Dili, 27 March 2026 (Média Democracia) – Timor-Leste University Students (EUTL) regret the actions taken by PNTL against new cadets 2025 on March 18, 2026.
According to Timor-Leste University Students (EUTL) spokesperson Joanito Maya da Cruz in a press statement, regarding the recruitment commission for new PNTL members in 2025, after announcing the results, the general public was dissatisfied, suspecting favoritism, partisanship, and nepotism.
“Among the small number who advanced to the medical test, most are PNTL’s children, children of the patriotic generation. Because of this, the direct victims, together with social cadres, held a protest action at the UNTL Social and Political Sciences Faculty Kaikoli Campus, aiming for relevant parties to take just measures to annul the process and restart with a new commission involving foreigners and independent personnel, so all cadets can proceed with an elimination system mechanism. We all know that Timor-Leste has chosen a democratic state under the RDTL Constitution, Article 1, and the three academic pillars that define: study, research, and social transformation.” Says Timor-Leste University Students (EUTL) spokesperson Joanito Maya da Cruz
The EUTL spokesperson informs that during the protest, they felt the recruitment process and decision, led by the Ministry of Interior, was unfair, and invites public attention, especially victims, and each university base supporting Timor-Leste University Students (EUTL) as an extra-parliamentary movement, which is largely controlled by the elite politicians’ decisions, including the recruitment process.
He added that during the three days of protest, there was very bad treatment towards the demonstrators who were expressing their rights and demands. PNTL, which is supposed to ensure and protect the situation, intelligence personnel who gather information, and public servants who just do their job at their posts, actually didn’t do that.
The spokesperson highlighted that many student victims were in serious condition, taken to hospital, and are still detained in prison cells, even though the conflict perpetrators weren’t caught and are now safe and sound in their locations. However, this fact proves that PNTL is the criminal and the conflict instigator.
Reporting : Intern Marito
Photo : Intern Marito