SITUATION REVIEW – FEBRUARY 2015
Issues to watch
 F-FDTL soldiers continue to use force to respond
to private disputes
 Youth and ex-martial arts group members
instigate most incidents
 Disadvantaged pregnant woman and husband
murdered in Manatuto District
F-FDTL soldiers continue to use force to respond to
private disputes
In January, Belun’s Early Warning, Early Response
(EWER) system recorded 4 incidents in which F-FDTL
soldiers used force to respond to private disputes. In
February, 2 similar incidents were recorded. One
incident occurred on 3 February in Riheu Suku (village),
Ermera District, in which three F-FDTL soldiers attacked
a student who was cleaning the road with classmates in
anticipation of a religious festival.
Total number of violent
incidents by district in
February 2015
District
Incidents
Aileu
3
Ainaro
5
Baucau
6
Bobonaro
3
Covalima
2
Dili
14
Ermera
3
Lautem
4
Likisá
4
Manatuto
1
One of the soldiers (dressed in plain clothes) was driving
Manufahi
3
quickly in the vicinity of the cleaning activity, so the
student yelled at him to slow down. This angered the
Oekusi
5
soldier, who then went to the F-FDTL post in Gleno to
Vikeké
9
change into his uniform and fetch two other soldiers.
The three soldiers returned to the area where the
Total
62
students were cleaning and assaulted the student,
seriously injuring him in the process. After the incident, the student’s teacher went on
national radio to bring attention to the issue.
In another similar incident in Lautein District, a young person mocked a solider verbally,
which led to the soldier punching the youth in the face. The youth then called his friends to
help him, but the soldier fired his weapon threateningly to scare them away.
Youth and ex-martial arts group members instigate most incidents
The ‘Who initiated the incident’ graphic below shows that youth initiated 18 incidents,
which is the highest total in February. The ‘Underlying cause of incident’ graphic shows that
the ‘Dispute among youth’ category is also the highest. Youth-related incidents in February
included martial arts-related altercations, incidents initiated by teasing, and incidents
catalyzed by alcohol, especially at parties and sporting events.
In one incident, on 4 February in Hatukesi Suku, Likisá District, police captured 8 former
members of the now-banned KORK martial arts group, who were training in the middle of
the night. A PNTL member intervened on the training session because 1) KORK is one of the
three martial arts groups – along with the PSHT and IKS groups – that were banned by
Government Resolution 16/2013 and 2) he recognized one youth who was wanted for
slashing a person with a machete. When the PNTL member arrived to stop the training
session, an older man threatened him with a machete, which led the PNTL member to
respond by firing more than ten shots in the air. This roused the community, causing some
to panic. A youth leader from the Suku, who arrived after hearing the gunshots, then
attacked the old man with the machete with a pipe. The Xefe Aldeia and multiple PNTL
members from Likisá also responded to the incident and the eight youth and one older man
were put in preventative detention to await legal processing.
Another martial arts group-related incident occurred in Comoro Suku, Dili District, in which
two martial arts groups fought each other and in the process destroyed a shop and a home
due to stone throwing.
Disadvantaged pregnant woman and husband murdered in Manatuto District
At midday on 9 February, in Kairui Suku, Manatuto Sub-District, a four-month pregnant
woman and her husband crossed the river near their house and walked 4 kilometers to cut
sago palm to feed their pigs. Their children waited until nighttime for them to return, but,
when they didn’t, the children and family members searched for them but could not find
them. Early the next morning, the Xefe Aldeia and Xefe Suku organized a search party,
which found the man and woman dead on the riverbed. Both husband and wife had one
ear cut off and severe injuries to their heads. The husband’s neck also appeared to be
broken. The Xefe Aldeia affirmed that the murdered couple were simple people who never
had problems, and that they stayed in a simple, poorly maintained house. He also said that
it was incomprehensible why anyone would kill these people. The couple leaves behind
seven children, the oldest of which is a 19-year-old daughter.
INCIDENT CHARACTERISTICS
The Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) System is implemented by NGO Belun with generous support from the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)‐funded Civil Society
Monitoring of Security Sector Development (CSM-SSD) Program and from the Peace Fund, a project of the GIZ, on behalf of German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Timorese State Secretariat for Youth and
Sports. The contents and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of NGO Belun and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of USAID, the Government of the United States of America, GIZ or the Secretary of State for
Youth and Sports. For more information on the EWER program or to view additional publications please visit: http://www.belun.tl
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CONFLICT PREVENTION AND RESPONSE ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTED
By the Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) team:
 On 2 February, the team published its second Alert related to the violent incident in
Saelari Suku, which occurred in January 2015. The Alert focused on the impact of the
incident and resulting Joint PNTL-F-FDTL operation on community members and
recommended that the PNTL, the government and civil society work together to
improve social cohesion in the Suku.
 EWER District Coordinators facilitated trimestral meetings with the Conflict
Prevention and Response Networks (CPRNs) in 17 sub-districts in Ainaro, Baucau, Dili,
Oekusi and Vikeké Districts. At the meetings, the CPRNs reviewed incidents from the
previous four months and discussed actions to be taken by the RPRK to respond to
concerning trends in each sub-district.
 On 17 February, the team published a research report entitled, ‘Elderly Pensions and
Conflict in Timor-Leste’. The report offered recommendations to the government
about how to reduce tensions related the elderly pension payment system, which
regularly manifest as violent incidents.
 From 18-20 February, the team conducted a training of EWER volunteer monitors
from 18-20 February. A total of 18 monitors (9 male, 9 female) learned about incident
verification, mediation techniques and anger management.
 The team supported two CPRN action plans in Likisá and Tutuala sub-districts. The
Likisá events, which were held on 25 and 27 of February in Suku Motaulun and
Loidahar respectively, were undertaken with Martial Arts Regulatory Commission and
sought to socialize the Martial Arts and Education laws to parents, students and
teachers. From Feb, 18-20, the Tutuala RPRK held a community dialogue and cultural
ceremony to resolve a serious conflict between two Sukus (Mehara no Tutuala).
By the Land Mediation and Dispute Resolution (LMDR) team:
 In February, the team used past experience and lessons learned to further develop and
strengthen its mediation guidelines and teaching modules.
 On 6 February, the team hosted a meeting of government and non-governmental
mediators at Belun’s office to discuss land dispute mediation and open a discussion
towards creating a national network of mediators to resolve community-level conflicts.
 On 10 February, the team mediated a land dispute in Comoro, Dili after a request from
the National Department for Community Conflict Prevention at the Secretary of State
for Security. The dispute occurred when a landowner asked his friend, who had already
built a house on the landowner’s land, to move off of the land, so that his sister could
take possession of it. The mediation resulted in an agreement that the man would
move off of the landowner’s land, but that the landowner would build the man a house
elsewhere first.
The Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) System is implemented by NGO Belun with generous support from the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)‐funded Civil Society
Monitoring of Security Sector Development (CSM-SSD) Program and from the Peace Fund, a project of the GIZ, on behalf of German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Timorese State Secretariat for Youth and
Sports. The contents and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of NGO Belun and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of USAID, the Government of the United States of America, GIZ or the Secretary of State for
Youth and Sports. For more information on the EWER program or to view additional publications please visit: http://www.belun.tl
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 On 27 February, the team mediated a land dispute in Manatuto Sub-District, in which
two grandchildren could not agree about ownership of land left by their grandparents.
The dispute was not resolved, and will now go before the lia nain (traditional leaders)
to tell the history of the land and clarify who should own it.
ABOUT THIS SITUATION REVIEW
This situation review reports on violent incidents and trends in Timor-Leste that were
identified by Belun’s Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) monitoring system in February
2015. Belun strives to share up-to-date and verified information. Considering that situations
change rapidly, we appreciate receiving information to clarify or update our EWER
monitoring data.
For more information or to report an incident, please contact:
Marilia O. da Costa, EWER Program Manager: [email protected]
Laurensius Lein, Conflict Prevention and Policy Specialist: [email protected]
The Early Warning, Early Response (EWER) System is implemented by NGO Belun with generous support from the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)‐funded Civil Society
Monitoring of Security Sector Development (CSM-SSD) Program and from the Peace Fund, a project of the GIZ, on behalf of German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Timorese State Secretariat for Youth and
Sports. The contents and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of NGO Belun and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of USAID, the Government of the United States of America, GIZ or the Secretary of State for
Youth and Sports. For more information on the EWER program or to view additional publications please visit: http://www.belun.tl
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