APFTL Strongly Condemns Brutal Repressive Action SEATOU Team and Sanitation Dili Municipality Destroy Traders

Dili, Timor-Leste, [4 September 2024] – The Association of Alumni of the Youth Parliament of Timor Leste (APFTL) strongly condemns the brutal action carried out by the joint team of SEATOU and Dili Municipal Sanitation on Tuesday, 3 September 2024, around 7-8 p.m. In this very worrying incident, officers not only dispersed traders in the Comoro area, but also committed violent actions that resulted in severe damage to their carts and business products.

This action is not only the destruction of goods, but also the destruction of the hopes and dreams of small traders. Broken carts and scattered vegetables, as proof of their hard work and struggle to feed and sustain the needs of their families.

Imagine, parents who every morning until night out to sell sugar, must see with their own eyes, their belongings are damaged. Young children who were waiting for their favorite food or buying their new clothes, are now disappointed that their parents' source of income has disappeared.

Young children who accompany their parents selling sugar, experience trauma that can affect their mental health, because they witness directly the suffering of their parents who team SEATOU and Dili Municipal Sanitation , destroying their belongings and vegetables.

Furthermore, APFTL underlines the government's failure to organize the business activities of small people. Although the government has issued an appeal to traders not to sell in crowded places, this appeal is not accompanied by viable alternative solutions. The government must provide an adequate, available and easily accessible place to sell to small traders, so that they can continue to sell without disturbing traffic.

Manleuana and Taibessi markets, as market centers that receive agricultural or horticultural products from the municipalities, but not strategic in terms of distribution to consumers and also not accessible to ordinary people to access quickly and easily.

The presence of carts and street vendors such as in Becora, Audian, Fatuhada, Bairo Pite, Elemloi, Kampung Baru, Former Comoro Market and others, has facilitated the poor people to access local products for their household consumption. Traders in these places use only some time, not the whole day, so they just need to organize better, to support and stimulate their business activities, so they can have the opportunity to earn income to sustain their household needs.

This brutal behavior has been shown repeatedly, reflecting the government's lack of a pro-poor policy for the well-being of the poor. The government must be more proactive in seeking win-win solutions, between small businesses and public order, instead of using violence to solve problems. The government’s failure to organize the business activities of the poor makes this situation worse.

They know how to destroy, destroy and destroy, but they do not know how to stimulate and support the business activities of the poor.

APFTL requires:

1. Thorough investigation: We ask the Justice Defender Authority to immediately conduct an independent and transparent investigation into this case. Perpetrators of acts of violence must be prosecuted in accordance with applicable law.
2. Compensation: Victim traders are entitled to adequate compensation for material loss and damaged products.
3. Legal Protection and Justice: The State must guarantee legal protection to all entrepreneurs and ensure that they can carry out well-organized economic activities, and they do not feel intimidated or pressured by the authorities.
4. Long Term Solution: The government should immediately develop a comprehensive program to organize the business activities of the small people, including providing good and easy places to access and sell products, in strategic locations, such as the market model Lecidere fruit and Tais Market Colmera.

This brutal act is a black mark on the history of law enforcement in our country. We hope that the government can take firm steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again in the future. We have already experienced the Dark September of 1999, and hopefully there will not be another Dark September in the future.