2006 East Timor crisis
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The 2006 East Timor crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The crisis has prompted a military intervention by several other countries.
Background
The crisis arose out of a dispute within the military of East Timor (FDTL), when soldiers from the western part of the country claimed that they were being discriminated against, in favour of soldiers from the eastern part of the country. The Lorosae (Tetum for easterners) formed the largest part of Falintil, the guerilla resistance movement which resisted Indonesian authority, and which in turn, after final independence in 2002, formed the largest part of FDTL. In contrast the Loromonu (Tetum for westerners) were less prominent in the resistance, and are less favoured in the present military structure. There has also been tension between the military and the police force, comprised of more westerners and even former members of the Indonesian military.
Four hundred four soldiers, out of the regular strength of about 1500, deserted their barracks on 8 February 2006, joined by 177 more on 25 February. The soldiers were ordered to return in March, but refused, and were relieved of duty. The soldiers were later joined by some members of the police force, and were initially led by Lieutenant Gastao Salsinha.
The Foreign Minister, José Ramos Horta, announced early in April that a panel would be established to hear the complaints of the former soldiers, but added that "They are not going to be brought back into the army, except on a case-by-case basis when we establish the responsibilities of each individual in this whole incident".
Violence
On 24 April, the former soldiers and their civilian supporters, mostly unemployed youths, marched through the streets of the capital Dili in protest. The initially peaceful march turned violent when the soldiers attacked a market run by people from the east of the country. The protests continued over the next several days, until on 28 April the former soldiers clashed with FDTL forces, who fired on the crowd. In the resultant violence, five people were killed, more than 100 buildings were destroyed and an estimated 21,000 Dili residents fled the city.
On 4 May, Major Alfredo Reinado, along with 20 military police from a platoon under his command and four other riot police defected and joined the rebel soldiers, taking with them two trucks full of weapons and ammunition. After joining the soldiers, Reinado made his base in the town of Aileu in the hills south-west of Dili. There he and the military police guarded the road leading into the mountains.
In the evening of 5 May, the former soldiers under Salsinha's leadership drafted a declaration calling for President Xanana Gusmão to sack the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri and abolish the FDTL within 48 hours. When Gusmão contacted Salsinha earlier that day in an attempt to prevent the issuing of the declaration, Salsinha told him that it was "too late".
The rebel soldiers remained in the hills above the capital, where they engaged in sporadic combat with FDTL forces over the next several weeks. Violent gangs also roamed the streets of Dili, burning down houses and torching cars. The civilians who fled Dili camped in tent cities nearby or in churches on the outskirts of the capital. One Catholic convent alone was providing Red Cross assistance to up to 7000 people.
On 8 May a police officer was killed as a crowd of 1000 surrounded a government complex, the office of a regional state secretary, in a town outside Dili. On 9 May, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri described the violence since 28 April as a coup, with "the aim of blocking the democratic institutions, preventing them to function in a way that the only solution would be for national parliament to be dissolved by the President… which would provoke the fall of the Government." However on 10 May Alkatiri announced that government officials had held negotiations with the rebel soldiers, in which it was agreed that the rebel soldiers would be paid a subsidy equal to their former military wage to assist their families.
The United Nations peacekeeping forces left East Timor on 20 May 2005, and the remaining administrative staff and police at the United Nations Office in Timor Leste (UNOTIL) were scheduled to leave on 20 May 2006, but on 11 May their deadline was extended at least until June. The decision came alongside Foreign Minister Horta's request to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate allegations of human rights violations by the East Timorese police forces, as alleged by Human Rights Watch and the United States Department of State. On 12 May Prime Minister of Australia John Howard announced that, although there had not been any formal requests for assistance from the Government of East Timor, Australian forces were standing by in readiness to provide assistance, with the amphibious transport ships HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora moving to northern waters in preparation.
The violence escalated late in May, as one FDTL soldier was killed and five wounded in a skirmish on 23 May. Foreign Minister Horta sent out an official request for military assistance on 24 May, to the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal. On 25 May, as the first international forces were arriving, some renegade soldiers were moving into Dili and engaging in heavy combat with FDTL and police forces, with up to 20 people believed to have been killed.
Intervention
Operation Astute is the name of the international military response to the crisis. Led by the Australian Defence Force, and commanded by Brigadier Michael Slater of the Australian 3rd Brigade, the operation involves forces from four countries.
Australia
Acting Prime Minister of Australia Peter Costello announced on 24 May that Australian forces would be deployed to East Timor, with the composition of the force and the terms of engagement to be negotiated over the next few days. Australia initially offered between 1000 and 1300 infantry, three Royal Australian Navy ships (HMAS Manoora and HMAS Kanimbla already stationed nearby, and HMAS Tobruk) along with other support capabilities.On the afternoon of 25 May, four Black Hawk helicopters and a C130 Hercules transport plane landed at Dili airport with the first wave of Australian forces. By 26 May it was expected that all Australian forces would have arrived in East Timor by 27 May, a full day earlier than expected.
The deployment to East Timor coincided with the withdrawal of about 260 of the 400 Australian soldiers deployed to the Solomon Islands. The 140 remaining would be supported by New Zealand and Fijian forces. However, Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said that the deployment to East Timor would not overextend the Defence Force, saying that "we have much more in our back pocket".
Malaysia
Malaysia has responded by deploying Malaysian troops, initially consisted of 219 army paratroopers and commandos. The soldiers are drawn from the 10th Brigade Paratroopers based in Terendak Camp, Melaka (Malaysia), and a unit of the army special force from Mersing Camp, Johor (Malaysia), headed by Col Ismeth Nayan Ismail. These form part of the group of 275 military and 200 police personnel who have been put on alert for possible deployment. Malaysia had planned to send in a total of 500 personnel earlier. By June 23, there were already 333 Malaysian personnel from both the police and military forces stationed in Dili.Two Royal Malaysian Navy vessels—KD Mahawangsa and KD Inderasakti—are ferrying the equipment of the Malaysian troops, including armoured carriers, to Dili. The two vessels arrived at Dili on June 3. The troops have been taught the basic Tetum language, the spoken language by the locals, to introduce themselves as peacekeepers.
Upon arrival, Malaysian forces secured embassies, port, power stations, oil depot and hospitals in East Timor. The diplomat enclaves' security is being given utmost priority. Earlier, East Timorese President Xanana Gusmão had requested Malaysia to guard the East Timor-Indonesia border to prevent civilians from fleeing the country. Malaysia however has refused to do so.
By mid-June, Malaysia announces plan to send 250 police officers to East Timor. The Malaysian police had previously trained the local police force four years ago. According to Radio Televisyen Malaysia further, the 250-strong police force will leave for East Timor at the end of June.
New Zealand
On 25 May, Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark requested more information as to exactly what support East Timor would require from New Zealand, before committing any forces. She said that "It's very important not to walk into what is a factional dispute in some respects and be seen to be taking sides," and "It's also important to be mindful that the Security Council is having consultations as we speak."
On 26 May New Zealand deployed 42 troops, with a second contingent of 120 troops leaving Christchurch on 27 May, en route to Townsville, Queensland before being sent to East Timor. Prime Minister Clark said that the forces would be deployed where needed by the Australian command.
Portugal
The Portuguese Foreign Minister Freitas do Amaral announced an initial deployment of 120 military police on 24 May. They will join a group of eight high officers from the Special Operations Group of the Portuguese National Police. The Portuguese Air Force has started the evacuation of the more than 600 Portuguese citizens residing in Timor.
The President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva, as well as Prime Minister José Socrates, have called for an end to the violence. In a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the European Union, the Foreign Minister further called for members of the EU to denounce the violent acts of the rebels.
United Nations and other bodies
On 25 May, UNOTIL opened a refugee camp outside Dili expected to house up to 1000 people. However, on 27 May as the violence escalated, the UN announced that they planned to withdraw the majority of their staff from the country.
The chief executive of World Vision Australia, Reverend Tim Costello, announced on 27 May that he would travel to Dili to assess the situation, in order to help displaced civilians. He also expressed concern over reports that one World Vision worker had been killed.
Continuing violence
Despite hopes that the presence of international troops would quell the unrest, violence continued throughout Dili and other parts of East Timor.
On 27 May, gangs from different parts of the country fought in the streets of Dili, destroying cars and houses and fighting with knives, machetes and slingshots leaving at least 3 East Timorese hacked to death. Dili residents continued to flee the city, with some seeking refuge at the Australian embassy and some going to the airport. A UN official expressed concerns that the regionally based conflict in the military was igniting wider regional conflict in the civilian population, saying "It's basically payback time between the different groups." A Catholic priest similarly described the street violence as "...east against west, soldiers against soldiers, police against soldiers, everyone against everyone... It's total madness."
The media were targeted for the first time when an AFP car, with two reporters and one photographer inside, also containing an AP photographer was attacked after one easterner forced his way into the vehicle and another jumped on the roof while attempting to escape a pursuing mob of westerners.">
Australian troops were attacked as they endeavoured to keep the gangs apart, while they helped civilians escape to safety through back alleys. The Australians did not return fire, instead discouraging the gangs by advancing towards them and "shouting orders and threats". The rescued civilians were then rushed to the UN compound nearby. The Major commanding the troops said that the gangs were using mobile phones to coordinate their attacks, but that the attacks would likely cease as more international troops arrived and completely secured the city.
On 29 May, Brigadier Slater met with military and civilian leaders in East Timor, and had secured the return of FDTL soldiers to their barracks. Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson also said that the East Timorese authorities should expand the rules of engagement of the international forces, to give them police powers in order to combat the gangs, saying that "It's clear there needs to be political leadership as far as the policing is concerned ... what we need is a policing strategy across Dili." Also on 29 May, Australian Prime Minister John Howard rejected criticisms that Australian troops had not secured Dili quickly enough, saying that the crisis was possibly more dangerous than the violence following independence from Indonesia in 1999, and that "We cannot have a situation around the world and particularly in our region where Australia is told to respect the independence of a country and that it's a bully boy if it seeks to express a view or to intervene, but when something goes wrong Australia is then criticised for not having, quote, intervened earlier."
Council of State meeting
Throughout 29 May and 30 May, President Xanana Gusmão held crisis talks with the Council of State, an advisory body comprised of community leaders. The Council, which has the ability to authorise the President to dismiss the National Parliament, was the first meeting between Gusmão and Prime Minister Alkatiri since the escalation of violence in the previous week. The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Horta (leading to speculation that Horta might be appointed as a temporary Prime Minister if Alkatiri were to be sacked), the Bishop of Dili, the UNOTIL representative Sukehiro Hasegawa and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's personal representative Ian Martin, who was previously the UN representative to East Timor in the leadup to the independence referendum in 1999. Gusmão emerged from the meeting in the afternoon of 29 May to urge crowds gathered outside, composed of supporters of Gusmão and Horta and opponents of Alkatiri, to put down their weapons and return home, saying "If you trust me, west and east, embrace each other in your home, be calm and help each other to stay calm".
Late on 30 May, after the Council meeting and following an emergency meeting with his cabinet, Gusmão announced that he was declaring a state of emergency to last for 30 days, during which time Gusmão, as Commander-in-Chief, would have sole command of both the military and the police forces, and would personally coordinate with the international forces, and in order to combat the gang violence both internal and international forces would have increased policing powers. There had been some speculation that the Council would advise Gusmão to dissolve the Parliament and sack Prime Minister Alkatiri, however under the emergency arrangements Alkatiri would remain in office, albeit with reduced authority. Gusmão said that he was taking personal responsibility of both the military and police in order to "prevent violence and avoid further fatalities". Gusmão said that the decision to assume control was taken in "close collaboration" with Alkatiri, despite some members of the government, including Foreign Minister Horta, attributing some of the blame for the crisis directly to Alkatiri.
On 1 June, Gusmão visited a refugee camp near the United Nations headquarters, telling people "The best thing you can do is go back to your homes", and urging them not to take security matters into their own hands. On the same day, Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato and Defence Minister Roque Rodriguez resigned, Lobato blaming the crisis on opponents to the government resorting to violence rather than political means. Foreign Minister Ramos Horta subsequently took over the Defence ministry, while Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar urged Ramos Horta to act strongly in his new capacity, in the interests of achieving political stability, while emphasising that the United Nations should be prepared to resume greater role.
Civil unrest in Dili
On the night of 31 May, gangs in the capital Dili burned down a market and several houses in arson attacks.
On 2 June, a large crowd of about 1000 people who had waited in vain for several hours for food handouts raided a government warehouse in Dili, taking computer equipment, furniture and other supplies in order to trade them for food. Australian soldiers present at the warehouse were unable to prevent the looting due to a lack of police powers, and although they summoned Portuguese police, the warehouse was practically empty. On the same day a crowd of 500 to 600 people protested outside Government House again calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Alkatiri. A group of East Timorese police who arrived to confront the demonstration were stopped and searched by Australian troops, who confiscated their only weapons, several cans of pepper spray, as part of a policy of removing all weapons from the streets.
Meanwhile, also on 2 June, the commander of the Australian forces Brigadier Slater met with rebel leader Major Reinhado, at his base in Aileu above Dili. Reinhado reiterated his calls for Prime Minister Alkatiri to resign, but Alkatiri rejected the calls, instead saying that all "irregular forces" ought to hand in their weapons. In interviews, Slater said that he did not ask Reinhado to surrender or participate in negotiations because the situation was not ready for discussions, as not all groups were ready to participate. Slater said that some of the violence seemed coordinated, and that he had been cooperating with the military, the police, the government, and Reinhado in an attempt to find those planning the violence.
On the night of 2 June and 3 June, looting and gang violence destroyed another dozen houses in Dili, and forced the temporary closure of the main road between Dili and the airport to the west of the city, where the international forces were based, although Australian and Malaysian forces quickly secured the road.
Over the next few days, violence continued to occur in the suburb of Comoro, the area to the west of the city centre around the road to the airport (also known as Comoro Airfield) where many groups from both the east and the west of the country lived nearby. On 5 June, rival gangs, with over a hundred members each, clashed in the streets armed with spears, machetes and slingshots, before being separated by Australian troops. However at the same time in the centre of Dili, the unrest had all but ended, with commercial areas re-opening and some of the damaged buildings and shops being repaired.
Protests, allegations and investigations
On 6 June, a convoy of anti-Alkatiri protestors from the west of the country drove to Dili, through the western suburb of Comoro and to the National Parliament and government buildings in the heart of the city. The convoy consisted of at least thirty trucks, along with buses and motorbikes, and were accompanied by Malaysian and Australian forces in armoured personnel carriers and an Australian Army Black Hawk helicopter. However, there was little or no violence accompanying the convoy, aside from some stones thrown as the convoy passed through Comoro, indicative of the level of support for the protest, which one reporter described as "a very impressive show of people power". In a deal brokered by Foreign Minister Horta to ensure a peaceful protest, the convoy consisting of up to 2,500 people gathered in Tibar outside the Malaysian checkpoint to the west of the airport, where they surrendered any weapons before proceeding through Dili.
The crowd chanted for the resignation of Prime Minister Alkatiri, while also expressing support for President Gusmao. Gusmao later addressed the crowd from atop a car outside his office, saying "Let me bring peace to East Timor and then we will resolve others matters." He was said to be in tears at times, and said "The priority now is to stop people burning, and guns shooting." The convoy completed a loop around the inner city, before peacefully dispersing again.
On 7 June, Alkatiri agreed to a United Nations invesigation into allegations that he was responsible for several incidents in April and May which sparked the crisis. UNOTIL representative Sukehiro Hasegawa, having met separately with Alkatiri and rebel leaders including Tarak Palasinyar and Reinhado, said that Alkatiri was "agreeable to the investigations to be carried out... He's very transparent. He insists that truth should be known, what happened." Meanwhile, Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson said that the East Timorese judicial system was beginning to deal successfully with the problem of violent street gangs, saying that "We are detaining people, we are bringing them before a magistrate, and if they are found guilty, then, they are further being detained."
On 8 June, claims emerged that former Interior Minister and Alkatiri ally Rogerio Lobato (who had resigned a week earlier), acting on Alkatiri's instructions, recruited and armed a civilian militia to "eliminate" opponents of Alkatiri. The group consisted of about thirty civilians, and were allegedly armed with "18 assault rifles, 6,000 round [sic] of ammunition, two vehicles and uniforms." The leader of the group, referred to as Commander Rai Los, said that they had instructions to kill all of the rebel soldiers, but after losing five of the group in armed combat in Dili came to "appreciate that the cost of arming civilians was bloodshed and deaths on all sides" and was prepared to surrender to President Gusmao. Alkatiri strenuously denied the claims, saying that his government had not armed any civilians. Foreign Minister Ramos-Horta also said that he found it "very hard to believe that our own Prime Minister would... arm civilians".
On 9 June, Lieutenant Gastao Salsinha, the original leader of the rebel soldiers, reiterated the claims of Commander Rai Los, saying that Lobato had distributed 200 rifles stolen from the police armoury to civilians. He also claimed that on 28 April, the same day as the clash between the military and rebel soldiers that sparked the crisis, soldiers loyal to Alkatiri had shot and killed 60 civilians, before burying them in a mass grave outside Dili.
Meanwhile the violence in Dili appeared to be subsiding, despite sporadic outbreaks, as international peacekeepers continued to secure the city.
Political effects
The crisis has had an impact on the political landscape of East Timor. On 11 May, 2006, Foreign Minister Horta suggested that Fernando Lasama, the leader of the Democratic Party, had encouraged the unrest. He also warned other parties not to exploit the violence and unrest for electoral gain, calling "on all parties to know that those who want to spread disunity, scare or threaten the people will not be chosen by the people [in the 2007 elections]."On 22 June, 2006 in a national television broadcast, President Xanana Gusmão threatened to resign from office unless Prime Minister Alkatiri did so first;BBC News (2006). [East Timor leaders in stand off]. the Fretilin met on June 25 to discuss Alkatiri's future as the Prime Minister, amidst a protest involving thousands of people calling for Alkatiri to resign instead of Gusmão.Reuters (2006). [East Timor ruling party meets to debate PM's future]. Retrieved June 25, 2006. Foreign and Interim Defence Minister José Ramos Horta resigned from his positions later that day when it was announced that Alkatiri would remain in office;Associated Press (2006). [Alkatiri to remain as PM]. Retrieved June 25, 2006. Ovidio Amaral, the Minister for Transport and Communications, also resigned. Despite receiving multiple votes of confidence from his party, Alkatiri resigned on 26 June, 2006 to end the uncertainty. In announcing this he said, "I declare I am ready to resign my position as prime minister of the government...so as to avoid the resignation of His Excellency the President of the Republic [Xanana Gusmão]."Agence France-Presse (2006). [East Timor PM quits]. Retrieved June 26, 2006. Following Mari Alkatiri's resignation Horta withdrew his resignation to contest the prime ministership, and was appointed Prime Minister on 8 July 2006 by President Gusmão. Associated Press (2006). [Ramos-Horta named E Timor's new PM]. Retrieved July 8, 2006.
References
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