Timor deployment failed: army chief

The Sydney Morning Herald - February 12, 2008 - 7:19PM


East Timor's Army chief has blamed international security forces for failing to prevent assassination attempts on the country's top two leaders, branding them deficient.

Army commander Taur Matan Ruak called for a sweeping investigation into the failings of international forces, which include the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF).
The demand came as Australia sent in an additional 340 soldiers and police to help shore up security, boosting its presence in the country to more than 1,000 personnel.

Ruak said it was staggering that international forces had not detected the plot by rebels, who shot and injured President Jose Ramos-Horta and ambushed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao near their homes in the capital, Dili, on Monday.

East Timor was entitled to answers, he said.

"Given the high number of international forces present in East Timor, in particular within the capital, how is it possible that vehicles transporting armed people have entered the city and executed an approach to the residences of the president ... and the prime minster without having been detected?" he said.
"There has been a lack of capacity shown by the international forces, who have primary responsibility for the security within East Timor to foresee, react and prevent these events."
Ruak also claimed there was "no immediate operation undertaken to detain" the rebels involved in Monday's attack, in which rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was shot dead by Ramos-Horta's security guards.

United Nations spokesperson Finn Reske-Nielsen said investigators had interviewed 11 people over the attack on Ramos-Horta, but no arrests had yet been made.

He said the investigation had been underway since Monday morning, and a preliminary report will be handed to East Timor's prosecutor-general on Wednesday.

In Darwin - where Ramos-Horta is in serious condition after surgery for three gunshot wounds - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith defended a decision by the Australian government last year to call off a manhunt for Reinado.

Reinado was among 600 mutinous soldiers dismissed by East Timor's government in 2006, triggering violence in which 37 people were killed and more than 150,000 people forced from their homes.

He was arrested and charged but escaped from prison later that year. Australian forces in East Timor last year botched a bid to arrest him.

Ramos-Horta later waived an arrest warrant for the rebel leader, deciding instead to seek face to face talks.

Smith said Australia was following the wishes of East Timor's government when it called off the hunt for Reinado.

"Almost nine months ago, the government of East Timor requested the International Stabilisation Force to desist from seeking to apprehend Reinado," he said.
"The East Timorese government and the president in particular thought that they could affect a negotiator-agreed solution or compromise.

"I don't want to reflect on whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but obviously in light of events that will be one of the things the East Timorese government will reflect on."
Smith travelled to Darwin to meet with Ramos-Horta's family and his East Timorese counterpart, Zacharias da Costa, who said the decision to call off the hunt for Reinado "wasn't a wrong decision".

"Unfortunately, the outcome was different than what we imagined," da Costa said.
Prime Minister Gusmao has moved to scotch rumours that Reinado was lured to his death at Ramos-Horta's home with the promise of negotiations.

The president and Reinado had previously met for talks the government said were aimed at ending the rebellion peacefully.

"Some people have said that President Ramos-Horta had called Alfredo Reinado to come to Dili. But this is not true," Gusmao said in a statement.

"To put rest to the rumour that the president called Alfredo to kill him, I would like to reiterate that I was also ambushed and targeted. This shows that it was a planned operation from Alfredo."

As politicians weighed the wisdom of the decision to call off the hunt for Reinado, analysts also said security forces in East Timor had some questions to answer.

While national authorities are mandated to protect the president, some 3,000 international troops and UN police are on patrol in Dili.

"It is of course questionable how Reinado managed to make it all the way through Dili without anyone noticing, and indeed how long he had been in Dili," said Sophia Cason, a Dili-based analyst with the International Crisis Group.

Another key query that remains is how the rebels managed to melt back into the hills so easily in a nation under heavy guard.

Apart from the bodies of Reinado and another rebel, the other attackers have so far not been found.

In Dili on Tuesday, additional Australian troops began to help enforce a two-day state of emergency, which will remain in force until Wednesday night and includes an 8pm to 6am curfew and a ban on large gatherings.

"The C-130 aircraft are arriving by the hour. The troops will bolster forces already there," said a spokesman for Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon.

The Australian warship, HMAS Perth, also arrived off the Dili coast to support the security operation.

Smith said East Timor's government was happy with the level of reinforcements Australia had sent to Dili.

"The response that I've had from Zacharias da Costa is that the East Timorese government is ... very pleased with the quick response to their request for assistance in troops and the police," he said.###