The Falintil – Defense Forces of Timor-Leste (F-FDTL), held the graduation ceremony for 645 new members (93 officers, 203 sergeants and 349 privates) on December 16, 2011, at the Nicolau Lobato Training Centre in Díli.

Major-General Lere Anan Timur, reminded the new graduates that they have a prime responsibility for having been incorporated in the military institution “to defend our country and our People with the philosophy that our heroes have defended since the beginning”.

“Today is a special day because we record another milestone in the course of the history of the Armed Forces of Timor-Leste after the restoration of independence, ten years ago. Today’s graduation day is an extraordinary act, because it was a radical recovery to strengthen the structure of the armed forces after the 2006 crisis. If we want to be honest, and confirm the views and options, is not easy”, said the Major-General of F-FDTL and Chief of the Defense Force.

The President of the Republic José Ramos-Horta, Supreme Commander of F-FDTL, in his message to the new members recently graduated, stressed that “we have weapons to maintain the security of our People, we do not hold weapons to intimidate the People. Thus the State has full responsibility not to provoke violence, especially those who have weapons, such as the F-FDTL and PNTL”.

In addition to the President of the Republic, José Ramos-Horta, and the Major-General of the F-FDTL, Lere Anan Timur, attendeing the graduation ceremony were the Vice Prime Minister, José Luís Guterres, Deputy Commissioner of the PNTL, Afonso de Jesus, the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice Sebastião Dias Ximenes, the Attorney General’s Ana Pessoa Pinto, members of the Government and Parliament and families of the recently graduated.