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Original source of article: Patrick
Walsh, Dili
Timor-Leste needs the
‘great teachings’ of the CAVR Report
Rev Agustinho de Vasconselos, Executive Director, Post-CAVR Technical Secretariat
The CAVR Report Chega! is about our
past but the tragic events and crimes of recent weeks have shown that
it is also very much about our present and future. The contemporary
relevance of Chega! was strongly underlined by President Xanana Gusmao
in his televised address of 20 June in which he referred more than once
to CAVR’s recommendations. Our new Prime Minister, Dr Jose Ramos Horta,
made the same point in his inauguration address on 10 July. Referring
to Chega! he said; ‘We must utilise its great teachings’. This view is
widely shared among those who have seen the Report. The Inter-faith
Conference held in Baucau 20-23 June recommended that religious
institutions of all faiths in Timor-Leste should actively engage in the
dissemination of Chega! to ensure that its message reaches deep into
the community. Others have gone further and claimed that the violence
of recent weeks would not have occurred had Chega! already been
disseminated. They believe that Timorese, both at the top and at the
bottom of our society, have repeated the mistakes of the past because
they have not studied and learned from the painful history presented in
Chega!
The CAVR Report addresses the past
responsibilities of many different parties, including Indonesia and
other members of the international community. Without wishing to
ignore these issues, I suggest that the current situation in
Timor-Leste requires us at the moment to focus on the teachings that
relate directly to ourselves and the new society we are trying to
build. Most of the 204 recommendations in Chega! are domestically
focussed. They are all rooted in our experience and are intended to
contribute to nation-building and an end to violence. As our leaders
have acknowledged, it is time to discuss these ideas in the Parliament
and elsewhere and to implement them. This process should be an
integral part of the new reconciliation project announced by the Prime
Minister in his inauguration address. The Post-CAVR Technical
Secretariat has already distributed the CAVR Report to many
institutions in Dili and next week, following recent improvements in
the security situation, it will begin distributing the Report and
related materials in the districts with the help of Japan and other
donors. We hope everyone will read the Report and, following the
example of religious institutions, will assist with its propagation.
What are the ‘great teachings’ in
Chega? Here are some that I believe are important:
1. All Timorese, whether from the East or the
West, suffered violence in different ways at different times. CAVR’s
report shows that violations were indiscriminate and not related to the
ethnic identity of victims or where they were born. Districts with the
highest number of killings during the years 1974-1999 were Ermera,
Baucau, Lautem and Manufahi. Ermera had the most reported killings.
Districts with the highest number of non-fatal violations (detention,
torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and social-economic
violations) were Dili, Ermera, Manufahi, Viqueque and Lautem.
2. Lasting reconciliation and the
rebuilding of relationships cannot be achieved without establishing the
truth, striving for justice, and providing reparations to victims.
Reconciliation and impunity are mutually exclusive. There can be
no lasting reconciliation when perpetrators are not held accountable
and impunity is tolerated.
3. Non-violence should be a national hallmark
of our new society. Because Timorese know better than most the horror
of violence, we should become a world leader in the practice of
non-violence. As the CAVR Report recommends, this will require a
long-term focussed effort by every institution from the top down to the
home and individual relationships. I would add that this must be
accompanied by development, not least for urban young men, because
extreme poverty is often the basis of violence.
4. All human rights are the birthright
of all Timorese. The CAVR Report calls for a systematic and sustained
program of human rights education and particularly emphasises the right
to security of person especially for women and children.
5. The state and its agencies have the
primary responsibility to uphold and promote human rights. The CAVR
Report strongly emphasises the importance of the political impartiality
of the military and the police and their accountability to the law and
civilian control. It also emphasises the importance of a responsive and
effective public service.
6. The Parliament should consider
establishing a follow-up institution to the CAVR.
The Chair of CAVR, Aniceto Guterres
Lopes, presented the CAVR Report to President Xanana Gusmao on 31
October 2005. He commented at the time that the deepest wish of all at
CAVR was that the Report would convince all who read it of the need for
“an almost fanatical commitment to non-violence and a determination
never, ever to let any of what is in this Report happen again to our
beautiful country and people”. With our President and Prime Minister,
let’s give it another try.
Rev Agustinho de Vasconselos
Executive Director
Secretariado Tecnico Pos-CAVR
723 4935
12.7.06
Media article on
relevance of Chega!
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