TIMOR crisis
Related with the TIMOR crisis, these are the news we have selected from below mentioned sources on May 28th, 2006.
Sources: Yahoo!News, AAP, Reuters, The Sidney Morning Herald
""East Timor violence raises civil war fear By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, Associated Press Writer
DILI, East Timor - Youths with machetes, slingshots and spears rampaged across East Timor's capital Saturday, attacking people, burning houses and deepening a crisis that has sent thousands fleeing in terror despite the deployment of foreign troops. Four people were killed, one of them burned to death while he was trying to defend his home and the others shot, witnesses and hospital officials said. At least 27 people have been killed since the upheaval erupted Tuesday.
Gangs roamed the streets of Dili for a second day Sunday, setting fire to homes and businesses. Gunfire was also heard but there was no immediate word on casualties.
One group severely beat a man they accused of hiding guns. Foreign reporters intervened, and he was rushed bleeding to a hospital by aid workers.
With chaos spreading, the United Nations evacuated employees' families and nonessential staff to Darwin, Australia.
The U.N. envoy to East Timor, Sukehiro Hasegawa, said more peacekeepers were needed to halt the violence.
The U.N. has a tiny force of peacekeepers in East Timor and around 2,000 Australian troops were either on the ground or in transit. Australian sent the troops after East Timor's government said earlier this week it could not control the situation. New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal also agreed to help.
"It has begun to quiet things down, it's a trickier operation than some people think," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday. "Nobody should assume that it's just a simple walk-in-the-park military operation — it's quite challenging."
The unrest has prompted thousands of terrified residents to flee or hide in their homes. It has also raised worries that one of the world's youngest nations is plunging into civil war seven years after its break from 24 years of repressive occupation by Indonesia.
Festering distrust between Timorese who supported independence and those who didn't fueled a months-long dispute between the military leadership and 600 renegade soldiers that exploded in this week's violence. The soldiers — nearly half the army — were fired in March after striking over complaints of poor working conditions and discrimination.
After engaging in deadly riots last month, the dismissed soldiers fled the seaside capital to set up camp in the surrounding hills and threatened guerrilla war if they weren't reinstated.
They ambushed troops in the capital Tuesday, setting off three days of gunbattles that led the government to request foreign help. Hundreds of peacekeepers from Australia and Malaysia began arriving Thursday to take up positions around Dili, but violence continued unabated.
On Saturday, gangs of youths roamed through neighborhoods, smashing windows, torching cars and houses and attacking people in the streets with machetes, slingshots and spears. Sporadic gunfire crackled after sunset and flames glowed in the night sky.
. Her husband, a police commander, has been missing since a deadly shooting earlier in the week that killed 10 and wounded 29.
"Just a few minutes ago they burned down my house," she said, weeping at the airport where hundreds have sought refuge. "My cousin was there making breakfast and there were men in military uniforms with guns setting the house on fire."
"We lost everything we have."
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri called the violence "planned and opportunistic actions of gangs" that he said was part of a plot to overthrow his government.
The general population has split between those with ties to the western part of the country, which borders Indonesia and has perceived sympathies to the former ruler, and those allied with the east, which favored independence.
"The west and the east, they want to fight. They are enemies from long ago. Now they are trying to provoke each other," Anim, a mother of four, said as she prepared for a night in an overcrowded refugee camp at the U.N. headquarters. "The Timorese are fighting, so we are afraid. At night they fire guns, or maybe worse, so I had to run to the United Nations."
The U.N. will keep more than 100 international staff in East Timor while others work from Australia, Hasegawa said.
Australian troops patrolled streets on foot and in armored vehicles and roared overhead in Black Hawk helicopters trying to calm the city Saturday. The soldiers disarmed one group of 40 young men, but other gangs were on the loose.
Australia said Sunday it will also send up to 50 federal police officers within 24 hours to help contain the marauding gangs in Dili. The police reinforcements will join 15 officers already in the capital, Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said.
Julio Dos Reis, a 34-year-old prison guard, accused the government of failing to intervene in time to stop the unrest.
"The government made big mistakes," he said, holding his 2-year-old daughter, Jequioda. "I am saddened and afraid. We are brothers and sisters now fighting each other."
Timorese pray for peace as youth gangs rampage By David Fox
DILI (Reuters) - Frightened Timorese packed churches to pray for peace on Sunday, but gangs allied to feuding police or army units continued to rampage through the capital, evading foreign peacekeeping troops and torching homes and vehicles.
This Reuters correspondent saw one gang of about 20 youths chase a man into a half-built house before bludgeoning him to death in the doorway with rocks and clubs.
"He was setting fires," said one of the ringleaders, seemingly the oldest at around 20.
Smoke was still billowing above several neighborhoods in Dili in the afternoon as the gangs, which identify with army factions from either the east or west of this tiny nation, marked out their territories with makeshift barricades and roadblocks and took revenge on rivals.
Australian troops, part of a 2,000-strong multinational deployment following the East Timor government's appeal for help, stepped up patrols in the capital but appeared to hold back from directly engaging the rampaging gangs.
They were backed by small patrols of Malaysian and New Zealand troops.
"Why aren't the Australians doing anything?" said one youth, manning a barricade on the main road leading from the airport.
Individual soldiers said they were under instructions not to intervene unless they were threatened themselves.
"It's a trickier operation than some people think," Australian Prime Minister John Howard told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday. "Nobody should assume that it's just a simple walk-in-the-park military operation - it's quite challenging."
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, whose foot-dragging over a dispute by disgruntled soldiers is said by many Timorese and diplomats to have been the cause of the trouble, said on Saturday that it would take time for the Australians to restore order.
Around 600 of the 1,400-strong Timorese army rebelled in April after they were dismissed for protesting over what they said was discrimination against soldiers from the west of the country. Most military leaders are said to come from the east.
PRAYERS FOR PEACE
The police force has also virtually disintegrated, but an elite Australian-trained special forces unit is believed to be loosely allied to the disgruntled soldiers.
On Sunday, thousands of Timorese prayed for peace in Dili's dozens of churches, with priests calling for calm.
"In Jesus's name, urge your brothers and cousins to stop the fighting," said Father Antonio Gomez at Santo Carlo church in the city center.
There has been no sign that feuding factions of the armed forces have clashed since soldiers killed nine policemen last week, and most of the violence and clashes now taking place seems stoked by the youth gangs.
The commander of the Australian troops said the soldiers were concentrating on disarming the gangs.
"We will detain anyone who is suspected of having undertaken or participated in a fight," Brigadier Mick Slater told reporters. "We will be disarming everybody in Dili.
East Timor is one of the world's poorest nations and massive unemployment has seen the formation of dozens of gangs whose sole aims seem to be to practise martial arts and fight turf wars -- regardless of the political situation.
But some residents say the rebellion has turned into a protest against Alkatiri's government which they accuse of failing to deliver any economic or social development since Timor became an independent state in 2002.
An election is scheduled for early next year, but some diplomats say the government cannot last that long.
A Portuguese colony for centuries, East Timor was annexed by Indonesia in 1976 in a move the United Nations condemned and much of the population resisted.
Australia led a U.N.-backed intervention force to East Timor in 1999 to quell violence by pro-Indonesian militias after a referendum vote for independence. This was finally achieved in 2002 after almost three years of UN administration.
NO ECONOMY
Apart from some coffee production, East Timor has virtually no economy but has signed lucrative oil and gas exploration deals for the Timor Sea.
Analysts say the government has been too slow to identify development projects to utilise this revenue or the millions in foreign aid that have been injected into the country.
Dili remains a ramshackle, sleepy capital of around 400,000 people and its myriad poor neighborhoods with deeply pot-holed roads are a nightmare to patrol for the foreign troops, but perfect cover for the marauding gangs.
Most residents flee their neighborhoods at the first sign of trouble to seek sanctuary in the grounds of churches. Gangs drift through the neighborhoods, targeting homes belonging to rivals and torching them, before moving on.
"This is nothing to do with the current situation," said Eduardo Villieras, a businessman. "These are just hooligans causing trouble and settling old scores.
Some want to see the Australians take a firmer hand.
"They need to crack heads to get them to stop," said Felipe Carrascalao.
UN pulls staff from E Timor chaos Old ethnic rivalries have fuelled the tension and violence The UN has ordered all non-essential staff out of East Timor, which has been hit by a fresh outburst of violence. Militias armed with guns and machetes have rampaged though the capital, Dili, torching houses and vehicles.
Hundreds of people fled their homes to find shelter in churches, as Australian troops tried to restore order.
A BBC correspondent says East Timor seems to be tearing itself apart, with the latest communal clashes coming amid a dispute between military factions.
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said the country was facing a coup attempt, but did not know who was behind it.
He said Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta was holding talks with the rebel soldiers whose grievances are believed to have sparked the unrest.
Pedro Laurentinno da Silva, Dili, East Timor He was speaking after Australian troops disarmed a group of men armed with machetes who had gathered in the centre of the capital, Dili.
The fighting has left at least 20 people dead in the past week.
The BBC's Phil Mercer, in Dili, says the troops have made a difference, but adds that immense challenges lie ahead.
Peacekeepers
The Australian soldiers are to be reinforced in the coming days by hundreds more troops, as well as forces from Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal.
However, many non-essential UN staff are pulling out and face evacuation to Darwin in northern Australia, a UN spokeswoman said.
TENSIONS MOUNT Feb: More than 400 troops strike over pay and conditionsMarch: Government sacks nearly 600 of 1,400-man armyApril: Rioting by sacked troops leaves five people deadMay: Violence intensifies; government appeals for foreign assistance
About 390 people will be flown out, starting this weekend, leaving about 50 staff to keep the UN mission to East Timor (UNOTIL) running.
Civilian militias - groups of youths who have aligned themselves with one of the sides in a military dispute that has split the nation - roamed through neighbourhoods in southern Dili early on Saturday, pelting houses with rocks and setting them on fire.
The unrest began in March, when nearly 600 of the army's original force of 1,400 went on strike for better working conditions. They were subsequently sacked.
They have since gone to the hills, from where they have threatened to launch a civil war.
Tension turned to violence and five people were killed in clashes in April. Tens of thousands fled Dili fearing further unrest.
Correspondents say political infighting and ethnic gang rivalry have added to the violence.
Some of the suspicion dates back to Indonesia's occupation of the country.
Nine unarmed policemen were shot dead on Thursday by troops who accused them of aiding the rebels.
On Friday five children and an adult were killed in a house that was deliberately set on fire.
Australia has experience of providing military aid to East Timor as it led a UN-sponsored force into the country in 1999 to end the unrest sparked when the population voted for independence from Indonesia.
UN peacekeepers only left East Timor a year ago.
Gang violence was coup attempt:
Gang violence that terrorised Dili on Sunday was part of a coup attempt, East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri says.
"What is in motion is an attempt to stage a coup d'etat. However, I am confident that the president of the republic, with whom I am keeping permanent contacts, will not cease to respect the constitution of the democratic republic of Timor Leste," Alkatiri told reporters.
He said the violence was politically not ethnically motivated despite reports of people from east and west of East Timor attacking one another.
The mayhem, he said, "stemmed from the planned and opportunistic action of gangs", but he did not know who was behind it.
A political struggle between President Xanana Gusmao and Alkatiri has helped fuel tensions within the country as well as its bitterly divided security forces and communal groups.
A spokesman for Alkatiri told AAP that the prime minister was working with the president to solve the crisis.
Alkatiri also talked of a coup attempt earlier this week after fighting in military ranks first erupted.
This month Alkatiri put down an attempt to unseat him as head of the governing Fretilin party.
This evening Australian soldiers stopped mobs of machete-wielding men from charging a Dili hotel where the prime minister was about to hold his news conference.
The troops, who had to call in reinforcements, disarmed what appeared to be two gangs.
No one was hurt in the incident just before sunset and the Australians took control of situation without firing a shot.
The troops aggressively shouted at the 30 or so men and ordered them to sit on the ground with their hands on their heads in the middle of a park in front of the Hotel Timor.
A large pile of machetes, knives, spiked poles, slingshots and arrows were confiscated.
Some soldiers interrogated the men in Indonesian.
The incident caps a day of terror in Dili as rival gangs from the east and west of East Timor fought each other, some with firearms.
It was unclear whether the gangs were targeting each other or had meant to break into the hotel because Alkatiri was inside.
The Sidney Morning Herald:
Troops struggle to impose order
Timorese men wave weapons as they shout alliances to an unknown faction in the East Timor capital of Dili. Australian troops have struggled to impose order in Dili today as gangs of East Timorese continued to burn and destroy houses and attack ethnic rivals.
Thousands of refugees have flocked to the city's airport and to churches to escape the violence and to hear religious leaders call for unity and an end to fighting.
The Australian military pledged today to disarm all Timorese gangs, soldiers and police in Dili and urged refugees to return to their homes where they would be protected.
But violent outbreaks continued, with gangs armed with machetes and knives torching and smashing houses, and attacking vehicles on the road to Dili.
While Australia says it currently has enough troops in East Timor, the United Nations has said a greater military force may be needed to curb the violence.
In some cases, Australian convoys drove past rampaging armed gangs today, apparently because there were not enough troops to halt the violence.
Attackers also melted away into houses and alleyways as soldiers approached, seemingly tipped off by spotters on the streets.
A column of three armoured personnel carriers and one four-wheel drive this morning carried Australian troops into the south-western suburb of Surik Mas, where several burning houses cast plumes of black smoke into the otherwise clear morning sky.
Australian soldiers searched homes beside a banana plantation as, just 100 metres away, a gang of 20 young men and children - so-called "westerners" - smashed their way into an abandoned home belonging to rival "easterners".
Wielding machetes and poles, and hurling boulders, the gang tore down steel gates and fences and began carrying out statues of the Virgin Mary and Christian crosses before setting fire to the house.
One balaclava-wearing man claimed the house being targeted belonged to East Timorese defence force chief Taur Matan Ruak.
"We have to take them out because we are going to burn everything, and it would not be good to leave it there," one man said of the statues and crosses.
"Ruak armed civilian easterners to exterminate westerners," said another man, who called himself Jose Antonio.
The rivalry between those from the east and west of the country is just one of the volatile elements the Australian force must deal with, and is believed to stem from divisions between those who supported the nation's battle for independence from Indonesia and those who opposed it.
As they pillage and destroy, armed bands of youths chant "The west is great" - an apparent reference to a disgruntled band of ex-soldiers from the western part of the country who have been blamed for initially igniting the violence in Dili.
Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri claims the violence is also an attempt to depose him, and rioters said the violence would not end until he had been removed.
"He is a communist, we hate him and he should be killed," said a man wearing a khaki t-shirt over his head and dark sunglasses.
Almost the full force of 1,300 Australian troops backed by Malaysian and New Zealand soldiers is already in East Timor, and Australia says up to 50 more Australian Federal Police will be sent to Dili to help police the capital.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the East Timor police force no longer existed as a functional body.
"They've become completely dysfunctional," Mr Downer told the Nine Network.
The country's United Nations special envoy, Sukehiro Hasegawa, said even more troops and police might be necessary to restore order if the current violence continued.
"I would not rule out the need for more security forces if the Timorese people cannot resolve their difficulties," he said as truck and busloads of UN staff were evacuated from the city.
The commander of Australia's Operation Astute, Brigadier Mick Slater, said Australian soldiers had started to disarm the Timorese military and police, and would also strip the gangs of their weapons.
"We will be disarming everybody in Dili," he told reporters in Dili.
"The only people in Dili carrying weapons will be the international forces," said Brig Slater.
"We have enough soldiers now to do what we have to do. If we need more we will get them."
Soldiers disarmed two men armed with military automatic rifles in the eastern suburb of Becora today.
But the violence continued, with AAP witnessing one group beat a man on the street across from the city's main heliport.
The attackers melted away into nearby houses as a column of three Australian troop carriers roared past, and reappeared moments later to continue the violence.
One Australian special forces major said yesterday the gangs had lookouts posted to watch for troops and alert their rampaging colleagues by mobile phone when soldiers were coming.
The gangs were not concerned about western reporters, and waved their knives in the air in triumph in front of the cameras.
Australian troop transports continued to unload armoured vehicles and equipment on beaches near Dili's airport today, as hard-pressed soldiers continued to patrol the streets.
Special forces under fire as Dili violence worsensAustralian troops lead frightened women and children away from their burning neighbourhood yesterday.
Embassy seen as safest place to be
Diggers caught between rebels and angry locals armed with machetes Malaysian troops arrive in East Timor By Mark Forbes and Tom Allard Dili More than half of Dili's population has fled spiralling carnage and chaos, with militia gangs defying Australian forces to conduct a rampage of violence across the city.
East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta has blamed the slow pace of the Australian intervention for the violence and panic. He told The Sun-Herald that Australia must escalate the roll-out of troops to regain control of the city.
Early yesterday, Australian special forces squads came under fire for the first time, rescuing women and children from militia mobs. Other patrols launched rescue missions to halt attacks, but violent outbreaks continued throughout the town.
Dozens of houses were burning across Dili and at least three people were hacked to death by machetes, one soldier told The Sun-Herald. Many more were injured, some by gunfire, others by arrows.
Screaming women carrying children fled from armed mobs, mainly from the east of Timor and shouting that they would kill anyone from the west. Rival gangs of westerners also carried out attacks.
Late yesterday heavily armed Australians raided a mob running amok in Dili's port district, confiscating weapons from militia members for the first time, but the men were subsequently released.
Dr Ramos Horta complained that militias and mobs were terrorising the city "and yet, no Australians".
The deployment of troops must be "escalated, absolutely", he said.
"I have urged the Australian side to be visible," he said. "The foreign troops are not having an impact. The biggest problem is the absence of a strong Australian presence."
Orders to pull back Government troops to their barracks had been frozen, Dr Ramos Horta said, as residents panicked. They would remain in key positions until Australian forces could take over from them.
Churches and refugee camps in and outside the Dili were overflowing with a constant stream of refugees, some clutching a few belongings but many fleeing with nothing from the mobs who attacked suburbs across the city. An estimated 100,000 people, of Dili's 160,000 population, have fled their homes.
Last night several convoys of packed trucks and cars were seen speeding from Dili, escorted by heavily armed civilians.
Late yesterday Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said the violence racking the capital was not linked to the rebellion by police and nearly half the army. "It is rather violence stemming from the planned and opportunistic actions of gangs, who have looted and burnt houses and goods and threaten to martyrise our people."
Fresh troops arrived in Dili yesterday afternoon, flown in by helicopter from Australian warships moored in the harbour of the East Timorese capital. More armoured personnel vehicles were also on the ground.
While the total Australian contingent is about 1800, only half of those will be patrolling the streets of Dili. Lieutenant Colonel Mick Mumford, commander of the 3rd Battalion RAR, insisted the Australians were already making a difference and the situation was "reasonably stable".
"I certainly think I have enough men. I don't think we are likely to have any difficulties for the next 48 to 72 hours, especially once we land the armoured personnel carriers," Colonel Mumford said. "I don't think it will be a problem."
THE CRISIS DEEPENS- The United Nations prepares to pull out more than 300 of its non-essential staff as Dili falls into chaos, with widespread violence between rival gangs and looting of shops.
- World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello leaves Melbourne for Dili to try to help the more than 50,000 people displaced by the violence.
- Hundreds of terrified East Timorese gather outside the Australian embassy and other foreign diplomatic missions, as well as churches, seeking protection from the violence.
- The rest of Australia's 1300 military force prepares to join 600 troops already on the ground.
- HMAS Kanimbla arrives overnight off the coast of Dili.
- A squad of 10 heavily armed Australian soldiers responds to an outbreak of repeated gunfire near the UN compound in Dili.
Diggers caught between rebels and angry locals armed with machetes By Tom AllardThe 3rd Battalion's Delta company came face-to-face with the reality of Dili's descent into chaos yesterday.
It began as a routine patrol, with the 70-strong company fanning out from its base at Dili airport to secure the Australian embassy down the road, where the throngs of refugees escaping the bloodshed had begun to gather.
The plumes of billowing smoke were the first warning, then came a flood of panicked residents down Banana Road in the suburb of Delta-Comoro, where arson attacks and incursions, by forces linked to rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado and gangs from the west of the country, had terrorised residents for days.
On Banana Road, Delta company encountered a stand-off between about 50 armed rebels and hundreds of furious locals wielding machetes, spears, slingshots and handmade clubs studded with rusty nails.
"They burned down my house. All I have are the clothes I'm wearing," Domingos Sarmento told The Sun-Herald, a machete resting between his knees.
The commander of Delta company, a major who was named only as Shane, sent a team to begin negotiations with the rebels.
"Everything is on edge . . . wind it back," was the commander's directive to his platoon leaders.
It was a command in synchronisation with the rules of engagement for the Australians: make no attempt to disarm either side; and stay neutral at all times.
As soon as this reality dawned on the locals of Delta-Comoro, there was blind fury. "Go back to your own country," one man screamed.
Another began beating his chest hysterically. "If you don't shoot them, we can't live in this place. They will come down again from the hills and burn down more of our houses."
In the end, the rebels retreated back to the hills, their weapons still in their possession. The locals returned to sift through the charred remains of their homes, still smoking amid the neatly tended gardens and vegetable plots.
Embassy seen as safest place to beMore than 500 Timorese were huddled outside the Australian embassy yesterday morning. By Mark Forbes
Hundreds of terrified Timorese were huddled around the gates of the Australian embassy in Dili last night, begging for their lives. "We came because I was afraid," said Ida Jania, crying.
"They were burning the houses in my village."
She had fled with her sister, Ajina Guterres, 15, and her two young children, leaving all their belongings behind.
Ajina was hit by gunfire as she ran towards the embassy and was taken by the Red Cross to Dili hospital.
"I am so sad," her sister said.
"I am angry at the Government and all the leaders who do not resolve this problem quickly.
"I hope the Australian troops will bring peace. I came here because it is the safest place for us, because we are protected by Australians," she said. "I will go home when it is normal, but I don't know when that will be."
A military officer attached to the embassy, Robert Stockwell, said the Timorese began arriving at 7.30am yesterday, when shots were fired in a village half a kilometre away. "Then there were houses burned, more shots, more burning," he said.
By mid-morning, more than 500 people had arrived, flowing onto the road. They were fleeing gangs armed with guns, knives, and bows and arrows, they said.
"They have come seeking refuge," Warrant Officer Stockwell said, "but we can't provide any better protection, inside or outside. They really should be seeking shelter in churches or schools."
Youngsters in army uniforms were carrying out much of the violence, he said. "There are lots of people with military equipment who could be mistaken for the FDTL [army], but I wouldn't blame the soldiers for what's going on.
"I don't know if it's orchestrated or piecemeal action. The boys will look after it. Our defence force is second to none," he said.
Warrant Officer Stockwell said the embassy was organising flights to Darwin for "a significant number of nations".
He was unsure if anything more could be done for the Timorese at the embassy gates.""
