The Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, on November 11, 2022, participated as a speaker, by videoconference, in the 2nd international discussion promoted by Bengkulu University, in Indonesia. 

Minister Fidelis divided his intervention into two parts, in the first he spoke about the development of the media in Timor-Leste and in the second part he addressed the theme Prospects for Democratization in Timor-Leste and Cultural Perspectives in Indonesia.

Regarding the first issue, Minister Fidelis outlined the national media sector and highlighted “that, in Timor-Leste, the Government does not control the media. The Government respects and values the independence of the media and freedom of expression”. 

He also highlighted that “Timor-Leste was classified as the most democratic nation in Southeast Asia”. “Timor-Leste’s press freedom index increased from 86 in 2011/12 to 17 in 2022”. “There are only 11 European countries above Timor-Leste in terms of freedom of the press”, “This happens because the country is committed to democracy and freedom of expression”. 

Minister Fidelis also presented a comparison between traditional democratic practices in Indonesia and Timor-Leste based on culture and derived from ancestors, such as Nahe Biti in Timor-Leste and musyawarah untuk mufakat in Indonesia. He also stated that “Indonesia and Timor-Leste should be proud of musyawarah dan mufakat and Nahe Biti, as democratic practices in their respective countries”.