Joao da Silva Tavares in Case of Timor-Leste

Article ida ne'e foti husi website Yayasan HAK!

Leader, Halilintar militia, Bobonaro district; supreme commander, PPI militia forces, East Timor

Joao Tavares was an ageing militia leader whose name inspired fear and hate in many East Timorese.

On 10 or 12 August 1998, in the face of rising independence demands following Suharto's resignation the previous May, he allegedly met Maj-Gen Adam Damiri and Col Tono Suratman, who told him and two other militia leaders, Eurico Guterres and Cancio de Carvalho they must organise 'to protect integration'. This meeting represented the official launch of the militias - part of a strategy worked out by Generals Syamsuddin and Zacky Anwar Makarim between July and September 1998.[1]

Menyelusuri Daerah Potensi Wisata di Sub-Distrik Atabae (2): Hatu Bui Cari

Goa Hatu Bui Cari di tahun 1970
(photo: Norberto Benigno, facebook)

Menyebut nama 'Hatu Bui Cari' kepada generasi masa kini, tidak ada yang tahu, apakah itu? Sebaliknya kepada generasi awal abad ke-19, Hatu Bui Cari menjelma menjadi tempat yang angker bagi penjajah Portugis, sekaligus tempat kebebasan bagi masyarakat Atabae khususnya dan Timor pada umumnya. 

Hatu Bui Cari adalah sebuah gua (goa) yang terletak di bukit bebatuan suco Atabae, sub-distrik Atabae di wilayah kekuasaan distrik Bobonaro. Pada tahun 1899, Hatu Bui Cari mendadak jadi terkenal di seantero Portugal, bangsa penjajah yang sedang menguasai dan menduduki wilayah Timor atau yang dikenal dengan sebutan Timor Portugis. Apa pasal? Di sana, di dalam goa Hatu Bui Cari, ada penumpahan darah, ada pembunuhan yang tidak biasa. 

Kalau orang Portugis membunuh rakyat jelata Timor, adalah hal yang biasa, tetapi ketika ada pemberontakan, perlawanan dan akhirnya membunuh salah satu orang Portugis, dan dia adalah militer penguasa dengan pangkat sub-letnan, maka adalah luar biasa. Nyanyian kemenangan dan luapan kegembiraan rakyat jelata pun bergema yang dituangkan dalam syair berikut (dan terjemahan bebas penulis): 

Menyelusuri Daerah Potensi Wisata di Sub-Distrik Atabae (1): Bee-Malae

Bee-Malae, potret dari udara
(photo: Dr. Rui Araujo)

Bee-Malae atau Bia Malai, adalah sebuah danau kecil di Atabae, kaya dengan berbagai jenis ikan air tawar, udang, tuna dan kepiting. Bee-Malae menjadi tempat yang sangat menarik bagi para wisatawan lokal dan asing.

Apa istimewahnya Bee-Malae? Bee-Malae punya nilai historis yang berakar pada masyarakat setempat, memiliki nilai ceremoni tradisional yang harum menyebar di seluruh tanah Timor, menonjolkan nilai kebersamaan yang membentuk persatuan nasional.

Ceremoni Tradisional sebelum menangkap ikan
(photo: facebook Dr. Rui Araujo)

Harus dicamkan, tidak setiap hari bisa menangkap ikan di Bee-Malae. Ada 'rules & regulations'nya tersendiri untuk bisa menangkap ikan di sana, yaitu hanya setahun sekali selama beberapa hari. Ada perayaan tradisional yang unik menyambut dibukanya acara penangkapan ikan bersama. Hanya tua adat yang 'memiliki' wilayah Bee-Malae berhak melantunkan nada-nada ritual tradisional, memohon ijin kepada 'tuan tanah' yang melimpahkan berbagai jenis ikan. Konon, kalau terjadi kesalahan dalam ritual tradisional memohon ijin, maka tidak akan ditemukan seekor ikan pun di danau Bee-Malae.

Atabae, East Timor - South East Asia

Mountains view in Atabae

Atabae is one of the popular tourist destinations in East Timor. This is an excellent place to explore while on a trip to the country. Atabae is the capital of the sub districts Atabae and Suco Atabae. This beautiful city is situated in the north of the district of Bobonaro,

Atabae is nestled at an elevation of 29 meters above sea level. The Savu Sea lies at a distance of about 5 km. The provincial capital of Dili is located 55 km to the nor theast of Atabae. The district capital of Maliana is positioned about 17 km to the south of Atabae,

As of 2010, the sub district Atabae is inhabited by 10,769 people. Atabae is among the major centers of the National Kemak language. The Atabae sub district is divided into four Sucos -

1. Aidabaleten

2. Atabae

3. Rairobo

4. Hataz (or Hatas)

Alferes Francisco Duarte “O Arbiru” (1862 – 1899) in Atabae

Hatu Bui Cari field 1968-1970
(photo: Norberto Benigno, facebook)

Alferes (Sublieutenant) Francisco Duarte “O Arbiru” (the invincible) remains immortalized in the leafy Farol district of Dili in the form of a well-preserved street sign set against the manicured grass of a wellpreserved colonial residence, now Indonesian military squat. But who was Duarte “ O Arbiru”?

Why was this figure memorialized by Portugal? Indeed, why has the memory of this man been preserved? Indeed are Portuguese, Timorese, and Indonesian remembrances of this figure at variance? Or, is his name just another icon left over from history? A Kemak legend retold to the author in trilingual Kemak / Portuguese / English form by Snr. António Luís Mota goes as follows:

Bui Cari hatu Bui Cari

Arbiru mate ara lolo

Bui Cari hatu Bui Cari

Arbiru tau tuli lolo

Beu beu sala kahi sai

Au eh dale tura Kahi sai

-------------------------

Bui Cari rock Bui cari

Arbiru (the invincible) was gunned down

Bui Cari rock Bui Cari

Arbiru lost his life

All of a sudden the evil was done

I meant to comfort him, but it was all over

Os Protagonistas da Guerra de Manufahi

Amo Carlos Belo (photo: FH)

Na guerra de Manufahi foram vários os intervenientes, mas dois foram os protagonistas, quer pela condução das batalhas quer pela influência na história de Timor. Falamos de Dom Boaventura da Costa Souto Maior e de Filomeno da Câmara de Melo Cabral.

1º Dom Boaventura da Costa

Era natural de Same. E era filho de Dom Duarte da Costa e da senhora dona Rosa da Costa Noikerek. Dona Rosa era natural de Viqueque e era irmão do liurai Dom Mateus de Araújo (conforme Mestre António Vicente Soares) A minha opinião é de que Dona Rosa era irmã de Dom Mateus da Costa Rangel Pinto, régulo de Viqueque. Dom Boaventura teve um irmão, Vicente da Costa e duas irmãs: Maria da Costa e Quitéria da Costa.