“Xanana Challenges UNDIL to be as Smart”

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Jornal Nacional Diario - Friday 14 June 2013 

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has challenged the students of Dili University (UNDIL) to try to be as smart despite the fact that Xanana Gusmao did not study beyond High School. 

The head of government said that, university is the place to show how smart you are, not to show your force, so don’t try to politic inside the university before even having finished university. 

 “Leave university and go and form a political party. I am only a high school graduate, and you are at university, but come and measure up. I may only be a high school graduate but I have delivered speeches at the largest universities, so I am not scared of you. I did not become a member of BOAKRIL (UNDIL Foundation Board) to get money or become president, because I am the one who gives my own money to BOAKRIL,” 

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao challenged UNDIL students whilst he delivered his speech as President of the BOAKRIL foundation to UNDIL students, last Thursday 13 June. 

Xanana stressed that his statement was related to the demonstration organized by the students against the University administration and BOAKRIL foundation members some days ago. 

As the president of the Foundation, Xanana Gusmao added that there is no one who can debate politics with him whilst he is still alive, because whilst Xanana Gusmao is alive there is nobody in Timor-Leste who can measure up to Xanana Gusmao on any issue. 

 “You can talk all you like when I have died, but you agitate again and I will have you arrested,” Xanana Gusmao threatened. Xanana Gusmao also said that now there is no UNPOL, “I am not scared of you, don’t think UNDIL can bring down the government, if you do that I will burn you,” Xanana said. 

 “Xanana Gusmao also asked that from now on in no student from UNDIL involve in demonstrations, and if they want to involve themselves in demonstrations then they can leave the university, because UNDIL is a private university which is regulated by its own rules and is not uncontrolled.” 

According to the University President, the university was established to educate citizens not to teach people to become delinquent, because anyone being delinquent at UNDIL, Xanana Gusmao will give their names to all universities in Timor-Leste not to take them in as students. 

“Universities are not to rear criminals, but to create new citizens, and in order to become a new citizen you have respect peoples’ property, and if you do not like the university, just leave,” PM Xanana affirmed. 

Xanana Gusmao continued to boast about himself adding in a loud voice, “I am proud of my high school qualifications, but the likes of you cannot bother me, you want to study at this university you can continue to do so, but if you do not then you can leave right now and look for another university that you may think is better than this one, because that word traitor is the worst one for me, because I was the one who took up our fight for independence, and if you say I have misspent money, you take me to the Anti-Corruption Commission and tell them which money and where I wasted money, because I and the parliament are accountable; you small people whose excrement still does not smell are not allowed to speak to me like that,” Xanana said angrily. 

After these recent events at UNDIL, teaching activity had stopped for some days, and as president of the foundation Xanana Gusmao used his speech to ask that classes resume, and if there is any more anarchism at UNDIL, Xanana Gusmao himself will arrest and put the students responsible for it in jail.

 As a father, Xanana also encouraged UNDIL students to study hard, if they want to be future leaders of the country, because there is a lot for them to learn to know if they want to become politicians in this country. Meanwhile, UNDIL student Mario Maubere explained that the problems emerged in the university because the students wanted organize the student body in order to hold the leadership of the university accountable. 

“Our main demand was to build a laboratory for the students, because the students in the technical faculties need practice as well as learning the theory, because otherwise they will have an inferior education in the end,” said Mario Maubere. 

Another problem was that students wanted to know what the budget assistance provided to UNDIL by the Office of the Prime Minister was used for because of the false report that emerged. 

“As far as I am concerned, the Prime Minister should have spoken about these things, he felt that he just ordered everything, without giving time to the students to also speak, not just putting his point of view,” Mario Maubere lamented. 

 Salvador da Costa, from the Engineering Faculty, Petroleum department said that, said that they were very happy with the presence of the Prime Minister, who was also there as the President of BOAKRIL UNDIL to respond to the recent demands of the university. 

 But, they were saddened that after he arrived at UNDIUL Xanana Gusmao began speaking about other irrelevant matters unrelated to the demands made by the students. 

During this dialogue a small misunderstanding also emerged between the President of the BOAKRIL Foundation Xanana Gusmao and his fellow board members and the UNDIL students because there was no time allowed for questions and answers, but the problem was resolved with the intervention of the PNTL (Timor-Leste Police) Dili District commander and his police officers. 

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