East Timor: Concern over Xanana Gusmão’s lack of mask, social distancing

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

East Timor: Concern over Xanana Gusmão’s lack of mask, social distancing

8:14 CAT | 22 Mar 2021

File photo: Lusa

Several Timorese officials today expressed concern about the behaviour of the historic leader Xanana Gusmão after images were released on social networks in which he appears without a mask and in large gatherings.

In recent weeks, the former Timorese president has been filmed on several occasions in Dili’s neighbourhoods, where a sanitary cordon and mandatory house confinement are in force.

The most recent videos, released on Sunday by two Timorese journalists, went viral, with hundreds of shares on Facebook and WhatsApp, prompting a critical article in the newspaper Tempo Timor.

“Xanana Gusmão ‘makes fun’ of the PNTL [Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste] and against compulsory lockdown,” reads the title of the article, which wrote that the Timorese police had detained several people, locals and foreigners, for not complying with the lockdown rules.

Lusa was unable to get a comment from Xanana Gusmão.

About the videos, the cabinet minister, Fidelis Magalhães, told Lusa that in the case of East Timor and given the weaknesses of the health system, the best measures are preventive.

“Everywhere in the world, we have measures and levels of compliance. There are always people who disagree with the measures and act differently. The government makes every effort to ensure that the rules are complied with by citizens,” he stressed.

Magalhães said everyone should assume their responsibility: “the national [Timorese] leaders should know that they have their share of responsibility, without needing intervention from another entity. They are leaders that should know what would be best for the citizen”.

The official recalled that the country is facing “a challenging situation”. The problem is common to several countries, and the fight has to be done “together” by all citizens.

“The concern is not only to immediately stop the virus, but we have to think about the capacity we have and avoid flooding the SNS [Timorese National Health Service], which continues to be fragile. The biggest effort possible is to prevent the infection from increasing so as not to break the health system,” he said.

“There are many countries with more developed systems that are facing this challenge. In our case, with few resources, the best bet is really on preventive measures,” he said.

The “number two” of the Situation Room of the Timorese Integrated Centre for Crisis Management (CIGC), Commodore Pedro Klamar Fuik, also said that it was important to ensure compliance with the measures, even if it was necessary to ensure proximity and support to citizens.

Xanana Gusmão, “as a citizen, as the founder of the nation, as the father of this country, naturally has another way of seeing, how to embrace this situation,” perhaps “in a manifesto of affection” for the population that is going through difficult conditions, he considered.

“But according to the rules established by the state, this is contradictory because it does not allow crowds. In this situation, as a citizen, I see things both ways, depending on each person’s conscience,” he said.

“Public health depends on everyone’s conscience, regardless of who they are. Public health belongs to everyone. It is a question of seeing the advantages of combining that energy. The population needs affection, but it also needs to comply with the rules, to combine all the resources to face this national situation,” he said.

José Ramos-Horta, also a Timorese historical leader, told Lusa that the images could have “an impact as he is the most influential figure in the country. Many people firmly believe in what he says and what he does. And obviously it can influence the behaviour of citizens”.

“There is evidence of the consequences of this pandemic in the world. I am concerned that Xanana, because of his age and his indispensability to this country, exposes himself to the risk of being infected.

Ramos-Horta, who normally spends much of his time in direct contact with the population, said he was now leaving home “very rarely” only for shopping or for some “indispensable visit (…) always maintaining physical distance and demanding that everyone wear a mask”.

Timor-Leste currently has 206 active cases of Covid-19, the highest number since the pandemic began.

On Sunday, which marked the anniversary of the first infection in the country, authorities announced 55 new cases within 24 hours, including 43 in Dili.

The country currently has four sanitary cordons in place and mandatory lockdown in Dili, Baucau and Viqueque.

Source: Lusa