Maternus Bere

Maternus Bere , also Maternos Bere (* in East Timor ) was the sub-commander ( Danki ) of the pro-Indonesian militia Laksaur in Suai / East Timor. Before that he was allegedly a teacher.

accusations

The militias are jointly responsible for the wave of violence following the East Timorese referendum on independence in 1999 . Maternus Bere is accused, among other things, of being involved in the church massacre in Suai on September 6, 1999, in which between 30 and 200 people were killed. He is also accused of kidnapping and raping Juliana "Alola" dos Santos , after which the Alola Foundation , an East Timorese organization for women's rights by Kirsty Sword Gusmão , was named.

After the intervention of the international protection force INTERFET , Bere fled to Atambua / West Timor and built a new existence there. He became an Indonesian citizen and secretary of the Indonesian District of East Kobalima ( Kobalima Timur ) in the Belu Governorate . The Indonesian Public Prosecutor's Office first had him on the wanted list, but took him back down in April 2001 because "they hadn't been able to find him". In February 2003, Bere was indicted by the Serious Crimes Unit and an arrest warrant issued.

Arrest and release scandal

In 2009, Bere returned to Suai to attend a ceremony for his late father. On August 8, residents of Suai recognized him, captured Bere, almost lynched him, and handed him over to the East Timorese authorities. They took him to the prison in Dili . Indonesia protested the arrest to the East Timorese government. Bere was released on August 30th by order of President José Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão , who pursue a policy of reconciliation and forgiveness with the old occupying power. Justice Minister Lúcia Lobato confirmed that the dismissal was for political reasons and asked Indonesia to bring Bere to justice. The United Nations , the Catholic Bishop of Baucau Basílio do Nascimento , the opposition parties and a large part of the population strongly criticized the release. The National Parliament of East Timor highlighted in protest a planned trip Ramos-Horta in the USA and after Denmark and Germany with 18 votes to 16 with three abstentions. Ramos-Horta then threatened to resign as head of state. Parliament therefore revoked its decision by 31 votes to one with five abstentions. 18 MPs were not present. NGOs again called for a tribunal to be set up to prosecute the crimes committed during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. The President of the East Timorese Supreme Court, Cláudio Ximenes , said the release had not been carried out by order of a judge and ordered an investigation. According to East Timorese law, those responsible face a prison sentence of two to six years. Prime Minister Gusmão is quoted as saying, in response to the threat from the President of the Court: “I know where the Becora prison is. If the court sends me there, I will go there on my own. ”A heated discussion ensued in the National Parliament of East Timor, but the government of Gusmão was able to repel the vote of no confidence with the coalition's votes (38 to 25). At the end of October, President Ramos-Horta justified the release of Beres by stating that the ex-militiaman had massive medical problems and needed special care. Ramos-Horta wants to avoid that Bere dies in East Timor and that this leads to resentment with Indonesia. On October 29, 2009, Bere was deported back to Indonesia through the Mota'ain border crossing with the help of the East Timorese National Police in a secret operation .

In June 2012, Bere presented three statues of saints to believers in Salele ( Tilomar administrative office ). They were brought to Kupang in the Indonesian West Timor by refugees in 1999 . At the same time, Bere expressed his wish to be able to return to East Timor.

family

Bere has a son named Elyseus Kehi .

See also

• History of East Timor

Web links

• NGO La'o Hamutuk website on the release of Mateus Beres

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Indicment, DISTRICT COURT OF DILI, BEFORE THE SPECIAL PANEL FOR SERIOUS CRIMES, CASE NO: 09 / CG / TDD / 2003 (English; PDF; 480 kB)
2. ↑ ^{a b} Masters of Terror: Maternus Bere
3. ↑ MSN news, September 8, 2009, ETimor militia leader's release a 'political decision': minister
4. ^ Radio Australia, September 9, 2009, Timor parliament stops president's travel plans
5. ^ Earth Times, September 9, 2009, East Timor president threatens to resign
6. ^ Aceh eye: South China Morning Post, Sep 10, 2009, East Timor's Release of Former Militia Chief Causes Outcry
7. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, September 17, 2009, Growing anger at release of man accused of war crimes
8. ↑ Breitbart, 10 September 2009, REFILING: E. Timor parliament approves president's overseas trip  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ↑ Now Public, September 13, 2009, Subversion of the rule of law in East Timor continues ( Memento from September 12, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
10. ^ Associated Press, Oct. 12, 2009, East Timor government survives no-confidence vote
11. ↑ Suara Timor Lorosae, October 20, 2009, Timor-Leste Sending Back Maternus Bere
12. ↑ ^{a b} Viva News, October 30, 2009, Culprit of Slaughter Repatriated to Indonesia ( Memento of August 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
13. ^ Timor Post: Bere hands over three statues to the Suai Church , June 30, 2012