Spear-thrower brings home risks to Kiwis

By ALISON HORWOOD

Our top soldier in East Timor yesterday described how suspected militiamen threw a spear at New Zealand forces patrolling near the border with West Timor.

Brigadier Martyn Dunne said although no one was injured, it was a reminder that the risk to the 1000-strong defence force was minimal, but real.

Brigadier Dunne, commander of New Zealand's forces in Dili, is home for several days to see his daughter graduate from boarding school.

On Monday he paid his respects to soldier Tony Walser at a service at Linton Army Camp, near Palmerston North. The sergeant-major -- the first New Zealand soldier to perish on duty since the Vietnam war - died last week when his truck rolled in East Timor.

"Just before his death, we had been saying how lucky we were that we had not suffered a tragedy. Sadly, it had to be a New Zealander," he said.

Brigadier Dunne said morale among the New Zealand troops was generally high, although their peacekeeping duties had been challenging. Several had been treated for malaria and dengue fever.

Two weeks ago a New Zealand patrol fired a warning shot after a spear was thrown at them.

Brigadier Dunne said a key role for the troops had been maintaining a presence on the streets of Dili, which were now generally safe.

They patrolled the border and helped with the repatriation of displaced people.

It is estimated that 112,000 refugees have crossed the border from West Timor, leaving a further 100,000 East Timorese unaccounted for.

A lasting memory for Brigadier Dunne will be people "slowly, day by day, dribbling out of the hills and into the streets."

Since February about 200 bodies of East Timorese people had been recovered. It was hard to pick the true death toll, but it was between several hundred and 1000, he said.

"There have obviously been some pretty disgusting things done, people have been killed and tortured and I would hope that people are brought to justice."

There had been several arrests and lawyers with the Interfet peacemaking headquarters were investigating war crimes.