Gusmao Makes Emotional Appeal for Unity; Women Protest for Peace

Subject: Gusmao Makes Emotional Appeal for Unity; Women Protest for Peace

- Gusmao makes appeal for ETimor unity

- The Australian in Dili: Unloved East Timor PM struggles

Agence France-Presse June 1, 2006

Gusmao makes appeal for ETimor unity

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao has made an emotional appeal for rivals from the country's east and west to forgive each other, pleading for unity to end weeks of violence.

"Let us unite for one larger interest that is of common concern to us all -- that is the stability in East Timor, especially in Dili, so as to reduce the suffering of the people," he said at police headquarters.

Pacing back and forth in front of dozens of members of the national police force (PNTL), Gusmao urged them to "forget the words Loromonu and Lorosae", referring to the eastern and western parts of the country.

"Let us forget what has happened, the violence that has taken place. It is our duty to forgive each other and rebuild this nation that we all love, from the ashes," he said. "These moments are the most critical ones for us all."

Some female policemen in the front row had tears running down their cheeks listening to Gusmao, who is a national hero for leading the guerrilla campaign that fought for East Timor's independence from Indonesia.

The unrest began last month when about 600 soldiers, or around 40 percent of the armed forces, were sacked after protesting over alleged discrimination against soldiers from the west of the country.

Sporadic attacks between the two sides descended into all-out street violence as rival gangs from the tiny nation's east and west battled each other with machetes, slingshots and bows and arrows.

The days of unrest have left at least 20 people dead, and dozens of houses and businesses were torched.

Tens of thousands of Dili residents have either fled the capital or sought shelter at church compounds.

Scores of armed police and Australian soldiers, who were called in to quell the unrest, formed a heavy security cordon in and around police headquarters as Gusmao spoke in an open courtyard under the searing sun.

"I know that some of you who are standing in front of me come from Lorosae, and others from Loromonu," he said. "But I am proud because you remain united and remain loyal in serving this state and nation."

After addressing the policemen, Gusmao greeted a group of subdistrict officials and youth leaders who were also present, shaking hands and embracing some of them.

"It is now time not to carry (weapons) and to hand them over to the international troops and police who are now assisting us in restoring law and order," Gusmao told them.

The president later left for the nearby UN mission, where he was to hold talks with visiting UN special envoy Ian Martin.

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Sydney Morning Herald June 1, 2006

Timor women protest for peace

photos: Two faces of Timor ... a masked gang member attacks a man with a machete, while hungry children laugh as they try to load a sack of rice onto a bicycle. Reuters and AFP

After a new round of looting and gang clashes, Timor's women and president take to the streets to make passionate pleas for peace.

Looters forced their way into an unguarded rice store in the centre of Dili today while Australian troops elsewhere in the capital broke up a gang fight with tear gas.

But about 30 women staged a demonstration near the government's main offices to call for peace.

Their appeal comes as more Dili homes lie empty, with more than 100,000 people either fleeing the city or living in camps, says Kym Smithies, a spokeswoman for about 30 private aid groups.

'Let us unite for one larger interest': Gusmao

President Xanana Gusmao took to the streets of Dili today to win back the loyalty of the country's security forces and to help calm the violence-wracked capital.

His first stop was the national police headquarters where he made an impassioned plea to a contingent of about 60 officers.

"Let us unite for one larger interest that is of common concern to us all, that is the stability in East Timor, especially in Dili, so as to reduce the suffering of the people," he said.

He told the officers to "forget the words Loromonu and Lorosae", referring to the western and eastern parts of the country.

"Let us forget what has happened, the violence that has taken place. It is our duty to forgive each other and rebuild this nation that we all love, from the ashes," he said. "These are the most critical ones for us all."

Police officers weep at president's words

Some female police officers in the front row had tears running down their cheeks listening to Gusmao, who is a national hero for leading a guerrilla war for independence against Indonesia.

Earlier, a squad of soldiers arrived to put down chaotic scenes at the country's main rice reserve warehouse, where commandos have been handing out 50kg sacks of rice to tens of thousands of local people in recent days.

However, no Australians were on guard when a crowd gathered there this morning.

Looters raid food store

A mob of looters surged inside after some smashed the locks off the warehouse's steel doors just after 7am (9am AEST).

As a way of getting Australian troops to intervene, some onlookers phoned in false reports that two looters had been killed in the crush.

"We have to say that so the soldiers will come," said Ilda Mendez, 24.

Two four-wheel drive vehicles loaded with soldiers arrived along with an ambulance.

Hundreds of locals then scattered with sacks of rice on their shoulders or in carts.

Others pounded on the steel doors, shouting "Malae, malae" (foreigners, foreigners), as a warning to the hundreds still inside the warehouse.

Forcing their way into the chaotic crush, the soldiers booted out more than 300 people as thousands more watched from outside, held back by a small circle of troops.

Soldiers force out looters

"Get the f--k out of here! Get your arse out," the soldiers screamed, grabbing locals by shirt collars and forcing them to drop stolen sacks.

Three more utes arrived soon after with reinforcements.

Inside, abandoned bags of rice were scattered everywhere, many of them split and leaking their precious contents onto the concrete floor.

"We've just come into enforce security and to stop the looting," Corporal Brad Kay said. "I don't know why there was no-one here earlier."

Mendez said two men had forced the locks off the doors.

"We told them the rice has to be distributed by the Australians, because we cannot do it. But they didn't want to listen," she said.

Tear gas breaks up gangs

Meanwhile, other Australian troops used tear gas today to break up warring gangs near the Comoro markets on Dili's western outskirts.

The two gangs, from rival eastern and western Timorese clans, were attacking one another with machetes and arrows.

Australian forces arrived at the scene this morning and threw tear gas canisters at the fighting mob.

The Comoro area has been a flashpoint over recent days with the same gangs clashing several times on a main road that leads to Dili airport.

It was the second time in several days that tear gas has been used by Australian-led international forces.

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The Australian June 1, 2006

Unloved East Timor PM struggles

By Neil Sands in Dili

IF there is one constant among the uncertain politics of violence-wracked East Timor, it is the apparently universal dislike of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Overshadowed by the folk-hero status of charismatic President Xanana Gusmao, Mr Alkatiri has been blamed by East Timorese for the violence that has rocked the country's capital Dili and left at least 20 people dead.

Mr Alkatiri, 56, has refused to bow to demands for his resignation from leaders of a military uprising which last month led to renewed upheavals in Asia's poorest nation.

He also rejected calls demanding his removal from protesters outside crisis meetings at the presidential palace in Dili this week chanting "Alkatiri is a terrorist, we will kill him".

"If my party decided to call for a rally we would get up to 100,000 or more people in the streets," he told the ABC in an interview this week after disputing his rival Mr Gusmao's claim to have taken sole control of the country's military.

The reasons for Mr Alkatiri's unpopularity are complex, beginning with his Muslim religion in a deeply Catholic nation and Yemeni origins in a country where local ties and former colonial power Portugal remain key influences.

East Timorese also contrast his exile in the relative comfort of Mozambique during the country's independence struggle against Indonesia to Mr Gusmao's guerilla campaign against, and arrest by, the occupying force.

Even today when Mr Alkatiri appears on television in Dili, mutters of "Mozambique" can be heard from the locals.

Mr Alkatiri has no power base in either the eastern or western provinces, whose divisions have been behind recent strife in the tiny nation.

Rather, he is seen as a career politician who has risen through the ranks of the ruling Fretilin party by assiduously courting factional allies.

His reserved personality has also not endeared him to his people, leading to suggestions he is aloof and more concerned about his own interests than those of the nation.

"He's very arrogant. He seems like he does not care about the problems of the people," Dili woman Umvelina said when asked about popular perceptions of the prime minister.

Mr Alkatiri's image problem was intensified when he sacked almost 600 soldiers earlier this year when they complained about alleged discrimination against troops from the west of the country by commanders from the east.

"There's a perception the government knew about the problems and could have taken action to stop them much earlier," Father Guillermo "Lalo" Lebron told AFP.

Father Lebron said the government's inaction had fuelled feelings it was incapable of decisive action.

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Xanana urges East Timorese to forgive

DILI, June 1 (AP): East Timor's president urged security forces who have waged pitched gunbattles in the capital to forgive and forget Thursday, saying they needed to work together to "build the nation from ashes once again."

President Xanana Gusmao, who assumed control of the military and police this week, said they needed to work together with foreign troops, who have struggled to stop machete-wielding youths who have terrorized Dili, sending more than 100,000 residents fleeing.

"I am proud of you because in difficult times like these you are still ready to wear your uniforms to serve this lovely nation," he told 150 police officers who gathered in front of their headquarters, some teary eyed.

"Forgive each other, forget the past, let us build the nation from ashes once again," Xanana said, his voice quavering at times.

The violence is the worst in East Timor since its bloody break from Indonesia in 1999, which paved the way for full independence in 2002 after years of U.N. administration. It remains one of the world's poorest countries and is dependent on foreign aid.

The fighting was triggered by the dismissal in March of 600 soldiers from the 1,400-member army. Sporadic clashes last week between the disgruntled soldiers and government troops spiraled into open street violence in Dili, and at least 27 people have died.

Much of the antagonism on the streets is between East Timorese from the "east" - perceived to be pro-independence - and those from the "west," believed to be sympathetic to Indonesia.

"There is no east side, no west side, we are all Timorese," Xanana said, speaking 200 meters from the scene of a shooting last week that killed 10 police and wounded two dozen others.

The officers were fired on by soldiers after giving up their weapons as part of a cease-fire negotiated by U.N. police and military advisers.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Timorese to stand firm against efforts to divide the country, saying they should not allow anyone to deprive them of "your hard-won freedom."

International forces have been deployed in Dili, but have struggled to restore order.

Australia, which has 1,300 front-line troops in East Timor and several hundred military personnel supporting them, suggested that a semi-permanent contingent may be needed to help the country restore order.

New Zealand's contingent of almost 200 troops began arriving in force Wednesday, deploying from military cargo planes carrying packs and rifles.

More than 330 Malaysian troops are in place, and some 120 Portuguese paramilitaries are due by week's end.

----------------- Joyo Indonesia News Service

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