Negosia Poder Memorializasaun Iha Timor-Leste | Negotiating the Power of Memorialization in Timor-Leste

Hugo Fernandes Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), TIMOR-LESTE; Institute of Memory in Timor-Leste, TIMOR-LESTE

Iha tinan 2001, estabelese CAVR nudar mekanismu extra-judisial ba ema Timoroan sira hodi infrenta sira nia pasadu. Mandatu CAVR nian mak atu “ harii lia-loos” konaba violasaun direitus umanus ne’ebe akontese tan konflitu politiku iha Timor-Leste hosi tinan 1975 to’o 1999. Iha tinan 2005, Relatoriu no Rekomendaun Chega! hato’o ba Prezidenti Republika, S.E. Kayrala Xanana Gusmao, nudar rejistu ofisial ema timor nian konaba Krimi Kontra Umanidade ne’ebe mak governu no militar Indonezia sira komete.
Kuaze Rekomendasaun atus rua resin hato’o ba Governu Timor-Leste. Memorializasaun nudar rekomendasaun importante ida ne’ebe hatoo nudar aktu publiku ida hodi rekonese implikasaun no konsekuensia sira hosi saida mak akontese ona. Iha ambitu ida ne’e, memorializasaun konsidera nudar prosesu fundamental ida iha kontestu formasaun no harii estadu. Komemorasaun tenki hatur iha kontestu ida ne’ebe rekonese katak ema ida-idak nia memoria la’o iha enkuadramentu sosio-politiku ida. Sondazen sira hosi vitima violasaun sira hatudu katak memorializasaun mak prioridade da-ruak ho valor boot liu hosi forma sira reparasaun ne’ebe Estadu harii, hafoin kompensasaun monetariu (Brett, et al 2008,2). Forma seluk hosi memorializasaun mak bele hamosu iha forma sira hanesan justisa no rekonsiliasaun, fo perdaun (simu sala) no retribuisaun, no hanoin hikas no haluha (Lisa M. Moore, 2009).
Hahu kedas tinan 2002, Governu harii ona memorial oi-oin hodi hanoin hikas no selebra eroi sira iha forma sira hanesan tau ema eminente sira nia naran ba luron, avenida, eskola sira, no harii estatua sira nudar aktu ida memorializasaun nian no husik hela lia halerik sira hosi komunidade konaba memorializasaun: Hau hakarak hodi fila hau nia la’en nia ruin fila, nune’e, hau bele hakoi nia ho didiak” (Vitima feto ida hosi Lospalos, 28 Abril 2008).
Opsaun sira ne’e, sobrevivente no Estadu sira sempre infrenta laos deit oinsa mak atu memorializa, maibe iha forma ida oinsa no to’o iha ambitu ida ne’ebe. Diak liu mak, memorial sira tenki tulun hodi kura kanek antagonism nian no fanun ema ida-idak atu refleta konaba saida mak sir abele halo hodi prevene violasaun iha future (Brett, et al, 2008, 3). Karik governu falla atu halo balansu ba poder memorializasaun nian, ne’e bele la fo importansia ba harii dame no rekonsiliasaun. Governu harii espasu “simboliku” politiku bele promove fali divizaun no fo mensazen represivu ba povu.
Negosiasaun konaba Memorializasaun ( Komemorasaun) iha Timor-Leste tenki hatur iha kontestu inklusi hodi responde ba konflitu istoriku. Tan ne’e mak komemorasaun tenki hala’o iha kamada oioin no nesesita kontestualizasaun ne’ebe forte hodi bele komprende pasadu.

In 2001, CAVR was established as an extra-judicial mechanism for Timorese to deal with its past. CAVR was mandated to ‘establish the truth’ regarding the human rights violations which occurred due to the 1974 -1999 political conflict in Timor-Leste. In 2005, Chega!, the final report with two hundred CAVR recommendations was presented to the President of Timor-Leste, H.E. Kayrala Xanana Gusmão and to the government. Chega! is an official narrative account of Timorese about crimes against humanity committed by Indonesian government and military.
Memorialization is one of the major recommendation that intend to be a public action of recognizing the implications and consequences of what happened. In this regard, memorialization is considered as one of the fundamental processes of nation formation and state building. Commemoration shall be placed in a context that recognises those individual memories which operate in a broader social and political framework. A survey of victims of violence reported that memorialization was prioritized as the second most valuable form of state reparations following monetary compensation (Brett, et al 2008, 2). Several dimensions of memorialization can be pursued in the space between justice and reconciliation, forgiveness and retribution, and remembrance and forgetting (Lisa M. Moore, 2009).
Since 2002, Government built various types and form of memorials to memorialize and celebrate the heroism. Naming the Airports, Avenues, schools and enacting the statue of eminent individual has been an official act of memorialization, leaving behind the demand for grassroots memorialization: “I want my husband’s remains to be returned to me so that I can bury him properly. [Female victim, Los Palos, April 28, 2008]”.
The choice facing survivors and nations alike is not only whether to memorialize, but also in what form and to what end. At best, memorials shall help to heal the wounds of antagonism and to induce individuals to reflect on what they can do to prevent future violence (Brett, et al 2008, 3). If governments fail to balance the power of memorialization, this can undermine peace building and reconciliation. Providing zones of ‘symbolic’ politics by the government may promote divisive or repressive messages to the people.
Negotiating Memorialization (commemoration) in Timor-Leste must be inclusive in order to address historical conflict. Therefore, commemoration needs to be facilitated at Timor-Leste's society's different levels and it will need strong contextualization applied to understand the past.