Dili, 25 January 2001
MILITIA MEMBER SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS IMPRISONMENT

Former militia member João Fernandes, who has admitted to a murder in Bobonaro district on 8 September 1999, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment today by the Special Panel for Serious Crimes at the Dili District Court. The sentence marks the first successful prosecution for the violence that surrounded the popular referendum in East Timor. Fernandes, a member of the Dadurus Merah Putih (Red White Tornado) pleaded guilty to stabbing to death with a samurai sword village chief Domingos Gonsalves Pereira who had been hiding in the Maliana police station. The defendant faced 20 years in jail under Indonesian penal code, but since Fernandes has agreed to cooperate in future investigations into crimes committed in Bobonaro district, the prosecution recommended a minimum of ten years in jail. Preliminary hearings into three additional cases took place before the Serious Crimes Panel in the Dili District court on 25 January 2001. It was decided that the trial of a former member of the Laksaur militia, accused of murder in Suai district on 25 and 26 September 1999, would start on 20 February. The court also heard the case of a former member of the Ablai militia group, accused of killing a person in Datina village, Manufahi District, on 9 September 1999. It was decided that the hearing would resume on 30 January. Finally, the hearing took place of another Ablai militia member accused of two accounts of murder in Datina village, Manufahi District on 30 August 1999. The preliminary hearing continues on 30 January.

MR. RAMOS-HORTA EXPRESSES APPRECIATION FOR INDONESIAN EFFORTS

East Timor Transitional Cabinet Member for Foreign Affairs, José Ramos-Horta, described his first visit to Indonesia as a Cabinet member as very fruitful, noting that he had had excellent meetings with all his interlocutors, which included President Abdurrahman Wahid and Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab. At a press conference together with UNTAET Chief of Staff N. Parameswaran and UNTAET Jakarta Director Lakhan Mehrotra, Ramos-Horta expressed “sincere appreciation” for the Indonesian Government’s efforts over the past few months and cited an improved security situation in West Timor and an absence of militia incursions of late. He added that he would be lobbying the United States congress to resume some level of non-lethal military cooperation with Indonesia. He also called on UNHCR to return to West Timor as soon as possible, and hoped that a United Nations security assessment mission would be dispatched quickly to West Timor to assess the situation. He further provided details of the projected political calendar for 2001, including a hope for August 30 parliamentary elections. Mr. Ramos-Horta left yesterday for an extensive trip to New York and Europe.