According to witnesses, two weeks before the 30 August referendum, about 70 members of the Mahidi militia group from Ainaro kept 29 activist leaders and pro-independence Timorese inside this house. One of the goals was to force them to sign a statement to support pro-autonomy in East Timor. The SRSG Sergio Vieira de Mello laid the first stone of a memorial dedicated to the Timorese and foreign journalists slain in East Timor over the past 24 years. Freedom of press means the right to criticize and the duty to be responsible in the criticism, SRSG said.
Freedom of press is synonymous with democracy.
It is fundamental and essential to transparency, credibility, good administration and the creation of true rule of law. This freedom is even more important in East Timor, which is leaving a long dark period of oppression. Also, to mark the World Press Freedom Day, one of Dili s main avenues was renamed Avenida da Liberdade de Imprensa by the Timor Lorosae Journalists Association. In this four kilometers avenue, from Becora to Mercado da Rotunda, two journalists were killed last year, Benardino Guterres, Timorese, and Sander Thoenes, Dutch. In the last 24 years, eight foreign journalists and one Timorese have died in their attempt to reveal to the world the reality that prevailed here in East Timor, the SRSG said.