Cornélio da Conceição Gama

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Cornélio da Conceição Gama

Cornélio da Conceição Gama (born July 16, 1945 in Saelari , Laga , Portuguese Timor ) is an East Timorese politician. He is better known under his fighter name Eli Fohorai-Boot (Great Python) or L-Sete ( Elle-Sette , L7 ), which he received in the guerrilla war against Indonesia .

family

Grandfather Leki Nana was a local liurai and legendary warrior who practiced magic based on the philosophy of Lulik . He fought against the Japanese in the Battle of Timor and, according to legend, was beheaded seven times. With the help of the Lulik he brought himself back to life every time. Every day he is prayed for a good harvest and dogs are sacrificed to him.

Of Cornélio da Conceição Gama's three sisters and three brothers, only one brother survived the occupation (1975-1999). This brother of L7, Paulino Gama (battle name: Mauk Moruk ), tried as a FALINTIL commander in 1984 to overthrow the head of the military arm of the East Timorese resistance, Xanana Gusmão . After his return to East Timor, he founded the paramilitary organization Konseilu Revolusionariu Maupe (KRM, German  Revolutionary Council Maupe ), which also had connections with Cornélios Sagrada Família . In August 2015, Mauk Moruk died in an exchange of fire with East Timorese security forces.

Life

L7 attended school through 4th grade.

He received military training in the Portuguese colonial army. With the establishment of FALINTIL, L7 joined the FRETILIN army . During the time when Indonesia was occupying the country, L7 was one of the most famous commanders of the FALINTIL, responsible for the Baucau region . In November 1998 he led an attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Sub- District Territorial Command (Koramil) in Alas , in which three Indonesian soldiers and nine FALINTIL fighters were killed. The imprisoned FALINTIL boss Xanana Gusmão had previously called for restraint in view of the ongoing peace talks. The Indonesian army responded with retaliation in the Alas region . When the rebel fighters were gathered in camps by the United Nations in 1999 , L7 left the camp with some of their loyal followers. It was the aftermath of frustration and helplessness that led to the decision. Then there was the poor supply situation and illnesses in the camp.

L7 is also the head of the Sagrada Família, a sect-like organization that is said to have committed several acts of violence. She was also implicated in the 2006 riots in East Timor . Even in his time as FALINTIL commander, he preached a mixture of traditional faith , Catholicism and worship of fallen FALINTIL heroes who allegedly still lived in the wilderness. L7 was assigned magical abilities. He can make himself invisible or turn into a tree. The Indonesians' bullets could not penetrate his skin. L7 recognized the legitimacy of the first government of independent East Timor under FRETILIN and spoke of the possibility of a new civil war during this time. Sagrada Família is said to have 5,000 members and is primarily identified with the east of the country, Loro Sae .

In addition, L7 is said to be a member of the Kakalok (magical group) 7-7 (Seven-Seven), which is said to be close to the Sagrada Família. 7-7 is also involved in gambling and blackmail. The group has many young members, recognizable by their noticeable scars. 7-7 has recently appeared as a martial arts club.

In 2001, L7 gathered its supporters in Baucau to await the return of the independence hero Vicente Sa'he dos Reis, who fell in 1979 . Thousands of members of the Sagrada Família gathered on that day without the forecast coming true.

On July 20, 2004, L7 was said to have been shot at a demonstration in the capital Dili against the then Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri . According to L7, the bullets hit a man next to him. L7 then hid first in Dili and then in his home town of Baucau. On August 24, L7 returned to the capital with 1,000 enthusiastic supporters and handed President Xanana Gusmão a petition in which veterans and soldiers demanded a restructuring of the state organs. The Alkatiri present and some of his ministers were booed by the audience.

Cornélio da Conceição Gama (2007)

In 2005 L7 finally founded the União Nacional Democrática de Resistência Timorense UNDERTIM ( Democratic National Union of the Timorese Resistance ) and became its first chairman. The party was aimed primarily at the discontented in the country and against the former leading resistance party FRETILIN. L7 and UNDERTIM therefore supported the then President José Ramos-Horta in his election campaign and, after the parliamentary elections on June 30, 2007 , sought a government of national unity . Gama became one of two UNDERTIM MPs in the East Timorese National Parliament and a member of the Constitutional Affairs, Justice, Public Administration, Local Jurisprudence and Legislation Commission of the Government (Commission A) and the Commission on Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security (Commission B). In the new elections in 2012 , UNDERTIM failed because of the three percent hurdle and was thrown out of parliament.

L7 became active in the management level of his brother's KRM. On March 3, 2014, the national parliament passed a resolution ordering the police to take action against KRM activities. After consultations with the top management, L7 stated that the KRM was ready to cooperate with the authorities, even if "the whole of Dili would be on fire" if he so wished. Mauk Moruk was arrested and L7 was placed under house arrest. Both were later released.

L7 at the first national congress of the PLP (2017)

In 2015, a split within UNDERTIM was revealed. L7 and other leading members left UNDERTIM and joined the newly founded Partidu Libertasaun Popular (PLP). 2017 L7 was of President Francisco Guterres in the Security Council of East Timor called, which he belonged to the 2018th

In the early elections in 2018 , Gama moved into the national parliament in 13th place on the list of the Aliança para Mudança e Progresso (AMP), to which the PLP also belongs. Here he is group leader of the PLP and Vice-President of the Commission for Foreign Affairs, Defense and National Security (Commission B).

Awards

Gama at Veteran's Day 2020

Others

Gama is missing several fingers on his left hand.

Web links

Commons : Cornélio da Conceição Gama  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c National Parliament of East Timor: Cornélio da Conceição Gama “L-7” , accessed on July 7, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Irena Cristalis : East Timor: A Nation's Bitter Dawn. Zed Books Ltd., 2013, limited preview in Google Book Search.
  3. ^ Washington Post, Oct. 8, 2003, East Timorese Struggling for Survival
  4. ↑ Kabar-Irian-Info ( Memento from May 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ^ The Struggle in Iliomar: Resistance in rural East Timor , 2017 , p. 140, accessed July 1, 2019.
  6. ↑ a b c ETAN, September 15, 2006, A Survey of Gangs and Youth Groups in Dili, Timor-Leste 2006 (PDF; 3.1 MB)
  7. ↑ ETAN (Sydney Morning Herald), August 18, 2001, After 26 years, Timorese about to begin life again
  8. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, August 24, 2004, Guerilla veteran returns in triumph to Dili
  9. ↑ Profile on the Parliament's website, October 29, 2008 ( memento of October 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (Portuguese)
  10. ↑ Ex-Guerrillas Threaten Political Stability in East Timor , April 1, 2014 , accessed March 8, 2015.
  11. ↑ Tatoli: KSDS Hahu Diskute Seguransa Nasional , accessed on May 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Election lists for the 2018 parliamentary elections
  13. ↑ Diário de Notícias: Presidente timorense condecora 46 veteranos da luta contra a ocupação indonésia , November 26, 2018 , accessed on April 15, 2019.
personal data
SURNAME Conceição Gama, Cornélio da
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gama, Cornelio; L7; L-Sete; Elle-Sette; Eli Fohorai boat
BRIEF DESCRIPTION East Timorese resistance fighter and party leader
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Saelari , Laga , Portuguese Timor