--- Anthony and Nolette de Souza <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Subject: TIMOR LESTE > It's no big deal that Australia has sent troops to > reestablish order in Timor Leste for, > during the Second World War, the Timorese saved > hundreds of Aussies fighting the Japanese. > Australia is merely returning the favour. > Martinho
NASCI responds: To throw more light and put the latest 'East Timor' crisis in proper perspective; I am copying todays news items in Australia, numbered 1) and 2), so Readers can form their own opinions. 1) AUSTRALIAN troops 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. *ADF elemments engaged in Operation Astute in East Timor Timor * -Infantry battalion group based on the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. -Commando company group from the 4th Battalion (Commando), RAR. -Eight Australian Army Black Hawk helicopters and crews. -Two RAN Sea King helicopters and crews. -Amphibious landing ship HMAS Manoora and heavy landing ship HMAS Tobruk in Dili Harbour - unloading personnel, equipment including armoured personnel carriers, trucks and other support vehicles. -Heavy landing craft HMAS Balikpapan, situated to the north of Dili. -Sister ship HMAS Tarakan currently preparing in Darwin. -Guided missile frigate HMAS Adelaide and auxiliary oiler HMAS Success have completed their tasks and are returning to other operations not linked to Astute. -Major logistics campaign continuing to ensure the efforts of ground forces can be sustained. ----------------------------------------------------- 2) THE UN, Australia and the East Timorese Government had multiple warnings of the looming internal security crisis that has plunged Dili into violent chaos. The UN was warned two months ago that East Timor's defence force, set up with Australian aid and training to protect the tiny nation from foreign attack, was a potential threat to the country's internal stability. /The Sunday Age/ can reveal East Timor's Government ignored repeated urgings over the past two years from Australian and other foreign advisers to address flaws in its army. Government and military leaders in Dili shelved reports calling for reforms that may have prevented the violence and the dispatch of Australian troops. Details of the reports were sent to Canberra, which played a central role in training East Timor's security forces, spending $70 million on "capacity building" in the police and army. The money made up the largest share of Australian aid. Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday he had watched the deteriorating situation "for some months" and the violence "has come as no great surprise". But he said Australia could not have intervened until it was invited by the Dili Government. Australian efforts to resolve the issue before it reached crisis point appear to have been left to the Australian ambassador in Dili, Margaret Twomey. A Foreign Affairs Department spokeswoman said Ms Twomey had discussed the issue with the East Timorese Government "on a number of occasions and urged that the issues be addressed appropriately". Analysts with knowledge of East Timor's Government and military said the violence stemmed from a mix of divisions forged in the independence struggle over 24 years, and the UN's failure to develop a proper defence force during its 1999-2002 administration. Instead, East Timor was left with an army with no clear role, united only in its resentment of the national police. Ultimate responsibility for the violence rested with key Government and military figures who were warned of trouble but failed to act, according to the analysts, who asked not to be identified. The warning that the East Timorese army was a potential threat to stability was contained in a report to the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations in March. It was written by Edward Rees, a New York-based consultant to the UN on security issues, who has worked for the UN in Kosovo and East Timor. The report said the UN made "critical mistakes" in its handling of the Falintil guerillas, who resisted Indonesian rule from 1975 until 1999 and had sought a major role in the new army, known by the acronym Falintil-FDTL. The report said the UN failed to create a proper Ministry of Defence, in part because donor countries were reluctant to fund a potentially politicised defence force that lacked civilian control and a clear defence policy. "Some argue that the defence force may even pose a threat to internal security," the report said. The analysts interviewed by /The Sunday Age/ said East Timor's Defence Minister, Roque Rodrigues, failed to act on reports from Australian and other advisers about problems in Falintil-FDTL and blocked action on reports urging efforts to tackle morale and wider issues of defence management. According to one analyst, Mr Rodrigues told a foreign adviser: "Why do you keep pestering me about these things?" "He basically told the Australians to f--- off," another analyst said. ------------------------------------------------------ MARTINHO further muddies the truth: > Before Timor's independence, Australia and > Indonesia divided up the oilfields in the Sea > of Timor between themselves -- oilfields which > belonged to neither of these two major > nations. Since Timor's independence, Australia has been occupying the oilfields in the Sea of Timor. MIGHT ISN'T RIGHT -- IT'S RIGHT THAT IS MIGHT > MARTINHO Nasci responds: As of now; I think from last year, this dispute on sharing the proceeds and ownership of the Timor Gap Oil and Gas fields, has been settled and documented, to the satisfaction of both Timor Leste and Australia. A bigger than half the share will go to East Timor from the proceeds of developing this 'Field' All this, the East Timorese will get, with no skills or investment of their own, (understandable) by just sitting on their bottoms and wielding 'machetes' at the slightest provocation from their own ethnic neighbours! What's bugging you, Martinho? Didn't succeed in getting a share of the 'pie'? Nasci Caldeira Melbourne Down Under ____________________________________________________ On Yahoo!7 Dating: It's free to join and check out our great singles! http://www.yahoo7.com.au/personals _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)