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Australia vows to support East Timor
Australia vowed to support its neighbour East Timor on Friday after suspected rebel gunmen attacked the country's president and prime minister, undermining stability in the young nation.
- AP
- Published: 00:32 February 16, 2008
Dili, East Timor: Australia vowed to support its neighbour East Timor on Friday after suspected rebel gunmen attacked the country's president and prime minister, undermining stability in the young nation.
Meanwhile Attorney General Longuinhos Monteiro said he had issued arrest warrants for 12 suspects in the attacks, which left Nobel Peace Prize-winning President Jose Ramos-Horta critically wounded.
Suspected rebels shot Ramos-Horta outside his home on Monday. His guards killed wanted militant leader Alfredo Reinado during the attack. An hour later, gunmen opened fire on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, but he escaped unhurt.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the attacks were a "deep assault" on East Timor's democracy. Rudd made the remarks to reporters during a brief visit to the country to meet its leaders.
Australia, which lies a short flight south of East Timor, is the single largest contributor of foreign forces in the country, with more than 1,000 army and police on the ground.
Difficult
"Australia stands as a friend of Timor Leste in good times and difficult times, and right now is a difficult time," said Rudd, referring to the country by its local name.
The government ordered a state of emergency in the wake of the attacks, which underscored the problems facing East Timor six years after it formally proclaimed independence from decades of brutal Indonesian rule.
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