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Liquica survivors still seeking justice, human rights and truth
April 4, 2009 (see petition below)
On 4 April 2009, more than 200 people gathered in the town of Liquisa, Timor-Leste. Under a banner “Reflections about Ten Years since the Massacre 5-6 April 1999 in the Liquisa Church” the contemplative audience included local residents, survivors, and relatives of the dozens of civilians killed there ten years previously, as well as a few human rights activists. The designated topic was “Long road to achieve justice, rights, and truth for the victims of the massacre.”
Participants heard from Father Rafael dos Santos (in whose house most of the dozens of murders took place), Vice President of Parliament Vicente Guterres, Minister for Social Solidarity Maria Domingas Alves, Provedor for Human Rights and Justice Sebastiao Ximenes, UNMIT Human Rights chief Louis Gentile, former UNAMET official Patrick Burgess, Secretary of State for Training and Employment Bendito Freitas, and representatives of the post-CAVR Technical Secretariat and the organizing committee. After the speeches, local residents and survivors were allowed to give testimony and comments and to ask questions.
President Jose Ramos-Horta, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, and UN Mission chief Atul Khare had promised to attend, but none made an appearance. Neither did any of the former Commissioners of the Commission for Truth, Reception and Reconciliation (CAVR) or Truth and Friendship Commission (CVA).
The Liquisa massacre, committed by the Besih Merah Putih militia with support from Indonesian military and police, killed and wounded more than 100 unarmed refugees who had fled previous pro-Indonesia violence to seek shelter in the priest’s residence after. It was part of a systematic Indonesian campaign to terrorize people and sabotage the UN-facilitated negotiations leading to the referendum. On the tenth anniversary, officials scarcely mentioned Indonesia or accountability, and the word “impunity” did not pass their lips, notwithstanding that none of the directors of this campaign has been brought to justice.
The government representatives spoke in detail about future recognition and payments from the Timor-Leste Government to veterans and pro-independence victims. The dead Liquisa refugees were described as "heroes" of the independence struggle. Most in the audience were not satisfied, as this did not address their concerns about where the bodies of their loved ones were, how the perpetrators will be brought to justice, or why they feel excluded from the benefits of independence.
Ten years of experience had led the community to expect disappointment, so they were not surprised, even as they persist in demanding justice and truth. As the meeting closed, they presented the following petition:
– Charlie Scheiner
Petition: We cannot forget but continue to struggle on the path to justice
From: Victims and families of victims of the Liquica Church massacre 5-6 April 1999, Liquica District, Timor-Leste
To your excellencies:
We who have lost our husbands, fathers, children and families as victims of the Massacre on 6 April 1999 give our humble and complete respect to your Excellencies.
We, families of victims, one more time would like, with open hearts and infinite patience, to share our thoughts with the men and women who lead our Nation, Timor-Leste, the United Nations, and national and international non-governmental organizations that on Monday and Tuesday, 5-6 April 1999 (ten years ago), there was a major massacre in the Saint Brito Church Residence in Liquisa that wounded many civilians and killed powerless people only because they struggled for the principle of INDEPENDENCE at that time. The terrible criminal actions and attitudes came from PRO INDONESIA MILITIAS who were supported or together with the MILITARY (TNI) and POLICE (POLRI) resulted in violations AGAINST THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF TIMORESE CIVILIANS by the thousands, who in their struggle for INDEPENDENCE thus hide themselves, together with Father Rafael dos Santos and Father Yosep Daslan in the residence. Many civilians were killed, wounded or tortured, although the final result was INDEPENDENCE, and many women were widowed because their beloved were killed, children were made orphans because their fathers died, and many others became victims or were killed, or lost their parents, siblings, and children that they loved very much, giving their lives for INDEPENDENCE.
We have sad hearts and difficult lives until today, 5-6 April 2009, when the clock marks ten years already passed, no person, group, national or international NGO, government or state has come to tell us where our wives, husbands, children, mothers or fathers, brothers and sisters or family who were massacred: WHERE WERE THEIR BODIES BURIED OR DISCARDED?? DUMPED IN THE RIVER OR MAUBARA LAGOON OR IN KARIMBALA SEA FOR FISH TO EAT?
The Criminal Militia Leaders who, together with the Criminal Military TNI and POLRI who assassinated our husbands, our fathers and our children in the Residence of S.B. Church in Liquisa on the 5-6 April 1999 until today have not been jailed or received any penalty, but have become POLITICAL THEATRE FOR THE LEADERS OF THE TWO COUNTRIES which lack MORAL AND POLITICAL RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE REPARATIONS ACCORDING TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS of CAVR’S “CHEGA.” Afterwards, CVA was created, comprised of TIMORESE who never dreamed of the PRINCIPLE OF INDEPENDENCE but used the Timorese people’s money to go back and forth DILI-DENPASAR and DENPASAR-DILI, with great concern for the families of victims and others who were killed, who cry and pray for those killed because of INDEPENDENCE, going and coming but never finding any work, and never receiving attention from most of the leaders who in the hard times lived in foreign countries or abroad.
KOFI ANNAN, former UN Secretary-General, came to visit the Massacre site in 2000, and Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights, visited the same site in 2003 to show solidarity for us, the victims who continue to wait patiently for the process of JUSTICE and TRUTH.
After the long time from the Transition to the Restoration of Independence on 20 May 2002, we hoped that these cases could be processed in Court to achieve Accountability for those people who were involved in human rights violations on 5-6 April 1999, as is guaranteed in Article 160 of our own Constitution or Mother Law. In Indonesia, they created the Ad Hoc Human Rights Court to process cases of human rights violations which happened in Liquisa and other places of our beloved independent Timor-Leste before and after the 1999 REFERENDUM, but not one TNI or POLRI, high or low, has been held responsible, because the Ad Hoc Court was only another POLITICAL THEATER to justify that they did no wrong. Timor-Leste itself had trials, conducted by the Special Panels, but their mandate already ended in 2004 according to the UN’s mandate. The CAVR process also concluded its mandate to write a report and make recommendations under the name Chega in October 2005, but until today the National Parliament, the first and second legislatures, have not discussed or debated this report or its recommendations. Victims and families of victims until today continue to suffer, until when can we truly say AMEN because fair JUSTICE and TRUTH is served according to the MOTHER LAW as REQUIRED.
Maybe you have already forgotten, but there must be JUSTICE it is the right path and TRUTH? For this reason we, victims and victims’ families, commemorate and celebrate the tenth anniversary of the MASSACRE on 6 April 1999, to express our demands based on the Constitution Article 48, by which we exercise our rights as follows:
We victims and families of victims still put our trust in the Leadership of the President of the Republic Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, President of the National Parliament Mr. Fernando Lasama de Araujo, Prime Minister Kayrala Xanana Gusmao including Bishop of Dili Diocese D. Alberto Ricardo and Bishop of Baucau Diocese D. Basalio do Nacimento to provide Reparations according to the CAVR report CHEGA” in order to finally achieve some social justice at last. Many thanks for your attention and consideration.
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