Pro-Government Militias
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
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.