PRESS CONFEENCE FFDTL

REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE

FALINTIL-FDTL



General Headquarters

Office of the General Chief of State of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA)



Press conference



The position of the FALINTIL-FDTL on the Report by the UN’s Independent Investigation Commission



The conflict in our country is a political conflict which covers two important objectives:



The fall of the Government, the dissolution of the Parliament and the establishment of a government of national unity.
Until recently, acts of systematic violence occurred sporadically throughout the country, but with a greater incidence in Dili, with the objective of destabilizing the government and making it unviable.
The Independent Investigation Commission has published its report analyzing the facts and the circumstances which became the basis for this conflict, however they failed to put it in the political context.
As a way to contribute to a quick return to peace in our country, the Armed Forces declare:
A. We thank the IIC for concluding their report at this timely moment and for confirming no massacre ever took place at Rai Kotu.

B. To complement the Commission’s mission, we propose the creation of a Parliamentary Investigation Commission by the State, with the mission of determining the objectives, the strategies, and the intellectual and moral perpetrators who were behind the crisis and hold them responsible.

C. We reaffirm our position in cooperating with the East Timorese justice.

D. We present our deepest condolences to every East Timorese who became a victim of this conflict, starting with our own colleagues within the Armed Forces, the National Police and the children of our dearest people.

E. We apologize to every East Timorese for the offences and damages caused, directly or indirectly, by us in the process of this crisis.

F. We are grateful for the confidence deposited in the Armed Forces by our people, and specially, by our political leaders in carrying out our roles during the crisis.

G. We appeal for the cooperation of all East Timorese so that we can put an end to the crisis which engulfed our country, bringing us much harm and pain, insisting in the unity of our people, to guarantee our supreme interests, as a People and a Nation.



For one People and one Nation!



Baucau, 25 October 2006



The FALINTIL-FDTL Command



The General Chief of State





Taur Matan Ruak

Brigadier General