[Kabar-indonesia] 7 Timor Updates: New Gov't Within Days; Truce Talks [+SMH; The Australian; FT]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

7 East Timor reports: 

- East Timor Official: New Gov't Within Days

- SMH: Feuding Timorese chiefs talk of truce

- SMH: The big question now is does E. Timor 
  actually need an army?

- The Australian: Friend and foe in free-for-all
  [East Timor's problems are increasingly irritating
  the Howard Government, write Stephen Fitzpatrick 
  in Dili and Mark Dodd in Canberra]

- UN rejects early poll for Timor

- FT: The world must heed the harsh lessons 
  of East Timor

- Militants raid Timor-Leste TV and radio

Associated Press
June 30, 2006

East Timor Official: New Gov't Within Days

East Timor's Nobel laureate foreign minister said Friday that he would 
control 
the government until a new administration was named, which he predicted would 
happen within days. 

Jose Ramos-Horta told AP Television News that a new government would put 
East Timor "on the right track" after months of violence and political 
turmoil. 

The United Nations warned the country faced severe food shortages and said 
the World Food Program could run out of money and food for East Timor within 
a couple of weeks. 

"If we do not get the economy back up and running, if we do not get food to 
the internally displaced persons expeditiously, we're going to be in real 
trouble," said Finn Reske-Nielsen, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for East Timor. 

The ruling Fretilin party plans within the next several days to name a 
replacement 
for Mari Alkatiri, who stepped down as prime minister Monday amid allegations 
that he knew weapons were being handed to militias hunting his opponents 
during the civil unrest. Alkatiri also was accused of sparking the unrest by 
dismissing much of the army. 

"In the next few days we should have a new government in place with the 
support 
of the ruling party and all the other parties," said Ramos-Horta, who won the 
1996 Peace Prize for nonviolently helping end his nation's occupation by 
Indonesia. "We are on the right track." 
 
Alkatiri failed to appear for questioning by prosecutors over the militia 
allegations, saying in a letter to authorities that as a member of parliament he 
has political immunity, the prosecutor general said. 

Suspicions about Alkatiri gained ground last week when former Interior 
Minister Rogerio Lobato, a deputy Fretilin leader and a key political ally, was 
indicted in the case. 

The prime minister's departure created fears that a power struggle might 
erupt within the political elite and spark violence by members of Fretilin, who 
rallied Thursday demanding the party have the right to choose his successor. 

Ramos-Horta has been mentioned as a possible successor, but he declined to 
speculate who will assume the top job. 

In an interview published Friday in the Portuguese newspaper Publico, 
Alkatiri said his replacement did not need to be a member of Fretilin, but should be 
experienced in government. 

"They at least have to merit the trust of the party," he said. 

Alkatiri earlier addressed around 1,000 cheering supporters who camped on the 
grounds of Dili's university during a security clampdown by international 
peacekeepers. 

"There is no east and no west," he said, urging an end to gang fighting along 
ethnic lines. "We are all brothers." 

East Timor was thrown into crisis in March after the dismissal of 600 
soldiers, who then battled loyalist troops in the streets of the capital. Unrest 
spilled over into gang warfare and widespread looting and arson. At least 30 
people were killed and 150,000 forced from their homes. 

The violence was the worst to hit the country since it voted to break free 
Indonesian rule in 1999 in a U.N.-sponsored referendum. 
     
---------------------------------------

Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday, July 1, 2006

Feuding Timorese chiefs talk of truce

by Lindsay Murdoch in Dili

photo: Appeal to reason … President Xanana Gusmao addresses supporters 
of the newly resigned Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri in Dili yesterday. AP

EAST TIMOR'S ruling Fretilin party has called a halt to a bitter feud with 
the country's President, Xanana Gusmao, who declared he was willing to negotiate 
a settlement with ministers in the government of the former prime minister, 
Mari Alkatiri.

In the most hopeful sign yet that Dili's political elite can end weeks of 
deadlock, Fretilin's president, Francisco Guterres, issued a statement yesterday 
saying "we do not want and we cannot continue, to wound one another".

"We all have too many wounds already," he said.

Mr Gusmao, the hero of East Timor's independence struggle, signalled he was 
willing to deal with Fretilin, the majority party which claims the right to 
name the next prime minister.

He told thousands of Fretilin supporters rallying in Dili that he was "trying 
my best to consult all political parties and institutions, including all 
cabinet ministers".

Mr Alkatiri quit last Monday after threats of resignation by Mr Gusmao, and 
key ministers, in light of accusations that the prime minister set up a hit 
squad to eliminate political rivals.

Mr Gusmao denied accusations that he had given automatic weapons to Timorese 
civilians, and said he was willing to return to jail if they were proved to be 
true.

"I was in jail for many years and I am ready to go again," the former 
guerilla leader said of time spent in Indonesian jails.

After threatening to quit last week if Mr Alkatiri was not removed from 
office, Mr Gusmao said it was his responsibility to protect the constitution until 
elections next year.

"After that my responsibilities will be finished," he said, indicating he 
will not seek re-election.

A short time later Mr Alkatiri told the same crowd that they should return 
peacefully to their homes in the country's east but to be prepared to come back 
to Dili if the party called them.

While making clear he was unhappy with the way he was forced from office, Mr 
Alkatiri said: "If we are united we will get through this crisis … keep 
fighting, keep fighting. Some people say I am scared to stand up in front of the 
people, but today I can show you I am not scared."

Earlier Mr Alkatiri failed to appear before prosecutors to answer questions 
about claims by the former interior minister Rogerio Lobato that he backed the 
setting up of the so-called hit squad.

Mr Alkatiri sent a letter to the Office of the Prosecutor-General asking for 
a delay because the lawyer he had engaged to represent him had not arrived 
from the Chinese territory of Macau.

Mr Alkatiri also said prosecutors should deal with him through parliament 
because he remains an MP who can claim immunity from prosecution. The 
Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro, said he would ask parliament to waive any claim 
to immunity from Mr Alkatiri.

Mr Monteiro earlier said he had enough evidence to charge Mr Lobato with 
supplying weapons to former anti-Indonesian guerillas involved in a gun battle on 
Dili's outskirts last month. Mr Lobato is under house arrest in Dili.

--------------------------------------

Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday, July 1, 2006

Opinion

The big question now is does the 
country actually need an army?

by Hamish McDonald

WHILE Dili went through another round of arson and rampages this week, the 
army whose split caused the crisis was dutifully sitting things out in its four 
barracks around the country.

When things settle down, East Timor's leaders and international aid donors 
will be faced again with the problem of what to do about the country's defence 
force.

It will be the last chance to weigh perhaps the most courageous option of 
all: to abolish the army and join the small number of nations, like Costa Rica 
and the most stable of the Pacific Islands states, that rely on police for their 
security.

This was the dream of Jose Ramos Horta, now the Foreign Minister, when he 
accepted the Nobel Peace Prize along with Bishop Carlos Belo in 1996. However, 
the ugliness of Indonesia's exit in 1999, and what seemed a militia threat 
across the border, banished that thought.

Several years later, there is no sign of any move from Indonesian Timor to 
undermine the new nation, even with the latest opportunity. Another stated aim 
of having an army - to employ otherwise restive members of the former armed 
resistance, Falantil - still left many former Falantil fighters, like those 
featured in the recent ABC Four Corners program, available to cause trouble.

Possibly the Falantil-East Timor Defence Force will vanish of its own accord. 
In March it dismissed 591 of its youngest and best-educated soldiers after 
they went on strike over petty grievances, led by a junior officer whose 
promotion was blocked because of a smuggling offence.

The force is now down to about 800 men, but perhaps 200 to 400 of these 
remaining troops may be induced to retire in August when an extraordinarily 
generous pension scheme is due to start for veterans of the anti-Indonesian armed 
resistance.

The scheme applies to those with at least three years' participation in the 
guerilla struggle and would not include the rush of volunteers when it became 
apparent Indonesia's grip was weakening (numbers rose from 500 to 600 fighters 
in 1996 to 1600 by October 1999 when Indonesia left).

With pensions set at three times the minimum wage of $US85 ($115) a month in 
many cases, and compared with the $US120 a month basic soldier's wage, the 
incentive is strong to abandon the humdrum life in an army.

The depleted ranks may help to facilitate a bold decision: either integrate 
the Falantil remnant into the national police force, or go for a far more 
professional and well-managed military force along the lines of the Fijian model. 
In a small country with weak civilian institutions, it continues the risk of a 
coup d'etat, but it at least has the benefit of being an export earner.

Fiji's active army of 2950 soldiers has two of its six infantry battalions on 
the United Nations' payroll in the Middle East, earning respectable US 
dollars.

Another 2000 Fijians are serving in the British Army, although not in their 
own distinct units like the Gurkhas. Another 1000 or so Fijians are thought to 
be working in Iraq for private security contractors.

The remittance flow is considerable for ethnic Fijian communities, although 
the military budget is still heavy for such a small economy. Ways are being 
sought to get more return on the investment, such as by employing army engineers 
in local projects.

The lacklustre third way has been shown by the Papua New Guinea Defence 
Force, formed from the two Pacific Islands Regiments raised by the Australian Army 
before independence in 1975.

Ill-disciplined, badly trained and equipped, and with officers being drawn 
into business and politics, the 4300-strong force had become a largely useless 
burden on the state a quarter of a century later, unable to patrol borders or 
maritime resources, ineffective against the Bougainville secessionists and a 
threat only to its own government.

Conceivably, Australia and New Zealand could bring the East Timorese and PNG 
forces up to Fijian standard and build a regional security network, as well as 
opening avenues for their soldiers in UN peacekeeping operations.

As a policy (the implementation is another matter), this follows the line of 
least resistance. But after spending nearly $40 million on the East Timor 
Defence Force, Canberra might ask the Timorese to seriously consider whether they 
need an army at all.

---------------------------------------

The Australian
Saturday, July 1, 2006

Friend and foe in free-for-all

East Timor's problems are increasingly irritating the Howard Government, 
write Stephen Fitzpatrick in Dili and Mark Dodd in Canberra

ONE often hears it said that in East Timor there used to be just one enemy, 
the Indonesians, but things are far more complicated these days. There's a 
grain of truth in that, as was evident from President Xanana Gusmao's plea on 
national television this week that the crisis should not be perceived as a 
political struggle between him and deposed prime minister Mari Alkatiri.

The unpopular Alkatiri is fighting a desperate political battle, and the 
pendulum may yet swing back in his favour. 

Any East Timorese will tell you Alkatiri is up to his neck in conspiring to 
arm gangs, but the evidence is proving elusive and Alkatiri denies involvement. 
His no-show yesterday for a scheduled court appearance to answer questions 
about alleged arming of pro-government militias underscores his growing 
confidence. 

"This stand-off, which looked to have broken, is now threatening to broaden 
from a Gusmao v Alkatiri contest to a Gusmao v Fretilin conflict," says a 
Western diplomat in Dili. "Meanwhile, there is no effective government: the prime 
minister has resigned and the defence and foreign minister has resigned. There 
is (at present) no leader, no East Timorese voice. It's hazy at best." 

Gusmao was making a different plea a week earlier when the former guerilla 
leader gave a tearful two-hour oration to demonstrators massed in Dili and 
declared that he was prepared to resign if Alkatiri didn't. The ruling Fretilin 
party stood defiant after that challenge, holding a meeting of its central 
committee last Sunday to reaffirm its support for Fretilin secretary-general 
Alkatiri, who was appointed prime minister after elections in 2001. 

A day later, however, Alkatiri blinked. Calling journalists to his residence 
in Farol (the closest Dili gets to an upmarket address), he read out a 
prepared statement announcing his plan to quit "to avoid the resignation of His 
Excellency the President". 

It was not quite open warfare but the battle lines were drawn. Fretilin has 
since assembled thousands of Alkatiri supporters in Dili to protest against his 
downfall; there are accusations that some were paid to leave their crops and 
homes in the country's east to shout anti-Gusmao slogans in the capital. 
Meanwhile, most of the anti-Alkatiri protesters have returned to their towns and 
villages in the west on the basis of Gusmao's promise to deal with the crisis 
quickly. 

Those who remain to taunt Dili's latest arrivals are mainly gangs of teenage 
boys hurling rocks and insults, and torching the homes of real and imagined 
enemies. 

The two politicians took to the stage in front of the colonial-era governor's 
palace yesterday to speak to the crowd: first Gusmao and then, after 10 
minutes, Alkatiri. The President promised he would accept the consequences if 
investigators could prove he was responsible for the violence that has killed at 
least 21 people, destroyed whole neighbourhoods in Dili and set the country on 
edge. Alkatiri told his followers he valued peace more highly than money. But 
early optimism that his departure would clear remaining hurdles in the way of a 
unified government has all but disappeared. 

"We have a simple message," Fretilin official Filomeno Aleixo on Thursday. 
"Respect the constitution and rule of law. Recognise Fretilin's democratic 
mandate to govern until the next election." 

Canberra is starting to look concerned. In a series of statements this week, 
Prime Minister John Howard and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed 
growing irritation at the inability of East Timor's squabbling politicians to put 
their house in order. They warned Australia's 1300-strong troop deployment in 
Dili can't be indefinite, although the present situation prevents Australia 
from walking away. Too much is at stake. Australia's senior military commander 
in East Timor, Brigadier Michael Slater, this week voiced concern that the 
longer the crisis lasts, the more his force will be subject to manipulation. 

"So far no one has been able to manipulate the taskforce and they (East 
Timorese politicians) are frustrated at that. I take that as a measure of our 
success. They are frustrated and distressed," he says. 

But some anti-Australian banners have made their first appearance at 
pro-Alkatiri rallies in Dili. While stressing its neutral credentials in the crisis, 
the Government in Canberra shed no tears when Alkatiri announced his 
resignation. 

Alkatiri is deeply suspicious of the Howard Government, his grievances 
reinforced by the protracted Timor Sea oil and gas negotiations. And he was a 
reluctant signatory to the agreement paving the way for the arrival of peacekeepers 
to restore law and order on the riot-torn streets of Dili. 

Although finding a suitably qualified administrator to replace Alkatiri is 
proving tough, there are a number of people who would be acceptable to the 
Howard Government, including former defence and foreign minister (and Nobel Peace 
Prize laureate) Jose Ramos Horta. Then there is Jose Luis Guterres, East 
Timor's ambassador to the US and UN, who withdrew from a Fretilin leadership spill 
in May when voting rules were changed from a secret ballot to a show of hands. 
Agriculture Minister Estanislau da Silva, an Alkatiri ally, is another 
possible candidate. He holds an Australian passport and made good use of it recently, 
escaping to Darwin when trouble erupted on the streets. erupted. 

As East Timor's crisis worsens, so do concerns about its long-term impact on 
the impoverished country. 

In the latest UN assessment, more than 150,000 Timorese have been displaced 
as a result of the ethnic violence triggered in January by a spat about 
regional differences among defence force recruits. 

Whether Gusmao and Alkatiri are friends or foes is only a small part of the 
upheaval besetting a nation well used to unrest. The crisis stems from a 
division within the army - nearly 600 soldiers from the west claim they were 
discriminated against by those from the east - and sides have been taken across the 
political structure based on this dispute. 

Fretilin has contributed, albeit perhaps unwittingly, to the problem, though 
suggesting as much raises the ire of party faithful who point to the party's 
role in spearheading the opposition to Indonesian rule between 1975 and 1999. 

Fretilin was formed in late 1974 to take advantage of a coup in Lisbon that 
had loosened Portugal's grip on its long-time Southeast Asian colony. Fretilin 
declared independence for East Timor and then fought to maintain this position 
through the years of Indonesian occupation. Australian popular and diplomatic 
support was crucial during these years, particularly through the efforts of 
party co-founder Ramos Horta. 

However, opponents complain that Fretilin's central committee has too tight a 
grip on the mechanisms of state; rebuilding contracts, for instance, are 
awarded in a less than transparent manner. Any opposition to the doctrinaire 
organisation is staunchly resisted. So, Gusmao's two-hour plea was not directed 
only at Alkatiri. He also criticised the way Fretilin conducts its affairs, 
including the fact that Alkatiri's re-election as secretary-general last month by a 
show of hands was in direct contravention of electoral laws, which require a 
secret ballot. 

There has long been a division between Fretilin and Gusmao and Ramos Horta, 
who left the party in the 1980s with a view to creating an independence 
movement of national unity. The enigmatic Gusmao led Falintil, the armed wing of this 
umbrella movement, and became a hero to many East Timorese during his time in 
a Jakarta jail. 

But the struggle is broader still. East Timor is a land of opportunity and 
opportunists are stepping in. Dili is full of lawyers and businessmen. UN 
special representative Ian Martin is constantly in discussion with the key players 
about how best to rebuild the basket-case state. 

Opposition leaders such as Democratic Party head Fernando Lasama de Araujo 
and Indonesian-era governor Mario Carrascalao are sensing an opportunity, and 
Alkatiri knows he must gird his party for the national elections next year. 

He told his supporters in a paddock outside Dili on Wednesday that "from this 
day on" he would be working to increase Fretilin's majority in parliament; 
the party holds 55 seats in the 88-seat house, based on a 57 per cent majority 
at the 2001 poll. 

Whether Alkatiri goes to that election as prime minister remains to be seen. 
Very little is clear in East Timor, especially who is friend and who is foe.

--------------------------------------

The Australian
Saturday, July 1, 2006

UN rejects early poll for Timor

Mark Dodd and Stephen Fitzpatrick 

THE UN has vetoed a proposal to hold early elections in East Timor, prompting 
a rare show of unity by political rivals President Xanana Gusmao and recently 
resigned prime minister Mari Alkatiri.

A senior East Timorese government official involved in negotiations to end 
the crisis said a new prime minister could be announced as early as Monday. 

Several prominent East Timorese politicians, including Nobel peace prize 
winner Jose Ramos Horta, have said they would nominate for the job. 

The official, who asked not to be named, said a proposal by Mr Gusmao to 
dissolve parliament and hold early elections had been rejected by the UN and would 
not proceed. 

National elections are scheduled for May next year. 

"The UN advised it was too short a time and, given the current situation, it 
would be unable to prepare the logistics and organise voter security, so that 
idea has been abandoned - it is not feasible," the official said. 

Dr Alkatiri has defied a summons from East Timor's Prosecutor-General to 
answer charges of arming a secret hit squad, claiming legal immunity because he 
remains a member of parliament. 

The former prime minister, who resigned this week, told prosecutor Longuinhos 
Monteiro he was prepared to co-operate with an investigation only if 
parliament agreed. 

"We will send a letter to parliament requesting his immunity be withdrawn," 
Mr Monteiro said yesterday. 

Dr Alkatiri's Fretilin party holds 55of the parliament's 88 seats but is not 
expected to oppose the prosecutor's request. 

Dr Alkatiri told hundreds of people gathered outside his former office in the 
capital yesterday that it did not matter who was their leader. 

"But to maintain national unity, Fretilin must win again at the next 
election," he said. 

The crowd arrived in Dili on Thursday to voice support for the former prime 
minister, prompting violence and house burnings as members of East Timor's 
western-based Loromonu group renewed their opposition to Dr Alkatiri. 

However, Dr Alkatiri's supporters, who are mostly from the east of the island 
nation, were kept within a tight cordon by Australian soldiers and Portuguese 
national guards. 

Minor scuffles broke out, but peacekeepers maintained control. 

The Alkatiri supporters began leaving Dili late yesterday afternoon after 
refuelling their trucks. 

Mr Gusmao earlier told the same crowd that he would continue to serve as 
national leader until elections scheduled for early next year. 

But he said he would stand down then "because there are other people more 
suited to the job than me". 

The official said it was important for a new prime minister to be appointed 
as soon as possible because the national budget had to be ratified by 
parliament on July 15. 

He said East Timor's 88-seat Constituent Assembly would convene on Monday to 
discuss steps to resolve the political crisis. 

The UN humanitarian co-ordinator in East Timor, Finn Reske-Nielsen, said 
about 145,000 East Timorese displaced by months of unrest face a serious food 
shortage due to a lack of foreign aid. 

He warned of a hunger crisis in coming weeks in districts outside Dili if the 
international community fails to provide urgent support. 

The World Food Program - which has been feeding those who fled since violence 
erupted in the former Portuguese colony in March - was reducing rations 
because of a donor shortfall. 

That has been worsened in some districts by the collapse of the economy. 

----------------------------------------

Financial Times (UK)
June 30, 2006

Comment

The world must heed the harsh lessons of East Timor

By ARNOLD KOHEN and LAWRENCE KORB

The tragic renewal of violence in East Timor and unfolding political
crisis there should stimulate a tough reappraisal of the way the world
community, not least the US, approaches international peacekeeping.
For the sake of the long-suffering people of East Timor - and other
peacekeeping operations - it is time to learn from past mistakes.

With a temporary Australian-led force in place, the United Nations
Security Council is considering a new peacekeeping effort in East
Timor to help maintain order before and after elections next year. One
hopes that recent remarks by John Bolton, the US ambassador to the UN,
suggesting that Washington may oppose it, are not the last words on
this issue.

It is a disturbing reality that peacekeeping missions move according
to a logic and schedule that have little to do with the needs of a
particular place. They are focused instead on budgets and other
international commitments. Every time there is an emergency, a new
begging bowl is passed around. In spite of the large demand for
troops, few are readily available. And, as the East Timor experience
has illustrated, the best expert advice means little if the nations in
charge of the mission choose to ignore unpleasant facts. We must find
better mechanisms to utilise expert knowledge and reach beyond a small
layer of government officials to tap authentic public sentiment.

Several factors, including animosities inside the local security
forces and political rivalries, ignited the crisis in East Timor,
where 151,000 people have taken refuge in squalid tent cities to avoid
further brutality and the possibility of a fresh outbreak of fighting
that has killed at least 30 people since April.

But the situation might never have deteriorated so badly if
peacekeepers and expert advisers with solid negotiating skills had
remained - as they have in Bosnia since 1995 - instead of leaving last
year. Historical responsibility cannot be overlooked. Throughout
Indonesia's 24-year occupation of East Timor, the US staunchly backed
Jakarta both with arms shipments and by blunting criticism in Congress
and the UN. But wanting to save money on peacekeeping, the Bush
administration pushed for the withdrawal of UN troops as soon as East
Timor became independent in 2002. With the eruption of conflict, the
folly of this penny-wise, pound-foolish stance is plain.

To the casual observer, East Timor may have seemed peaceful before the
recent fighting. After decades of trauma, however, it was far more
volatile than it appeared.

East Timor's truth and reconciliation commission has determined that
as many as 180,000 people, more than a quarter of the population,
perished from the effects of Indonesian rule from 1975 until 1999 when
East Timor voted to leave Indonesia and Indonesian-backed militias
laid waste tothe territory. Torture and rape were widespread.

Many urban youth had been among those tortured. In some instances
their torturers were hired for the national police force because they
had prior experience in police work under Indonesia. With more than 50
per cent of young people and many veterans of the independence
struggle without jobs, East Timor became a tinderbox.

International agencies' officials have sheepishly conceded that
job-creating development should have been a higher priority,
especially in agriculture. As experienced international peacekeepers
know, a lack of serious engagement on the economic front will
inevitably come back to haunt the international community - precisely
what is now reported about Afghanistan.

International donors and a re-structured government must seriously
address widespread poverty in East Timor. This should start with
reconstruction and other public works projects to engage unemployed
veterans and youth, and include support for rural livelihoods.

If a small fraction of the Dollars 1,000bnin annual world military
spending were devoted to a permanent fund for international
peacekeeping missions, it would be far easier to address the plight of
places such as East Timor. If a portion of the peacekeeping budget
went to well-targeted economic help, far larger military expenditures
to stabilise violent upheavals would be unnecessary next time.

Lawrence Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, was
an assistant secretary of defence in the Reagan Administration. Arnold
Kohen, international co-ordinator of Global Priorities, an
inter-religious initiative to change budget priorities, is author of
>From the Place of the Dead (St Martins Press, US; Lion, UK)

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Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières
30 June 2006

Militants raid Timor-Leste TV and radio

Reporters Without Borders urged the authorities 
and foreign forces in East Timor to secure the 
offices of the main media after nearly 40 
opposition militants raided Timor-Leste TV and 
radio station, TVTL, on 29 June 2006.

They ransacked the premises, manhandled employees 
and demanded that broadcasts should be suspended.
The management has now drastically reduced output 
of local news, for fear of further reprisals. It 
is currently only broadcasting Portuguese 
programmes but plans to return to normal on 3 July.

"This attack shows that the peace-keeping forces 
are not doing enough to protect journalists and 
it is essential for the stability of the country 
that there should be free circulation of news," 
said the press freedom organisation.

The anti-government attack was believed linked to 
a broadcast on TVTL the previous day of a speech 
by the outgoing prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, leader of the Fretilin party.

Opposition groups have been threatening TVTL for 
several weeks, but the channel only obtained 
protection from the Australian armed forces on 30 
June, although its management said it had asked 
for such protection five weeks ago.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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