Tense moment for troops in Timor

By Greg Ansley

With our troops

DILI - Peacemakers in East Timor have moved dangerously close to confrontation with the revolutionary Falintil army that fought Indonesian annexation for 24 years.

Senior Interfet officers were last night expected to meet Falintil leaders to cool a situation that on Sunday threatened bloodshed when an Australian platoon commander tried to disarm a group of about 30 guerrillas.

Under the UN mandate Falintil is permitted to carry weapons within its cantonment areas, but must leave them behind when in areas subject to Interfet control.

For its part, Interfet is required to exercise neutrality in its approach to both Falintil and the militias, allowing only soldiers of the Indonesian Army (TNI) to bear arms.

Although small numbers of Falintil have been disarmed and detained briefly under this policy, Sunday's confrontation with Interfet soldiers patrolling east of Dili was the first real test of the guerrillas' willingness to lay down their arms.

Conflict with the Falintil, which has several thousand well-led, well-equipped and competent fighters in the hills, would throw the peacemaking operation in East Timor into chaos and risk alienation of the Timorese population.

The Falintil is the military wing of the National Commission for Timorese Resistance (CNRT), which will form the basis of the Government of an independent East Timor, and has strong support for the protection it has offered against the TNI and the militias.

Many Timorese living in the hills still consider an armed Falintil presence essential for their safety from remnants of the militias still moving through the largely secured east of the former Indonesian province.

The latest confrontation came when an Australian platoon met about 30 Falintil fighters and attempted to take their weapons under the policy of universal disarmament.

"You will understand that hitherto Falintil have had reasonably good discipline, certainly a lot of patience, and have not presented themselves in armed groups in our presence," Interfet commander Major-General Peter Cosgrove said yesterday.

"[On Sunday] there was a joyous first moment or two when the platoon encountered the Falintil group.

"But when the platoon commander required their arms it became very tense indeed.

"The young man [platoon commander] made a very difficult call, a difficult call, and I have to back him up.

"There could have been bloodshed at that time.

"After consultations and detailed negotiations in establishing the principle that they must not bear arms, he allowed them to withdraw."

General Cosgrove said that urgent talks with Falintil leaders would emphasise the need to obey the mandate to avoid "potential grave incidents such as were in train on Sunday."

In other developments, General Cosgrove revealed he had asked Indonesia to send four TNI officers to Dili to help with inquiries into the murder of a Dutch journalist shortly after Interfet landed, and into another attack on two British journalists in which one East Timorese was badly beaten and another abducted. So far Jakarta has not responded.

Meanwhile, the first planeload of 100 displaced East Timorese will arrive in Dili tomorrow from Kupang in West Timor as the start of what aid workers hope will be an accelerating return of more than 250,000 refugees who fled west to escape the militia terror.