EAST TIMOR: Gang violence in Dili a week after elections
Updated
Gang related violence is breaking out again in East Timor, a week after elections for a new president. There were 17 arrests in a single incident in the capital Dili on Wednesday, prompting the UN's representative to call for calm. Atul Khare ventured into the trouble spot where four houses were torched and appealed for an end to the violence. He also sought assurances from political leaders that none of the recent attacks have been politically motivated.
Presenter: Karon Snowdon
Speakers: Cipriano de Jesus, Dili resident; Jose Teixeira, Fretilin spokesman and Minister for Natural Resources; Alison Cooper UN spokeswoman
SNOWDON: The United Nation's Special Representative in East Timor, Atul Khare walked into a storm in a poor section of Dili, known as Baro Pitae.
Baro Pitae is not far from the centre of Dili, and is a collection of very poor houses.
In a second day of trouble there four houses were burnt down, many more were damaged and a car destroyed according to an eye witness and UN reports. Malaysian police fired their weapons to break up the fighting.
Baro Pitae has been targeted by gangs for about a year, but the almost daily trouble has tapered off during the international security crackdown since March for this year's election campaigns.
The last few days has seen a return of the gang warfare which resident Cipriano de Jesus believes is politically motivated and has the backing of the country's ruling party Fretilin.
de JESUS: In Baro Pitae the...fighting, in Baro, many people came to attack.
SNOWDON: How many people do you think were attacking your community?
de JESUS: Maybe 100 people, the group we call PFIT, they are supporters of Mr Lu Olo because they got money from Fretilin.
SNOWDON: Fretilin candidate Fransisco Lu Olo Gutterres lost the presidential election held a week ago to outgoing Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta who won in a land slide.
The Fretilin Party has consistently denied any involvement in the gang violence which started last year and devastated the capital.
Rather Fretilin spokesman and Minister for Natural Resources and Energy, Jose Teixeria says the last few days has seen several attacks against Fretilin members in the outlying districts and in Dili itself.
TEIXERIA: Media always seem to be targetting unfairly Fretilin and how it might respond to the result of the election, and as we all know the elections were relatively peaceful. But consistently Fretilin supporters have been reporting violence against them, and hence actually election evening a house of a prominent Fretilin member was burnt and his family had to flee for their lives in the district of Ermera. I spoke today to people in the ministry of labour and community reinsertion, who are in charge of social affairs and they informed that they've had up to ten requests from people who lost their homes in the Ermera district of which Fretilin members comprise a large number of that. Yesterday evening saw a resurgence of violence in Baro PItae and members of one particular opposition party attacked and burnt four homes and a motor vehicle. This has been confirmed by UNPOL.
SNOWDON: And the other reports I'm hearing from Baro Pitae is that there are Fretilin supported gangs who are causing the violence, how do you respond to that?
TEIXERIA: That's incorrect. This is totally incorrect. The point is that all of this violence that's occurred is known to UNPOL, they know who the perpetrators are. I might also note that in some of these instances there is just thuggery from people related to some opposition parties.
SNOWDON: Which opposition parties? I'd like you to name these opposition parties which you say are creating this?
TEIXERIA: The Baro Pitae area the reports are that they are groups linked with PD, the Democratic Party. In the Ermera district the reports are the same.
SNOWDON: The UN says it investigated the claims and found some property damage but could not verify the attacks were politicially motivated.
UN Special Representative Atul Khare wasn't available for an interview.
His spokeswoman Alison Cooper confirmed he was assured by the leaders of the Democratic and Fretilin Parties in the presence of President elect Jose Ramos Horta that none of the parties is behind the violence.
COOPER: Making sure that if there is any chance that the signs of a resurge in gang violence in Dili and the district is being attributed to political reason then that certainly won't be tolerated.
