Organizações internacionais pedem a PM timorense para parar processo contra jornalistas

A carta está subscrita pela Freedom House, pelo Committee to Protect Journalists pela South East Asia Journalist Unions e pela International Federation of Journalists e prende-se com uma queixa apresentada pelo chefe do Governo contra os jornalistas Oki Raimundos e Lourenço Martins e o jornal Timor Post.

"Apelamos fortemente ao gabinete do primeiro-ministro para que retire o caso de difamação contra os jornalistas Oki Raimundos e Lourenço Martins e contra o Timor Post", lê-se na carta.

"Ações como esta enfraquecem a liberdade de imprensa em Timor-Leste aos olhos da comunidade internacional. Recuperar difamação criminal neste caso é uma contravenção da tendência global e dos próprios passos positivos dados pelo país para apoiar uma media independente e forte", consideram.

Em causa está uma notícia publicada no passado dia 10 de novembro que implicava o atual chefe do Governo num alegado caso de corrupção relacionado com um processo, quando Rui Araújo ainda trabalhava no Ministério das Finanças, para o fornecimento dos conteúdos do novo edifício deste ministério.

O artigo continha erros factuais que o jornal corrigiu, tendo publicado também o direito de resposta do gabinete de Rui Araújo, tal como previsto na Lei de Imprensa.

"Apesar disso decidiu avançar com um processo por difamação que pode representar penas de prisão", lê-se na carta.

"Com Timor-Leste prestes a lançar oficialmente o seu Conselho de Imprensa, no dia da Liberdade de Imprensa, 03 de maio, a comunidade de media internacional está desapontada e preocupada que esse ação esteja a avançar e apela fortemente a que suspenda as acusações e pare de usar ameaças legais para perseguir jornalistas de Timor-Leste", sublinha.

Questionado pela agência Lusa, Raimundos Oki explicou que na audiência do dia 11 "usou o direito a silêncio", não respondendo às perguntas do Ministério Público, que lhe aplicou o Termo de Identidade e Residência que obriga a que notifique qualquer saída fora do país de mais de 15 dias de duração.

"Nesta altura ainda não recebemos a acusação. Só houve identificação pessoal e a aplicação do TIR", afirmou.

O jornalista manifestou-se "muito preocupado" com o caso, considerando que os seus direitos fundamentais "estão a ser condicionados" e que desde que foi alvo da queixa, sente "muito medo" cada vez que escreve uma noticia.

"Mas continuo a trabalhar com normalidade", disse o jornalista.

As organizações sublinham que o Codigo Penal timorense descriminalizou difamação quando foi introduzido em 2009 mas que este caso "demonstra a contradição da lei em Timor-Leste que é usada claramente para lançar processos de difamação por outros métodos".

"Especificamente o artigo 285 foi aplicado neste caso, com a clausula de denuncia caluniosa que pela nossa interpretação é uma violação do artigo 41 da constituição (sobre liberdade de imprensa) e dos compromisso de liberdades de expressão de Timor-Leste como signatário da Convenção Internacional de Direitos Civis e Políticos (ICCPR)", refere a carta.

O artigo referido do Codigo Penal prevê pena de prisão até 3 anos e multa para quem "por qualquer meio, perante autoridade ou publicamente, com a consciência da falsidade da imputação, denunciar ou lançar sobre determinada pessoa a suspeita da prática de um crime, com a intenção de que contra ela se instaure procedimento criminal, é punido com pena de prisão até 3 anos ou multa".

"Reiteramos que esta queixa de difamação contra Oki e Lourenço Ameaça significativamente a liberdade de imprensa em Timor-Leste, criando uma cultura de medo e intimidação entre jornalistas que escrevem sobre assuntos de importância nacional", sublinha a casta.

As quatro organizações apelam por isso ao chefe do Governo timorense para que peça ao procurador geral para que suspenda o processo, considerando ainda reformas legais para "abolir o artigo 285 e outras clausulas que enfraqueçam o compromisso constitucional do país em proteger e promover a liberdade de imprensa".

ASP // APN

Lusa/Fim

http://24.sapo.pt/article/lusa-sapo-pt_2016_04_26_150698575_organizacoes-internacionais-pedem-a-pm-timorense-para-parar-processo-contra-jornalistas 

Global media groups call on Timor Leste PM to drop defamation case

East Timor's Prime Minister Rui Araujo (R) and President Taur Matan Ruak (L) shaking hands as they pose for a group photograph after a swearing ceremony in Dili. East Timor on February 16 inaugurated a new prime minister. Credit: AFP/VALENTINO DE SOUSA

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the South East Asia Journalist Unions (SEAJU) join international organisations the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Freedom House in calling on the Timor Leste Prime Minister to withdraw the criminal defamation case against a Timor Leste journalist and media outlet.

Today, April 22, the IFJ, SEAJU, CPJ and Freedom House sent a letter to Timor Leste Prime Minister, Dr. Rui Maria de Araújo, relating to the criminal defamation case brought before Timor Post journalist, Oki Raimundos, former editor Lourenco Vicente Martins, and the Timor Post.

The case against Oki and the Timor Post is based on a published report from November 10, 2015, which contained a factual error on a government tendering process. In accordance with Timor Leste’s own Press Law, the outlet subsequently published a correction and right of reply from the Prime Minister’s office in relation to the story. In spite of this, you have filed a criminal defamation lawsuit that carries potential prison sentences against Oki, Vincente and Timor Post.

Oki and Martins were summoned to attend the office of the Prosecutor General on Monday 11 April.  Appearing with their lawyers each faced separate 30 minute interviews. Both men relied on their right to silence, and each was given a ‘letter’ stating that neither could change his address nor travel overseas without giving the prosecutor 15 days’ notice. The prosecutor will now decide whether to file an indictment or drop the charges.  The time permitted for the prosecutor to gather evidence and to make a decision about remains unclear.

Australia Barrister and IFJ legal representative, Jim Nolan, was in Timor Leste on April 11 to support Oki and Martins. During his trip he met with various figures in the Timor Leste media. In a piece authored  by Nolan, he said that, the prosecution must establish four conditions.  Firstly, the publication of the ‘accusation’.  Secondly, at the time of publication, the journalist must be “aware of the falsity of the accusation,” and thirdly, the accusation must concern the “commission of a crime” and fourthly, the publication must be made “with the intent of having criminal proceedings initiated against the person.”

In the letter, IFJ, SEAJU, CPJ and Freedom House highlights the implications for the case for Timor Leste’s press freedom, noting that such actions will weaken the view of the country’s media freedom in the eyes of the international community.

The IFJ said: “We continue to support our local affiliates as well as Oki and Martins as they continue with this battle. The support of the international community highlights the importance of this case and the need to end criminal defamation as a tool to silence critics. We again, call on the Prime Minister to withdraw the case against Oki and Martins.”

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0946 

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 139 countries

Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific

Find the IFJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IFJAsiaPacific

Muzzling Timor’s media

BY

JIM NOLAN, GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

 – 21 APRIL 2016POSTED IN: EAST TIMOR

Criminal defamation raises its ugly head in Timor-Leste, writes Jim Nolan.

An article in The Timor Post on 10 November 2015 which dealt with the letting of government tenders for IT services, has triggered draconian criminal defamation laws against the journalist concerned.

This disturbing development comes at a time when the government in Timor Leste is poised to formally appoint the members of its newly minted Press Council – the key body in a legal framework intended to deal with complaints against the press principally by mediation.  Yet, in this case, this new scheme of press regulation, which has been in the works for several years, was entirely side stepped.

This disregard for the new complaints mechanism is all the more puzzling since the newspaper concerned followed the precepts of the new press law in dealing with the complaint – including by publishing a prominent and timely correction to the one part of the story which contained an error.

Yet this was apparently not good enough.

It is uncertain why, because no dissatisfaction was expressed with the timelines or adequacy of the correction.  Indeed, nothing more was heard until the journalist, Raimundos Oki, received a ‘summons’ from the Prosecutor General’s Office in Dili that the story raised a breach of s285 of the criminal code – a bizarre and dormant version of criminal defamation.

It may be no co-incidence that the subject of this piece of investigative reporting was a former adviser to the Finance Minister, and now current Prime Minister, Dr Rui Maria de Araújo.

The summons required Oki and his former editor, Lourenco Martins, to attend the office of the Prosecutor General on Monday 11 April.  Appearing with their lawyers, each faced separate 30 minute interviews.

Both men relied on their right to silence, and the prosecutor read a statement that left them none the wiser as to the substance of the complaint and how it could give rise to breach of s285.  Each was given a ‘letter’ stating that neither could change his address nor travel overseas without giving the prosecutor 15 days’ notice.  Although these conditions are not on their own onerous, as a matter of principle they are repugnant because they place legal restrictions upon the free movement of the two men.  They add a further ‘chilling’ note to an already objectionable law.

The prosecutor must now decide whether to file an indictment or drop the charges.  The time permitted for the prosecutor to gather evidence and to make a decision about this is unclear.

Former occupier Indonesia provides a salient lesson in Timor-Leste can do press freedom better.

Journalists in Indonesia have struggled fiercely since the fall of Suharto to resist and defeat criminal defamation prosecutions, but over the past two decades, criminal defamation cases against Indonesian journalists have steadily declined; so much so, that the last trial, in Makassar in 2010 resulted in the first acquittal in a criminal defamation trial.  The acquittal marked a significant victory for the Indonesian journalists’ campaign – all the more since the complainant at whose behest the charges were pressed was the outgoing Police Commander of South Sulawesi!

It is a supreme irony that criminal defamation, having been sent into retreat in Indonesia, has now surfaced in democratic Timor-Leste.

Under s285 of the Criminal Code, where publication of a story by a journalist who is ‘‘aware of the falsity of the accusation, informs or casts suspicion on a person regarding commission of a crime, with the intent of having criminal proceedings initiated against said person…,” the journalist faces up to three years imprisonment or a fine.

Thus, the prosecution must establish four conditions.  Firstly, the publication of the ‘accusation’.  Secondly, at the time of publication, the journalist must be “aware of the falsity of the accusation,” and thirdly, the accusation must concern the “commission of a crime” and fourthly, the publication must be made “with the intent of having criminal proceedings initiated against the person.”

At the heart of this offence is the requirement to prove deliberate, premeditated malice to bring about a false and malicious prosecution of an innocent person. Any criminal statute must be interpreted strictly and narrowly.  It follows thateach of the elements of the offence will need to be proved according to the criminal standard of proof.

There are two key stumbling blocks to the charge under s285.  As observed, the journalist concerned must be “aware of the falsity of the accusation”.  There is no suggestion that any proof exists of this ‘state of knowledge’ on the part of either journalist.  In the absence of any prima facie, or sufficient proof of a state of knowledge, the prosecution cannot get past first base.  Only a ‘confession’ or clear documentary proof tying the alleged perpetrator’s state of knowledge to the story would be sufficient to raise a prima facie case.  None exists and, in the interview, nothing was put to Oki to suggest that it did.

The second major stumbling block is that the publication was made “with the intent of having criminal proceedings initiated against the person”. Quite how a journalist could publish a story with that precise intent is not at all clear.  The journalist may be of the opinion that the content of the story (if true) merited a criminal investigation and the filing of charges.  However the decision to commence criminal proceedings is entirely a matter for the Prosecutor-General’s office.

Since the journalist’s actual knowledge is the essential ingredient of two elements of the offence, the failure to confront Oki with the ‘evidence’ of his alleged state of knowledge is troubling.

On its face then, the investigation appears to be no more than a fishing exercise directed to finding material to ‘fit’ the contorted features of the ‘crime’ created by s285.

The question must be asked whether it is a proper exercise of the Prosecutor’s function to investigate an alleged ‘crime’ where no prima facie evidence points to any offence under s285.

On its face, any exercise of investigative journalism directed to exposing public malfeasance would be ripe for investigation under s285.

Such a development is antithetical to the clear expressions of freedom of the press embodied in articles 8 and 9 of the Press Law which establish a right for journalists not to be subjected to any interference that threatens their independence and objectivity, and the right to freedom to expression and to be free from harassment.

There has been no credible suggestion that Oki reported the story other than with the intention of informing his readers on an important matter of public interest.

Oki’s case presents the newly established Press Council with its first significant challenge.  The Council has powers to deal with complaints against the Press which are regarded as potentially unduly restrictive of press freedom.  Notwithstanding concern about the powers of the Press Council, the consensus appears to be that the persons named to the Council are good appointments and will have press freedom as their overwhelming concern.

The members of the Press Council will be formally invested by Parliament on Press Freedom Day 2016, 3 May.  This will be an interesting event given the present investigation.

Jim Nolan is a Sydney Lawyer who has acted as a pro bono legal adviser to the International Federation of Journalists (Asia Pacific) for many years.  He has attended trials in Indonesia as a legal observer for the IFJ and participated in numerous activities promoting Press Freedom and opposing criminal defamation in Indonesia.  He attended the Prosecutor Generals Office in Dili on Monday April 11, as legal observer on behalf of the IFJ to support Oki. 

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2016/04/21/muzzling-timors-media/

Memilih Kehidupan Yang Etis

HEWAN dengan segala jenisnya digerakkan oleh naluri atau instingnya, tetapi manusia digerakkan oleh pilihan etisnya. Naluri menggerakkan hewan kepada arah dan pola tertentu serta bersifat tetap, sehingga pola hidup suatu hewan selalu dapat diprediksi dengan tepat. Tetapi untuk memprediksi sikap seseorang tidaklah mudah. Karena tiap-tiap orang digerakkan oleh kehendak bebasnya sehingga pilihan etisnya juga dilakukan berdasarkan nilai-nilai tertentu, keyakinan, karakter, dan situasi real saat itu.

Itu sebabnya pilihan etis setiap orang selalu bersifat unik dan personal. Mereka memiliki penafsiran tersendiri apa yang dimaksud dengan “Makna Kehidupan”. Bagi beberapa orang makna kehidupan dihayati sebagai suatu kesempatan untuk menikmati segala sesuatu (hedonisme), beberapa orang makna kehidupan dihayati dengan sikap bertarak, sebagian lagi menghayati makna kehidupan dengan peduli (bela-rasa), dan yang lain menghayati makna kehidupan dengan bersikap egoistis, sebagian menghayati makna hidup dengan mengasihi Allah, dan yang lain mengabaikan dan menolak Allah, dan sebagainya.

Yang jelas makna kehidupan yang dihayati oleh setiap orang mencerminkan arah dan tujuan hidupnya sendiri, sekaligus mencerminkan karakter, isi keyakinan dan spiritualitasnya. Semakin berkualitas makna kehidupan yang dijalani, maka semakin tinggi pula nilai-nilai dan kualitas karakter yang dimilikinya. Sebaliknya semakin dangkal makna kehidupan yang dijalani seseorang, maka akan tampak ketidakmampuan dia untuk melakukan pilihan etis secara benar.

Pengetahuan etis dan kemampuan memilih dapat saling melengkapi seseorang untuk mengambil keputusan etis yang tepat. Sebab melalui pengetahuan etis, kita dimampukan untuk membuat pertimbangan etis secara rasional. Pengetahuan etis dapat membantu kita untuk memperoleh pencerahan intelektual sehingga kita bersikap dan bertingkah-laku sesuai dengan nilai-nilai etis yang rasional. Tetapi pada pihak lain, kita juga harus ingat bahwa pengetahuan etis yang luas dan mendalam tidak menjamin kita untuk mampu membuat pilihan etis secara praktis. Misalnya kita dapat mengetahui secara mendalam tentang hukum negara baik yang tertulis maupun tidak tertulis dan hukum adat-istiadat dan kehendak Allah, tetapi realitanya kita tidak senantiasa mampu memberlakukan semua hukum tersebut dalam kehidupan kita. Pengetahuan yang lengkap tentang moralitas tidak menjamin kita menjadi seorang yang memberlakukan kesusilaan secara konsisten.

Dalam banyak kasus kita telah menjumpai orang-orang yang dianggap ahli etika dan tokoh moral, tetapi tiba-tiba dia terbukti terlibat dalam berbagai tindakan yang tidak senonoh. Seperti terlibat dalam kasus pelecehan sexual, pornografi, Kolusi, Korupsi dan Nepotisme (KKN), perdagangan manusia (human trafficking), penjualan obat-obat terlarang dab sebagainya. Demikian pula banyak orang terkecoh dengan kesalehan para pemuka agama yang begitu lantang menentang pornografi, tetapi kemudian terbukti mereka sendiri bertahun-tahun mempraktekkan pornografi, pedophilia. Dengan demikian, kita dapat melihat bahwa pada satu pihak pengetahuan etis dan moral sangat dibutuhkan sebagai media pendidikan dan pembinaan masyarakat agar mereka dapat mampu memilih apa yang benar; tetapi pada pihak lain pengetahuan etis dapat menjadi media kemunafikan sebab dipakai untuk menyembunyikan hal-hal yang buruk dalam kehidupannya.

Jika demikian kemampuan memilih apa yang benar dan baik dalam kehidupan ini merupakan suatu perjuangan yang eksistensial. Tidak dijamin kemampuan kita untuk memilih secara tepat pada suatu waktu, berarti kita akan mampu memilih secara etis pada waktu yang lain. Karena pilihan-pilihan etis kita senantiasa berada dalam suatu kondisi yang tidak sama dan memiliki kerumitannya masing-masing. Kita tahu bahwa tidak semua pilihan dalam hidup ini dapat kita pilih dengan mudah.

Kadang-kadang kita menghadapi situasi yang dilematis seperti: di saat dana kita terbatas, kita harus mengambil keputusan untuk pengobatan bagi mama yang sedang sakit keras ataukah untuk anak yang harus dioperasi. Atau sikap kita yang tidak mudah memilih untuk pengobatan anak yang gagal ginjal selama bertahun-tahun sehingga membutuhkan biaya untuk cuci darah setiap minggu dua kali, ataukah lebih baik kita memilih untuk biaya pendidikan bagi anak-anak kita yang lain.

Kalau kita memilih masa depan dan pendidikan bagi anak-anak kita yang lain berarti kita akan mengambil keputusan untuk menghentikan perawatan medis bagi anak yang perlu cuci darah. Tentunya keputusan kita tersebut dapat menyebabkan kematian bagi anak yang sedang membutuhkan biaya untuk cuci darah. Namun jika kita memilih dana tersebut untuk cuci darah, berarti kita akan menelantarkan masa depan dan kebutuhan pendidikan bagi anak-anak kita yang lain. Dalam hal ini kemampuan kita untuk memilih secara etis tidaklah cukup didukung dengan pengetahuan etis.

Kemampuan etis kita perlu dilandasi oleh kualitas kasih dan relasi yang mendalam dengan Allah, sang sumber Kehidupan dan sesama manusia. Kita mengimani bahwa Allah di dalam Kristus akan mengampuni kita ketika kita gagal untuk membuat pilihan dan keputusan yang tidak tepat dalam situasi yang dilematis. Kalau kita berpijak kepada pengetahuan etis, maka kita akan dirongrong oleh rasa bersalah. Sebaliknya ketika kita berpijak kepada anugerah dan rahmat Allah dan masukan dari semana manusia, kita dimampukan untuk melakukan pilihan dan keputusan yang sebaik-baiknya dengan kesadaran bahwa kita tidak mampu mengendalikan rahasia kehidupan ini. Jadi pilihan yang terbaik adalah bilamana dilandasi oleh kasih Allah, ide orang lain, sehingga kita mampu memilih secara bijaksana walaupun juga menyakitkan.

Seseorang yang mengasihi para anggota keluarga, nyawa dan harta miliknya lebih dari pada apapun juga pastilah akan lebih cenderung ingin memberlakukan keinginan dan orientasi hidupnya sebagai yang paling utama. Kita dapat melihat dalam banyak contoh ketika seseorang menempatkan para anggota keluarganya sebagai yang paling utama, maka akan muncul sikap Nepotisme. Atau seseorang yang terlalu mencintai nyawanya sendiri sehingga melahirkan sikap Egoisme diri, dan rasa cinta yang berlebihan kepada etnisnya sendiri akan melahirkan sikap Rasialisme; rasa cinta yang berlebihan kepada bangsanya sendiri melahirkan sikap Chauvinisme. Demikian pula rasa cinta kepada uang dan materi yang berlebihan akan melahirkan sikap Materialisme. Semua sikap tersebut terwujud dalam realita kehidupan manusia karena kita tidak menempatkan yang sebenarnya sebagai satu-satunya pusat kehidupan kita.

Bagaimana manusia menjadi mampu untuk bertindak menurut pengertian yang tepat? Untuk itu, kita harus masuk sedikiti ke dalam ajaran Aristoteles tentang KEUTAMAAN (Arete). Menurut Aristoteles, keutamaan adalah sikap-sikap batin yang di miliki manusia. (hexis probairetike). Aristoteles membedakan dua macam keutamaan, yaitu keutaman intelektual (aretai dianoetikai) dan keutamaan etis (aretai etikai). Yang pertama merupakan sikap akal budi, yang kedua sikap kehendak.

Sophia, dalam bahasa Inggris (Wisdom), adalah kebijaksaan orang yang hatinya terangkat ke tingkat alam adiduniawi, jadi kebijaksanaan orang ber-theoria. Itulah orang yang bijaksana karena tahu tentang realitas yang paling mendalam. 

Sedangkan phronesis (prudence) adalah kemampuan orang untuk mengambil sikap dan keputusan bijaksana dalam memecahkan berbagai masalah dalam Kehidupan sehari-hari. Menurut Plato, Phronesismengalir dari Sophia. Karena itu, Plato mengharapkan bahwa filsuflah, si pencinta Sophia, yang paling mampu memecahkan masalah-masalah dalam kepemimpinan dalam masyarakat dan oleh karena itu harus menjadi raja.

Menurut Demokritos (460-371 SM) menyatakan, nilai tertinggi adalah apa yang enak (hedonisme) dan kepintaran dalam berdebat lebih penting daripada pendekatan pada pembenaran. Sedangkan Socrates yakin bahwa orang akan berbuat benar apabila ia mengetahui apa yang baik baginya. Perbuatan yang salah adalah akibat kurang cerahnya pengertian diri manusia.

Sang Baik, Cinta dan Kebahagiaan

Menurut Plato, orang itu baik apabila ia DIKUASAI oleh AKAL BUDI, buruk apabila di kuasaun oleh keinginan dan hawa nafsu. Mengapa demikian? Karena selama kita dikuasai oleh nafsu dan emosi, kita di kuasai oleh sesuatu yang di luar kita. Itu berarti, kita tidak teratur, kita di tarik ke sana ke sini, kita menjadi kacau balau. Kita seakan-akan terpecah-belah, tergantung pada nafsu atau emosi mana yang sedang mengemudikan kita. Kita tidak memiliki diri kita, melainkan menjadi obyek doronga-dorongan irasional dalam diri kita.

Menurut Aristoteles, ada tiga pola hidup yang memuat kepuasan dalam dirinya sendiri, yaitu hidup yang MENCARI NIKMAT, hidup “praktis” atau POLITIS, dan hidup sebagai seorang filsuf, HIDUP KONTEMPLATIF. Anggapan pertama dalam filsuf disebut HEDONISME. Sejak zaman Yunani ada filsuf-filsuf yang mempermaklumkan salah satu bentuk hedonism. Salah satu kehebatan etika Aristoteles adalah bahwa ia bukan hanya menyangkal kebenaran anggapan bahwa PENCARI NIKMAT merupakan tujuna hidup manusia, melainkan juga merumuskan argumentasi yang pada hakikatnya sekarang pun masih meyakinkan. Alasan utama yang dikemukakan Aristoteles adalah bahwa perasaan nikmat tidak khas manusiawi. 

Orang yang hidupnya hanya mencari kenikmatan sama derajatnya dengan binatang, namun karena kita (manusia) bukan binatang, hidup sebagai binatang tidak mungkin membahagiakan karena tidak dapat membedakan apa yang baik dan buruk. Semoga di tahun baru, 2014 ini kita semua berusaha untuk mencari dan memilih kehidupan yang etis. 

Timor Leste prosecution proceeds with investigation into defamation case

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) with its affiliates the Timor Leste Press Union (TLPU) and the Timor Leste Journalist Association (TLJA) condemned the actions of the Government of Timor-Leste which has commenced an investigation into a defamation lawsuit against local media. The IFJ, TLPU and TLJA demand the government immediately withdraw the charges and revert the case to the Press Council.

On Monday, April 11, Oki Raimundos, and the former editor of the Timor PostLourenco Martins Vicente were interviewed by a prosecutor from the office of the Timor Leste Prosecutor- General in relation to a defamation lawsuit filed by Timor Leste Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo.  The interview was the first step in the process of a decision whether to lay charges against the journalists under the Timorese criminal code.

The defamation lawsuit relates to a story published in November 2015 in theTimor Post, which said that Prime Minister Araujo, in his previous capacity as advisor to the Minister for Finance recommended the winning bid for a project to supply and install computer equipment to the new Ministry of Finance building in 2014. As outlined under the country’s new Press Law, Article 34, the right of reply is guaranteed. As such, The Timor Post published the Prime Minister’s reply to the article in the paper’s front page on 17 November 2015. The Timor Post then published a clarification of Oki’s report in its 18 November 2015 issue.

Article 8 of the Timor Leste Press Law clearly is intended to protect journalists. It states "The right of journalists to report shall be exercised on the basis of constitutional powers, may not be subjected to interference that threatens their independence and objectivity, freedom of establishment, and freedom of conscience.”

Although the due process was followed by the Timor Post, the government has commenced the legal process which may lead to charges under the criminal code. After Monday’s ‘interview’  - where the man relied upon their right to silence - they were officially instructed that they may not change address or travel overseas without first giving the Prosecutor General 15 days’ notice. 

The TLPU president Jose Belo said: “The TPLU is deeply saddened by the Timor Leste Prime Minister’s actions to take Oki and the Timor Post to court. This legal action by the Prime Minister sets a very bad precedent for Timor Leste democracy and press freedom. This case is going to be the terrible lesson for our country and will endanger freedom of expression, TLPU strongly condemn the Prime Minister’s behavior.”

The TLJA president Hugo David said: “People in this country have the right to access to information, and the media and journalists are merely a means of information intermediaries, therefore we ask the prime minister to make a reflection on the legal actions that could injure the rights of the people and democracy, We also asked the court to use the press law in solving the case.”

The IFJ said: “The lawsuit brought against Oki and Vicente is an attack on press freedom and the right to information in Timor Leste. The government of Timor Leste is trying to silence critics, through the use of laws that contradict the newly established Press Council. As a matter of principle, criminal prosecutions of journalists cannot be tolerated.”

The IFJ along with its affiliates continue to monitor the situation and support Oki and Vicente. The Timor Post is also supporting the two journalists in resisting the prosecutor’s investigation. Jim Nolan, Australian Barrister and IFJ legal representative is currently in Dili, Timor Leste as a legal observer. He attended the Prosecutor-General’.

http://www.ifj.org/nc/news-single-view/backpid/33/article/timor-leste-prosecution-proceeds-with-investigation-into-defamation-case/ 

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +61 2 9333 0946

The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 139 countries

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E Timor civil society on skid row: President

East Timorese journalist Raimondos Oki with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon during a recent visit to New York.

East Timor’s slide towards autocracy is being hastened by new Prime Minister Rui de Araujo.

Despite coming into the job as an apparent cleanskin, Dr de ­Araujo seems to be exploiting the country’s draconian media laws with a defamation action that could send a journalist to jail.

Dr Aruajo is suing over an article in the Timor Post by Raimondos Oki who reported on the awarding of an $18 million contract to install computers at the 20,000sq m Finance Ministry.

Should Dr de Araujo succeed, the action will focus attention on the winding back of democracy in East Timor. Former prime minister Xanana Gusmao introduced a press council that controls who can work as a journalist, while the penal code makes defamation a criminal offence.

The benefits accruing to a small elite connected to senior politicians, and massive spending on dubious projects, have put the government and President Taur Matan Ruak on a collision course.

Mr Ruak is associated with the newly formed Peoples Liberation Party that plans to challenge the cosy government of national unity created by Mr Gusmao, who last year appointed Dr de Araujo as Prime Minister even though he was a minister in the former Fretilin party. He also put the former Fretilin prime minister Mari ­Alkatiri in charge of special economic zones, a role that involves massive spending. Mr Gusmao remains a cabinet minister.

In a fiery address to parliament late last month, Mr Ruak effectively described East Timor as an autocracy that serves the wealthy elite, where political unity was used for “power and privilege” and regretfully “family and friends of brother Xanana and brother Mari have benefited both from state contracts”.

“The State of Timor-Leste is far too centralised. It centralises skills, power and privilege. It ­excessively squanders resources. It creates first-class citizens and second-class citizens,” he said.

Mr Rauk has been alarmed by the planning for more costly and grander white elephants, while spending on health and education has been cut.

On the south coast, the government has budgeted about $US1.6 billion ($A2.14bn) for oil infrastructure, even though it is almost ­impossible to build a pipeline from the Timor Sea in depths of 2500m.

Other fiscal black holes are the state oil company Timor GAP and a special economic zone in the Oecusse enclave, in the north, which has a budget of $200m for this year alone. The Oecusse project is of sentimental value because it is where the Portuguese landed in the early 1500s. Mr Ruak ridiculed the plan to build an international airport in a place with a population of 65,000.

PLP’s support comes from Timorese who grew up during the Indonesian occupation. Some were even educated in Indonesia and unlike the Gusmao generation, they are less enamoured with East Timor’s ­association with Portugal and the Portuguese language.

For example PLP interim ­president Aderito de Jesus Soares is a lawyer who helped write the nascent nation’s constitution and more recently served as the head of the Commission Against Corruption. He is now completing a doctorate at the Australian National University.

The line-up so far includes ­Demetrio Amaral, who founded the environmental group Haburus and has been awarded the Goldman award (known as the Green Nobel), and Jose Belo, a former resistance fighter turned newspaper editor.

PLP’s views on education and Indonesia set it well apart from the prevailing consensus. Mr Soares, who studied in Indonesia, says Bahasa Indonesia should be taught in schools, along with ­English and Portuguese.

“It has to be taught in the school as an option. Junior and senior high school should teach Bahasa Indonesia. How many families can afford to send kids to Brazil or Portugal, or Australia? But many can afford to send their kids to Indonesia,” he says.

East Timor’s worrying trajectory does not seem to concern the Australian advisers who are close to the government.

Former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks, who has served as a special adviser to the prime minister since 2007, said he had never criticised the projects ­condemned by Mr Ruak. “The government of Timor-Leste is entitled to determine its own priorities,” he said.

He declined to comment on the media law and the criminal penalties for defamation.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/e-timor-civil-society-on-skid-row-president/news-story/d30d8afbc7b45bf3d6d44ae310758e56