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# Flare-up feared as activists descend

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Running the gauntlet … Australian troops pass a burning home in Dili in a sweep to quell gang violence.
Photo: Jason South

#### Related coverage

- Gerard Henderson: Fledgling nation simply wasn't ready
- Peter Hartcher: No quick fix: police in Timor to stay, says Keelty

Lindsay Murdoch in Dili Mark Coultan in New York and Cynthia Banham
June 6, 2006

FIFTY truckloads of protesters from East Timor's western mountains are planning to travel to Dili today to push for the removal of the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, risking an surge of violence in the capital.

East Timor's embattled Government has been warned rival groups from eastern parts of the country are planning to converge in the next few days on Dili, where more than 70,000 people are sheltering in squalid makeshift camps.

The arrival of two opposing factions in Dili poses a nightmare for Australian soldiers, backed by Malaysian troops and Portuguese police, who have been unable to stop a daily ritual of house burnings, looting and gang attacks.

The Foreign and Defence Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, travelled to Gleno, in the mountainous west, yesterday to appeal to protesters to keep the peace when in Dili.

Mr Ramos Horta told them it was their right to protest, but warned there were "no easy solutions" to the nation's crisis.

About 2500 people, led by a former army officer identified as Major Tara, plan to leave Gleno today in 50 trucks. Major Tara, a former guerilla fighter who left his barracks in Dili and joined rebel soldiers in late April, told his supporters yesterday he would try and convince people from eastern parts of the country to join him in demanding Mr Alkatiri's removal from office. For days scores of youths from rival gangs have been running riot through the suburb of Comoro, near the city's airport, under the noses of Australian troops who have arrested only 50 people since they arrived in Timor on May 26. Almost all the detainees were released without charge and quickly rejoined their gangs.

But the Australian military commander in Dili, Brigadier Mick Slater, denied the violence was increasing, saying it had reached a plateau.

"What we need are police who know how to do policing activities so we can get these people off the streets and lock them up until we can get them before a judge and let the judge take care of it," Brigadier Slater told reporters.

"We are not about kicking ass. It is about getting criminals off the streets and police do that better than soldiers," he said. Brigadier Slater said his troops had undertaken "probably about as much as we can expect to achieve in the short term".

He admitted his 1300-strong force could not stop the violence in Dili and called for a strong international police presence on the streets.

The Prime Minister, John Howard, said Australia would welcome contributions from other Asian countries to efforts to restore order, saying: "We're not saying it should only be Asian - that would be foolish. But obviously if other countries in Asia would like to contribute that would be very good."

The Defence Minister, Brendan Nelson, speaking from Singapore, said the "broader the coalition of nations in the region that are involved the better". Malaysia is the only Asian nation to have committed troops to East Timor.

The Minister ofr Justice, Chris Ellison, has appealed to countries to join Australia in contributing police officers to keep peace in East Timor and other countries. At a meeting at the United Nations in New York he urged countries to follow the model adopted for Australia's intervention in the Solomons in which military forces are used to restore order.

Their presence is then downgraded in favour of an international policing effort. Senator Ellison thanked Portugal for sending a police contingent but said it was needed for the long term.

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#### Related coverage

- Gerard Henderson: Fledgling nation simply wasn't ready
- Peter Hartcher: No quick fix: police in Timor to stay, says Keelty

1149359675131-smh.com.au http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/flareup-feared-as-activists-descend/2006/06/05/1149359675131.html smh.com.auSydney Morning Herald2006-06-06 Flare-up feared as activists descend Lindsay Murdoch in Dili Mark Coultan in New York and Cynthia Banham
World
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/06/05/easttimor_wideweb__470x322,0.jpg
Running the gauntlet &#133; Australian troops pass a burning home in Dili in a sweep to quell gang violence.
470 322 Jason South http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/06/05/th_easttimor_index-thumb__60x40.jpg
Running the gauntlet &#133; Australian troops pass a burning home in Dili in a sweep to quell gang violence.
60 40 Jason South http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/06/05/easttimor_syndicated__430x294.jpg
Running the gauntlet &#133; Australian troops pass a burning home in Dili in a sweep to quell gang violence.
470 322 Jason South http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/06/05/th_easttimor_mobile__240x160.jpg
Running the gauntlet &#133; Australian troops pass a burning home in Dili in a sweep to quell gang violence.
60 40 Jason South http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/fledgling-nation-simply-wasnt-ready/2006/06/05/1149359673961.html Fledgling nation simply wasn't ready text/html-document http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/no-quick-fix-police-in-timor-to-stay-says-keelty/2006/06/05/1149359675134.html No quick fix: police in Timor to stay, says Keelty text/html-document

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