In Sydney Morning Herald

Sunday, May 28, 2006

'I think these Australians they are not independent...why don't they shoot?'
By Tom Allard

The 3rd Battalion's Delta company came face-to-face with the reality ofDili's descent into chaos yesterday.It began as a routine patrol, with the 70-strong company fanning out from itsbase at Dili airport to secure the Australian embassy down the road, wherethe throngs of refugees escaping the bloodshed had begun to gather.The plumes of billowing smoke were the first warning, then came a flood ofpanicked residents down Banana Road in the suburb of Delta-Comoro, where arsonattacks and incursions, by forces linked to rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinadoand gangs from the west of the country, had terrorised residents for days.

On Banana Road, Delta company encountered a stand-off between about 50 armedrebels and hundreds of furious locals wielding machetes, spears, slingshotsand 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 ateam to begin negotiations with the rebels."Everything is on edge . . . wind it back," was the commander's directive tohis platoon leaders.It was a command in synchronisation with the rules of engagement for theAustralians: make no attempt to disarm either side; and stay neutralat all times.

As soon as this reality dawned on the locals of Delta-Comoro, there was blindfury. "Go back to your own country," one man screamed.

Another began beating his chest hysterically. "If you don't shoot them, wecan't live in this place.

They will come down again from the hillsand burn downmore of our houses.

"In the end, the rebels retreated back to the hills, their weapons still intheir possession. The locals returned to sift through the charred remains oftheirhomes, still smoking amid the neatly tended gardens and vegetable plots.