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SITUATION REVIEW – MARCH 2015
Issues to watch
 Joint PNTL-F-FDTL operation to capture illegal group
members ongoing in Baukau District
 Man kills brother-in-law after death threat
 Ex-Martial Arts Group members attack each other in
Dili neighborhood over two-week period
Joint PNTL-F-FDTL operation to capture illegal group
members ongoing in Baukau District
On 9 March in Baguia Sub-District, Baukau District, a Molotov
cocktail was thrown into a PNTL post, which resulted in 4
PNTL members being injured. One of the injured was a
bodyguard for the President of the Parliament, who was
attending a family funeral ceremony in Baguia. One truck was
set alight, and one shop and one car from the Technical
Secretariat for Electoral Administration were destroyed in the
incident, which was alleged to have been carried out by
supporters of Mauk Moruk, the ex-leader of the now-banned
Konsellu Revolusionáriu Maubere (KRM). This information
was retrieved by media monitoring, as Baguia Sub-District is
not one of the 43 sub-districts covered by Belun’s Early
Warning, Early Response (EWER) conflict monitoring system.
Total number of
violent incidents by
district in March 2015
District
Incidents
Aileu
3
Ainaro
8
Baucau
9
Bobonaro
3
Covalima
2
Dili
36
Ermera
3
Lautem
4
Likisá
4
Manatutu
2
Manufahi
2
Oekusi
4
Vikeké
3
83
Total
Soon after the incident in Baguia, the PNTL Command in
Baukau District signed an order to increase PNTL presence and monitor population
movements in Baukau, Lautein, Manatutu and Vikeké Districts. Later, on 21 March, the
Timor-Leste Council of Ministers established a joint PNTL-F-FDTL operation, called
Operation HANITA, to capture those responsible for the attack. The joint operation has
detained and investigated over two hundred suspected KRM members, the majority of
which were released after questioning.
The EWER system recorded one incident in March related to the joint operation. On 22
March at 10pm, in Soba Suku (village), Laga Sub-District, Baukau District, unidentified
people blocked the road that leads to Baguia with large stones.
The stones were discovered by community members, who became scared and immediately
notified the PNTL. Community members suggested that the stones may have been placed
to prevent members of Operation HANITA from transporting detained suspected KRM
members from Baguia to Laga for investigative purposes. The Laga PNTL Squadron and
PNTL Task Force arrived immediately to remove the stones, but were unable to identify the
perpetrators.
Man kills brother-in-law after death threat
In March, the EWER system recorded 9 incidents perpetrated by family members. Family
members were the third highest category of instigator after youth (28 incidents) and
farmers/animal owners (10 incidents).
In one serious incident on 18 March in Maina II Suku, Lautein District, a man killed his
brother-in-law after the brother-in-law threatened to kill the man and his family. The
brother-in-law had become angry when the man told him he must appear in court to be
judged on a case of domestic violence, in which the brother-in-law had beaten his wife (the
man’s sister) three years before. The brother-in-law was well-known for having shot many
people in 1999, including a priest, three nuns, and one journalist. Fearing that the brotherin-law would carry out his threat, the man waited in a field for the brother-in-law to appear,
and then slashed him with a machete until he died. The PNTL arrested the man and brought
the brother-in-law’s body to Dili for an autopsy.
Ex-Martial Arts Group members attack each other in Dili neighborhood over two week
period
Although the government has banned the three largest Martial Arts Groups in Timor-Leste
(the IKS, PSHT and KORK groups), the ex-members of the groups continue to cause conflicts.
There were 2 Martial Arts-related incidents in January, 2 in February and 5 in March.
On 21 February, there was an incident of stone-throwing between rival group members in
Comoro Suku, Dili. Then, on 3 March, the same two groups again engaged in stone
throwing, which damaged two houses. The two groups were also involved in similar
nighttime incidents on 7, 8, 9 and 10 March. On 11 March, the PNTL and local authorities
held a dialogue between the two groups, which successfully ended the conflict.
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 23 March, the team traveled to Uatolari Sub-District, Vikeké District to meet the
Uatolari Conflict Prevention and Response Network (CPRN) and discuss a peace
activity, which would resolve a long-standing conflict in Makadiki Suku. At the
meeting, it was tentatively agreed that a cultural peace activity would be held in April
or May. The team also met the PNTL commander and the Sub-District Administrator
of Uatolari.
 On 30 March, the team met the Maubisse Sub-District CPRN, including the SubDistrict Administrator and PNTL Commander, to discuss a Tara Bandu ceremony which
is to be organized there. Belun and the CPRN decided to convene a meeting of Xefe
Sukus (Village leaders), lia nain (village elders) and community police from all 9 Sukus
in the sub-district in advance of the Tara Bandu, in order to create consensus that the
Tara Bandu should apply across the whole sub-district.
By the Land Mediation and Dispute Resolution (LMDR) team:
 On 3 March, the team presented land dispute data to the Cabinet of the President,
which included incident data collected by the Early Warning, Early Response system.
Speakers included the Vice-Minister of Justice, the President of National Parliament
Commission A, the PNTL Commander for Community Policing, and Belun. Present at
the meeting were 13 District Administrators, 13 District PNTL Commanders, civil
society representatives and diplomats.
 On 12 March, the team made a presentation to 50 land disputants, local leaders and
PNTL members in Kribas Suku, Manatutu District to share information about
alternative dispute resolution and explain the advantages and disadvantages of using
mediation as opposed to the court system to resolve land disputes. The team also
disseminated information about the relevant laws related to land and private
property and land registration.
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 March
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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