ID :
188338
Tue, 06/14/2011 - 06:56
Auther :

(Yonhap Interview) Hope emerges, but challenges still remain in East

Timor: chief justice

By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- As East Timor tries to rebuild itself as an independent nation, its government and people have much to learn from the way Asia's emerging powers like South Korea achieved political and economic stability, its chief justice said Tuesday.
"It's impressive how (South) Korea has recovered and become now a highly developed country. I would like to see East Timor recover in the same way," Judge Claudio Ximenes said in an interview with Yonhap News. "But we are facing the big challenge -- lack of human resources. We have to wait a long time before we can develop our human resources and develop our country."



He was visiting Seoul to attend the 14th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific hosted by South Korea's Supreme Court, which kicked off Sunday for a five-day run.
Portugal ruled East Timor for over 450 years but suddenly withdrew in 1975, leaving few administrative structures in place. Shortly afterwards, Indonesia declared the small island as its province, filling most positions of importance with its own people, leaving East Timorese without senior positions in major public sectors.
Ximenes said the biggest challenge for the new East Timorese judiciary is to prosecute and try those involved in atrocities and violence committed in 1999 in the wake of the UN-backed referendum for independence. But the process has been limited by legal hurdles, he said.
"We have cases in the court waiting for trials because it has not been possible yet to bring them to the court for trials. Other cases are under investigation," Ximenes said. "The main problem is how to bring the suspects abroad to the court to be tried."
Another challenge for Timorese courts is the language barrier for those who cannot speak Portuguese, an official written language left as a legacy of the colonial rule, said the Timorese who was educated and practiced law in Portugal for nearly 30 years.
As part of integration efforts between the traditional and Western justice systems, a state project is underway to make court documents in Tetum -- the most predominant indigenous oral language -- to better communicate with local people.
Despite a period of political disturbance, Ximenes says East Timor's administrative bodies are making good efforts to function and strengthen the justice system.
"There will be an election for the new president and parliament next year, but there is no sign that there will be any specific crisis or disturbance during this period," the judge said. "Even after the international police and military forces withdraw from East Timor, I hope the situation will remain calm."
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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