Government of Timor-Leste

Last Friday, January 2^nd, a ceremony was held at the Ministry of Defense and Security in Dili to celebrate the 17^th anniversary of FALINTIL - the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of Timor-Leste (F-FDTL).

Addressing the audience, the President of the Republic of RDTL and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Francisco Guterres Lú-Olo, stated that Timor-Leste "must continue to fulfill the task of shaping, training and modernizing its Defense Forces, in accordance with needs and efficiency criteria, without forgetting the demands of our contemporary world." He also reminded that it was necessary to promote not only the improvement of technical professional military qualifications, but also of "measures that guarantee access to health, complementary social support, salary system readjustment and military personnel career progression, with the purpose of making F-FDTL more competitive relatively to other sectors of the Timorese society". The President of the Republic ended his speech by encouraging the National Defense Forces to make every effort to affirm "the principles of military culture, true foundations of a strong military institution, much required for our national identity and cohesion."

In his speech, Major General Lere Anan Timur, the General Chief of Staff of the Defense Force, stated that "during their 17 years of existence, F-FDTL have had good and bad experiences which proved to be a life lesson for the future", also stressing the need for the Timorese Armed Forces to maintain a neutral position during the coming electoral period.

Among the guests at this ceremony were Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri, Government members of the 7^th Constitutional Government, Diplomatic Corps representatives, members of the PNTL and Timor-Leste Defense Force components, veterans and other individuals.