BY Sally Rummery

Tempotimor (Sally DILI)The commander of FALINTAL Forza Defesa of Timor-Leste (F-FDTL), Major General Lere Anan Timur, has called for sanctions to be made against three prominent Timorese martial arts groups, calling them ‘remnants of the Indonesian occupation’.

In a meeting with the President of Timor-Leste, Francisco Guterres, Timur discussed the need for sanctions to be put in place, saying violence between the groups had created ongoing instability since Timor-Leste’s declaration of independence, 20 years ago.

According to Timur, martial arts groups, Persaudaraan setia HatiTerate (PSHT), Kera Sakti Association (IKS) and Klibur Oan Rai Klaran (KORK), were established during colonial times and represent a loss of morality for the nation. 

The practise of martial arts was prohibited by Xanana Gusmao’s government, in 2013, after gang violence saw 12 people killed and over 200 injured in only two years.

Since then, Timur says that the only difference is that gang violence is now recognized as ‘organised crime’.

“Recently we have seen the gang violence in Leorema. Two people were killed and three injured. Thirteen houses were burnt down”.

Timor-Leste’s 2018 election saw most political parties promising to re-legalise martial arts as part of their campaigns.

Timur argued in his meeting with President Guterres, that there is no means for gang violence stemming from martial arts groups.

“There is no need to be killing one another. We are not at war anymore”.

He says talk of re-legalising these groups is senseless.

“I never talk about reactivating these groups because martial arts groups are not Timorese. They have always been Indonesian. This violence is a continuation of Indonesia’s occupation of Timor-Leste”.