A GUERRA DE MANUFHAI (Continuação)

Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

Não foi um mero acaso que os homens de Dom Boaventura mataram o comandante de Same. A morte do Tenente Luís Silva teve precedentes de certa gravidade. Ele era um ríspido que chegou a esbofetear o irmão de Dom Boaventura, o dato Dom Vicente, irmão do régulo. Uma fonte holandesa diz que o oficial português tinha violado a  liurai feto, mulher

Do liurai de Manufahi.

Depois dos incidentes ocorridos na tranqueira de Same no dia 24 e 25 de Dezembro de 1911, o governo português prevendo levantamento dos reinos entrou em preparativos para mais uma campanha contra Manufahi.

Naturalmente do lado dos combatentes de Manufahi já havia muito que os preparativos para a revolta estavam planeados: contacto com os liurais de Raimean, Bubuçuço, Bobonaro, Deribate, etc. Os homens estavam armados com algumas armas de fogo e sobretudo com as chamadas armas brancas: diman (azagaia), surik, catana, flechas, parões, facas, aidona (moca, cacete) etc. Tinham também construído fortificações de defesa nos contrafortes da montanha de Cablac e nas florestas das redondezas de Same. Os locais de guerra mais importantes dos rebeldes timorenses eram as colinas de Riac e de Leo Laco.

Segundo o governador Filomeno da Câmara essa colina estava coberta de densa floresta. Para ali tinham afluído famílias inteiras; e para ali tinham transportado comida, animais.

O professor Réné Pélisser fala dum número que ronda os cinco mil homens. Os portugueses calculam em 8.000 pessoas, entre as quais 3.000 combatentes.

O acampamento dos “revoltosos” de Manufahi estava cheio de trincheiras-abrigo. Os caminhos estavam barrados com sebes de bambu aguçado (luto).

O acontecimento de Same abalou profundamente a população de Praça de Dili. Em 1911, a capital da Colónia não tinha soldados da 1ª linha em número suficiente para defender a cidade. Nesse ano as forças em Timor eram constituídas por 75 soldados moçambicanos, alguns europeus (sargentos, cabos e soldados de artilharia, num total de 40 homens. Para a segurança da praça de Dili foram mobilizados nesse período moradores de Lacló, Manatuto, Piço. O número dos moradores andaria por uns 1.500 homens. O armamento era a espingarda de pederneira, e a Remington, alem da catana e de azagaias. Havia ainda um esquadrão de cavalaria do reino de Batugadé.

A morte do comandante de Same Luís Álvares foi dada a conhecer  ao tenente António Joaquim de Almeida  Valente, comandante do posto militar de Hatolia, pelo missionário de Suro. Na noite do dia 24 de 1911, o tenente leva ao conhecimento do Governador os acontecimentos de Same. No dia 28 de Dezembro de 1911, os homens de Manufahi e de Raimean atacavam o reino de Suro. Mas o ataque foi repelido pelos homens do liurai de Suro Nai-Cau.

No dia 29 de Dezembro o tenente Almeida Valente  parte de Hatolia com 800 homens doas arrais de Mahubo e Deribate, chegando a Suro no dia 30. Os “manufaístas” retiram-se para as suas terras, mas deixam para trás os seus aliados de Bobonaro que devastam o suco de Mau-Ulo.

Conta Jaime Inso, comandante da Canhoeira Pátria, era grande a ansiedade em Díli. Perante as notícias de um assalto à praça de Díli, reuniu-se o conselho de oficiais que debateram duas possibilidades: ir em socorro da vila de Aileu ou defender Díli. O Governador Filomeno da Câmara resolveu ir em socorro de Aileu. Para isso organizou rapidamente uma coluna. A 12 de Janeiro de 1912, marchou para Aileu uma força composta por 200 homens, dos quais uns 25 eram brancos (malae), entre militares e reformados; os restantes eram moradores. Estes moradores eram das companhias de Bidau e Sica (na zona da actual Colmera), sob o comando de Liurai de Motael António Ataíde e do Alferes Garcia. Deram-se os recontros entre as forças governamentais e “rebeldes”. Os manufaístas conseguiram repelir por duas vezes. Mas depois de um terceiro recontro, os homens de Dom Boaventura retiram-se para o monte Cablac.

Entretanto o governador Filomeno da Câmara estabelece uma estratégia de guerra para dominar a região de Manufahi. As operações começariam em Janeiro de 1912 e durariam até o mês de Outubro.

Porto, 3 de Janeiro de 2012.

Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

A GUERRA DE MANUFAHI (1911-1912)

Author Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo 

                       

Neste mês de Dezembro de 2011, completam-se os cem anos do início do conflito de Manufahi. O começo da guerra de Manfahi teve a sua origem na morte do comandante de Same tenente Luiz Álvares da Silva e de europeus (três militares e um civil) dentro da tranqueira de Same e do comandante e Faturberliu.

                       

Como é que tudo começou?

Em Dezembro de 1911, era comandante militar de Same o tenente Luiz Álvares da Silva; e era régulo (Liurai) de Manufai Dom Boaventura da Costa.

Conta-se que havia vários dias que Dom Boaventura não aparecia no Comando apesar de várias vezes ter sido convocado pelo tenente Silva. Dias antes, o comandante até mandara à casa do liurai (na localidade de Bandeira,) um soldado português, velho no Comando, amigo pessoal e compadre de Dom Boaventura. Esse soldado foi retido e depois assassinado.

           

Na manhã do dia 24 de Dezembro de 1911, véspera de Natal, o tenente Luís estava na sua residência e acabava de tomar banho. Apareceram no comando uns homens mandados por Dom Boaventura da Costa. Um ia amarrado e outros seguiam-no. Davam a entender que iam apresentar uma queixa ao comandante. O Tenente ao ver aquilo saiu para ouvir a queixa do que ia amarrado. Mas, de repente caíram golpes de catanadas sobre o comandante. Este tentou reagir correndo para dentro em busca da uma arma. Mas, tudo foi inútil. Os homens perseguem-no e cortam-lhe cabeça. A esposa do tente Silva estava dentro da casa com o filho ainda bebe. Os homens arrastam-na para fora e colocam no regaço a cabeça do marido. No interior da residência os timorenses reúnem os móveis sobre os quais colocam o cadáver do tenente Luís Silva. Entretanto mais três portugueses são mortos: dois soldados e um civil.

O irmão do régulo telefona ao Comandante de Fatuberliu Ferreira: “Diz o senhor comandante que, sendo amanhã Natal, o convida vir a Same, passar as festas como seu hóspede”. O comandante parte para Same no dia 25, mas foi morto perto da ribeira Sui.

Entretanto, Dom Boaventrua manda um guarda-fio acompanhar a mulher do malogrado tenente para Maubisse.

A notícia do assalto ao Comando de Same e a morte dos seis portugueses espalha-se pelas aldeias de Same. E de Maubisse, os ecos dos trágicos acontecimentos chegam a Dili.

Em resposta aos actos de rebelião, o governador Filomeno da Câmara mobilizou soldados, moradores e auxiliares que atacaram os redutos dos “revoltosos” desde Janeiro de 1912 até Outubro do mesmo ano. O resultado dessa campanha foi a prisão de Dom Boaventura e a sua consequente destituição no dia 26 de Outubro de 1912.

Os motivos remotos desta acção:

a) - Motivos nacionalistas: expulsar os portugueses de Timor. “Timor era para os Timorenses”. Rebeliões de 1895. Desde os tempos de Dom Duarte, pai de Dom Boaventura que os povos de Manufahi estavam rebelados contra os Portugueses. A forçada pacificação foi levada a cabo pelo governador José Celestino da Silva.

Desde tempos recuados que alguns reinos não aceitavam o domínio dos “malae muitin.” Basta recordar o pacto de 1719, cujo actor principal era o régulo de Camanasa, e a consequente guerra de Cailaco (1725-1726).

b) - Motivos políticos: A 5 de Outubro de 1910, deu-se a implantação do regime republicano em Lisboa. Os régulos timorenses que sempre juraram fidelidade ao rei de Portugal, não aceitaram a mudança do regime e a troca de bandeira. A bandeira real (azul e branca) pela nova bandeira (verde-rubra).Alguns liurais temiam que com o nome regime eles fossem destituídos e perdessem as regalias.

Diz-se que quando em Outubro 1910, os régulos foram a Díli para assistir à cerimónia da implantação da República, já havia um pacto para uma possível revolta. E que esses régulos eram incitados por timorenses assimilados ou civilizados, entre os quais se contava um mestiço chamado Domingos de Sena Barreto que era filho de um goês e de uma chinesa; e incitados por europeus ligados à loja maçónica de Díli e que estavam descontentes com o Governador.

Da parte das autoridades portugueses, forjou-se outro motivo: a implicação dos holandeses que eram monárquicos e que queriam também expulsar os portugueses de Timor, para poderem dominar toda a ilha.

c) - Motivos económicos:

As rebeliões que ocorreram em Timor, nos reinos das Províncias do Bellos e de Servião, tiveram a sua origem principal na cobrança de impostos.

Parecia que em 1911 o governo ia aumentar os impostos. A capitação deveria passar de uma pataca para duas patacas. O corte de uma árvore de sândalo seria taxado de duas patacas. Os coqueiros e os gados seriam recenseados. Seria estabelecido um imposto de 5 patacas aplicado sobre os animais abatidos por ocasião das cerimónias (enterros, construção de uma lulic e realização de estilos).

Foram estes os principais motivos de descontentamento por parte dos régulos que depois se uniram em guerra contra as autoridades.

Para o governo português e para muitos timorenses, o Natal de 1911 foi um Natal triste!

Porto, 22 de Dezembro de 2011.

Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

EUCAÇÃO PARA A PAZ

author : Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

A última Mensagem do Papa Bento XVI para o 45º Dia Mundial da Paz versa o tema da “Educar os Jovens para a Paz e a Justiça”.

Etimologia da “educação”

A palavra “educação” segundo alguns pedagogos, provém do verbo latino “educare”, que, no seu sentido mais primitivo, significa criar, alimentar. Outros fazem-na derivar do verbo “educere”, composto da preposição ex, que indica direcção para fora, e do verbo educere (conduzir), significando, por isso tirar de dentro para fora.

O Papa Bento XVI sublinha este segundo aspecto. Diz o Papa: “ A educação é aventura mais fundamental e difícil da vida. Educar – na sua etimologia latina educere – significa conduzir para fora de si mesmo ao centro d a realidade, rumo a uma plenitude que faz crescer a pessoa”.

No entanto estas duas raízes etimológicas completam-se para nos dizerem que a educação supõe dois movimentos: um de dentro para fora: o desenvolvimento; outro, de fora para dentro: a ajuda, o alimento, o apoio, a orientação dos outros. Partindo deste princípio pode-se “definir a educação como desenvolvimento integral, harmonioso e progressivo da pessoa humana à sua plena maturidade” (Américo Veiga, A Educação Hoje”, 2005, p. 13).

A palavra “educação” designa o processo global da sociedade pelo qual as pessoas e os grupos sociais aprendem a assegurar conscientemente no interior da comunidade nacional e internacional e em benefício desta, o desenvolvimento integral da sua personalidade, das suas capacidades, das suas atitudes, das suas aptidões e dos eu saber.

A educação para a paz é um processo para incutir nas pessoas uma nova maneira de ver, de entender e de viver o mundo. A verdadeira educação para paz é aquela que leva as pessoas a acreditarem nos valores positivos: a importância da vida humana; a fraternidade humana, a cooperação internacional, o respeito e a tolerância, o diálogo, etc.

Como vivemos numa “aldeia global” a educação para a paz deve caracterizar-se pela compreensão e respeito de todos os povos, das suas civilizações, dos seus valores e dos seus modos de vida, incluindo as culturas da etnias nacionais e de grupos minoritários; a educação para a paz deve apontar para capacidade de comunicar com os outros, a consciência não só dos próprios direitos, mas também dos deveres que os indivíduos, grupos e nações têm para com os outros; a educação para paz deve criar nos indivíduos a vontade e capacidade de resolver os problemas das suas comunidade, dos seus países de do mundo.

Os programas ou as áreas para uma verdadeira educação à paz: a) a aprendizagem de uma cidadania democrática; os direitos humanos, a democracia e a tolerância; paz e segurança regionais e internacionais; o desenvolvimento económico, e social sustentável; livre circulação de informação e conhecimentos, os valores éticos; a prática de virtudes como: a justiça, solidariedade, generosidade, perdão, etc.

Todas as componentes da sociedade devem envolver-se no processo da educação para a paz:

1 - Os próprios indivíduos: a vontade firme em educar-se e formar-se para uma cultura de paz interior e de paz social. A paz interior é a tranquilidade de espírito proveniente da capacidade de domínio das paixões (ódio, vingança, ira, etc.), e da consciência de estar em comunhão de amizade com Deus e com o próximo. A paz social ou a paz exterior é a tranquila convivência com as pessoas e com as coisas criadas.

2 - A Família: Neste contexto, os pais são os primeiros educadores dos filhos. A família é a primeira escola de valores e de virtudes.

3 - As instituições educativas (o jardim infantil, a escola, a universidade): são espaços para a formação de personalidade dos alunos no serviço à comunidade, no respeito pela diferença e no espírito de colaboração.

4 - As religiões: as religiões contribuem para a educação da paz quando incutem nos seus seguidores o sentido do Absoluto, a capacidade de admiração e de espanto perante o belo, o bem e o justo; quando ensina as virtudes de respeito, tolerância, perdão e amor. As religiões devem ser factores de paz, de tolerância, de colaboração e de respeito.

5 - Os Estados: os estados têm o papel fundamental na educação dos seus cidadãos: através de políticas que desenvolvam nos educadores uma ética de valores morais culturais e religiosos; através de programas de conhecimentos interdisciplinares sobre os problemas mundiais da guerra, da fome, da destruição do meio ambiente, da corrupção, da corrida ao armamento e do fabrico de armas de destruição maciça. O Estado poderá ser um promotor de paz quando os governantes evitam a corrupção, as injustiças, a exploração, evitando a descriminação e criando uma sociedade justa, fraterna e solidária.

(continua no próximo número)

Porto, 2 de Janeiro de 2012.

Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

A New Year Begins – but what else will be new?

BY AGIO PEREIRA

As we end 2011 and begin another new year, the international security arena is filled with dangerous news. The European Union continues to give little indication of being capable of taking the definitive action needed to save the Eurozone’s currency and its economy from deepening financial crisis.  While the financial mess in the periphery of Greece and Portugal heralds the possible break-up of the Union, the weakness of Italy and Spain is of even greater concern.  If France was to falter, then the game is all but up.  This coupled with the anemic US economy and the threat of a Chinese slow down, raises the specter of a global recession.

Potential candidates to leave the EZ, the world’s current conflicts still rage and threaten global security.  The “Strait of Hormuz standoff continues as Iran films US aircraft carrier”[1] does not add to any sense of optimism. The US too, perhaps moved by its own financial crisis and desperate need to create jobs, decided to move on with $11 billion worth of arms and training for the Iraqi military.  This is in spite of the apparent move by Prime Minister al-Maliki to build a one-party system with possible moves to establish closer links with Iran.[2] In the Korean Peninsula the hard line communist North Korea declares Kim Jong-un its new supreme leader in the presence of what the New York Times writer Choe Sang-Hun says was a crowd of tens of thousands, most of them uniformed soldiers, packed the plaza – named after…the North’s founding president, Kim Il-sung.[3]

The ‘old’ year of 2011 ended with three months of severe floods in Lao PDR, Vietnam Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines with two South East Asian countries worst affected. European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection agency estimates point to 4.5 million people affected in the Philippines and 5.1 million people affected in Thailand.[4] With the lives and property lost; the psychological impact of forced displacement and the wholesale destruction of livelihoods, the overall human cost cannot be estimated in words. The European Commission has already provided about 10 million Euros to help overcome the consequences of this flood. Indonesia has also been affected by severe floods causing thousands of displaced people.

What else needs to be overcome in 2012?  It is sometimes said that predictions are very difficult to make, especially about the future.  But what we can clearly say is needed is a more determined international community to respond to the challenges of climate change which, directly or indirectly, negatively impacts on these cyclical humanitarian disasters. Taking action is a moral as well as a political responsibility because, as the South East Asian floods testify, the poor and the disenfranchised part of the population are, more often than not, the main victims of natural disasters as they live in the least protected, more dangerous and vulnerable areas.  

The ‘old’ year of 2011 certainly marked a turning point in many important ways. First, the US finally withdrew its military from Iraq. This means Iraq can now enjoy sovereignty and make use of it as its government pleases. One troubling possible direction, however, seems to be towards more difficult ethnic-religious relations and potentially higher risk of civil war. The autonomous regions of Iraq may also feel inclined to distance from the Shi’ite dominated central government, thus making the cohesion of the state of Iraq and its sovereignty much weaker. Second, in Afghanistan, President Obama’s promise of a gradual or phased withdrawal from July 2011 may have begun, but the solution for the conflict remains a farfetched reality.

The love-and-hate U.S. – Pakistan bilateral relationship has no clear end in sight.  Pakistan’s threats to keep the state of affairs in its current dire state have eventuated and there appears to be nothing the US can do to improve relations. It seems that the Pakistani refusal to let go its leverage over the Taliban means that any real solution, if at all possible, will have to be one that safeguards the influence of Pakistan over the Taliban and Afghanistan as a whole. The dilemma for Pakistan is that the longer it maintains cooperation with the US, in the context of the war on terror, the weaker its chances to influence the Taliban become. Worse, the Taliban may even develop some capacity to destabilise the Pakistani government as the latest events appear to suggest. Third, debate about whether counterinsurgency (COIN) does work has reached a dead-end. Those against argue that the counterinsurgency military culture has to free itself from the conventional military paradigm and become informed by the existing reality of world politics.  In this reality the world is no longer under the empire colonial conjuncture leading to a need to focus on nationbuilding, statebuilding and real human development as the best strategic approach to solving post-modern conflicts. Nevertheless, the main theoretical hurdle remains the foreign occupation dilemma. No matter how well meaning the foreign forces pretend to be, they cannot wipeout the fact that they are occupying forces. The question therefore becomes whether the pre-emptive doctrine has any military validity.

The new year of 2012 will also see the continuity of the Chindian syndrome. The challenges China and India face in terms of economic sustainability are enormous. And whether democracy or autocracy is best suited to provide sustained development will continue to be the question. Time magazine provided, in its 21November 2011 issue, an in-depth debate about the pros and cons of the Chindian syndrome. What the debate does not provide is an analysis of external factors affecting the capabilities of these two giant states in terms of meeting their respective demands for survival as giant economies. 

The dependency on natural resources and energy supply, for instance, is a daunting challenge and the answer does not depend on either democratic or socialist approaches. Rather it turns on resource availability and competition with other states, particularly the US, as the cold war between China and the US in Africa testifies - where they desperately fight for control of supply from resource-rich countries like Nigeria and Angola. This reality is independent of political regimes or doctrines with the sustainability of economic development being determined by a dependable supply of energy sources. 

Therefore, in-depth debate about the sustainability of this flow of energy is first needed, before consideration of factors such as democracy or communism emerge as important determinants. When powerful countries become desperate for energy supply, they can declare such imperatives to be the national interest and justify the invasion of countries which hold such commodities. The US has practiced this in the past. During the war in Vietnam, Saudi Arabia decided to stop supply of petroleum to the US which prompted President Nixon to dispatch his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger to convey to the Saudi Arabian King that, in its national interest, the US would invade his country if it did not provide the US with petroleum.

Judging from the debates in 2011 about the future of the Kyoto Protocol, in which China underestimated the entire process of climate change in Copenhagen; instead of focusing on how best to ‘loot’ the energy supplies from Africa. And the US continued to arrogantly disregard the real issues pertaining to climate change (even though Al Gore won world recognition for his appeal to accept reality), 2012 provides the opportunity for norm clarification. How far the US and China are prepared to boycott the process of finding real solutions for climate change constitutes important debate. President Obama decided to pioneer the end of nuclear weapons, instead of the end of climate change hypocrisy. Perhaps a wise policy to opt for what is possible instead of what is impossible, as the case of the Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs testify. The New Year, 2012, may bring about better opportunities to devise responsible policies to tackle climate change. First, there is the question of how to adopt policies which allow for cheaper, more affordable alternative sources of energy for the developing countries. Second, is the question of how to increase access by the younger generation to knowledge about alternative energy; and how to save energy before alternative sources of energy become available? Achieving solutions to these two questions may, eventually, bring about a better framework to address climate change.

May 2012 bring about new attitudes, ones more conducive towards real solutions to climate change, conflict resolution and nation and state building processes. Not necessarily final solutions but at least departing points to encourage serious thought about real solutions, rather than curtain dressing politics which insult the real needs of the poorest of the poor who are the victims of climate change. May 2012 also bring about smarter international politics, approaches which promote the empowerment of countries and peoples with the tools and know-how to ensure their countries’ survival. May 2012 also be the year where fighting poverty is no longer part of grandiose political and academic statements but that real practical steps can be taken which will mean creating sustained employment in poor countries; may 2012 be the beginning of a new form of cooperation between countries, rich and poor, powerful and powerless, where the ultimate goal is human development because this is, after all is said and done, the only answer to global security. 

Happy 2012!                    

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[1] R Sanchez, “Strait of Hormuz standoff continues as Iran films US aircraft carrier”, The Telegraph, 29 December 2011, accessed 30/12/2011, www.telegraph.co.uk/new/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8983631/Strait-of-Hormuz-standoff-continues-a...

[2] M Schmidt and E Schmitt, “Weapons Sales to Iraq Move Ahead Despite U.S. Worries”, The New York Times, accessed 30/12/2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world/middleeast/us-military-sales-to-iraq-raise-concerns.html?_r=1&nl...

[3] C Sang-Hun, “At Huge Rally, North Koreans Declare Kim Their Leader”, The New York Times, December 29, 2011, accessed 30/12/2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/world/asia/north-korea-declares-kim-jong-un-as-supreme-leader-html

[4] ‘South East Asia under Water’, European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, Brussels, European Union, November 2011

Kolektivismu: Karakterístika Konfrontos Violentos iha Timor-Leste?

Dionísio Babo-Soares*

Iha inisiu fulan Dezembro 2011, mossu fila-fali konfrontasaun violenta involve membrus balun hosi arte marciais (laos instituisaun), nebé resulta ema balun lakon vida, balun kanek todan iha área Betó ho área seluk iha Komoro, Dili.  Konfrontasaun nuné mossu dala-uluk ona iha fatin barak hanesan iha Baucau, Same no Suai nebé estraga uma ho propriedade barak, ema lakon vida ho hamossu deslokadus barak.

Akontesimentu nebé mossu iha fulan Dezembro 2011 iha Dili, akontesse iha tempo nebé tuir-lolos ema hotu túr hakmatek hodi komemora Natal, celebra ita Nai Jesus Cristo nia moris, ho hein tinan foun 2012 nebé Timor oan tomak sei halao festa democrasia ka eleisaun geral. Mesmo konfontasaun né involve deit individuais ka jovem nebé konsiderado nakar, no sira nebé tur iha dalan ninin, hemu tua tó lanu no deskontroladu, maibe sira nia afilisasaun ho grupos arte marciais nebé durante né involve iha konflitus violentos, assosía kedas involvimento instituisaun nian iha assoens hirak né.

Hatan ba akontesimento né, iha 22  Dezembro 2011, Konselho Ministro foti decizaun suspende aktividades arte marciais hotu iha Timor-Leste hosi tinan ida (1) to tinan tolu (3), no suspende jogos lotária nebé eziste, ho durasaun to fulan nen (6) nia laran.

Konfrontos violentos iha Dezembro 2012 né akotesse ho karakterístika hanesan sira-uluk, grupos kontra grupos (kolektivo) no autor mesak hanesan deit, elementos hosi grupos arte marciais. Hafoin tuir kedas ho assoens violentas nebé individuais sira maka halo hodi selu-hikas (revenge) derrota anterior. Maske iha nível lideransa grupo sira né rasik halo bebeik kompromissu, verbal no por escrita, katak sira hakribi violensia no promete sei la halo assoes violentas, akontesimentus sira né hatudu deit katak kompromisso sira né folin laiha. At liu tan, hatudu deit deskonfiansa katak ita labele sadere ba promessas, mesmo ke né halo rasik hosi lideransa boot grupos arte marciais nian. Né mos hatudo falta autoridade atu kontrola membrus sira iha karaik, liu-liu tanba, dala barak, ema nebé la sala, mak simu todan ka konsekuensia hosi konfrontos violentos hirak né.

Modelu konfrontos violentos entre grupos (grupos kontra grupo) hodi halibur malu, mobiliza massa grupo halo violensia laos fenómena foun iha ita nia rain. Tradisionalmente, mobilizasaun klan (grupo étnico) ka etno-linguístico hodi baku-malu ka halo-funu nebé uza meios violentos konhesidu ona iha ita nia história.

Iha eleisoens hirak liu ba, iha distrito balun, membro partidos balun ataka ema nebé konsiderado mai hosi partido seluk. Eventualmente, halo ema nebé kbiit laek mak térus.

Tanba sa mak konfrontos violentos nuné mossu bebeik iha Timor? Tanba sa mak sempre involve membrus arte marciais, no tanba sa sira sempre eskapa? Infelizmente, to agora laiha rezolusaun nebé sistemátiku no laiha investigasaun profunda iha parte criminal hosi hosi entidades seguransa, no laiha estudos ho peskizas científikas hodi bele ajuda rezolve.

Karakterístika Violensia Kolektiva

Geralmente, konflito ka violensia refere ba diferensa ka xokes de interesse entre ema/grupos bainhira sira kompete atu hadau rekursus nebé limitadu iha vida social. Nuné, mobilizasaun ema-barak ka grupos, ka uza instituisaun nebé sira reprezenta nia naran hodi hetan lijitimidade, mossu nudar karakterístika assaun violenta nuné. Normalmente, mobilizasaun hodi kompete ba “rekursus limitadus” hanesan kompete ba pozisaun polítika, kompete atu habelar área kontrolo, hadau poder, riku-soin ho rekursus seluk mak sai nudar objektivu eventual konfrontos hirak né. Maibe iha Timor-Leste karakterístika konflitus violentos entre grupos, mossu liu-liu tanba kompetisaun entre grupos arte marciais (perguruan), mós tanba ódio ho vingansa nebé originalmente, no dala barak, inicia hosi diferensas ka konfrontos individuais.

 Iha teoria konabá konflito social demonstra, violensia entre grupos mossu tanba karakter “kolektivu”. Ema ka grupo uza naran instituisaun ka grupo nudar identidade hodi bele define a’an no mos identifika sé mak inimigo, ka identifika sé maka lideransa iha grupo ida nia laran (in-group).  

Mesmo ke seidauk iha estudos profundus,  iha Timor ita bele konfirma katak konflitus arte marciais akontese frekuentemete ho modelu ka modus operandi hanesan: normalmente evolui hosi diferensas individuais no ikus mai buka lejitíma a’an iha grupo ka instituisaun arte-marsiais. Modus operandi né rasik maka konfrontos violentos, uza kroat, assaltu ho grupos, oho-malu no estraga propriedes ema nian. Bainhira lijitíma a’an nudar grupos, sira fasilmente distingi inimigo no identifika sé maka maluk-rasik (in gropu). Eventualmente, konfrontos violentos entre inimigos sira né involve ona ema barak ka grupos kontra grupos (antar perguruan).

Konfrontos violentos entre grupos arte-marsiais, to agora, laos tanba deit hadau-malu poder hanesan iha eleisoens gerais, maibe tanba deit odio ho vingansa ka mossu tanba polarizasaun interesse grupos nian, nebé movimenta grupos idak-idak hodi baku malu ho karakter kolektivu. Konflitus violentos kunhesidu nudar realidade natural iha vida social humana. Maibe oinsá atu resolve ka halakon violensia sira né, depende ba modelu kolektivu iha fatin nebé konflito sira n’e rasik mossu.

Ema matenek sira dehan iha sikun-rua (two aspects) nebé lahanesan iha modelu kolektivismo, kolektivisme inklusivu ho eksklusivo.

Iha kolektivismu inklusivu, individu sira nebé pretense ba grupo ida, bele komunika malu abertamente liu hosi diálogo ho negosiasaun ka liu hosi mekanismu judicial legal. Maibe identidade koletivismu inklusivu né mamar (ladun forte) hela tanba ema barak tebes nebé pretense ba kolektivismu inklusivu (grupo), no dala-ruma la kunhese malu. Tanba deit sira halibur hamutuk ho interesse/ objektivu hanesan, sira hare ema seluk nudar inimigo. Ezemplu membrus partido A barak mak la kunhese malu, maibe tanba deit sira partidu ida, sira halibur malu hamutuk. Nuné relasaun entre lideransa ho membrus sira imperativu maie dikursivu liu, ka hosi leten ba karaik deit.

Nuné, prosesu atu identifika sé mak inimigo liu hosi analiza kolektivu inklusivu né tenki halo ho kuidadu tebes, tanba membrus sira la kunhese malu hotu. Kolektivismu inklusivu normalmente eziste iha sosiedade urbana ho klasse media (white collar) nebé estabelecido ka diak ona ekonómikamente no ema nebé iha edukasaun nível a’as.

Iha kolektivismu eksklusivo, ema ladun komunika abertamente ka laiha diálogo ou negosiasaun entre sira ho grupo seluk. Sira hateke liu ba sira nia a’an ka grupo nia laran (auto-introspection) no revindika (claim) katak sira mak monopolía lia-los (monopoly of the truth), no haré grupo ka ema seluk hanesan salah hela deit, fraku no ladiak. Ema sira né sempre iha persepssau katak grupo ka ema seluk ladiak, la halo buat ida, no só sira mak bele, só sira mak defende lia-lós, só sira mak halo buat hotu.

Relasaun iha kolektivismo ekslusivo (grupo nia laran) – entre lideransa ho nia membrus sira – akontesse ho karakter represivu ka obrigatório hosi leten ba karaik (top down approach). Tanba né, naran lideransa hatudo deit katak ema ka grupo seluk nudar inimigo, restante seluk halo tuir deit. Bainhira lideransa temi grupo B ka C nudar inimigo, membro hotu-hotu sei halo mobilisasaun kolektiva, moralmente ho fisíkamente, hodi ataka inimigo né.

Tuir matenek-nain ida naran Korotelina iha Identity Conflicts (2009), tendensia kolektivismu eksklusivu hili liu konfrontasaun violenta (agresão física) no rejeita atu halo komunikasaun abertamente ho grupo nebé konsiderado inimigo. Kolektivismu eksklusivu normalmente eziste iha sosiedade nebé ekonomikamente sei fraku, ema kiak barak, no ema ladun iha asessu ba sistema edukasaun moderna.

Tanba né, tuir lolos konfrontos violentos entre grupos arte marsiais iha Timor tenki hetan ona atensaun makas, hosi autoridades seguransa nian, lideransa grupos arte marciais nian, sociedade sivil no entidades sociais no polítikas hotu-hotu. Iha Timor, tendensia atu liga grupos arte marciais ka partidos politicos ho identidade kolektivismu exklusivu boot tebes, tanba né mak sepre hamosu violensia entre grupos (collective).

Né laos buat foun ida tanba iha grupos etno-linguístiku barak iha Timor-Leste maka sei iha tendensia atu taka-an (menutupi diri). Nia membros sira, maski moris iha komunidade pluralístiku hanesan iha Dili, bainhira komunika ho grupo etnía seluk, uza deit sira nia língua etnía no la interesse ema seluk. Tendensia social ida né maka halo tiha segregasaun natural iha sociedade ida nia laran no kria divisionismu (gap/separasaun), no sempre hamosu konflitus violentus.  Kolektivismu ekslusivo akontesse iha grupos sira né nia laran, no kria konflitus inklui iha konflitus arte marsiais.

Preciza Assaun Afirmativa

Infelizmente, durante né maski mossu konfrontasaun entre grupos arte marciais ho karakter kolektivismu ekslusivu, laiha mekanismu ida atu resolve to nia abut. Iha Policia ho nia atuasaun nebé diak, hodi hapara no hamate assoes violentas sira né maibe parece ladauk ke to nia abut. Mossu espekulasaun oin-oin hosi sosiedade sivil, Nasoens Unidas, no analista social sira, maibe fakta hatudo katak kolektivismu eksklusivu tuir lolos tenki iha aproximasaun nebé intensivu ho bebeik.

Iha semana rua kotuk, Konselho Ministru hasai ona decizaun atu hapara aktividade arte marciais ho aktividade bola guling tanba hamossu bebeik konflitus nebé alastra hosi individual ba konflitus violentos entre grupos. Será ke né efektívu? Iha kurto-prazu ita bele dehan sim. Maibe oinsa ba oin? Hapara deit to ona?

Tuir lolos iha nível seguransa bele prevene konflitu sira nuné. Idealmente, instituisoens seguransa nian tenki iha no implementa konseito nebé integradu hodi bele transforma konfrontos violentos iha sosiedade atu sai fali koligasaun dame, hakmatek no domin. Iha plataforma seluk nebé ita bele uza maka diálgu, resolusaun liu hosi mekanismu legal, no laos violensia.

Karik kolektivismu eksklusivu sei sai nudar faktu ida iha ita nia rain, instituisoens seguransa estadu nian preciza halo programa específiko, para além de hametin seguransa hosi parte polisial, hodi bele muda karakter kolektivismu eksklusivo transforma fali nudar kolektivismu inklusivo. Nuné bele ajuda resolve violensia entre grupos ho karaktes sira iha leten.

Ita rekunhese katak dalan diálogu mos halao bebeik ona mais la konsegue resolve. Karik nuné dalam legal ka aplikasaun lei ho firmeza sai nudar alternativu diak ba resolusaun problemas mais tenki mos hare progama seluk hanesan kompetisaun arte marciais nebé activu liu, regulariza aktividades sira né hotu, kampanha non-violensia nebé focus no halo mekanismu restrisaun nebé bele kontrola aktividade arte marciais ho dignidade.

Nudar iha rai seluk nebé iha problema hanesan ita, programa sira né inklui programa sosializasaun ba mekanismo judicial, treinamento lideransa no mekanismu resolusaun konflitu tuir dalan dame nian. Nuné mos oinsa kria programa seluk atu bele transforma kolektivismu eksklusivo, inkluindo kria programa atu hadia porgrama juventude nian.

Problema dezemprego, kiak, ho edukasaun baixa sai nudar konsidaun fundamental nebé halo ita nia sosiedade difisil atu sai hosi karakter kolektivismu eksklusivo. Né tanba ema kiak sira sente katak so liu hosi kolektivismu eksklusivo deit sira bele espressa sira nia frustrasaun. Tanba né dezenvolvimento iha seitor ekonomia nebé bele aumenta bem-estar tem ke lao makaas, selae kolektivismo exklusivo sei forte nafatin iha sistema social sociedade nian.

Konflitu arte marciais iha Timor-Leste hamossu vítima barak ona, no vítima sira né mossu tanba aksaun kolektivismu eksklusivo nian. Tanba né ita tenki buka transforma modelu kolektivismu eksklusivo né ba kolektivismu inklusivo liu hosi aktus antisipasaun no prevensaun, hodi transforma kolektivismu eksklusivo iha sosiedade nia laran, atu nuné konflitus violentos iha ita nia rain, bele resolve ho dame, no ho dignidade.

*Autor, Sekretario Geral CNRT, no membro corpo dosente iha Universidade Nacional (UNTL) ho UNPAZ. Artigo né opinião pessoal no la representa institusaun nebé autor representa.

AS ELEIÇÕES DE 2012 EM TIMOR-LESTE E A NECESSIDADE DA PRESERVAÇÃO DA PAZ

No ano de 2012 realizar-se-ão em Timor-Leste as eleições presidenciais e legislativas. Para que essas eleições sejam justas, é indispensável que elas decorrem num clima de paz e de tranquilidade. Para que haja paz e tranquilidade nas aldeias, vilas e em todo o país, é necessário que os Timorenses se eduquem para a paz, para a democracia, para o diálogo e vivam numa cultura de paz.

Mas o que é a paz? Em Tétum a paz diz-se “dame”, em Bahasa Indonésia “kedamaian”, em Português paz. A palavra portuguesa “paz”, a espanhola “paz”, a italiana “pace”, a francesa “paix” e a inglesa “peace”, provém da palavra latina “Pax, pacis”. O termo pax, pacis com o dativo pacem, corresponde ao termo hebraico shalom, palavra que deriva da raiz “shelemut” e, significa perfeição, plenitude.

No Império Romano o conceito de Pax indicava o período em que a nível interno, não havia lutas, nem conflitos nem guerras civis. Pelo contrário predominava uma ordem geral de ordem, de tranquilidade. Essa ordem geral chamava-se “Pax Romana”. Ligado ao conceito da paz, os romanos cultivavam outros conceitos abstractos, como concordia (concórdia), honor (honra), fides (fé), virtus (virtude), victoria (vitória).

No contexto judaico-cristão, ao termo Shalom existem termos associados como harmonia, tranquilidade, felicidade, prosperidade, bem-estar, graça. Shalom significa ainda bênção, manifestação da graça divina, justiça, verdade. No livro do profeta Isaías a “paz é fruto da justiça” (Is. 32,17). Segundo o mesmo Profeta “Deus é Príncipe da Paz messiánica (Is. 9, 5).

Nos Evangelhos, a palavra paz ocorre em várias passagens. Na noite em que nascia o menino Jesus, os Anjos cantavam: “Gloria a Deus nas alturas e paz aos homens de boa vontade”(Lc 2,14s); Depois da sua Ressurreição, Nosso senhor Jesus Cristo dirige palavras de paz aos seus discípulos: “ A paz seja convosco” (Jo. 21, 19 e 21); “Deixo-vos a paz, dou-vos a minha paz” (14,27). São Paulo afirma que a verdadeira paz é o pessoa de Jesus Cristo: “Ele é a nossa Paz” (Ef.2, 14).

Os Padres da Igreja nas suas catequeses insistiam muito a paz, a ordem, a tranquilidade, a justiça e o amor ao próximo. Santo Agostinho,  bispo de Hipona (séc. IV), no norte da África, dizia que a paz  é a “tranquilidade na ordem.”

No século XX, depois das duas Grandes Guerras Mundiais (1914-1918) e (1939-1945) As Nações Unidas publicaram a Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos (1948). Logo no Preâmbulo se pode ler:  “Considerando que o reconhecimento d dignidade inerente a todos os membros da família humana e dos seus direitos iguais e inalienáveis constitui o fundamento da liberdade, da justiça e da paz no mundo.”

Ainda no século passado a Igreja Católica quer através dos Documentos do Concílio Vaticano II quer através do magistério dos Papas (João XXIII, Paulo VI e João Paulo II) tem repetido em várias ocasiões que questão da Paz é fundamental para a vida dos homens e do planeta.

O Concílio Vaticano II afiram que a paz não é só a ausência da guerra e nem se reduz ao estabelecimento de equilíbrio entre forças adversas (cfr. GS, n. 78). Para se edificar a paz é necessária a vontade firme de respeitar a dignidade dos outros homens, outros povos e, portanto, é necessária a prática da fraternidade.

Segundo o Papa Paulo VI (1963-1978) o novo nome da paz é desenvolvimento. Porém, não se trata apenas de um desenvolvimento económico, mas um desenvolvimento autêntico que visa promover todos os homens e o homem todo. Nesta perspectiva, a paz significa a erradicação de injustiças e desigualdades de ordem económica ou social; erradicação de invejas, de desconfiança e do orgulho que grassam entre os homens e as nações e que são uma constante ameaça a paz (cf. a Carta Encíclica Populorum Progressio, n. 5, n. 13, etc.).

O antecessor de Paulo VI, o Papa João XXIII (1958-1963), escreveu a Encíclica Pacem in Terris. Na perspectiva do Papa, “as mútuas relações internacionais devem regular-se não pelo recurso à força das armas, mas pela norma da recta razão, isto é, na base da verdade, da justiça e de uma activa solidariedade.”(cfr. P. in T., nn. 34-38).

(continia no próximo número).

Porto, 30 de Dezembro de 2011.

Dom Carlos Filipe ximenes Belo

Community Based Policing: The factors that influence Police Forces to engage more closely with a local community

Written by Agio Pereira

Díli, December 2011

Abstract

Community based policing has become an important policing option for many developed and developing countries; countries where institutional frailty, particularly in the area of law enforcement sector, consider community policing as an important component of overall policing strategies. Why is community policing is important and how best to approach this policing strategy is still an ongoing debate in the realms of policy-makers as well as academic community and the police force itself. One reason is because crime prevention and crime eradication is a constant part of society and the root-cause of crime is researched but consensus is not an easy place to land. Since Adam Smith’s ‘Wealth of Nations, Cesare Beccaria’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ and Colquhoun’s ‘A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis – Containing a detail of the various crimes and misdemeanors by which public and Private Property and Security are, at prefent (sic), injured and endangered and suggesting remedies for their prevention’, considered to be the first book ever comprehensively written on policing, still there is no answer to how communities should deal with crime. One reason is because the problem is not crime itself, but the way communities generate fear and respond to the perceived factors of fear under different circumstances of community’s existence, including the space, the politics, the level of social integration and inter-community relations within a state. In the meantime, ‘beat policing’ is increasingly adopted as the best approach to generate community confidence in the police force because it increases the perception that police officers are present within the community or, at least, readily accessible in case they are needed. Crime cannot be exterminated by the police, but together with the community, the element of fear can be mitigated so that healthy living can be the focus of living as a community. Increasing the cost of crime further contributed towards this end.

 Introduction

Time magazine’s essay ‘Peace Through Security’, by Tim Padgett, rightly argues that Central America’s crisis calls for better policing, not more military.[1] This call reflects concern for legitimacy as well as a reflection on whether the military can ever respond to situations of civil unrest and systemic criminality. Around the world, situation of crises, high criminal rate and systemic disorder, focusing on effective policing in the community has become the answer because the aim is to enhance police legitimacy and the trust of citizens on the institutions of law enforcement and, ultimately, on the state itself. But what is community policing? In short, community policing is a natural phenomenon derived from the survival instinct of the individuals as well as a collective need for survival. Police forces evolved from this basic instinct. Society, community, family and individual citizens are interdependent;[2] and since the division of labor[3] evolved within society, partly imposed by the concept of property,[4] the need for protection became increasingly institutionalized. It is about curbing greed in the society[5] so that predictability can be enhanced and harmonious society becomes viable and strengthened. Man also became ‘conjoined’[6] with citizen and the duties to the state. Community policing is also needed because ‘even if man were born in a condition to desire to enter society, it does not follow that he was born suitably equipped to enter society…distrust, suspicion, precaution and provision against fear are all characteristic of men who are afraid’.[7] The state and the citizen share mutual fear; helping each other to overcome it brings about the state’s prerogative of mutual benefits. Successful community policing can enhance restraints, which in the English of the seventeenth century, Colquhoun posits ‘as the means of preventing Crimes, are fuch (sic) as muft (sic)  produce this falutary (sic) effect, without hindering the privileges of innocence; fince (sic)  they apply to thofe (sic)  claffes (sic)  only, the nature of whole dealings, from being in many inftances (sic) both unlawful and immoral, immediately affect …the Country at large.’[8] Therefore, community policing is about overcoming fear in the community as well as the concern of the police forces about their inability to impose sufficient restraints on the citizens so that society can be free from fear. This essay highlights beat policing as an example of community based policing and then attempts to explain the factors influencing a Police Force to engage more closely with local communities.[9]

Police, crime and the local community: a symbiotic relationship

On Beat Policing and the Community

A report by the Queensland (Australia) Crime and Misconduct Commission evaluating beat policing in Queensland, asserts that ‘beat policing is expected to have an impact on crime, in part because officers embark on proactive, preventive strategies, and in part because officers provide a visible police presence in the community or shopping centre.’[10] The key findings pertaining to neighbourhood beats include reduction in overall crime rate as well as property crime rates and increase in the rate of reported crime.[11] However, on the perceptions of crime and personal safety, although ‘beat policing aims to build community partnerships and improve the relationship between police and the public’,[12] the report established that, generally, ‘beats do not necessarily make residents feel safer; nor do shopfronts necessarily make shoppers and retailers feel more safe’.[13] Hence, the report recommends that beat officers should be allowed to respond to more matters in their area and manage their workload more effectively,[14] remain focus and continually meet the needs of beat-area residents.[15] Nevertheless, neighborhood beats led to residents in higher perceived levels of crime and disorder to believe that these problems were improving,[16] allowing for the conclusion that ‘beat officers are responsive and effective in addressing crime and disorder in their neighborhoods’.[17] The need to regular evaluation and review of success and failure, as well as effectiveness[18] and relevance[19] were particularly identified as important for successful police beats. One factor favoring beat policing is the rationale related to the ‘utilitarian theory’.[20] It ‘assumes that criminals are rational and balance the costs and benefits of alternative courses of action’,[21] and that ‘when criminals are given the choice of illegal versus legal avenues of economic gain, they more often choose the latter when the costs of crime increase.’[22] It follows that the presence of beat policing can increase the costs of crime, making criminal acts less attractive.      

But what is a local community? - Nowadays, there are virtual communities such as the Facebook community, the twitters community and the Wikileak community. There are the real communities like the Retired Service League (RSL) or the war veterans’ community, the elderly community,[23] the gangs’[24] community and the more geographically emphasised ‘local community’.[25] What is important from community policing point of view is that there are ‘common ties and social interaction’[26] within a local residential area. Citing Lowry Nelson, Hillery points out that “in general, the term community[27] refers to a group of people inhabiting a limited area, who have a sense of belonging together and who through their organized relationships share and carry on activities in pursuit of their common interests.’[28] One challenge for community policing is how to profile the problems facing a particular local community. In the case of Australia, commonness and common interests may be clear in terms of duties towards the state, paying taxes and expecting the Government to deliver social programs reflecting value for money. At a micro level, however, kinship and common historical and ethnic background tend to play more important role in social cohesion. Blocks of buildings, houses and apartments may not necessarily provide opportunities to develop an effective beat policing strategy; residents may ‘supplemented police with the doorman’[29] and ‘protect themselves as individuals and not as a community’,[30] making ‘the battle against crime effectively lost’.[31] Hence, making police presence almost permanent in a local area, through beat policing, may reduce fear. What is uncertain is whether necessarily increases safety in the house where domestic violence,[32] may occur.

Community policing: strategic partnership and empowerment

The inability of the Police Force to impose sufficient restraints against misconducts[33] and crime led to the decision to bring members of the community to bear some degree of responsibility to overcome factors affecting fear, including unexpected acts of misconducts. Alcoholism, high-activity drugs areas or hot spots,[34] youth drug addiction,[35] theft, gangs ‘regular rendezvous’[36] and short run hedonism[37] and gangs’ graffiti,[38] are part of the factors inflicting fear in the community, namely because ‘predictions of intent and character’[39] can be totally unreliable. Individuals and families need an environment free from fear in order to focus on their development; children need not fear their own surrounding so they can focus on learning and growing with faith in making the most of what society has to offer. Hence, the local communities, including the children and youth in general are the most interested parties because solving the problems that impede them to live with peace of mind becomes a step of paramount importance. Strategic community policing is, therefore, also a community empowerment scheme. For this empowerment to be effective, however, local Police Force needs to adequate its own structure and resources to fulfill, both, the expectations of the community as well as those of the Police Force. Hence, the positive move to employ police aids to enhance effective communication between the Police and the members of a local community. Effective proficiency in the foreign but simultaneously local languages is one way to enhance communication between the interested parties – the Police and the members of local communities. In addition, effective Police intelligence gathering also helps to make the right decisions, as opposed to adopting approaches which are based on hear-say, thus hindering success. Above all, it is important to conceive of empowerment of local communities as not only meaning the need to genuinely listening to their concerns but also “making community members active participants in the process of problem solving’,[40] ‘creating a constructive partnership’[41] and ‘reinvigorating communities’.[42] The Police Force ought to be moved by these key factors when decision is made to move closer to local communities. To ensure success in crime reduction, police officers engaged in beat policing, for instance, as a form of community based policing, will need to be adequately trained in community relations and the challenges of youth in underprivileged areas of society.    

Critics of beat policing argue that a dilemma in crime reduction is that successful beat policing in reducing crime may cause ‘crime displacement’.[43] This can be true but not impossible to overcome because ‘crime is opportunistic’[44] and ‘protection is only as good as its coverage’.[45] Therefore, community policing can make a real difference to local communities in reducing fear because effective community based policing means policing is more integrated with the security problems and needs of local communities. The strategic importance and value-added effect of community policing are that beat patrol provides for a permanent visibility of police force, not only in residential areas but also where local communities and vulnerable groups perform educational and leisure activities. Such visibility is even more important in areas where the phenomenon of ‘broken windows’,[46] the downgrading of social order occurs. Effective Police-Community partnership can enhance the capacity to manage law and order by ‘impeding “small” (offences) slide by’,[47] thus nurturing the trust of the citizens on their Police Force.  If community policing does little to crime deterrence but instead it correlates with crime displacement,[48] one  value-added is that the Police Force can understand better some motives of crimes committed within a particular geographical area. Kelling and Coles rightly posit that, in small and homogenous neighborhoods and communities, ‘even the most seriously deranged individuals are known personally to those in the community: everyone knows how far they will go, so their behavior is predictable, even if defiant.’[49] Thus, listening to the community members’ own understanding of the magnitude, frequency and motives of these crimes enhances such understanding. Although crime displacement is a complex phenomenon to prove,[50] relieving community’s stress and not letting the community feel alone in coping with the effects of crime and misconducts, can enhance certainty and minimize ‘social disorganization’;[51] and the ‘inability of local communities to realize their common values or solving commonly experienced serious problems’ can also be overcome.[52] In return, the Police Force gains enhanced legitimacy and respect from their own community – the Police reason d’être. As the Police become more engaged with the local community, familiarity with community concerns about safety is developed, which brings about the responsibility to manage community expectations successfully. This means adopting a two-track approach; giving ‘priority to problems of more current and intense concern’ and balance this by addressing ‘less visible problems of equal magnitude and seriousness, lest the process deteriorate so that the police once again assuming a reactive stance.’[53]           

Conclusion

Community based policing is part of the strategy of making the Police Forces more pro-active in response to disturbances and crime within local communities, leading to a Police Force with enhanced legitimacy and a community empowered with problem-solving capacity. There are a number of factors which rightly influence the Police Force to work towards stronger and more strategic engagement with local communities. First, crime cannot be eradicated by the Police Force because the institution is not devised to be crime exterminator. Nevertheless, this is precisely the expectation of the community; that the Police keep the communities safe from crime. Secondly, the Police Force has the responsibility to protect the citizens and the community in general. Therefore, nurturing trust between the Police and the community it exists to serve and to belong is sacrosanct. Third, the Police Force may not be prepared to be crime exterminator but dealing with crimes in ways that makes the community feel safer is a responsibility the Police cannot escape from. Therefore, find the best possible ways is a must. The best ways must include key policing strategies. First, promoting active Police-community interaction to increase the costs of crime; in a gain-pain scenario, the perpetrators rationally make decisions bearing in mind the cost of crime and if the cost unacceptably higher, crime be reduced. Secondly, there is the need to listen and to reinvigorate the community. The fighting spirit, not the surrendering spirit, needs to be upheld within the community so the potential perpetrators do not feel like fish in the ocean but simply fish in a tiny lake, which also requires nurturing an ongoing constructive police-community partnership. The expected outcome, after all, is to create an environment where local communities can be free from fear. As Miller contends, ‘it matters little how economically sound, aesthetically appealing, administratively efficient, or environmentally unobtrusive an area is if the people who live there live in fear. Under such conditions the area will decline.’[54] To stop local communities decline into a disturbance–ridden environment is a noble Police goal, but achieving such a goal requires effective partnership between local communities and their Police Forces. Hence, community based policing!

Reference

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Beccaria, C, ‘On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings’, R Bellamy (ed.) & R Davies (trans.), Cambridge university Press, 2003

Bureau of Justice Assistance, ‘Understanding Community Policing – A Framework for Action’, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance Response Center, Washington DC, August 1994

Bursik, R, ‘Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency’, Criminology, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp.519-551

Cohen, A, Delinquent Boys – The Culture of the Gang’, Free Press, Illinois, USA, 1955

Colquhoun, P, ‘A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis – Containing a detail of the various crimes and misdemeanors by which public and Private Property and Security are, at prefent (sic), injured and endangered and suggesting remedies for their prevention’, H. Fry, Finsbury – Place, London, UK, 1797

De Becker, The Gift of Fear- and other survival signals that protect us from violence’, Dell Publishing, New York, USA, 1997

Durkheim, E, ‘The Division of Labor’, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, USA, 1947

Eck, J, & Weisburd, D, Crime and Place, Criminal Justice Press, New York, USA, 1995

Edgar, D, Earle, L, & Fopp, R, ‘What is Australian Society?’, Introduction to Australian Society, 2^nd Ed., Prentice Hall, Melbourne, pp.1-15,1993

Goldstein, H, Problem-Oriented Policing, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, USA, 1990

Hillery, G, ‘Definitions of Community: Areas of Agreement”, Rural Sociology, 20, 2:111-123, 1995, p.118

Hobbs, T, Man and Citizen, Gert, B (ed.), Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, USA, 1991

Hobbs, T, ‘On the citizen’, R Tuck & M Silverthorne (eds.), Cambridge University Press, UK, 2005

Jeffery, C, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, SAGE Publications, Inc., California, USA

Kelling, G, & Coles, C, Fixing Broken Windows- Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities’, Touchstone, New York, NY, USA,1996

Levine, M, Broken Windows, Broken Business- How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards’, Warner Business Books, New York, NY, USA, 2005

Marvel, T & Moody, C, ‘Specification Problems, Police Levels and Crime Rates’, Criminology, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp.609 – 646

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Moore, J, Homeboys – Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, USA, 1978

Newman, O, Defensible Space – Crime Prevention Through Urban Design, The Macmillan Company, New York, NY, USA, 1972

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Padgett, T, ‘Peace Through Security – Central America’s crime crisis calls for better policing, not more military’, Time, October 2011

Smith, A, ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Bantam Classic, New York, USA, 2003

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Weisburd, D, & Green, L, ‘Policing Drug Hot spots: The Jersey City Drug Market Analysis Experiment’, Justice Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.711 – 735

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[1] T Padgett, ‘Peace Through Security – Central America’s crime crisis calls for better policing, not more military’, Time, October 2011, p.54.

[2] D Edgar, L Earle & R Fopp, ‘What is Australian Society?’, Introduction to Australian Society, 2^nd Ed., Prentice Hall, Melbourne, pp.1-15,1993

[3] E Durkheim, ‘The Division of Labor’, The Free Press, Glencoe, Illinois, USA, 1947

[4] A Smith, ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Bantam Classic, New York, USA, 2003

[5] C Beccaria, ‘On Crimes and Punishments and Other Writings’, R Bellamy (ed.) & R Davies (trans.), Cambridge university Press, 2003

[6] T Hobbs, ‘Man and Citizen’, B Gert (ed.), Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis, USA, 1991, p.35

[7] T Hobbs, ‘On the citizen’, R Tuck & M Silverthorne (eds.), Cambridge university Press, UK, 2005, p.25

[8] P Colquhoun, ‘A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis – Containing a detail of the various crimes and misdemeanors by which public and Private Property and Security are, at prefent (sic), injured and endangered and suggesting remedies for their prevention’, H. Fry, Finsbury – Place, London, UK, 1797, pp. xii-xiv

[9] Detailed reference is provided as much as possible in view that those who access this short essay may wish to pursue more in-depth research on the same topic

[10] P Mazerolle, K Adams, D Budz, C Cockerill & M Vance, On the Beat – An Evaluation of beat policing in Queensland’, Crime and Misconduct Commission Research Report, Brisbane, Australia, 2003, p.23

[11] P Mazerolle et. al, p.38

[12] Ibid

[13] Ibid, p.39

[14] Ibid, p.88

[15] Ibid

[16] Ibid, p.45

[17] Ibid

[18] Herman Goldstein, Problem-Oriented Policing, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, USA,1990, p.36

[19] Ibid

[20] Thomas Marvel & Carlisle Moody, ‘Specification Problems, Police Levels and Crime Rates’, Criminology, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp.609 – 646, p.609

[21] Ibid

[22] Ibid

[23] Newsquest Media Group, ‘Police take waiting duties at elderly dinner in Welwyn Garden City’, St Albans Review St. Albans, SO January 2011, accessed 21 January 2011, www.stalbansreview.co.uk 

[24] The Administrator, ‘Launch of Gang Resistance Education Training (GREAT) Program, Belize’ 20 January, 2011, accessed 21 January 2011, www.guaridan.bz/all-news/59-other-news/2757-launch-of-gangs-resistance-education...

[25] P Mazerolle et. al, op.cit.

[26] George Hillery, ‘Definitions of Community: Areas of Agreement”, Rural Sociology, 20, 2:111-123, 1995, p.118

[27] Emphasis in the original

[28] Ibid, p.117

[29] Oscar Newman, Defensible Space – Crime Prevention Through Urban Design, The Macmillan Company, New York, NY, USA, 1972,  p.3

[30] Ibid

[31] Ibid

[32] H Goldstein, Problem-Oriented Policing,1990, p.91

[33] P Colquhoun, 1797, op.cit, p.xii

[34] David Weisburd & Lorraine Green, ‘Policing Drug Hot spots: The Jersey City Drug Market Analysis Experiment’, Justice Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.711 – 735, pp. 713-4

[35]Joan Moore, Homeboys – Gangs, Drugs, and Prison in the Barrios of Los Angeles, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, USA, 1978

[36] A Cohen, Delinquent Boys – The Culture of the Gang’, Free Press, Illinois, USA, 1955, p.30

[37] Ibid

[38]J Moore, 1978, p.37

[39] G de Becker, The Gift of Fear- and other survival signals that protect us from violence’, Dell Publishing, New York, USA,1997, p.89

[40] Bureau of Justice Assistance, ‘Understanding Community Policing – A Framework for Action’, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance Response Center, Washington DC, August 1994, p.vii

[41] Ibid

[42] Ibid

[43] Geoffrey Barnes, ‘Defining and Optimizing Displacement’, in Crime and Place, J Eck & D Weisbury (eds.), Crime Prevention Studies, Vol. 4, pp.95 – 113, Criminal Justice Press, Willow Tree Press, 1995, p.104

[44] C. Ray Jeffery, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, SAGE Publications, Inc., California, USA, p.229

[45] Ibid, p.228

[46] Michael Levine, Broken Windows, Broken Business- How the Smallest Remedies Reap the Biggest Rewards’, Warner Business Books, New York, NY, USA, 2005, p.1

[47] Ibid

[48] John Eck & David Weisburd, Crime and Place, Criminal Justice Press, New York, USA, 1995, pp.102-3

[49] George Kelling & Catherine Coles, Fixing Broken Windows- Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities’, Touchstone, New York, NY, USA,1996, p.15

[50] Ibid

[51] Robert Bursik, ‘Social Disorganization and Theories of Crime and Delinquency’, Criminology, Vol. 26, No. 4, pp.519-551

[52] Ibid, p.521

[53] H Goldstein, ‘Problem-Oriented Policing’,  p.79

[54] Eldon Miller, ‘Crime’s Threat to Land Value and Neighborhood Vitality, in P Brantingham & P Brantingham (eds.), Environmental Criminology, Waveland Press, Inc., Illinois, USA, 1981, p.117