DILI, 30 august 2024 (TATOLI) – On the sidelines of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the referendum, the Ministry of Education (ME), in collaboration with the National Training Institute for Teachers and Education Professionals (INFORDEPE), held a theater performance to remember the tragic moment of intimidation and torture carried out by pro-Indonesia militias at the headquarters of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) in Balide, Dili, which took place between the days of the vote on 30 August and the announcement of the election results on 4 September 1999.
The President of INFORDEPE, Domingos Martins, said that the show tells the story of the intimidation carried out by the militias supported by the Indonesian military, who intimidated the UNAMET staff who worked on organizing the referendum, as well as carrying out violence against the Timorese who had taken refuge in the building.
“In this space (the current INFORDEPE building), many Timorese fled because they received threats from the pro-Indonesia militias. Before fleeing here, they were tortured. So, we put on this theater performance with the intention of remembering the difficult and bitter situation that took place 25 years ago,” Domingos Martins told journalists at the Ian Martin Hall in Balide, Dili.
Former UNAMET representative Ian Martin, who was present at the event, said that the performance was a commemoration of the most traumatic moment that took place at the organization’s headquarters.
“The theater is to commemorate and retrace the most traumatic moment of our past in this complex. On the night of 5 September, there was an intense firefight next to that school (now the Public Secondary School of 4 September of UNAMET), and the families who were sheltering there began to flee to UNAMET’s headquarters. We had barbed wire on top of the wall, so people got hurt by the barbed wire, throwing babies over the wire. In that situation, we opened the gate and housed those people in that classroom (the INFORDEPE hall),” he said.
Present at the event were the Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister for Social Affairs and Minister for Rural Development and Community Housing, Mariano Assanami Sabino, the former spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Tamrat Samuel, the leaders of ME and INFORDEPE, some teachers, the local community, and the other distinguished guest.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Rafael Ximenes de A. Belo
