14 June 2006, Dili - Sukehiro Hasegawa,
the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative in Timor-Leste today
conferred with the UN-recruited prosecutors who have been working in the
Office of the National Prosecutor-General, on the status of the criminal
investigation into the fatal shootings in April and May.
After the meeting, Hasegawa said in
a press encounter that he had met with the international prosecutors in
response to a request made by the State of Timor-Leste in a 5 June letter
from the Senior Minister and Minister of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Jose Ramos-Horta on how to enable the Prosecutor-General's office to carry
out an investigation into the incidents in April and May, particularly
the 25 May attack on the national police Headquarters building in which
eight Police officers were killed and 20 other persons wounded, including
two UN police advisors.
"As the Head of the United Nations here, I felt very strongly that that incident has to be investigated immediately," SRSG said.
Hasegawa also said when Ramos-Horta reported that the Office of the Prosecutor-General had begun investigations into the incidents the Minister also requested that the United Nations provide both material and human resources to the Prosecutor-General's office so that it could carry out the investigation.
Firing on demonstrators in late April took at least five lives. The victims of the 25 May attack on the National Police headquarters were unarmed policemen who had surrendered and were under the protection of a UN flag.
At least 37 persons were killed in the wave of violence in April and May, according to the Human Rights Unit of the UN Office in Timor-Leste (UNOTIL).
Hasegawa noted the linkage between the work of the national Prosecutor General's office and the proposed Special Inquiry Commission. He said the findings of the investigation by the Prosecutor-General's office "will certainly also contribute to the International Special Commission of Inquiry....and the findings of the Commission of Inquiry could be brought forward to the Office of the General Prosecutor" for their criminal investigations.
The prosecutors, who work in the Timorese Prosecutor General's office, are recruited by UNOTIL and the UN Development Programme.
For additional information, please contact:
Donna Cusumano, Chief, Public Information Office, UNOTIL; +670 723 0749 or Spokesperson Robert Sullivan at 670 331-2210, extension 5165