The community living near the border and private lawyer Bendito dos Santos are concerned about the working conditions for the Border Police Unit, because they continue to lack facilities for the job.
Bendito dos Santos said the Border Police Unit (UPF) was very important in guaranteeing security on the border, therefore the government needed to support them.
“They don’t have a car or a radio for communication. I see the police go to the villages to do patrols, and they have to walk to all areas and it takes a long time,” said dos Santos at Timor Plaza in Dili.
He said that’s why when the government asks the police to work with professionalism they should also give them sufficient facilities to support them.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Mateus de Jesus said this issue was often raised in the plenary but there had been no results.
“It’s not just that, I also hear information from stations in the districts that another problem they face is they have no torches for when they do operations at night,” MP de Jesus said.
He also said he hoped the government could slowly resolve problems like this, so the UFP could do their work properly and become more effective.
In response to this concern, the General Commander of the National Police of Timor-Leste, Commissioner Longuinhos Monteiro said they followed a plan each year based on the budget they had.
“But we also understand the government does not respond to everything, including facilities for the police, in the budget, so we must manage whether there’s enough or not for each year,” Commander Monteiro said.
He said maybe this year they would not find the money, but next year they would find it, so they could respond to the facilities they lack.
