Dili, May 13, 2025 (Media Democracia) – The Academic Student Association of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (AAE-FMCS), together with the eight-member faculty senate, held a press conference regarding the actions of some lecturers and the dean of the Faculty of Medicine who allegedly mobilized midwifery students to obstruct activities organized by the Faculty Student Association.
In his opening remarks, UNTL General Senate representative Cesar João expressed regret, particularly regarding the press conference recently held at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, which was disrupted by the intervention of certain lecturers. AAE-UNTL also lamented the actions and intervention by the National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL) and the Public Order Battalion (BOP), whose presence on the Faspol campus was perceived as pressure on the students of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Caicoli.
In a statement delivered by the spokesperson of the UNTL Academic Student Association, Ronaldo J.G. Dorego, he reiterated that the association is an official body representing all students in defending their rights and interests through coordination at the faculty and university levels, as stated in its statute and established through the UNTL General Council. This press statement is related to an issue that became public on April 29, 2025, involving the conduct of the director of the midwifery program (ESTES), which has been widely covered by the media.
“All these issues were addressed by the Academic Student Association of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, which approached and coordinated with the faculty leadership through dialogue letters or meetings and even presented them to the Magnificent Rector of UNTL. However, there has been no consideration or concrete effort to resolve them, and to date, there have been no positive results favoring the resolution of the students’ problems within the university structure,” stated spokesperson Ronaldo J.G. Dorego.
The spokesperson added that, unfortunately, on May 12, 2025, during a public conference organized by the Student Academic Association at the Caicoli medical campus in Dili, midwifery students under the direction of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences attempted to block the event. Furthermore, certain lecturers intervened and even invited the National Police of Timor-Leste and the Public Order Battalion (BOP) to enter the campus and disrupt the activity organized by the Faculty Senate of FMCS.
“In light of these events, the UNTL Student Senate strongly disagrees with and laments the Dean’s conduct, particularly her actions directing midwifery students to block a peaceful protest aimed at resolving the faculty’s problems,” said the spokesperson at the press conference.
For these reasons, the UNTL Academic Student Association considers that:
- The Dean of FMCS lacks the capacity, seriousness, and moral responsibility, as she simply used female students to obstruct the strike while the student association was peacefully holding a conference.
- We also lament the actions of a lecturer who, despite lacking formal authority within FMCS, interfered and called the PNTL and BOP to enter the Caicoli campus, despite the university operating under its own autonomous principles and internal rules.
- It is well known that UNTL is an autonomous campus and independent from state apparatus intervention, except in cases involving serious crimes or threats to the university’s operations. However, the police were called arbitrarily based on personal motives.
The Academic Student Association of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences requests the following:
- We call on the Magnificent Rector to give serious attention to the above-mentioned actions and to initiate disciplinary procedures regarding the cases faced by FMCS students, as complaints have already been submitted to the Rector’s office by the FMCS Senate.
- If the Rector does not act, we urge the President of the UNTL General Council to intervene and take appropriate measures to address the ongoing problems at FMCS.
- We also request the Ministry of Higher Education to recommend and propose solutions to the university leadership to resolve these emerging issues.
- We appeal to the National Parliament, especially Commission G (responsible for education affairs), to intervene within its competence to ensure that public institutions function according to established rules.
- We call on the Ombudsman for Human Rights and Justice (PDHJ), as an independent institution, to intervene in relation to human rights violations occurring on campus, and we also ask civil society to help monitor the issues emerging within the university, in accordance with the principles of a democratic rule of law.
- Lastly, we urge the PNTL Command in Dili Municipality to prevent police officers or units from entering the campus arbitrarily. We also appeal to the PNTL General Commander and the Ministry of Interior to better guide the legal framework, particularly regarding the scope of PNTL’s field operations.
Report: Domingas
Photo: Domingas