National Parliament Condemns Minister Lobato's Behaviour

It was reported that National Parliament strongly condemned the [alleged] criminal act carried out by Minister of Interior Rogerio Tiago Lobato towards two community members in a traffic accident in Dili last Monday. Head of Social Democratic Party bench, Maria Paixão considered such action as the same as the ones taken by the Indonesian military towards the people of Timor-Leste for the last 24 years. " We strongly condemn it. We notice
that the action was not proper since the Minister used his own hands to resolve the matter. If later there is a big problem, the Minister might use guns to kill people.", Paixao said. MP José Buras of Commission B noted
that such action was against the law.

Moreover, Paixao said that in the era of independence, when the Government uses the same type of actions as the Indonesians did to solve problems, then people become frustrated, adding that being an authority is to be
become a servant for the people, and whenever there is a problem, it should be resolved in accordance with the applicable laws and not taking justice into one's own hands.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Alkatiri stated that a Member of Government can directly take action towards a case if the situation demands him or her to do so. Regarding the case involved Minister Lobato, he said he was not
aware that the Minister was allegedly hitting people. "I will try to find out about this. But I do not believe that this had happened," he said.

President Gusmão Against Constitution: MP Tilman

MP Manuel Tilman has said that the accord signed between President Xanana Gusmao and the President of Indonesia regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission violates the Constitution. Tilman said that his
party KOTA does not endorse the accord, as the establishment of the Commission has not followed procedure as set out in the Constitution, because it has not been approved by law, but was established via political means. (Suara Timor Lorosae)

Ramos-Horta has failed to resolve border problems: MP Isaac

Timor Post reported that Independent MP Leandro Isaac has said that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation has failed to resolve the issue of the remaining undecided 4% of the border demarcation. Speaking in
Tuesday's plenary session in Parliament, he said that the President's trip to Jakarta to discuss the issue indicates that the Foreign Minister has failed to resolve the border issue, and he expressed his concern as to
whether the President's statement in Jakarta is the truth, or whether Minister Horta's statement is correct. He asked that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provide the people with correct information on the border issue, and also requested Minister Horta to explain the results of discussions to the Members of Parliament. Isaac explained that according to the Constitution, border matters are under the exclusive competence of the National Parliament, including the approval of any future laws related to the border.

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