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Agence France-Presse - 01/20/2011
East Timorese police evicted more than 1,000 long-term squatters from a former Indonesian barracks in Dili Thursday, sparking a rowdy protest.
Poor families had been living in almost 120 houses in the Bairro-Pite district of West Dili since Indonesian security forces evacuated the capital in the aftermath of a bloody independence referendum in 1999.
Witnesses said more than 100 police smashed doors and windows as they forced residents out of the leafy neighbourhood.
"It's been done by force as if we're animals," said East Timor Labour Advocacy Institute director Domingos Araujo Baptista, who represents the squatters.
"They're adamant about evicting us. Evictions like this are commonly practised by dictatorial regimes -- it's against human rights."
Shouting anti-government slogans, about 50 people marched around the city and protested in front of the presidential palace and parliament building after the evictions.
The government reportedly warned residents to leave and paid $2,000 compensation to each of the 150 families affected.
Baptista said the residents, who are demanding $4,000 per family, had not been consulted.
"This eviction is illegal and unfair because there's been no negotiation between us and the government," he said.
The government plans to turn the properties into homes for police officers.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, won its freedom from Indonesia in a UN-backed referendum marred by violence that left an estimated 1,400 people dead. It gained formal independence in 2002.
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Agence France-Presse - 01/20/2011
East Timorese police evicted more than 1,000 long-term squatters from a former Indonesian barracks in Dili Thursday, sparking a rowdy protest.
Poor families had been living in almost 120 houses in the Bairro-Pite district of West Dili since Indonesian security forces evacuated the capital in the aftermath of a bloody independence referendum in 1999.
Witnesses said more than 100 police smashed doors and windows as they forced residents out of the leafy neighbourhood.
"It's been done by force as if we're animals," said East Timor Labour Advocacy Institute director Domingos Araujo Baptista, who represents the squatters.
"They're adamant about evicting us. Evictions like this are commonly practised by dictatorial regimes -- it's against human rights."
Shouting anti-government slogans, about 50 people marched around the city and protested in front of the presidential palace and parliament building after the evictions.
The government reportedly warned residents to leave and paid $2,000 compensation to each of the 150 families affected.
Baptista said the residents, who are demanding $4,000 per family, had not been consulted.
"This eviction is illegal and unfair because there's been no negotiation between us and the government," he said.
The government plans to turn the properties into homes for police officers.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, won its freedom from Indonesia in a UN-backed referendum marred by violence that left an estimated 1,400 people dead. It gained formal independence in 2002.
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1 comentários:
The AMP government headed by Xanana Gusmao is wrong to evict this people.
$USD 2000 as a compensation is not enough for a typical timorese family. It is not even enough to buy a piece of land in the actual timorese inflationary economy, furthermore even to build a new house in Timor Leste this day. Therefore another more acceptable between government and the people on this problem must be negotiated.
If East Timor government is proud to show timorese solidarity to other countries' troubles, with millions of US$ dollar donated, then why can't it even bother to spend more millions to its own real painful social and economic problems which manifest in people's lack of good housing and the absence of land entitlement?!.
The stability of a new consolidated post conflict country such as Timor Leste depends precisely on the welfare of timorese people. USD$ 10.000 per family or whatever amount asked by those people for compensation should have been easily given by timorese State. Because the present financial capability of timorese state can afford to such amount for each family in that situation. It is one of the good thing about spending timorese money for timorese people and to solve timorese problem, why?..because Timor Leste, a small country with significant wealth and STILL with small demographic rate, can afford it. Eviction will not solve the dissatisfaction among poor timorese squatters, on the contrary it will only fuels resentment and in plant further seeds of conflict and the feeling among timorese people about injustice.
As timorese from wherever they are; Lorosae, Loromonu, tasi feto, tasi mane, ema foho, or ema villa or ema cidade, have the right to live in any part of timorese nation sovereign territories. Therefore, those timorese people are entitled to a proper land ownership and good housing condition. It is every timorese citizen constitutional rights! This is what freedom, ukun an, liberation is all about. The right to have land and house for each timorese family in a free timorese nation!
The timorese State is obliged to firstly look after its people's welfare rather than projecting the image of unrealistic solidarity of donating huge amount of dollar money to other countries.
This case of eviction is one of a wake up call and early reminder of how much timorese economy is still in dire needs to address and prioritized. Timorese people's money for timorese people first, timorese money to solve timorese problems indeed! Because this is what FREEDOM IS ALL ABOUT. THE RIGHT OF ALL TIMORESE CITIZENS TO RESIDE IN ANY PART OF TIMORESE TERRITORY AND BE ENTITLED TO GOOD HOUSING AND OWNERSHIP OF A PIECE OF LAND BY ALL TIMORESE FAMILY. WAKE UP LUCIA LOBATO, WAKE UP XANANA GUSMAO! BACK TO THE INITIAL SPIRIT OF TRUE IDEALISM OF 'UKUN RASIK AN'! THE TRUE SPIRIT TO LIBERATE THOSE POOR MAUBERE FROM POVERTY AND GUARANTEE FOR THEIR BASIC RIGHTS TO LAND, HOUSINGS, PROPER FOODS, GOOD HEALTH AND EDUCATION IS WHAT DEFINES THE ESSENCE OF WHAT TIMORESE NATION IS!
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