Foto Fundasaun Mahein (FM)
March 28th 2018
“FALINTIL-FDTL personnel cannot enter political parties and they cannot make policy, but they must know the democratic policies of the state” – Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and Security 2007 – 2015
Recently, contentious public discussions have occurred concerning the role of the military in Timor-Leste’s current political context. In particular, recent comments by military leaders about political affairs have created controversy. In the past, similar rhetoric has led to instability in both developed and developing countries.
Historically, FALINTIL was the armed wing of the FRETILIN party, born on August 20th 1975. During the resistance struggle, FALINTIL was later separated from FRETILIN and became the armed wing for the umbrella resistance organisation, the Council for National Maubere Resistance (CNRM). After Timor-Leste gained its independence, FALINTIL transformed from a guerrilla force to a conventional military force in 2001 called FALINTIL-FDTL (Timor-Leste Defence Force), meaning that it now operates under the Constitution and relevant national legislation.
However, the upper tier of the F-FDTL leaderships remains dominated by former FALINTIL members, with most receiving only brief professional military training in the aftermath of independence. This has become an obstacle to the development of a genuinely independent and professional military institution, since it has proved difficult to separate FALINTIL and the F-FDTL.
Due to these challenges, public discussion and participation is indispensable for clearly defining the status of the F-FDTL according to the Constitution and relevant legislation, ensuring civilian control of the military, and preventing military interference in the national political process.
For more details on this issue, please see below:
(PRESS RELEASE CLICK HERE)
(FULL REPORT CLICK HERE)
Nélson Belo
Executive Director of FM
Phone: +670 78316075 or 7756 1184
Email: direktor.mahein@gmail.com
Website: www.fundasaunmahein.org
