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From correspondents in Dili
September 03, 2006 12:00
Article from: Reuters
AUSTRALIA, Indonesia and East Timor should aim to increase co-operation at upcoming three-country talks, Jakarta's foreign minister said today amid renewed concerns about stability in the tiny fledging nation.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda made the comments on his arrival in Dili ahead of a meeting tomorrow with Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, East Timor Prime Mininster Jose Ramos-Horta and East Timor President Xanana Gusmao.
Highlighting the fragile security situation in the former Portuguese colony, more than 50 prisoners escaped from Becora jail near the East Timorese capital last week, including rebel leader Major Alfredo Reinado.
“At this meeting we want to see what kind of cooperation needs to be progressed,” mr Wirajuda said, with Australian military police standing guard nearby.
“We see, among other things, the need to develop cooperation between the northern part of Australia and Timor Leste, and also the eastern part of Indonesia.”
Timor Leste is the official name for East Timor.
Reinado was one of the figureheads of a revolt that plunged East Timor into chaos in May, prompting Australia to lead an international peacekeeping force to restore order.
His escape on Wednesday has caused bickering among the different nations involved in East Timor's security over who bore responsibility.
The rebel leader, who is currently being hunted by security forces, urged in a video obtained by Reuters Television last week that his supporters should not resort to violence.
“Me and my subordinates must comply with the legal system but the legal system does not work properly,” he said.
The United Nations refugee agency said it was concerned about an escalation in violence in Dili in recent days.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesman Ron Redmond said there were signs of increasing polarisation of communities in and around Dili, where some displaced persons living in camps feared night-time attacks
Five people suffered gunshot wounds in a camp in Dili on Friday and a sixth was wounded in a machete attack, an Australian Federal Police spokesman said.
There have been sporadic flare ups in violence involving gangs burning houses, or fighting one another with stones and homemade weapons since May.
The United Nations agreed last week on a new mission to East Timor, made up of some 1600 police, despite a dispute over whether Australian-led troops already there should remain independent or be part of a UN force.
Jakarta's embassy in Dili had urged the Indonesian military to monitor the border area with East Timor in case Reinado and other escaped prisoners attempted to cross, Jakarta's El Shinta radio reported.
Colonel Ediwan Prabowo, the commander of the military unit guarding the border, told the radio network that there had been no sign of Reinado or others trying to flee into Indonesia.
domingo, setembro 03, 2006
Indonesia seeks co-operation on Timor
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A Indonésia procura cooperação em Timor
New.com.au
De correspondentes em Dili
Setembro 03, 2006 12:00
Artigo da: Reuters
A Austrália, a Indonésia e Timor-Leste devem visar aumentar a cooperação nas próximas conversas entre os três países, disse hoje o ministro dos estrangeiros de Jakarta no meio de renovadas preocupações sobre a estabilidade das pequena jovem nação.
O Ministro dos Estrangeiros da Indonésia Hassan Wirajuda fez os comentários à sua chegada a Dili antes da reunião amanhã com o Ministro dos Estrangeiros Australiano Alexander Downer, o Primeiro-Ministro de Timor-Leste José Ramos-Horta e o Presidente de Timor-Leste Xanana Gusmão.
Iluminando a frágil situação de segurança na antiga colónia Portuguesa, mais de 50 presos fugiram da prisão de Becora perto da capital Timorense na semana passada, incluindo o líder amotinado Major Alfredo Reinado.
“Nesta reunião queremos ver que tipo de cooperação precisa de ser adiantada,” disse mr Wirajuda, com a polícia militar Australiana a manter a guarda por perto.
“Vemos, entre outras coisas, a necessidade de desenvolver a cooperação entre a parte norte da Austrália e Timor-Leste, e também a parte leste da Indonésia.”
Timor-Leste é o nome oficial do Leste de Timor.
Reinado foi uma das cabeças de um motim que mergulhou Timor-Leste no caos em Maio, levando a Austrália a liderar uma força internacional para restaurar a ordem.
A sua fuga na Quarta-feira criou disputas entre as diferentes nações envolvidas na segurança de Timor-Leste sobre que teve a responsabilidade.
O líder amotinado, que correntemente é procurado pelas forças de segurança, urgiu num video obtido pela Reuters Television na semana passada que os seus apoiantes não regressem à violência.
“Eu e os meus subordinados devemos obedecer ao sistema legal mas o sistema não funciona adequadamente,” disse.
A agência de refugiados da ONU disse que estava preocupada cm uma escalada na violência em Dili em dias recentes.
O porta-voz do Alto Comissário da ONU para os Refugiados (UNHCR) Ron Redmond disse que houve sinais de crescente polarização das comunidades em Dili e à sua volta, onde alguns deslocados vivendo nos campos receavam ataques nocturnos
Cinco pessoas sofreram feridas por tiros num campo em Dili na Sexta-feira e um sexto foi ferido num ataque com catanas, disse um porta-voz da Polícia Federal Australiana.
Têm havido esporádicos lampejos de violência envolvendo gangs queimando casas, ou lutando uns contra outros com pedras e armas caseiras desde Maio.
As Nações Unidas concordaram a semana passada numa nova missão para Timor-Leste, feita com alguns 1600 polícias, apesar duma disputa sobre se as tropas lideradas pelos Australianos já lá permanecem independentes ou parte duma força da ONU.
A embaixada de Jakarta em Dili urgiu os militares Indonésios a monitorizar a área da fronteira Timor-Leste no caso de Reinado e outros presos fugitivos tentarem atravessá-la, relatou a rádio El Shinta de Jakarta.
O Coronel Ediwan Prabowo, o comandante da unidade militar guardando a fronteira, disse à rádio network que não houve sinal de Reinado ou outros tentarem fugir para a Indonésia.
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Venom threatens separate mission
David Nason, New York correspondent
04sep06
THE aggressive anti-Australian tone of East Timor's response to the Becora prison breakout is a sure sign that Canberra will have great difficulty winning an extension when the joint "green helmet-blue helmet" security arrangement is reviewed by the UN Security Council next month.
Under the UN mandate passed by the council 10 days ago, the Australian-led stabilisation force has authority to operate in East Timor separately from the UN's 1600-strong police deployment.
But as a concession to the many opponents of this shared security system, the council ordered UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to review the arrangement and report back within two months.
Significantly, Mr Annan and East Timorese Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta were among those who had argued strongest for the military component of the new mission to be brought under full UN control.
Their many supporters included Portugal, the former colonial ruler of East Timor, China, Brazil and the three other members of the Australian-led stabilisation force - New Zealand, Malaysia and The Philippines.
But with powerful backing from the US, Britain and Japan, Australia won the diplomatic battle and was allowed to continue its independent military role, albeit on a temporary basis pending Mr Annan's review.
At the time, Australia's UN ambassador Robert Hill said while Canberra was pleased its military option had been adopted, Australia's soldiers had to prove to the UN they could deliver on the mission's security demands.
But the prison escape now gives Australia's opponents a compelling argument that says the Diggers are not up to the job and should be replaced by a blue-helmet military force.
The venomous East Timorese criticism of Australia is evidence this process is already under way. Mr Annan made a contribution on Friday when his New York spokesman said the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, was "very concerned about the recent escalation of violence in Dili".
Mr Hill had expressed hope that Australia could win East Timor's support for the shared security arrangement during the two-month trial period.
But Australia is now looking down the barrel of a public humiliation before the Security Council next month if it continues to press for an independent role in East Timor.
Should this happen, many Australians would judge it a grossly unfair postscript, given the speed and professionalism of the nation's response when East Timor was in desperate need of help back in April and May.
But others may well ask why Australia - given the clear opposition of the East Timorese and so many others in the international community - has been so insistent about operating separately from the UN in the first place.
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