Australian commandos sent to East Timor

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Australia sent commandos to East
Timor’s capital on Thursday ahead of the deployment of 1,300
troops to help restore law and order in the tiny nation.

Violence in the capital Dili has left at least six people
dead in recent weeks and the arrival of Australian forces marks
the second time Canberra has joined a U.N.-led mission to try
to bring peace to East Timor.

Australia led a U.N.-backed intervention force in 1999 to
quell violence by pro-Indonesian militias after East Timorese
voted for independence from Jakarta. An estimated 1,000 people
died in the violence.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the forward
deployment of commandos had the full support of East Timor’s
government, which has formally asked Australia, New Zealand,
Malaysia and Portugal for police and military support.

“These Australian forces will take immediate action to
secure the perimeter of Dili international airport,” Howard
told Australian Parliament, adding the deployment followed a
“significant” deterioration of security around Dili.

Five people were killed and hundreds fled their homes when
sacked East Timorese military policemen and government troops
clashed in Dili late last month. A sixth person was killed on
Tuesday when the violence reignited.

Howard said sustained fighting had broken out between the
two groups in recent days, with reports of a number of
casualties.

Two navy ships were already heading toward East Timor, and
the deputy defense chief was sent to Dili on Thursday to
finalize details of the deployment.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the Australian
embassy in Dili had reported gunfire and people fleeing the
city on Thursday.

He said he hoped foreign troops would stabilize the country
to allow the cash-strapped government to talk to rebel troops,
who claim their dismissal was unfair.

In New York, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, acting on
behalf of East Timor’s government, formally requested urgent
U.N. Security Council approval of the offers of assistance.

But the council put off action for a few days after Russia,
in a contentious closed-door session, argued the 15-nation body
needed more information before it could vote, diplomats said.

“The failure to support the request of the government at
this time is a pity,” British Ambassador Emyr Jones Perry told
Reuters. “We should have been stronger in our support for a
country that is now in crisis.”

Council members predicted action later this week on a
resolution formally approving the offers of assistance.

In Lisbon, the Portuguese government said it would send 120
military police.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said a detachment of
troops was ready to deploy, but she was waiting for more
details.

“It’s very important not to walk into what is a factional
dispute, in some respects, and be seen to be taking sides,”
Clark said on National Radio.

Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and in 1976 declared
it an Indonesian province after centuries of Portuguese
control.

U.N. peacekeepers left a year ago and the U.N. mission of
130 administrators, police and military advisers was scheduled
to finish in East Timor on May 20, but its term was extended
for a month after the recent riots.