Pro-Government Militias

Pro-Government Militia Website

Government hit squad (East Timor)

Basic Group Information

Name assigned by coder: yes
PGM ID Number: 353
Country: East Timor
Date formed: May 26, 2006
    Accuracy of date formed: month
Details of Formation: Prime Minister Alkatiri fired half of the army, who responded by rioting. The soldiers came mainly from the west (Lorosae), while the soldiers from the east were supposed to receive better payment (Loromonu). Alkatiri and his interior minister Rogerio Lobato distributed weapons to civilian militias to fight the rioters, who included regular people as well as sacked soldiers and the police force. t is unclear if some of the militias have been armed before and just received additionally weapons.
Date dissolved: June 26, 2006
    Accuracy of date dissolved: day
Details of Termination: In the beginning of June, prime minister Alkatiri sacked his interior minister. Alkatiri himself resigned on June 26, 2006. While an agreement on disarmament was reached, its success appears to be unclear based on the information that is available, with some death squad members still being in possession of their weapons after the process was started. The PGM is coded as terminated with the change in government.
Termination Type(s): change in government

Former and Successor Group Information

Predecessor group(s): none
Successor group(s): none
Private Military Company? no
Former Group? yes
    Former Armed Group? unclear
Former Rebel Group? no
    Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: none
PGM Becomes Rebel Group? no
    Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: none

Government Relation, Support, and Training

Government Relation: informal (type 1)
Created by the Government?: no
    Main Creating Government Institution: none
Government Link(s): person/minister
    If link to party, name of party: None
Training and Equipment: yes
Shared Information and Joint Operations: yes
Shared Personnel: unclear
Type(s) of Material Support: domestic government
State Sponsor(s): none
Other Connection(s):

Group Characteristics

Membership: ethnic; adolescents
Primary Membership: no information
Alternative Primary Membership: no information
Location: Dili
Force Strength: [unknown, unknown]
Target(s): unarmed political opposition, government critics; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group
Purpose(s): protect state, national or religious leader(s); intimidation of ethnic/religious groups; intimidate political opposition; fight insurgents

Ethnic Characteristics

Ethnic Target(s): none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: not applicable
Ethnic Membership: none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: not applicable
Ethnic Purpose: none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: not applicable

Other Information

Other Information: Inferring from evidence (June 2, 2006 - The Independent), most soldiers that were sacked are from the west. As the armed militias fought (among others) against rebelling sacked soldiers, the armed militias were probably fighting on the side of the easterners (Loromonu).

New Variables from Meta-Analysis

Purpose

Purpose: The government death squad was formed in order to fight political opponents of the government, especially soldiers that turned against the government after they had been sacked.
Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use unknown

Treatment of Civilians

Treatment of Civilians:
Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: unknown

Reasons for Membership

PGM Members Coerced? no information
PGM Members Paid? yes
Reasons for Membership: The main reason for joining the PGM seems to be antagonism between former soldiers who were dismissed from the army and those that remained loyal to the government. Regional divisions between east and west, which are related to the dissatisfaction of dismissed soldiers, may have provided further motivation to join the death squad, as well as ideological convictions.
PGM Members Killed? no information

PGM Size

Size:

Weapons and Training

Weapons and Training: According to news reports, the government armed its hit squad with machetes, knives and pistols, and automatic weapons.

Organisation

Organisation: While there is no information on the death squad's leadership, the former prime minister, former interior minister, and other government officials at the time (such as the armed forces deputy commander) appear to have exercised control over the government death squad, at the very least by providing weapons. The extent to which the government was in control of the death squad’s actions is not clear based on the available information.

Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis

Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD

Evidence