Free Republic

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...

THE government has started cutting troop numbers in East Timor but up to 2000 personnel could remain in place until the security situation fully stabilises. Prime Minister John Howard flagged the reduction when he visited Dili last month on his first trip to the tiny nation since it erupted in violence three months ago. Australia had about 3000 army, navy and air force personnel in Timor at the height of its operation. Defence today released a statement which said it had begun a gradual reduction of its forces in Timor after assessing that the security situation had improved in Dili....

AUSTRALIAN peacekeepers in East Timor will be paid less than their counterparts in Iraq, because their mission isn't "warlike". Defence Minister Brendan Nelson broke the news of the decision to troops during a lightning visit to Dili yesterday, and also told them they would get less prestigious medals. Addressing a group of mostly 3RAR soldiers in a hangar at Dili's heliport, Dr Nelson said they would receive a basic tax-free daily allowance of $78. That compares with $150 a day for those serving in Iraq. With field and seagoing allowances plus allowances for any dependant children, the maximum a soldier...

AEONS ago, in another life, I undertook a course in counselling people who were considering suicide. We were told that a suicide attempt represents a peak of experience. Even for someone perennially depressed, to get to the point of attempting suicide is a rare and unusually intense experience. Therefore, one of the central strategies in avoiding suicides is to get people past the peak. If you do, another peak may not arise again for a long time, perhaps ever. What is true of depressed people is also true of depressed nations. The moment just before they pass from being merely...

NEW Zealand troops announced their arrival in Dili with a fearsome haka today, sending clouds of dust over the troubled East Timor capital as they stamped their feet in the traditional Maori war dance. While the Kiwis have been on patrol in the dangerous Becora area since early last week, they performed the ceremony today as a formal greeting to Australia's Brigadier Mick Slater, who commands international troops in the city. "Kamate, kamate – ka ora ka ora (I die, I die – I live, I live)," a group of 30 New Zealand troops roared, thumping their chests in unison...

THE United Nations has ordered staff in East Timor not to co-operate with Australian Federal Police investigating the massacre of 12 unarmed Timorese officers by renegade soldiers, prompting allegations of a cover-up. An email from the UN's deputy representative in Timor, Pakistani General Anis Bajwa, had been circulated to all staff, including employees evacuated to Australia, directing them not to assist AFP detectives investigating the worst atrocity since the violence of 1999. A copy of the email had been passed to Australia's Embassy in Dili, outraged diplomats and AFP sources confirmed to AAP. Earlier today the UN denied the email...

AUSTRALIA will play hard ball with the United Nations over any fresh resolution for East Timor, insisting on controlling the military and policing aspects of the mission. It is understood the Government wants virtually no UN interference over security functions in the trouble-plagued country. That could mean a long military deployment for our troops -- and a heavy bill for taxpayers. Government sources yesterday confirmed Australia would draw a line in the sand on security but added there was still a "long way to go" in negotiations for a new security council resolution. Meanwhile, sources have revealed Prime Minister John...

AUSTRALIA'S necessary military intervention in East Timor is now hostage to the political divisions and constitutional deadlock that have been played out during the past week. This should end the romantic and unrealistic view of East Timor that has shaped Australia's public debate since the 1975 Indonesian invasion, driven relentlessly by Australia's media. The ministries in Jakarta will be rocking with laughter this week. In seven short years East Timor has ceased to be Indonesia's problem and has become Australia's problem. Consider these harsh truths. The reason Indonesia invaded East Timor 31 years ago (having previously ignored the territory) is...

MAYBE this past week has taught us to pity. Because look: East Timor is being forgiven like Iraq never is. Its capital can be looted, its soldiers can gun down its police, its gangs can murder children, its people can be made to live on charity, its politicians can squabble over the power they then abuse -- but no fool here says freedom was a mistake. Even as our soldiers guard refugees cowering in church yards, still no commentator sneers that it all shows we were crazy to liberate East Timor in 1999. No one is saying these 900,000 East...

5/30/2006 - TOWNSVILLE, Australia (AFPN) -- The U.S. Pacific Command is using its strategic airlift capability to help the Australian Defense Force. At the request of the Australian government, two C-17 Globemaster IIIs from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, are moving equipment and troops from the Solomon Islands back to Australia. This will help Australia position its forces to respond more rapidly to unrest in neighboring East Timor. The biggest part of the mission involves the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo. “We’re in charge of passenger safety (and) ensuring the cargo is loaded correctly ... the weight and...

Australia's intervention in East Timor is not just military, it has deep political consequences THE true nature of Australia's intervention in East Timor has become apparent: this intervention is both military and political. Its primary purpose was to respond to East Timor's security crisis, accept the invitation from its Government and restore law and order. But this is not just a military intervention. It is a highly political intervention in its impact, atmospherics and consequences. It transcends the domain of law and order and penetrates to East Timor's political crisis. In this sense Australia is operating as a regional power...

AN Australian military commander has tried to ensure truth does not become a casualty of conflict in East Timor, but has embarrassed Today show co-host Jessica Rowe in the process. Australian commander in East Timor Brigadier Michael Slater appeared this morning in a live cross from Dili to Channel 9's Today show, with helmeted and heavily armed Australian soldiers standing behind him. He was pressed by Today host Jessica Rowe about whether Dili really was as safe as the Australian military claimed, given the presence of armed soldiers at his shoulder. Pausing briefly, Brig Slater replied: "Jessica I feel quite...

AUSTRALIAN troops say they are close to controlling security in East Timor, with soldiers confiscating hundreds of weapons from gangs terrorising the capital. Taskforce commander Brigadier Michael Slater today launched a defence of his soldiers' efforts to rid Dili of the "gutless thugs" and restore order. World Vision chief Tim Costello yesterday suggested the Australian military was not doing enough to end the chaos in the city and avert a looming humanitarian crisis. But Brig Slater said his soldiers had confiscated more than 450 high-powered rifles, handguns, shotguns and grenades in 48 hours from gangs which have looted and burned...

PRIME Minister John Howard has rejected criticism that Australian troops were not acting quickly enough to quell violence in East Timor. The 1300-strong Australian force has struggled to restore order in the capital Dili, with locals saying the soldiers are not moving fast enough to stem ethnic gang violence. But Mr Howard today told critics to back off, saying the situation in Timor was potentially even more dangerous than the country's bloody separation from Indonesia in 1999. "I do think people who are saying ... the army should be acting more quickly ... frankly ought to pull back and keep...

MORE than 300 Australians and other foreign nationals have been evacuated from East Timor to Darwin, Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said today. Mr Ruddock said to date, nine military and other commercial flights had carried 318 people out of Dili. Those evacuated included 170 Australians and nationals from the UK, the United States, South America, New Zealand, Germany, The Netherlands, France, Italy and the Philippines. Mr Ruddock said Emergency Management Australia had three experienced liaison officers in Darwin to co-ordinate the evacuation.

Rapid ... commandos secure Dili airport as the first members of the force touch down Welcome ... East Timorese have been happy to welcome the biggest single Australian military deployment since the 1999 Interfet operation Airlift ... troop transport planes have been used to evacuate Australians from the danger zone Recovery ... troops have brought much-needed medical equipment and supplies with them Welcome ... troops' arrival was enthusiastically welcomed by locals, including this group at Dili airport Commitment ... "It's a big thing to send 1300 troops in. It's a very foolish, short-sighted thing to pull them out before...

May 25, 2006 US ANNOUNCES AIRLIFT SUPPORT TO AUSTRALIA CAMP SMITH, Hawaii - At the request of the Government of Australia, the United States is providing military airlift to assist in positioning Australian Defence Force personnel and equipment in support of peace operations in East Timor. The rapid positioning of these forces will enable the Australian Defence Forces to better respond to the situation in East Timor. There continues to be unrest between East Timorese military forces and breakaway groups of police and military. The political situation in Dili remains fragile and violence is ongoing. East Timor has asked for...

THE tragedy of East Timor would make the angels weep. Just as it was the Timorese civil war that in 1975 precipitated Indonesian military intervention, with all of its dolorous consequences, so it is civil conflict today that has precipitated Australian military intervention. The two interventions cannot be compared, of course. Hopefully, Australia's will be short and relatively non-violent. And no one in Australia wants to incorporate East Timor. But it is time to speak bluntly. The situation in East Timor is much worse than even most analysts and commentators realise. The savage killings and lawlessness of the past few...

AUSTRALIAN troops came under fire in East Timor yesterday as they faced down armed thugs and rescued women, children and wounded civilians. Late yesterday they stopped machete-wielding mobs charging a hotel in the capital, Dili, where Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was about to hold a news conference. The troops, who had to call in reinforcements, disarmed gangs carrying machetes, knives, spiked poles, slingshots and arrows. No one was hurt. The Australians took control without firing a shot. Earlier, troops appeared overwhelmed before reinforcements, backed by armoured personnel carriers, moved quickly into Dili's smoke-filled streets. The street fighting was the worst...