 2^nd degree, as well as the person who lives with the holder in a situation akin to marriage are also prohibited.

Line b) of clause 2, states that this also applies to Companies in which capital the holder of the office detains, directly or indirectly, alone or together with the relatives mentioned in the previous sub-paragraph a), hold a participation not below 10%.

Consequently, many now believe that there has been a breach of article 3 of Law No. 7/2004 because of the 10% limitation stipulated by the law, because Americo Lopes holds 30% of Pualaka. Though Americo Lopes is not an officeholder, but he is the husband of the Minister of Justice and has family links with the Prime Minister.

However, according to the Director General of State Finances, Francisco Soares, decree law 10/2005 was amended by a decree law in 2008 which sets out the tender process and who is empowered to approve contracts. He says that the Minister signs contracts valued at between five hundred thousand dollars to one million dollars, the PM signs contracts upwards of one million dollars and the director can sign for contracts five hundred thousand dollars and less, but that this is dependent on delegation of powers from the Minister. “We follow the rules,” Soares told this newspaper from the Ministry of Finance building , Thursday 03/07/2009.

However, FRETILIN MP Francisco Branco accused the Prime Minister of breaching the Constitutional Officeholders because he signed a contract in favour of a relative. Branco’s view is that the Prime Minister should delegate administrative power to the Minister of Finance to do this, so that the PM can have more time to better control his government’s activities. But some in civil society disagree saying that doing this will result in diminished power for the Prime Minister to properly control collusion, corruption and nepotism.

“The Prime Minister is the head of the government and has to be in a position to know all that is happening in the administration and to approve projects. It’s akin to a director of a company abrogating his or her power to authorize financial transactions to someone else. That would only be for a crazy director to do,” this civil society member said.

But Branco stressed that he was unhappy with the current situation because when the Prime Minister is the one to sign contracts, it facilitates more nepotism and closes off avenues for transparency and accountability. From Branco’s point of view the Prime Minister should delegate these powers because it is consistent with ensuring she has control over the budget and because the keys to the state’s coffers are already in her hands anyway. Branco accuse the Prime Minister of having interfered with the powers of others in his government by taking short cuts in signing the rice and fuel contracts, acts which did nothing to promote transparency and accountability in the public administration.

Soares says however that the Prime Minister signs contracts because the procurement law empowers him to do so. ‘The procurement law was enacted by FRETILIN, and under this law Pm Alkatiri previously signed contracts above one million dollars, as did the former Finance Minister Maria Madalena and the former Procurement Director Gregorio Sousa. So why are the opposition parties now questioning this law? It seems to me like perhaps they are not familiar with system which has been in place,” Soares said.

On another, Soares also mentioned that the UNTAET public finance law number 13/2001 was being reviewed and will be amended. Soares said that their work was based on principles of professionalism and integrity.

On the same occasion, when he spoke about why Americo Lopes won this tender, Soares explained that the Justice Minister’s husband winning the tender was political. The law must be changed if political questions result in a breach of the law. Only the council of ministers and the parliament can change the law, procurement only follows the laws that are approved by parliament and promulgated by the President of the Republic. “We don’t look at who bids in a tender, we only assess at their professionalism and integrity to complete the project. Because of this I always say that I am not concerned with whoever wants to take these things to court because I am ready to answer,” Soares said smiling.

But when responding to journalists regarding the law and the emergence of conflict of interest, the Director General explained that they are always careful avoid conflict of interest arising during a tender. “If my brother submits bid documents for a tender, then I cannot participate in the bid evaluation team so as to avoid a conflict of interest arising. But I cannot impede him from tendering because that is his right,” he spoke.

From the civil society perspective, Joazito Viana, General Manager of Luta Hamutuk thinks that this government has not yet been transparent in the way it manages tenders because it does not publish the selection process for companies that are awarded contracts for projects, such as how many companies compete in a tender and which are selected. Such a process can result in all sorts of speculation as to why companies miss out on selection. The government should rectify this by being transparent from the time a tender opens so that expectations do not build up from the companies that bid and avoid future public controversy. But because the government has failed to do this, then many problems have emerged such as with the rice contracts, Viana said. He elaborated saying that at present there is a lot of rice rotting away in warehouses, and not being distributed to the intended beneficiaries. Its these types of things that lead people to speculate that this government is promoting collusion, corruption and nepotism.

“We want to point out that right now we are seeing some increase in rice production in some districts because of the distribution of tractors through the economic stabilization fund, such as in the sub-district of Maliana in Bobonaro, where on Monday, 6 July 2009 there was a demonstration by farmers complaining that their production of nearly 400 tonnes of rice was rotting in the sub-district warehouse. We have to question what went wrong, because the government has been urging the farmers to increase production but at the same time it has entered into contracts with rice importers. This shows a lack of accountability by the government, especially in the tendering process.

So, we request the government to involve everyone in the bid selection process of companies who compete and to publish the name of the winning bidder, so as to avoid speculation and public questions that there has been family favoritism in the tender process,” Viana said.

Nevertheless, Viana defended the right for whomever to bid in tenders, whether they are the son or daughter of a minister or a brother or sister of the minister, because all citizens have equal rights. He added that according to the human rights convention and the convention on political, economic, social and cultural rights, all persons have equal access regardless of kinship. But such persons winning contracts for projects they bid on must ensure they complete the project with quality, because they qualified according to criteria set out in the bid conditions. But he also said it would be a better situation when the government created a mechanism to avoid family involvement in the tender process.

On the issue of the concern some have regarding the PM not delegating financial management powers to the Finance Minister, this member of civil society declared that this was this was one of the procedural issues that was not yet clear with the Ministry of Finance itself, because the Ministry of Finance only submits proposals to the Head of the Government for approval but does not sign contracts because the Ministry of finance also has the responsibility of preparing the contract through the procurement division.

“According to some documents that we have seen, the PM has signed some contracts, which he should not do. But in his capacity as Minister of Defence and Security he can sign contracts, not as PM. The PM only approves proposals submitted to him by the Ministry of Finance, with the Ministry of Finance acting like the master kitchen for smaller kitchens in smaller departments, managing the process right up to taking it to the PM for his approval,” Viana said.

On questions from journalists regarding the procurement law giving the PM power to sign contracts, Viana was clear in saying that he had power to sign international agreements. He pointed to a case where the PM did not have any power to sign, such as with the contracts with Conoco Phillips to explore, or when ENI won the blocks to explore for oil in the exclusive zone in the Timor Sea. These contracts with multinational companies for contracts valued at millions and millions of dollars, the PM does not have any power to sign.

As such whenever we speak of the PM signing for Pualaka Petroleum Fuel to supply fuel for EdTL with a contract price of US$1,473,360.00 (as is written in the contract document signed by Americo Lopes dated 3 July 2009), Vianan added that it shows that the PM did wrong because in signing with this company. Such a decision also points to an interference with the powers of others, because it should be procurement signing these contracts, after the PM has approved the proposal made by the Ministry of Finance for the contract. Viana suggests the government should change this system, the current procurement mechanism and procedures, otherwise one day the PM will also be signing for just one dollar.

On another matter, the Deputy Director of Luta Hamutuk, Edio Saldanha Borges said that law No &, article 3 of the law on Constitutional Officeholders already stipulates various prohibitions on companies in which they or their relatives to the second degree of kinship have a shareholding in excess of 10% to bid for state tenders. Because of this, if the PM signed a contract with the Minister’s husband with whom the PM has a family relationship with, then the PM has breached the law on constitutional Officeholders because a conflict of interest clearly arose when he signed the contract.

Therefore, Edio suggested that the authorities with the legal powers should act in relation to this case, but more than just sending it to the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice or an investigation by the Inspector General or by the Deputy PM for Administrative Affairs, but has to be sent to the Prosecutor General to formally proceed with an accusation so that everyone can see that the law was enacted to apply to everyone and not just to protect the high and mighty.

According to Edio, the way to curtail such conduct is for the National Parliament to use its oversight and monitoring powers to ensure that the government knows not to act beyond their powers.

“we should not treat this as case of ‘because it involves our big brother, we are all scared’. None of us want this. If someone breaks the law then we should not be afraid of correcting that, because it involves the peoples’ rights and nothing to do with it involving our ‘big brother’”, Edio stressed.

He added that when a leader commits a wrong then “we should look to whether the criminal code has been breached and whether it should be tried by the courts. The parliament can resolve political issues. But the Prosecutor general has to investigate if there is a criminal issue involved. This is how cases such as the Gleno Prison and the supply of uniforms for prison guards should be addressed, with prosecution to the end so that all can see that there is a commitment address this type of misconduct,” Edio suggested.

Tempo Semanal Edisaun 149

PM Asina Projetu ba Ministra Nia La'en

Soares: Tansa Mari Asina Ema Ida La Hakilar!

Dili, Tempo Semanál

Wee merak husi kazu kudeta saham entre primu irmaun iha kompañia Pualaka Petróleu Fuel Lda la'ós sulin de'it husi Santa Cruz ba odamatan boot Ministériu Justisa nian hodi nakfakar liu ba Ministériu Fin­a­n­s­as maibé nasulin liu ba Pallasu du Gov­e­r­nu hodi habokon mós kadeira ain Pri­m­e­i­ru Ministru nian.

Afinál, Primeiru Ministru Xanana Gus­m­­ão iha dia 19 de Setembru 2008 tuur ha­­m­utuk ho Américo Lopes hodi asina ti­ha dokumentu kontratu ida ba kompañia Pualaka Petróleu Fuel Lda atu fornese mina ba EdTL. Sorte, mosu kazu espulsa (pemecatan) ba staff kompañia Pualaka nian iha Portu Tibar no falsifikasaun ba dokumentus fahe saham, hodi trava tiha fornesimentu mina ba EdTL, se lae, Pu­a­l­aka ho ninia gaba-an fornese mina ba EdTL maski rotasaun ba kortés enerjia eletrisidade sei nafatin halo Dili sai Sidade lakan-mate. Prosedimentu legais ba PM atu asina kontratu ho Ministra Justisa nia la'en, la'ós produtu suplementu ida ne'ebé PM bele asina komforme PM nia fihir, ma­i­bé PM nia kompeténsia no podér atu asina ko­ntratu, hetan limite husi Lei Estatutu dus Ti­t­ulares Órgaun Soberanu, lei Nu. 7/2007, artigu 3 kona ba Impedimentu Apli­k­a­veis a Sosiedade.

Iha númeru 1 lei ne'e nian hateten, em­prezas sira ne'ebé nia kapitál kaer hu­si titulár órgaun soberania liu 10%, he­tan impedementu atu partisipa iha ko­n­k­u­r­su fornesimentu bens no servisu, halo kn­aar Komérsiu ka Indústria, liu husi ko­n­t­ratu ho estadu ho entidades publikas sira seluk.

Iha númeru 2 alínea a) lei ne'e nian ha­teten mós katak, emprezas sira ne'ebé nia kapitál ho persentajen hanesan, ne'ebé nian feen ka la'en maka sai na'in ka haketak ema ho riku soin nia aman/in­an no oan sira ho parentes kolatoral to'o 2 grau ho sira ne'ebé hela ho nia mós he­­tan impedementus. Iha alínea b) hat­e­ten, empreza sira ne'ebé nia kapitál/husi ti­tulár órgaun, direta ka indireta husi nia me­sak ka hamutuk ho familias ne'ebé re­f­ere iha alínea a), nia partisipasaun la ki'ik liu 10%.

Tanba ne'e, deskonfia mosu violasaun ba lei númeru 7 artigu 3 lei estatutu dus ti­tulares órgaun soberanu tanba lei ne'e fó limitasaun 10% maibé Américo Lopes iha saham 30%. Américo Lopes la'ós titulár ba órgaun ida nein membrus dó governu maibé Américo Lopes iha lig­a­s­a­u­n família ho PM Xanana tanba Américo nia feen mak Ministra Justisa Lúcia Lobato ne'ebé iha relasaun família ho PM Xanana hanesan kompadre ho komadre.

Maibé tuir Diretór Jerál Finansas du Es­tadu, Francisco Soares hateten, iha de­kr­etu lei númeru 10/2005 no mós ama­n­d­ament ba dekretu lei ne'e iha 2008, define ona kona ba prosesu tenderizasaun no de­fine mós kona ba see mak iha podér atu aprova kontratu. Tanba ne'e, lei define katak, husi kinentus mill to'o 1 millaun de do­lar Ministra mak asina, husi 1 millaun de dolar ba leten Primeiru Ministru mak asi­na, husi ki'ik to'o kinentus mill de dolar Di­retór sira mak asina, maibé tenke de­pende ba delegasaun poderes husi­ Ministra. "am­­i la'o tuir regra ida-ne'e", de­han So­a­r­e­s ba jornál ne'e iha ed­i­físiu Min­i­s­t­é­riu Finan­s­as, Kinta, 03/­07/2009.

M­aski nu­ne'e, Fr­a­­ncisco Branco h­u­s­i bankada Fr­etilín a­k­u­z­a katak, Pr­imeiru Mi­­nistru vi­o­la ona lei es­tatutu dus titulares ó­r­g­aun so­b­e­r­anu tanba asina kontratu ba nia família. Loloos, Branco hateten, Primeiru Ministru tenke fó podér administrativu ba Ministra Fi­n­a­nsa mak kaer atu nune'e Primeiru Mi­n­i­stru iha kbiit no tempu atu kontrola sistema governasaun. Maibé tuir sosiedade sivíl balu hateten katak, bainhira Primeiru Mi­n­istru fó tomak podér administrativu ba Mi­nistra Finansas entaun Primeiru Mi­n­istru labele kontrola didi'ak indikasaun­ no abuzu KKN.

"Primeiru Ministru hanesan top lider iha pozisaun governu nian, tanba ne'e hanesan ema númeru un, nia tenke ha­t­ene kona ba prosesu administrasaun to­mak no mós bele halo aprovasaun pr­ojetu. Ezemplu, Diretór ida laiha direitu atu aprova orsamentu ba ninia kom­p­añia, entaun Diretór ne'e ho ninia ko­m­p­añia keta bulak hotu karik", dehan me­m­bru sosiedade sivíl ne'e.

Maibé deputadu Branco la kontente ho prosesu ida-ne'e tanba tuir nia ha­noin, bainhira Primeiru Ministru mak as­ina kontratu ho kompañia sira, ne'e bele habelar liután hahalok nepotizmu, ne'ebé taka dalan makaas ba transparente no akontabilidade, duun Branco. Liután Br­a­nco hateten, bainhira jestaun finansas la entrega ba Ministra Finansas atu as­ina, ne'e hatudu katak Primeiru Ministru la entrega rota komandu orsamentu nian ba Ministra Finansas, padahal Xave gaveta osan estadu nian iha Ministra Finansas nia liman. Maibé kazu asina kontratu ba foos no mina ba EdTL ne'e hatudu ona ka­tak Primeiru Ministru adopta hela sis­t­ema interferénsia de poderes hodi ham­e­n­us burokrasia liu-liu la fó fatin atu promo­v­e transparente no akontabilidade iha si­stema administrativu, Branco du'un.

Maski nune'e Soares esplika katak, Primeiru Ministru asina kontratu tanba lei aprovizionamentu mak fó podér . "lei apr­o­­vizionamentu ne'e uluk governu Fretilín mak halo, no tanba lei ne'e mós mak uluk Primeiru Ministru Mari Alkatiri mós asina kontratu 1 millaun no sala mós ba Maria Ma­dalena eis Ministra Finansas no Gr­i­g­o­rio Sousa eis Diretór Prokurament. Tan ne'e se partidu opozisaun kestiona kona ba lei ida-ne'e entaun tuir ha'u nia hanoin de­putadu sira seidauk familiariza ho si­stema karik", hateten Soares.

Iha parte seluk, Soares mós mens­i­ona kona ba lei finansa publika UNTAET nian lei númeru 13/2001 no agora go­v­e­r­nu planeadu ona atu muda lei hirak ne'e. Nune'e, Soares afirma katak, sira servisu bazeia ba prinsípiu profisionalizmu no integridade atu hametin servisu.

Tempu hanesan, bainhira ko'alia kona ba tansá Américo Lopes mak tenke manan tender ne'e, Soares esplika katak, Ministra Justisa nia la'en mak manan tender ne'e tanba kestaun polítika. Nune'e kestaun polítika ne'e hamosu violasoens ba lei karik, entaun muda lei. See mak bele muda lei ne'e so Konsellu Ministru ho Pa­rlamentu, Prokurament so la'o tuir de'­it lei hotu ne'ebé aprova ona husi pa­rlamentu no promulgadu husi Pr­e­z­idente da Repúblika. "ami la haree see mak tuir tender ne'e, ami so haree de'it pr­ofisionalizmu ema ne'e nian no sira nia integridade atu kaer projetu. Tan ne'e ha'u sempre dehan, ha'u la hak­f­odak ho prosesu husi see de'it atu ba tribunál mós ha'u prontu ba hataan", Soares hateten ho hamnasa.

Maibé bainhira hataan jornalista k­ona ba lei ne'e bele hamosu konflitu de interese, Diretór Jerál ne'e esplika kat­ak, sira sempre evita konflitu de interese iha prosesu tenderizasaun. "se ha'u nia alin hatama dokumentus atu tuir ten­d­e­r­izasaun, entaun ha'u labele tama iha ekipa avaliasaun atu nune'e bele evita ko­nflitu de interese. Maibé ha'u labele impata nia atu labele tuir tender tanba nia iha direitu", dale nia.

Husi parte sosiedade sivíl nian, Jo­aozito Viana, Jenerál Manager Luta Ha­mutuk hato'o nia hanoin katak, governu ida-ne'e seidauk jere loloos mekanizmu transparente tanba governu la fó sai prosesu selesaun ba kompañia sira ne'ebé atu kaer projetu, hanesan ko­mp­añia hirak mak tuir tender no hira mak liu selesaun. Prosesu hanesan ne'e bele hamosu espe­k­ulasaun oioin iha tenderizasaun hanesan preokupasaun ba ko­mpañia hirak ne'ebé viavel no hir­ak ne'ebé sira nia plataforma projetu ki'ik maibé la liu selesaun. Loloos, governu tenke hadi'a sis­tema ida-ne'e iha inisiu loke tend­er hodi nune'e bele evita esp­e­t­ativa husi kompañia sira ne'ebé tuir tender no bele limita kontr­ad­i­saun iha públiku .

Maibé tanba governu la ha­lo ida-ne'e entaun mosu daud­a­un problema lubun ida hanesan ko­ntratu foos nian, dehan Viana. Nia elabora tan katak, oras ne'e foos barak fuhuk iha armazein no prosesu distribuisaun foos la to'o ba benefisiáriu sira. Kond­i­saun hanesan ne'e fó fatin mak­a­as ba esplikasaun katak gove­r­nu ida-ne'e promove hela KKN.

"ami hakarak hateten katak, fundus estabilizasaun ekonómiku relasiona ho fahe tratores mak or­as ne'e komesa hasae ona produsaun iha distritu balu hanesan iha distritu Bo­b­onaru sub distritu Maliana, Segunda (06­/07/09) agrikultór sira hala'o dem­o­n­strasaun tanba sira nia produtu lokál ku­a­ze atus haat toneladas resin mak rai de'it iha armazein sub distritu to'o dodok.

Tanba ne'e, ami hakarak husu katak saida mak naksalak iha prosesu ida-ne'e tanba husi parte ida governu haruka ag­rikultór sira prodús maibé husi parte seluk governu halo kontratu daudaun ho im­p­o­rtadór sira. Ida-ne'e hatudu katak laiha ak­ontabilidade iha sistema admini­s­t­r­a­s­a­un governu nian liu-liu sala iha prosesu inisiu tenderizasaun nian.

Nune'e ami husu ba governu tenke envolve ema hotu iha prosesu selesaun ba kompañia hirak ne'ebé hatama doku­m­entus atu manan tender no publika sai kompañia ne'ebé mak liu selesaun, atu nu­n­e'e bele evita espekulasaun opiniaun públiku kona ba familiarizmu iha prosesu te­nderizasaun", katak Viana.

Maski nune'e, Viana defende katak see de'it iha direitu atu tuir tender maski ema ne'e ministru nia oan ka alin tanba sidadaun hotu iha direitu hanesan. Tuir ko­nvensaun direitus humanus no ko­nvensaun kona ba polítika ekonomia sos­iál no kultura, fó espasu ba ema hotu iha asesu hanesan, la'ós tanba nia mi­nistru ka ministra ida nia oan ka alin. Ma­ibé ema hirak ne'ebé manan tender ne'e tenke garantia kualidade ba projetu ne'ebé nia kaer tanba antes nia manan projetu ne'e iha kritériu tenderizasaun ida ko'alia kona ba kualifikasaun. Maibé sei di'ak liután bainhira governu kria me­k­anizmu ida atu evita sistema familiarizmu iha tenderizasaun, katak nia.

Iha parte seluk ko'alia kona ba pre­o­kupasaun balu katak, Primeiru Ministru la entrega poderes ba Ministra Finansas atu kaer jestaun finansas, membrus sosiedade sivíl ne'e haklaken katak, ida-ne'e hanesan prosedimentu balu ne'ebé seidauk klaru iha Ministériu Finansas rasik, tanba Ministériu Finansas so hato'o proposta atu hetan aprovasaun husi Xefe Governu mas la'ós asina ko­­ntratu, tanba Ministériu Finansas iha responsabilidade atu prepara kontratu liu husi divizaun aprovizionamentu.

"tuir dokumentus balu ne'ebé ami he­tan ne'ebé mak Primeiru Ministru asi­na kontratu balu, ne'e loloos sala. Maibé tanba Primeiru Ministru asumi mós ka­rgu Ministru Defeza no Seguransa nian entaun nia bele asina dokumentus balu hanesan Ministru la'ós Primeiru Mi­n­i­s­t­ru. Primeiru Ministru so hala'o ap­r­o­v­a­s­aun proposta balu husi Ministériu Finansas tanba ministériu ne'e hanesan dapur ida ne'ebé atu ma­neja dapur kiki'ik sira tuir departamentu ida-id­ak hanesan maneja prosedura hafoin lori ba Primeiru Ministru atu halo aprovasaun", dehan Viana.

Maibé bainhira responde pergunta jornalista kona ba lei aprovizionamentu fó podér ba Primeiru Ministru atu asina kontratu, Viana esklarese katak, lei aprovizionamentu fó podér maibé podér atu asina kontratu ba kompañia estadu entre nasaun. Ezemplu asina kontratu ho kompañia Conoco Ph­ilips hodi halo esplorasaun mina iha tasi timor, ha­nesan mós asina kooperasaun ho komp­a­ñ­ia ENI ne'ebé manan bloku iha área soberania tasi nian. Maibé ba kontratu ho kompañia multi na­sionál ho orsamentu kontratu tokon ida ka rua, ne'e Primeiru Ministru laiha devér atu asina.

Nune'e bainhira ko'alia kona ba Primeiru Mi­nistru asina kontratu ho kompañia Pualaka Pe­troleu Fuel hodi fornese mina ba EdTL ho totál or­samentu US$ 1.473.360,00 (hakerek iha do­k­u­mentu ida ne'ebé asina husi Américo Lopes ho data, 3 Abríl 2009), Viana haktuir katak, ida-ne'e ha­tudu katak Primeiru Ministru halo sala tanba asina kontratu ho kompañia nasionál. Desizaun hanesan ne'e mós hatudu interferénsia de po­d­eres tanba loloos aprovizionamentu mak asina ko­ntratu ho kompañia sira, Primeiru Ministru so halo de'it aprovasaun ne'ebé hato'o husi Min­i­s­t­é­riu Finansas. Tanba ne'e Viana rekomenda ba go­vernu atu hadi'a sistema, mekanizmu no pro­s­e­dura iha prosesu tenderizasaun, se lae aban ba­inrua 1 dolar de'it mós Primeiru Ministru mak asina, du'un Viana.

Husi parte seluk, Vise Diretór Luta Ha­m­utuk, Edio Saldanha Borges hateten, lei nú­meru 7 artigu 3, lei es­t­atutu dus titulares ór­gaun soberanu ha­k­erek ona kona ba im­p­idementus oioin ha­n­esan kona ba saham labele liu 10% no mós parentes kolatoral to'o 2 grau hetan impe­d­e­m­entus atu partisipa iha tenderizasaun. Ta­nba ne'e, se Prime­i­ru Ministru asina kon­t­ratu ida ba Ministra nia la'en ne'ebé Pri­m­­eiru Ministru rasik iha ligasaun família ho mi­nistra ka ho empr­e­z­áriu ne'e, entaun ha­t­u­du katak Primeiru Mi­nistru viola duni lei Estatutu dus Titulares Órgaun Soberanu tanba mosu konflitu de interese iha prosesu asina kontratu.

Tanba ne'e, Edio sujere atu órgaun ko­mpetente tenke halo prosesu ba kazu ida ne'e, maibé membrus sosiedade sivíl ne'e la kon­korda bainhira prosesu ne'e to'o de'it meza Pr­ovedór Direitus Humanus no Justisa ka ha­ruka Inspesaun Je­rál halo investigasaun ou haruka Vise Pr­i­meiru Ministru ba Asuntu Adm­inistrasaun ha­r­ee, maibé tenke lori to'o meza Prokuradór Je­rál atu iha akuzasaun ida para ema tomak be­le haree no hatene katak, lei ne'e halo ba ema hotu la'ós halo lei atu pró­t­eze ema boot sira, dale nia.

Edio reforsa liután katak, halo lei atu ga­rante ema tomak nia direitu ba justisa, la'ós ha­lo lei bazeia ba polítika de'it hodi sakrifika ema seluk nia moris. "ita ko'alia beibeik katak ida-ne'e sala maibé ha'u bele hat­e­ten katak, ita labele sukat ita-nia sa­la ho liafuan de'it tanba ita tenke uza lei hodi sukat ita-nia sala. Se ita la uza lei hanesan prosedimentu ida hodi prosesa ita-nia sala, maka ita sei hatoman-an ho sala hodi fó pr­ospetu ba ema seluk katak tansá ida ne'ebá bele halo nusa ha'u la­b­ele halo", dehan Vise Diretór ne'e.

Maibé oinsá atu hakotu hahalok hanesan ne'e, tuir Edio nia hanoin katak, Parlamentu Na­sionál tenke uza sira nia kompeténsia ha­n­esan fi­skalizador, hodi haree no fó hanoin ba governu atu labele halo buat seluk ne'­e­bé la'­ós sira nia kompeténsia. "la'ós de'it ta­nba ma­un boot entaun ita hotu ta'uk, ita ho­tu la­ko­hi. Nein see de'it kuandu kontra lei, ita la­­bele ta'uk atu kurize tanba ita ko'alia kona ba estadu no povu la'ós ko'alia kona ba ma­­un boot", katak Edio.

Liután nia hateten, kuandu ulun boot si­ra halo sala entaun "ita bele konsulta ho lei kó­di­gu penál hanesan razaun ida atu ha­tún sa­­nsaun maibé tenke liu husi tribunál. Ag­ora, se kestaun ne'e mosu hanesan pr­osesu po­lí­tiku ida entaun Parlamentu mak be­le foti so­l­u­saun polítika ida ba kestaun ha­nesan ne'e. Ma­­ibé se kestaun ne'e ha­nesan krime ida en­taun Prokuradór tenke halo prosesu lalais ho­di halo investigasaun. Hanesan mós kazu si­ra seluk, ezemplu reabilitasaun prizaun Be­k­o­ra no Gleno no mós fornesimentu far­d­a­m­­entu ba guarda pr­izional Timor-Leste, ne'e te­­nke ser iha pr­osesu to'o rohan para ema be­le haree ka­tak ita iha kometimentu atu ha­r­ee buat hi­rak ne'ebé la loos", Edio sujere.(aro)