On September 24, the Truth and Friendship Commission, jointly established by Indonesia and East Timor in 2005, opened its final series of public hearings. They are being held for the first time in Dili, the capital of East Timor. The Taipeh Times reports that the Commission, tasked with investigating the violence that followed East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, has heard from Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who led the fight for independence and spent seven years in prison in Jakarta. A district official testified against high-ranking officers in the Indonesian army, claiming to have received the order from them to create a militia to prevent independence. According to the newspaper, the witness added that the former governor of the province, Abilio Soares, deceased in early 2007, had also ordered the militia to kill the independence supporters as well as church leaders. Around 70 demonstrators protested before the Commission on September 25, calling for its dissolution. One of their banners read, "Justice should go through the courts, not through compromise."