Ramos-Horta on Stolen:
This is a transcript of what HE Jose Ramos-Horta said on the slavery allegations in the film “Stolen” during an event held in Melbourne on 23 July 2009 where he spoke on the issue of Western Sahara (see news item on the event):
“I have to confess I have not seen the film but have read about all about it for many months – transcripts and articles………this is the first time I heard of it [slavery] in the camps.  It is totally an absurdity and made up, I guarantee you. (read full transcript at link below)

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Opinion, SMH and The Age, 22 July 2009.
Jose Ramos-Horta writes:
“As I visit Australia again, to attend this week’s opening of the Melbourne International Film Festival, I have been confronted by the outcry over the film Stolen, which will screen at the festival and which represents, in microcosm, the importance of truth in the struggle for justice. The film, which makes claims of widespread slavery in the Western Saharan refugee camps, represents many of the ugly realities of this central dynamic. It is a scenario I know only too well (continued….). Continue reading →

Western Sahara and East Timor…What has really been stolen?

His Excellency, President Jose Ramos-Horta will speak on the parallels between the two nations.  Followed by a Q & A with  Kamal Fadel Western Sahara Representative to Australia & Ambassador to East Timor, Janelle Saffin, Federal Member for Page and chaired by Lyn Allison, President of the Australia Western Sahara Association
Date: Thursday 23 July 2009
Time:  5.30 to 6.45pm
Location:  Kino Cinema 2, 45 Collins Street, Melbourne
Tickets: $10

Event flyer with full details

Online Opinion, 10 July 2009.
Kamal Fadel argues that the film should be withheld from screening until problems with it are investigated. With the film “Stolen” scheduled to make an appearance at the Melbourne International Film Festival in July, clearly the MIFF organisers, Screen Australia and the federal government need to make some decisions on just what passes for reality and, on just what is considered ethically acceptable in taxpayer-funded artistic output.

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Sydney Morning Herald, July 13, 2009
Questions persist over the veracity of a slavery film, writes Louise Schwartzkoff.
THE disputed documentary Stolen is full of mistranslations and incorrect subtitles, a translator who worked on the film, Oumar Sy, says.
The Bondi filmmakers, Violeta Ayala and Dan Fallshaw, claim slavery exists in Western Saharan refugee camps.
Controversy surrounded a screening of the film at last month’s Sydney Film Festival, when one of the main subjects, Faitim Salam, left the refugees camps at Tindouf in Algeria to protest against the documentary’s claims.

Read the Sydney Morning Herald article >>