Dili, August 14, 2026 (Media Democracia) – The 51st celebration of the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of Timor-Leste (FALINTIL) this year will be held at Mount Matebian to pay tribute to the martyrs.
Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA), Lieutenant General Domingos Raul ‘Falur Rate Laek’, said the reason the F-FDTL Command chose Mount Matebian as the venue for the 51st FALINTIL commemoration is because Matebian is a sacred mountain for the Timorese nation. In the past, thousands of people found refuge and a place of hope there.
“There too is a page that was one of the heaviest in our journey of the liberation struggle. Refuge and tragedy coexisted, because on this mountain, suffering and resilience coexisted in the hearts of all Timorese people,” said General Falur in his address while presiding over the FALINTIL March to commemorate the 51st FALINTIL Day, held at the F-FDTL General Headquarters in Fatuhada on Thursday.
Falur said the theme for this year’s FALINTIL Day celebration is “Honor the Martyrs, Commitment to Stability and Peace.”
“Paying tribute to the martyrs is not a simple gesture of nostalgia, but an active duty of remembrance, which imposes on the current generation the solemn responsibility to safeguard what was left to us: sovereignty and peace,” he said.
On this occasion, the Chief of Staff invited all citizens to reflect within the context of the 51st FALINTIL Day celebration.
“It is in this spirit that I invite you all and all the youth present to reflect along the way about our capacity to resist,” he affirmed.
He also called on veterans together with the entire population to pay tribute to the martyrs as part of the 51st FALINTIL Day.
“So let us continue, united veterans and youth, with uniforms and student backpacks to Matebian, with the certainty that we best honor the martyrs when we build, with our own hands, the peace and stability for which they fought and left behind,” he said.
Reporting: Estefania Cardoso
Photo: F-FDTL Official Page