PRESIDÊNCIA
DA REPÚBLICA
GABINETE DO PRESIDENTE
OPENING REMARKS OF H.E. PRESIDENT KAY RALA XANANA GUSMAO AT THE NEEDS
ASSESSMENT WORKSHOP FOR THE SPECIAL UNITS OF THE POLICIA NACIONAL DE TIMOR
LESTE (PNTL)
2 June 2003
Your Excellency Prime Minister
Your Excellency, Ambassador Kamalesh Sharma, SRSG
Members of Government
Members of Parliament
Members of the Diplomatic Corps
Distinguished Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with pleasure that I accepted this invitation from His Excellency
the Prime Minister to address this second Workshop, in just over a month,
on the development of the national police. The convening of this Workshop
so soon after the last one held at the end of April, demonstrates both
the importance we attach to the Police Force of Timor Leste, as well as
the challenges that confront this new force.
Significant progress has been made by the Police Force since it was established in August 2000 and the officers of Timor Leste's police were deployed to work with UNPOL officers. However, as the some of the events of late last year demonstrated, it is still a very fragile institution indeed.
As you all know, UNPOL's role continues to shift from an executive to a technical advisory function, and given that UNMISET's mandate will expire in May 2004, it is incumbent on our police force to learn intensively and as much as possible from the international police in the short time remaining before our police force takes on full responsibility for maintaining law and order in our country. I urge all members of Timor Leste's young police force to intensify their training and state of preparedness and constantly review the quality of the police officers and not concentrate only on quantity or numbers. UNPOL officers must also be continuously vigilant towards the need to provide the best examples of efficiency, competency and professional standards to our young force. Their support, during the mandate of UNMISET, and that of other countries in the post-UNMISET period, would be crucial for the growth and development of PNTL, as an apolitical institution, respecting and upholding the laws of the land, working in partnership and cooperation with the community as a friend, in an accountable manner with responsiveness and senstitivity to their concerns.
Respect for the police has to be earned in any society, through its actions. Respect cannot and should not be demanded from the people. I am happy to note that the PNTL has embarked on a programme to strengthen itself as a robust, capable and accountable organization that will earn and enjoy the respect of the population. I wish you every success in this endeavour.
I note that this Workshop will address the role, functions, responsibilities and needs of the Special Units of the PNTL. These units, the Rapid Intervention Unit (RIU), the Border Patrol Unit (BPU), the Rapid Deployment Service (RDS) and the Strategic Information Unit (SIU) have vital roles to play in maintaining the security and stability of our new nation.
The RIU is to be deployed for restoring public order in urban areas in case of civil disturbances. How they conduct themselves in such situations would be extremely important in conveying a good image of the police as an efficient force. Obviously, exercise of excessive force leading even to injuries and death cannot be acceptable in such situations, no matter how grave the provocation.
Of course, past experience in other countries has shown that it is easy for crowds to get out of control. To exercise restraint in such situations while maintaining law and order would be the real test for any special unit in such situations.
We need to examine at this Workshop how the RIU should conduct itself in situations where it has to act quickly and control large crowds of people. Has it received the appropriate training, has it obtained the right kind of equipment, and what are the command and control arrangements?
As for the BPU, they will perform a crucial role in protecting our land and sea borders. I have said many times that we want a demilitarized border with our neighbor, Indonesia. So it will not be our armed forces, but the BPU that will be on the frontier. They have to be well-trained in order to police the borders. This is especially the case after the UN Peacekeeping Force (PKF) pulls back from the border at the end of June, that is, at the end of this month. In this connection, I wish to extend my gratitude to the contingents in the PKF that have provided special training to the BPU and to those contingents and countries that have assisted us in addressing the logistical constraints imposed by deployments on the border comparatively far from habitation.
In order to carry out their tasks and effectively perform their role, the BPU will need many more resources, especially as they have to maintain a presence and patrol in the remote border areas of our country. I hope this Workshop will examine their needs and requirements. It is my hope also that our development partners will continue to assist us in resolving the resource constraints faced by the BPU.
The Rapid Deployment Service is another unit that we are planning to establish with the objective of countering and neutralising criminal gangs or armed groups in the rural areas. I see their role as being complementary to that of the BPU. And clearly, they have to work together. How they will work together, where the Rapid Deployment service officers will be deployed, and how they will be equipped and trained are all questions that we need to address. What will be their command and control arrangements? What are the safeguards that need to be put in place for this service to prevent it from acting in a manner that is high-handed or contrary to the internationally accepted human rights norms? What are the safeguards to insulate the service from possible exploitation for political ends? The people of Timor-Leste need answer to these crucial questions. I hope that the workshop would provide an opportunity to deliberate on them, with the participation of many PNTL officers, in a constructive and forward looking manner. Please make good use of this occasion.
Information gathering and analysis, is of course, of utmost importance to pre-empt any planned attacks or incidents. Furthermore, accurate information is critical for the success any security operation. The role of the Strategic Information Unit in the PNTL will be a vital one. How to make it an efficient and effective organization for our security needs is again another area we need to examine. What mechanisms should be put in place to ensure that collection and analysis of information does not become an opportunity to harass or otherwise intrude on law-abiding citizens?
I would like to commend the Government's initiative in organizing this Workshop, with the support of UNMISET and UNDP. It provides a unique opportunity to discuss and deliberate on the PNTL Units that will be at the forefront of our efforts to safeguard our internal security and to promote stability.
I am happy to see that our development partners are well represented at this Workshop. As you participate with our officials and the PNTL officers in the Workshop, I hope you will take note of the considerable progress we have made so far but also of our shortcomings and our requirements. As we are just embarking on this effort to build up all these institutions, and sustain them, we will obviously continue to need a lot of assistance from the international community. We look forward to working with you and your cooperation. Our success will also be your success.
Thank you.