Gastão Salsinha

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Lieutenant Gastão Salsinha (* 1974 (?) In the municipality of Ermera , Portuguese Timor ) a soldier is East Timor , the other with about 600 soldiers of the Timor Leste Defense Force F-FDTL (almost half of the army) in spring 2006 desertion committed and so that the worst unrest in the country since independence in 2002 triggered.

Career

During the occupation of East Timor by Indonesia between 1975 and 1999, Salsinha fought against the occupiers in the FALINTIL . In the newly formed army he was a lieutenant after regaining independence in 2002 and trained by the Australian army . He was withdrawn from a captaincy course after Salsinha was arrested while smuggling sandalwood .

Salsinha is one of the leading figures in Colimau 2000 , an organization with political and religious features in the west of the country, which is also said to have committed criminal activities and participated in the 2006 riots . There are many FALINTIL veterans among the members. Colimau 2000 is one of the largest of several such groups in East Timor . Leandro Isaac , a member of parliament at the time, reports that Salsinha was a kind of "bishop" of Colimau 2000.

2006 riots

Soldiers from the western part of the country had already complained in January 2006 in a petition to the then President Xanana Gusmão about discrimination against the Kaladi (residents of the western part of East Timor). In February the so-called petitioners finally deserted . Gastão Salsinha took over the leadership of the soldiers dismissed by Prime Minister Alkatiri . The petitioners initially demonstrated against the dismissal, but the peaceful protest turned into violence. There was fighting with the F-FDTL, houses were burned down and there were deaths. At the beginning of May, the former freedom fighter and popular hero Major Alfredo Alves Reinado joined the Petitioners and took over the leadership of Salsinha. The conflict escalated further, criminal gangs began to loot and pillage, in the end at least 37 people had died and 155,000 had fled their homes. The prime minister resigned. An Australian- led military force ( International Stabilization Force ) and a UN police mission ( UNMIT ) were responsible for maintaining public order.

The rebels initially surrendered their weapons in a ceremony, but shortly afterwards their leader Reinado was arrested for illegally possessing weapons. He managed to break out of prison and together with Salsinha and several petitioners they went underground in the mountains. An attempt by an Australian special unit to arrest the rebels in Same failed. Since then, President José Ramos-Horta and the current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão have tried to resolve the conflict through negotiations.

The attack on February 11, 2008

On February 11, 2008, Reinado and several supporters carried out an attack on the house of Ramos-Horta in the state capital Dili. Reinado and another rebel were killed and Ramos-Horta seriously injured. An hour later Gusmão's house and himself in his motorcade were also shot at. He escaped unharmed. Salsinha is held responsible for the attack on the motorcade. In interviews on the phone, he denied the allegations. "If we had planned an ambush on the prime minister, he would not have escaped," Salsinha told the BBC. Besides, it was not Reinado who started shooting, but the presidential guard.

Lieutenant Salsinha declared himself the new chief of the rebels, while an arrest warrant was being held for him. He threatened to defend himself if an arrest was attempted.

He went into hiding in Ermera , but on April 29, 2008, Salsinha and eleven other rebels surrendered to the authorities and handed over his weapons to Lieutenant Colonel Filomeno Paixão .

On March 3, 2010, Salsinha was sentenced to ten years and eight months in prison for participating in the attack on Prime Minister Gusmão. On August 24, 2010, Salsinha was pardoned by President Ramos-Horta.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, March 30, 2006, East Timor tense as soldiers desert barracks
  2. ↑ Kalteng, Fractured democracy ( Memento of 29 September 2007 at the Internet Archive )
  3. ^ Damien Kingsbury, Beyond the crisis: State and nation building for resolution Australian National University, Beyond the Crisis in Timor-Leste seminar July 2006
  4. ↑ Stephanie March in abc.net.au, March 13, 2008, East Timor rebel leader delays surrender
  5. ^ Tito Bello for Reuters on March 13, 2008 East Timor president's attackers escape siege-army
  6. ↑ Collection of article from March 14, 2008
  7. ↑ BBC, February 15, 2008, E Timorese rebels deny murder bid
  8. ^ AAP, February 15, 2008, Rudd issues warning to Timor rebels . Archived from the original on February 16, 2008 ; Retrieved February 15, 2008 .
  9. ↑ BBC, April 29, 2008, E Timor rebel leader surrenders
  10. ↑ Yahoo news, March 3, 2010, East Timor convicts 24 rebels over murder plots
  11. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, March 4, 2010, Lover acquitted over East Timor murder plot
  12. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, August 25, 2010, President pardons rebels who shot him
personal data
SURNAME Salsinha, Gastao
BRIEF DESCRIPTION East Timorese soldier, rebel leader
DATE OF BIRTH around 1974
PLACE OF BIRTH Ermera District , Portuguese Timor