Alfredo Reinado with a light anti-armour weapon, capable of bringing down a helicopter or punching a hole in an armoured personnel carrier
Posted on 02/10/2008 3:55:55 PM PST by BlackVeil
East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta has been wounded in a pre-dawn attack on his home that killed a guard, says army spokesman Major Domingos da Camara said.
It was unclear what condition Ramos-Horta - a Nobel Peace laureate - was in following Monday morning's attack, he said.
However Reuters reported he had been wounded in the stomach, quoting a military spokesman.
House guards shot back, killing attacking rebel soldier Alfredo Reinado, who was wanted on murder charges for a flare up of violence in 2006, da Camara said.
Two cars passed Ramos-Horta's house on the outskirts of the capital, Dili, at around 4am local time (6am AEDT) and began shooting, he said.
Reinado had threatened to use force against the government in November if it failed to concede to demands by a group of army deserters.
Reinado was indicted for his alleged role in several deadly shootings between the rebel army troops and police units in April and May 2006. The fighting spilled over into mayhem that left 37 people dead and drove 155,000 others from their homes.
Calm was restored by foreign troops and peaceful elections were held in which Ramos-Horta was elected president, but low-level violence had continued.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 2002 after more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation. Its new political leaders have vowed to tackle rampant poverty and restore damaged relations between the country's police and army.
Ramos-Horta shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo for their resistance to Indonesian rule.
Australian officers with the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) said Ramos-Horta's house in Dili had been cordoned off and troops had rushed to the residence.
Australian non-government organisations in Dili have recommended that their staff remain at home on Monday.
Reinado was involved in an incident last week when his rebel group fired up to eight warning shots at Australian ISF troops.
The ISF soldiers did not return fire and no casualties were reported.
Reinado, who escaped from prison last year, was a key figure in the 2006 violence that plunged the country into violence and is wanted on eight counts of murder.
Monday's attack follows growing tension in Dili linked to Reinado and his followers.
Following his confrontation last Wednesday with Australian soldiers, an explosion last Thursday rocked the military base at Camp Phoenix, in central Dili. There were no injuries.
Camp Phoenix houses elements of the ISF, which includes Australian and New Zealand defence personnel.
Security forces have previously failed to apprehend Reinado, who in January refused to attend a scheduled court hearing to face murder and other charges.
Reinado's lawyer said the rebel leader would not submit to the judicial process until the government met several demands, including that his case be heard by a military court.
The court issued an arrest warrant for Reinado following his escape from prison, but last year Ramos-Horta called off the warrant following a bungled attempt by the Australian military to arrest the rebel in Same, 50km south of Dili.
If he was at Horta's residence, it may have been by arrangement - an attempt at parley - which then exploded into a firefight.
Alfredo Reinado with a light anti-armour weapon, capable of bringing down a helicopter or punching a hole in an armoured personnel carrier
BBC coverage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7238142.stm
I don’t know about the situation enough in this case to venture an opinion.
This poor little Catholic has suffered so much in the last three decades. I can’t say I’m sorry to see Reinado is dead. I do hope Horta recovers.
I don’t quite get your drift on the religious angle. The Christians on this island (Catholic or otherwise) have been in a running guerilla war with the Islamofascists since the 70’s. Dirty wars are well, dirty. But then again, I’ve never heard of a clean war.
The world's largest muslim country is capable of 'brutal occupation'? How can that be? Isn't islam a religion of peace???
East Timor is a Catholic country that suffered under the heel of Islamic Indonesia for two decades.
I don’t understand what you’re having trouble understanding.
John Drake is probably having trouble understanding the fact that Horta led the opposition to the Indonesian occupation for years, but seemed quite safe, and is now in a coma, having been shot by his fellow East Timorese.
I am quite uneasy about the situation in East Timor - esp a story I read today that we are sending MORE Australian troops, and the Australian troops are going to "round up" the rebels. Isn't that a job for the East Timor govt?
The following comments are from an Australian newsite. If genuine, they make up a bad picture.
Im an Aussie soldier in East Timor right now - And in case people dont know, this country will never stand on its own, it is 100% dependant on the UN's and the aussie military's cashflow, it has no economy, two currencies, 3 official languages, no higher education, about a million different tribal groups, and a government run by essentially un-educated and un-qualified people. I was here on day one in 1999, and Im here again in 2008, and nothing has changed. Nothing. Get used to it everyone, we are here forever. Posted by: GI 11:16am today
No body knows Alfreido's died. No prove lay on the ground; Alfreido Reinado is not defeated yet; As promulgated that he is died and then we would believe otherwise? As the crisis and problem occured being solve people would admitted. Timorese People were supporting things he did in the past. As in the framework; Crisis arose not because of Reinado but he was about in the middle. He is outfit and terrified by Government and people who think they are against; He is a good man seeking for the Justice of the soul of the political's victims. We all do we all support him. Posted by: Januario Bras of East Timor 11:02am today
Thanks for the update. Flag also to my post above.
Also, the original posting contained an important omission with (see word in parentheses) which may confuse some readers. I don’t say this to be critical because I have found I need to take care with proofreading my own posts because of omissions, spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
“This poor little Catholic (country) has suffered so much in the last three decades.”
I know also, there have been evangelical outreaches to East Timor by different faiths.
Thanks for this post. It is informative.
A former Portuguese colony and I understand where people come off saying, “A Catholic country” but what about when, say in discussing Brazil and a high HIV or crime rate. Then it isn’t automatically labelled “a Catholic country.”
Indonesia may indeed be a Moslem country; but they just had a Punk rock concert with a crushing that killed 10 people so I’m not sure exactly what kind of a society it is. Additionally, I guess Bally’s is there, gambling resort and of course, terror bombed a few years ago.
Brazil isn't so labelled because most people know quite a lot about Brazil. It's a separate province on the RISK board after all :0) Whereas many of us have to think hard before we can place East Timor on a map.
Also: for the longest time the central dynamic in East Timor has been religious and political freedom from Indonesia. This has had a strong Catholic vs Islamic cultural undercurrent to it.
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