Dili, December 11, 2025 (Média Democracia) – The community of Lautem Municipality, Iliomar Administrative Post, residents of Caenlio Village, Larimi Hamlet, and Tirilolo Village held a press conference to reject the false statement made by Member of Parliament with initials AQ in the National Parliament. The conference took place at Jardim 05 de Maio, Dili yesterday.
Spokesperson Aldo da Costa Alves stated that the Iliomar community publicly expressed its deep indignation and defended its dignity against the false statement presented by MP AQ during a parliamentary session, in which he asserted that no community lives in Tirilolo up to Baguia.
“We, the community of Iliomar Post, Caenlio Village, Larimi Hamlet, and Tirilolo Village, publicly express our profound indignation, with firmness and dignity, against the false and seriously misleading statement delivered by MP AQ in the National Parliament claiming that there is no community living in Tirilolo, from Larimi to Vatuqarbau and Baguia. This declaration is a dangerous lie, politically destructive, because it shows absolute disregard for the reality experienced by people who work and struggle every day to survive in Iliomar,” said spokesperson Aldo da Costa Alves.
The spokesperson added that official demographic data confirm Tirilolo as one of the most populated villages in Iliomar. Thus, the MP’s claim that there is no population in Tirilolo and Larimi is false, irresponsible, and offensive.
“The existence of a people cannot be erased with words or lies uttered in Parliament. Families who live along the road are not inventions, they are not shadows or mere numbers. They are real human beings, homes, crops, animals, traditions, and histories built over generations. Denying the existence of a community is equivalent to denying humanity itself, truth, and directly insulting our collective dignity. MP AQ replaces facts with ignorance and distorts technical data into a false and manipulated narrative,” the Iliomar Community Spokesperson continued.
He affirmed that studies carried out by national technical experts’ show that the alternative route defended by the MP would result in severe environmental damage in a highly sensitive forest area and would be extremely costly. The terrain distance and difficulty mean the project would bring minimal benefit to the population.
“The road through Larimi is strategic because it represents a central connection between Viqueque, Baucau, and Lautém, strengthening regional mobility. Yet despite these facts, the MP deliberately ignores the official concerns of the people and instead presents arguments with no technical basis, making false claims about erosion, contradicting reports, failing to conduct site inspections, failing to visit communities, and refusing to listen to experts. The Caenlio, Tirilolo, and Larimi areas are not unsuitable due to landslides, that is a lie, and he is not a geologist,” stated the spokesperson.
He added that the MP has spent many years in Parliament supposedly representing the interests of the Iliomar people, but has remained silent. While Iliomar struggles for access to water, electricity, roads, healthcare, and education, the MP has never raised his voice. He has never taken these problems to Parliament, never set foot in the area to see the realities faced by the Iliomar people. After years of absence, he appears only to obstruct development and not to represent the people. This is abandonment and irresponsibility.
The spokesperson explained further that through this press conference, the Iliomar people have the right to know why the MP intends to change a project that already has technical approval, and who will benefit from such a change. Why does he insist on harming thousands of citizens with a proposal that has no basis?
Report: Nelfiano
Photo: Nelfiano