News.com.au
October 12, 2006 02:56am
Article from: AAP
PRIME Minister John Howard is expected to hear a personal plea from his East Timorese counterpart today to keep Australian troops in the country.
Jose Ramos Horta will meet Mr Howard at Parliament House in Canberra this morning - his first visit since replacing Mari Alkatiri as prime minister earlier this year.
Dr Ramos Horta this week said he did not see the need to replace Australian forces in the country with UN peacekeepers, saying UN troops were already “overstretched”.
About 900 Australian troops remain in East Timor from an original deployment of some 1400 sent to help stabilise the country when it came close to civil war earlier this year.
Mr Howard said he was looking forward to his meeting with Dr Ramos Horta.
“I look forward to discussing ways to strengthen East Timor's governance and improve its long-term security and prosperity,” he said.
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Horta gone to get his instructions on exactly how the Howard government expect him to run a post Aaktiri East Timor. Go Horta...sell out Timor go!!!! I can hear him joining in with Howard now: "Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oil Oil Oil!!!!"
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