ID :
22917
Mon, 10/06/2008 - 20:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/22917
The shortlink copeid
Timor police 'to stop taking guns home'
(AAP) Police in East Timor have been ordered to set up checkpoints and step up patrols to stop officers from taking weapons home, amid signs of mounting tensions in the force.
Police have been ordered to search cars for illegal weapons, with one aim of the
operation to stop police from unlawfully taking their weapons home when they finish
work.
The order follows the circulation of an inflammatory leaflet pointing to a flare-up
of regional tensions among police, similar to the rift among armed forces that
sparked deadly violence two years ago.
East Timor was torn apart in 2006 when east-west tensions sparked deep divisions in
the armed forces and ultimately triggered violence that left at least 37 people dead
and around 150,000 displaced.
The leaflet warns of action "against the government" if someone from the east is
appointed as East Timor's permanent police commander.
Interim police commander Afonso de Jesus said police had been ordered to make sure
officers were not taking their weapons home.
"One regulation (we have is) when police cease their duty their firearms are
supposed to be put in the armory," de Jesus said.
"But some go home and take their weapons home with them."
An operational order issued to police calls for a checkpoint to be set up close to
the residence of the State Secretary for Security, who is charged with appointing
the new police commander.
UN police last week said they were taking the emergence of the leaflet seriously and
trying to confirm its source.
"We pay attention to any information regardless of classification," Acting UN police
commander Juan Carlos Arevalo said.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) said last week that the leaflet was "deeply
concerning".
"As we have seen before, if this sense of discrimination and resentment is left to
fester it can cause serious problems down the track," said ICG analyst in East Timor
Anna Powles.
There are other signs of problems within the police force.
Members of the Task Force Unit recently threatened to strike over a pay dispute,
leading to a heated confrontation at police headquarters.
And the Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro last week revealed that de Jesus, the
interim police commander, was being questioned in relation to disciplinary issues.
Police have been ordered to search cars for illegal weapons, with one aim of the
operation to stop police from unlawfully taking their weapons home when they finish
work.
The order follows the circulation of an inflammatory leaflet pointing to a flare-up
of regional tensions among police, similar to the rift among armed forces that
sparked deadly violence two years ago.
East Timor was torn apart in 2006 when east-west tensions sparked deep divisions in
the armed forces and ultimately triggered violence that left at least 37 people dead
and around 150,000 displaced.
The leaflet warns of action "against the government" if someone from the east is
appointed as East Timor's permanent police commander.
Interim police commander Afonso de Jesus said police had been ordered to make sure
officers were not taking their weapons home.
"One regulation (we have is) when police cease their duty their firearms are
supposed to be put in the armory," de Jesus said.
"But some go home and take their weapons home with them."
An operational order issued to police calls for a checkpoint to be set up close to
the residence of the State Secretary for Security, who is charged with appointing
the new police commander.
UN police last week said they were taking the emergence of the leaflet seriously and
trying to confirm its source.
"We pay attention to any information regardless of classification," Acting UN police
commander Juan Carlos Arevalo said.
The International Crisis Group (ICG) said last week that the leaflet was "deeply
concerning".
"As we have seen before, if this sense of discrimination and resentment is left to
fester it can cause serious problems down the track," said ICG analyst in East Timor
Anna Powles.
There are other signs of problems within the police force.
Members of the Task Force Unit recently threatened to strike over a pay dispute,
leading to a heated confrontation at police headquarters.
And the Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro last week revealed that de Jesus, the
interim police commander, was being questioned in relation to disciplinary issues.
