East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta's comments on August 30 rejecting an international tribunal to bring those responsible for war crimes in East Timor to justice, and the release on the same day of militia leader Maternus Bere, continue to resonate in East Timor.
Bere was detained in connection with the September 6, 1999 Suai Church massacre. He was released on August 30 in response to pressure from the Indonesian government.
Bere was alleged to have taken part in the murder, abduction, rape, deportation and persecution of many Timorese in Suai during the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 referendum on independence from Indonesia.
Reports have emerged that Indonesian foreign minister Hasan Wirayuda refused to attend East Timor's 10-year anniversary celebrations in Dili unless Bere was released.
On September 4, a national victims' organisation was set up after a congress was held in Dili attended by some 150 delegates in order to campaign on the issue of justice.
On September 7, Fretilin members of parliament walked out to protest the release of Bere. Parliament ground to a halt as quorum was lost.
Explaining his action, Fretilin MP Aniceto Guterres said the government clearly had no intention of abiding by international laws and norms. "This time their hypocrisy was too much. After this violation of domestic and international law [Bere's release], they had the audacity to send their foreign affairs minister to the parliament to discuss the proposed draft law on treaties and conventions."
Guterres is a former head of the HAK Foundation, a human rights organisation.
"The victims of the violence in 1999 have had their constitutional rights to justice trampled all over. They are still thirsting for justice", Guterres said.
On September 8, in a cross-party vote, Ramos Horta's request to be allowed to attend the opening of the UN General Assembly, and then Germany and Denmark was denied.
Fretilin deputy leader in parliament, Francisco Branco said: "The majority in the parliament today felt that they could not in good conscience consent to the president travelling at a time when there was so much controversy over who authorised the release of the militia leader Martenus Bere."
Head of the National Unity Party (PUN) parliamentary grouping, Fernanda Borges, also criticised the release.
While supporting "reconciliation with Indonesia….as a national priority", she suggested the release was a "subversion" of "our sovereignty, our rule of law, our legal system and the dignity of Timorese victims".
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao attended the Suai Church massacre commemoration on September 8 along with hundreds of others, but there was no mention from the podium of the release of the militia leader during the ceremony.
On September 6, 1999, dozens of people, including three priests, were massacred in the unfinished Suai Church building by members of the Laksaur militia, led by Egidio Manek and Bere. In 2003, Bere was the subject of a UN Serious Crimes indictment.
One of the victims listed in Bere's indictment is Juliana dos Santos, also known as Alola, who was kidnapped by the militia and forced to become Manek's wife.
Gusmao's wife, Kirsty Sword Gusmao, named the ALOLA Foundation, a non-government organisation concerned with women and children's wellbeing, after dos Santos.