Repúblika Banana

Reinado and Australian soldiers: too close for comfort.

The theses that Australian soldiers in Timor-Leste are protecting the disgraced former army official who deserted last year seems far fetched to some people. Reinado has time and again while under Australian soldiers' custody. Today Australian guns have turned against Alfredo Reinado. No doubt that Reinado’s use by date has expired and Australia is keen to get rid of him.

Alfredo Alves Reinado, a former army major in Timor-Leste’s defense force, the F-FDTL, and commander of that country’s small military police deserted a week after a rumored massacre supposed to have taken place in Tasi Tolu in April 2006. Reinado’s excuse was that the government of Mari Alkatiri ordered the F-FDTL to take care of the situation, an order Reinado understood as meaning “to eliminate” the petitioners physically. Incredible as it may seem, Reinado was in fact present at the site of this supposed massacre behind the F-FDTL lines as the operations took place. A few days later Reinado, heavily armed, along with some of his subordinates left the command and went to Aileu. They also took with them truck loads of military hardware.

While in Aileu Reinado made various contradictory and constantly shifting declarations. Initially he said he left Dili to provide “security” to the “frightened” population outside of Dili (against F-FDTL). He said he did not desert the army but was only carrying out his duty as a military officer and he continued to submit to military commands. As days went, his rhetoric also changed culminating tn the accusation that the government of Mari Alkatiri was corrupt and dictatorial and responsible for an order to massacre of the petitioners and their supporters in Tasi Tolu. Rainado maintained that the order was unconstitutional and Mari Alkatiri should resign and face charges. Now Reinado wants to “protect” his western brothers against the easterner dominated army. His accusation that that the government of Timor-Leste was trying to turn this country into a communist state modelled on Cuba and China also intensified.

However anyone who followed Reinado’s statements agree that he had no clear objective except a desperate attempt to force the government from office and transfer all the power to the president, Xanana Gusmão. The minor opposition parties like PD and PSD quickly jumped into Reinado's bandwagon calling for the same. Fernando de Araujo Lasama even led a group of demonstrators to confiscate the keys to the parliament building and handed them to President Xanana. They asked President Xanana to dissolve the parliament and the government. Later on PD and other minor parties also walked out of the parliament to insist on the parliament's dissolution. Ironically PD, PSD, ASDT and the other minor parties returned to take their seats in the parliament after declaring previously that they no longer recognized that parliament.

But Reinado's outrageous demands betrayed the real motives behind his actions. He wanted to remove the democratically elected government and parliament. All powers are to be in the exclusive hands of the president. He also had his personal ambitions, that of taking charge of the Timor-Leste army. In order to do this he tried to attract the sympathy from the westerners, in particular the disaffected youths.

He began with his claim that he was in Aileu to provide protection to the population of that town. This claim was flatly rejected by some of the local leaders including the Aileu DA. As he realized that the people of Aileu were not on his side, he probed for other possibilities and moved to claim that he was protecting his fellow westerners against the easterners who dominated the East Timorese army. He knew that the petitioners’ (the army mutineers) issue had gained some sort of sympathy among youths in the western districts namely Ermera and Liquiça. Many of these youth were activists working for the opposition parties, namely the Partido Demokratico or PD. Others belonged to a shadowy organization called Colimau 2000.

Some former pro-Indonesia militia leaders and their followers also responded to Reinado’s call enthusiastically. Furthermore, in order to attract followers from the Catholic church, Reinado also accused the government of Mari Alkatiri as communist. In 2005, The Catholic church had launched a propaganda campaign against Fretilin accusing Fretilin’s leadership of trying to turn Timor-Leste into a communist state where all priests and nuns would be physically eliminated.

Reinado’s statements stroke accord with the petitioners and their supporters. His rhetoric intensified and continued to accuse the Fretilin government of Mari Alkatiri as corrupt and dictatorial which acted unconstitutionally. In Australia, a number of academics who had long history of defending Indonesia’s annexation of Timor-Leste became Reinado’s cheerleaders by echoing Reinado’s rhetoric. Reinado accused the government of having a close alliance with the F-FDTL which is dominated by the easterners, and ordered it to eliminate Fretilin opponents including the petitioners and their supporters. The opposition parties were only too happy to see Reinado making these inflammatory and potentially destabilizing activities and saw in it an opportunity to gain political grounds. People like Leandro Isaac, a crook who worked closely with the Indonesian establishment before switching sides after the fall of Suharto, and activists from the opposition parties such as PD and PSD jumped into the bandwagon. In fact when Alfredo and his men attacked the home of the F-FDTL commander, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, Leandro Isaac took an active participation. Today Isaac is Reinado’s official cheerleader. Others like Fernando de Araujo, president of PD, joined forces with former militia bosses like Rui Lopes and Nemencio de Carvalho, and moved to Suai where they rallied former militia members to descend on Dili and sack this town. The Catholic church was too happy to accommodate Reinado providing him with moral support and later on, a hideout.

A Politically Motivated Rumor To Destabilize The State

Reinado was present in Tasi Tolu on the 28th of April behind the F-FDTL lines and took part in the operation. If there was a massacre that resulted in the death of a staggering hundred, where dead bodies would literally lie scattered on the ground with blood splattered everywhere, it should be of little doubt that this would be the first thing to come out of Reinado’s mouth. Anyone with some sense of humanity and justice, as Reinado claims himself to be, would understandably be very much disgusted. Ironically the first reason Reinado used to justify his desertion was that of a security arrangement to protect the people in Aileu. Obviously there was no massacre and the F-FDTL acted within reason. There was no reason for Alfredo to use a massacre to justify his actions.

But as rumors of the massacre spread throughout Dili and abroad (Australia) like a wildfire, so too did Reinado change his rhetoric. Reinado was actually picking up the peaces along the way to justify and persuade the people about his actions. Evidently Reinado’s actions had nothing to do with F-FDTL’s actions or the government’s orders. It was part of a sinister plan to topple a democratically elected government. Yet his justifications and accusations were discredited again and again by various independent adjudicators.

While in Aileu Reinado made various threats against the government in the hope that they would destabilize the country and the government is toppled peacefully. As his constant threats failed to even cause an alarm in the government, and as the Fretilin congress in May renewed its confidence in Mari alkatiri, Reinado finally launched his attacks against the F-FDTL. Days earlier he had moved from Aileu to the eastern outskirts of Dili. He claimed that some people in Aileu were watching his moves and those of his men and he felt threatened and unsafe. There were some element of truth to this claim. It is one of the main reasons that compelled him to move constantly from location to location as the local population everywhere he went showed little sympathy towards him and his followers. Prior to launching this attack, Reinado also warned the people of Dili to evacuate as the situations was set to worsen and an armed conflict was imminent.

After the conclusion of Fretilin’s congress in May, Alfredo’s supporters attacked a group of F-FDTL soldiers on the way to Dili to withdraw their salary. The attack killed one F-FDTL soldier and unfortunately for Reinado, that soldier was a veteran Falintil combatant from Bobonaro region, a westerner. (A group of youth from Bobonaro immediately formed a team to go on their own and hunt Alfredo and his men down.) This attack also prompted the F-FDTL to react, setting up an observation post in the hills of Fatu Ahi where the main road out of Dili to the eastern districts is located. When a group of F-FDTL soldiers went out on a foot patrol, Reinado and his men attacked. Reinado himself was filmed on Australia’s SBS shooting at the soldiers while boasting that he “got one”. Later on an independent investigation recommended that he be charged for this homicide. An exchange between the F-FDTL and Reinado and his men followed with the later taking on a number of casualties. Reinado retreated. But in Dili the situation began to deteriorate as the F-FDTL moved in and began to set themselves up behind Dili overlooking the hills. The locals in Dili, specially the westerners became agitated and feared that the F-FDTL would target them, perhaps as a reprisal for the attacks against the easterners previously in Tasi Tolu. The rumor that the F-FDTL were capable of killing people indiscriminately as they have shown in Tasi Tolu in April also didn’t help calm the situation.

Soon after a group led by Rai Los and his men with the help of the Liquiça police attacked the F-FDTL headquarters in Tasi Tolu resulting in a number of casualties on both sides. The police force in Dili became divided along ethnic lines. Some members of the police attacked the home of Brigadier General Ruak where his wife and his infant children had been present. The home was being guarded by a number of F-FDTL soldiers. Leandro Isaac’s home, just meters from General Ruak’s, became the base for this attack while he helped to coordinate the operation. It is not known why they decided to attack that house knowing that General Ruak was not there. General Ruak’s wife was herself a westerner from Same.

As it turned out the F-FDTL with the blessing of the government decided to arm a number of former Falintil combatants to reinforce the armed forces and defend the state against a perceived coup attempt. There were plans to ambush Alfredo Reinado and his men by moving in to Aileu from the direction of Same, Ainaro, Dili and Manatuto with the help of former Falintil guerrillas. The situation was tense and was threatening to plunge the country into an all out civil war. The outcome of this conflict is certain to be catastrophic. Nonetheless it could almost be certain that Alfredo Reinado and his men would also be eliminated totally. But it was a situation that no one had the guts to answer for so the outside help was summoned and Australia quickly deployed its troops.

Alfredo Reinado and his men finally moved to Maubisse’s Pousada, a former colonial inn tucked away amid a mountainous region. The Pousada is situated on top of a hill overlooking the town and is surrounded mountains. This inn had recently been renovated by Portuguese investors and became a favorite getaway for Timor-Leste expatriate community. In Timor-Leste standards, it was a five star accommodation in the middle of nowhere. It was revealed later on that President Xanana had been paying the bill for Reinado’s stay at that hotel.

Did Reinado choose this spot for its comfortable and luxurious accommodation? Perhaps. But the more plausible explanation is that he chose this spot for its strategic location, not only to protect himself from a possible attack by the F-FDTL but also from the suspicious population that surrounded him. The compound is situated on top of a steep hill with a clear view of everything below it. The F-FDTL’s armory contained no artillery capable of firing missiles that high and that far. Anyone attacking Reinado and his men with light armor from below would have had a severe disadvantage. In contrast, his base in Aileu was located in the centre of the town. The town itself is surrounded by hills making it vulnerable to attacks not to mention a hostile population which only cooperated with him reluctantly.

When the Australian soldiers landed a number of SAS (Australia’s special forces) personnel were sent to guard him and for the first time he felt secure enough to move around Maubisse. The SAS soldiers, professionally trained and heavily armed, escorted him everywhere he went. He received many visitors, chief among them were the leaders of the opposition parties like PD, PSD, ASDT, KOTA and the unrepresented Trabalhista Party. A number of priests also visited him regularly.

In the ensuing days following the resignation of Mari Alkatiri which paved the way for the foreign minister José Ramos-Horta to be the prime minister, a law was passed making it a criminal offence for any non-military personnel to carry a weapon. Anyone found in possession of war material would be arrested immediately. Negotiations for weapons surrender followed and the handover ceremonies were staged. Rai Los and his men symbolically handed over their weapons in the town of Liquiça while openly exposing his handgun under his belt which he kept. That ceremony proceeded with the blessing of the Bishop of Dili, Mgr. Ricardo da Silva. In Maubisse Reinado and his men also “handed over” their weapons under the supervision of the Australian soldiers. In actual fact, the number of weapons handed were merely symbolic. Witnesses in Maubisse pointed out that the day after the supposed handover, Alfredo continued to sport a shotgun and a Steyr and the Australian soldiers didn’t seem to mind. Some of his men also carried riffles. In fact Reinado’s relationship with the Australian soldiers appeared to be very friendly while ignoring the presence of the supposedly illegal guns in his hands and those of his men.

But Reinado’s own vanity got the worst of him. Unhappy with his stay in the isolated town of Maubisse he decided to move to Dili where he could sip a latte at Dili’s City Café or participate in the nightlife at Acait, where Joe Gonçalves, a parliamentarian representing the PSD party runs a nightclub. He was spotted at these places regularly.

His move to Dili was facilitated by President Gusmão who ordered Reinado to occupy a house just a stone throw away from Australian army compound at Dili’s heliport. The only problem was that the house had an owner and it was being rented out to a Portuguese national who was away in Portugal. The tenant’s friend noticed that Alfredo and his men had occupied his friend’s house and confronted the illegal occupiers. When this failed, he called on the Portuguese GNR whom upon arrival at the house discovered an arsenal at Reinado’s disposal. The GNR moved on to arrest Reinado but this action was made difficult after the President and the Australians army officers intervened. After much negotiations, Reinado agreed to be arrested but not by the GNR. He wanted the Australian soldiers to arrest him and arrest him they did.

In Australia, the media credited the Australian soldiers for discovering the weapons stash and Reinado’s arrest. In reality, the actions of Australian soldiers were embarrassing and alarming to say the least. How is it that Alfredo Reinado and his men were able to keep this much stash right under their nose? What is the Australian army’s real job in Timor-Leste? Or was the Australian army protecting Reinado? Was there any special arrangement made between the Australian army and the renegade soldier? Is the Australian army acting independently in Timor-Leste and is performing its duty as peacekeeper? Or are they serving a different agenda? Nevertheless Reinado an a number of his men were thrown into the Becora prison.

About a month later, many people in Australia were anticipating an important documentary to be televised by SBS’ Dateline program. The documentary was produced by David O’Shea and John Martinkus. John Martinkus has had an extensive reporting experience in Timor-Leste as well as other conflict zones like Afghanistan and Iraq. O’Shea and Martinkus’ latest documentary was set to rewrite the chronology of how the events unfolded. Many people were nervous, including a lot of politicians in Timor-Leste. However before the documentary went to air in the evening, Alfredo Reinado, his men, plus up to 50 other inmates literally walked out of the prison. Of the fifty who walked with Reinado included convicted pro-Indonesia militia members who committed serious crimes in the period surrounding the referendum of 1999. The prison itself had been guarded by New Zealand soldiers whom mysteriously retreated from their posts two days earlier.

It is well known that the prison of Dili is nowhere near a high security prison and any prisoner can escape from it as easy as just walking out of the gate. The reason that no prisoners escaped so far is because the conditions and facilities inside the prison is far better than what any ordinary Timorese could afford outside. The prisoners don’t suffer from any physical or psychological abuse. On top of this, they also get regular meals, exercise and rest. The office of human rights and other NGOs constantly visit them to provide counseling and prevent any inmates from being abused. It is an admittable fact that Alfredo Reinado could have walked out anytime he wanted had the New Zealand soldiers not guarded the prison. Such action would cause major embarrassment o the New Zealanders, a close ally of Australia.

After Reinado and a group of men walked out of the prison, accusations were thrown at each other between the East Timorese leaders and the peacekeepers. The Prime Minister, Ramos-Horta, blamed the New Zealanders for leaving their posts without adequate warning. The New Zealanders blamed the ministry of justice for not having adequate guards to guard the prison. But questions continue to hang in the air. Why did the New Zealanders leave their posts? Was it a coincidence that Reinado chose to escape from prison just before the documentary went to air? Even Rai Los also disappeared from Dili the same time as Reinado.

Though the Australian army and the Timorese government under Ramos-Horta played dumb as to Reinado’s whereabouts, many people in the community knew his exact movements. The F-FDTL through their extensive network of informants within the grassroots community was constantly updated of his movements. Reinado walked out of the Becora prison and stopped briefly in Kulau, a village located at the extreme southeast corner of Dili, for a party where he was entertained for hours. Then he moved on to Remexio where the local priest gave him and the other escapees, including the convicted ex-militia members, a place to hide, food and some resting place. But some witnesses said that he became suspicious of the local priest and behaved irrationally, threatening to kill some members of the local community should his whereabouts were revealed. Feeling insecure in Remexio, Reinado decided to move on and this time he went to Same where his mistress, with whom he had an affair while doing his military course in Canberra the previous year, lived. Reinado has a child with this woman.

His stay in Same was as brief as news of his presence quickly spread. He also learnt that many in the local population were suspicious of him and some were openly hostile. It was apparent that everywhere Reinado went, he wasn’t being received with much sympathy. Some people immediately scorned him at the sight of him being escorted by the pro-Indonesian militia escapees. His final destination was Suai where Rui Lopes run a virtual feudal fiefdom. Rui Lopes used to head the local pro-Indonesia miltia responsible for one of the worst massacres in the referendum period. Rui Lopes continues to maintain close contacts with the Indonesian special forces, KOPASSUS, responsible for setting up the most violent pro-Indonesia militia groups in Timor-Leste. He also runs extensive illegal smuggling network across the border with the help of his former pro-Indonesia militia colleagues in West Timor. In Suai, Reinado finally found adequate protection for himself. He even became a speaker in a conference sponsored by Catholic church to mull the issue of “democracy, justice and reconciliation”. This conference was held in November of 2006.

A number of Australian army officers were also present at that conference. They were photographed with Reinado having a casual conversation. This is amid pledges by the Australian army that Reinado would be captured. In the end the Australian army’s excuse was that they did not want to cause any unnecessary violence. They wanted to “convince” Reinado to surrender peacefully.

But other photographs revealed a heavily armed Reinado. In one of them Reinado appeared with a light antitank weapons system (LAW system), a rocket launcher. This is after a weapons amnesty issued by Ramos-Horta’s government last year; after a handover ceremony supervised by the Australian soldiers; after being arrested with possession of illegal weapons under Australian soldiers’ noses; and after escaping from jail. It seemed that each time Reinado appeared with stolen guns and illegal weapons, the Australian soldiers were always nearby, yet no attempt was ever made to confiscate the weapons and arrest him. Coincidence? No. Some of Reinado’s followers in Suai openly boast of the good relationship this rebel has with the Australian soldiers. It is not a mystery in Suai as to the origin of the LAW system in Alfredo’s possession. The rocket launcher was a “present” from the Australian soldiers. Apparently Reinado made a special request to the Australian soldiers whom he also invited to attend the conference. Some more astute followers who quickly realized the potential embarrassment and other consequences that this type of revelation could bring, immediately rebuffed this and explained that the rocket was lent to Reinado briefly for a photo opportunity, and then returned. Evidently Reinado did not just want fancy photo of him holding a rocket launcher. He wanted to warn the F-FDTL, the East Timorese government and anyone else who might be after him what they will come up against. The only problem is, Reinado seemed to have forgotten that many soldiers in the F-FDTL had been veterans in the two-decade long guerrilla war against the all powerful Indonesian army, which had far superior weapons system compared to the rocket launcher in Reinado’s hands.

It is a common knowledge among many people in Suai that Reinado made a special request to his friends in the Australian army to bring him this rocket. Whether the Australian soldiers only brought him the one pictured with him cannot be confirmed. Whether he returned the rocket launcher to the Australian soldiers after this “photo opp” is also uncertain. But Reinado has been heard as saying that he won’t hesitate to use the rocket against anyone who threaten him.

Be that as it may, the prospect of having Australian peacekeepers working closely or even supporting a group against a democratically elected government is frightening and by any international standards, a criminal act an morally irresponsible.

This blog became the only medium that alerted the world on the seriousness of this latest development. This blog even speculated as to the origin of this rocket launcher and tried to connect it to Rui Lopes and his connection in West Timor as well as Australia’s criminal underworld. Whatever means might Reinado use to get his hands on these types of weapons, they are alarming developments and spelled a turn to worse in any effort to stabilize the nation.

Some media in Australia picked up the lead on this blog and made some lousy attempt to investigate the source of this rocket. The ADF put out a statement denying that the rocket ever originated from them. The Timorese government led by Ramos-Horta also made a timid attempt pretending that it was acting tough against the renegade soldier.

Predictably, the story died without any result. Where did Reinado get the rocket? No one knew or cared. The Australian government and the ADF serving in Timor-Leste were only too happy that lousy Australian journalism failed to uncover the source of the rocket. Australian journalists, safe for a handful brave ones, are notorious for treating any news media as entertainment rather than serious events reporting. They are only too happy to cover stories that are easy to investigate and posed no threat to their careers. The sensationalist ABC 4 Corners documentary which accused the former prime minister Mari Alkatiri or arming a hits quad but was later denied by an independent investigation, is a good example of this. Liz Jackson was briefed by Australian consular staff in Dili and was supplied with names and other leads for her story. It was little wonder that the whole events as portrayed in the documentary appeared theatrical. But Liz Jackson went on to receive an award for this documentary, a government sponsored award to recognize journalists who don’t ask too many questions, specially the most difficult ones like what were Australian embassy staff doing at Reinado’s base a day prior to his attack in Fatu Ahi? What did they talk about with former US ambassador Joseph Rees when they met him briefly at Reinado’s base in Dili? Why was the US ambassador to Timor-Leste replaced after Mari Alkatiri stepped down? Is it to prevent the ambassador from being questioned by the international independent investigation? What was a US army officer, whose previous posting was Venezuela in the period when the opposition groups there launched a failed coup attempt against President Hugo Chaves, doing mingling with the organizers of the anti-government protesters in Dili in June last year? This army officer had recently been shifted to Iraq. What were some Australian army officers doing mingling with the protest organizers in last years anti-government demonstrations? What is the Australian army’s relationship with the rebel group led by the disgraced former army major Alfredo Reinado? These are the questions are as relevant for Timor-Leste as well as for Australia.

While in Suai, Reinado crossed the border to West Timor more than once sometimes accompanied by some PD members namely the Suai PD coordinator. It is confirmed that Reinado spent his Christmas celebrations in the border town of Atambua in Indonesia’s West Timor with other former members of the feared pro-Indonesia militias groups. Recently however Reinado and his men moved to a village in Ermera. The official line is that Reinado will enter in an agreement with Timor-Leste’s justice system to have his case heard in a court in Gleno. However a similar legal jurisdiction also exists in Suai. Some sources point to the fact that he and Rui Lopes were constantly feuding prompting Reinado and his men to briefly relocate to Fatululik. Some of these feuds were premised over Rui Lopes’s support for the PSD party whereas Reinado wanted to maintain his independence. He felt that Lopes and many others were using him to get support for the PSD and PD parties. There have been a number of incidents where Reinado berated at party officials from PD and PSD. On top of this, Leandro Isaac was also actively pushing Reinado to distance himself from the PSD. However the real reason may not be known, at least for now.

Yet in Ermera, Reinado did not get a welcoming party. The village chief of Aifu protested his relocation to his village. To this Reinado ordered his men to arrest the chief and had him brought before Reinado to explain why he protested against their presence in his village. But protests became more vocal and many villagers were openly hostile.

The Australian soldiers were given the task of guarding him. They set up checkpoints around road accesses as well as putting up observation posts around Reinado’s compound. All this went on just as his legal process was underway to have his case heard in Gleno, Ermera’s main town, and in the background of the announcement for the election date set for April 9th. Still, Reinado and his group evaded their guards, once again.

It needs to be noted here that in the weeks before Reinado’s escape, Fretilin, under the leadership of Mari Alkatiri and Lu Olo, the so called “Maputo” group had held rallies in various districts around Timor-Leste. The first rally was held in Baucau which counted on more than 5000 participants. Mari Alkatiri led the rally. A week later a similar rally was held in Same with the same turnout and enthusiasm. Once again Mari Alkatiri led the rally. Also during this rally, the Fretilin members of Same nominated Lu Olo as Fretilin’s candidate for the upcoming presidential election. The rally in Same was followed by another in Ermera a week later. However this time the rally encountered problems as some of the petitioners intimidated the rally organizers and participants. Truck loads of participants from Bobonaro were also ambushed in the town of Atabae and were forced to turn back. After the rally other Fretilin members were attacked and intimidated. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) Mariano Sabino, the secretary general of PD party lamented the amount of security protection provided for the Fretilin leaders, namely Alkatiri and Lu Olo. The fact that days before this rally took place, the Fretilin office in Ermera was burned to the ground and a man guarding this office was also murdered seemed of little relevance. Mariano Sabino never condemned this incidence due to the close relationship between the PD party and the army mutineers. The UN police arrested a number of army mutineers and charged them with arson and murder in relation to the attack against the Fretilin office in Ermera.

It is evident that the extent of relationship between the opposition parties like PD and PSD and the army mutineers, including renegade ex-soldier Reinado, is much deeper than a mere political alliance. The armed rebels are increasingly becoming PD and PSD’s armed wing. Nevertheless the rally in Ermera was followed by an even bigger rally in Oecusse last Saturday where more than 11,000 people attended and confirmed Lu Olo’s candidacy to the upcoming presidential election.

It leaves little doubt that Reinado and those who conspired with him saw this show of support as extremely threatening. The Fretilin leadership chose the districts of Same and Ermera as a testing ground to gauge their level of grassroots support. Although officially Fretilin says that the rallies were organized to elect Fretilin’s electoral observers. The show of support in Same was overwhelming although Ermera suffered setbacks due to violence and intimidation. In any case, the rallies left Alfredo with little choice except to act and once again plunge Timor-Leste into chaos in the hope that would affect Fretilin’s popular support.

So Reinado escaped from Aifu right under the Australian noses, picked up a car in Gleno and made his way to Atabae. From there drove on to Maliana where some of his co-conspirators allowed him and his friends into the Border Patrol Unit’s (BPU) post and cleaned up the armory. Then Reinado proceeded to Salele and raided a similar post there. From there Reinado and his group took the main road and drove through Ainaro and finally stopped in Same. He could not count on a visit to his mistress in Same and to see his illegitimate son as she wasn’t there. She may well has chosen to avoid seeing him. This made Reinado even more upset and edgy. President Xanana Gusmão and Prime Minister Horta then issued an order to capture him and requested the ISF (International Stabilization Force) to this effect. The Indonesian government was also requested to close the border in order to prevent a possible escape by Reinado to West Timor where some former pro-Indonesia militiamen have vowed to assist him.

Some important remarks need to be said about the actions of the Australian soldiers. The Australian contingency numbers more than 1000 soldiers, highly trained, equipped with the latest technology and aided by airpower, yet they are not able to keep tag on a small time army officer who has no military experience safe for a few months worth of training at, ironically, Australian defense force academy.

When the Australia soldiers landed in Timor-Leste, much of the community pinned their hopes on their presence. However hopes quickly evaporated as the violence continued and the Australians soldiers stood by and watched. The Australian soldiers either allowed, or failed to act to prevent, the violence from continuing prompting many more casualties and destruction as well as tit-for-tat confrontations. These confrontations continue to this day even as the context took on many different forms along the way.

Initially the Australian government pressured the East Timorese government to accept an arrangement whereby Australia would be in exclusive charge of the peacekeeping operations. But this pressure came to no avail after other countries like Portugal and Malaysia rejected it. The only leaders in Timor-Leste to support Australia’s move were President Xanana and Prime Minister Horta. The only sensible and acceptable arrangement is one that involves the peacekeeping forces coming under a multilateral institution namely the United Nations. Nevertheless a compromise was reached with the Australians retaining their own command and coming directly from Canberra. The Australian soldiers were also given the western district of Dili, which includes the airport, as its area of operation.

The fatal shooting of the East Timorese IDPs last week needs to be taken into the following context. The Australian soldiers have been perceived as acting in a partisan way soon after they were deployed by the community at large. They are also known to be deeply suspicious towards Fretilin, the Fretilin-led government or any Fretilin supporters. Somehow the Australian soldiers became convinced that all of the easterners are Fretilin supporters. The Australians are seen by many as having little sympathy towards the easterners. For example the Australian soldiers went to the eastern districts and asked the local population whether they supported Alkatiri or Xanana. They also tried to convince the community leaders in Lospalos that Alkatiri and his Fretilin were criminals and murderers like the former president Suharto. As much as Australian apologists try to play down or discredit this allegation, one only needs to travel to Lospalos and speak to the local population there what happened when the first Australian army helicopter landed last year. It is also a fact that a number of Australian army officers visited some inmates in prison hoping to get incriminating stories against Alkatiri and Fretilin.

The relationship between Australian soldiers and the F-FDTL is no better. Australian soldiers are known to refer to the F-FDTL personnel with contempt even to the point of hostility. A recent accident involving an Australian national and a F-FDTL truck in Dili where the former suffered life threatening injuries seemed to have compounded the Australian soldiers’ dislike of the East Timorese armed forces. Even more alarming is the perception within the Australian security forces in Timor-Leste that all easterners are allied with the F-FDTL (and Fretilin). Most of the IDP camps in Dili are housing mainly IDPs from the eastern districts and the biggest among them is the one located at Dili’s airport. The IDPs have had a long quarrel with the Australian soldiers over the handling of some of the disturbances registered in these camps. It is a common complaint against the Australian soldiers that they always targeted the IDPs instead of the real culprits. Often groups from outside the camp would attack the IDPs and the Australian soldiers’ reaction would be to arrest the victims instead of the perpetrators. The IDPs also suffer regularly from Australia’s heavy-handedness. Australian army and police would raid the camps with teargas unannounced and cause as much terror to the population as possible.

Brigadier General Matan Ruak and Lu Olo, Timor-Leste’s parliamentary speaker, have time and again criticized Australian actions even going so far as to have them investigated. Ruak and Lu Olo are two of the most prominent figures from the eastern districts. These latest deaths at the hands of the Australian soldiers need to be seen in this context and if this is the case then Timor-Leste should brace itself for more violence to come and perhaps ready itself to become a new Australian colony. More people will die in Australian hands. A desired course of action ought to be to place Australian soldiers under UN command just like the other contingents. Or to remove the Australian soldiers and have them replaced with soldiers from a neutral country.

This latest escape by Reinado and his men should not come as a big surprise. The Australian soldiers have proved regularly how little respect they have for the Timor-Leste democratic institutions and laws. They participated in the farce in Maubisse last year when Alfredo Reinado and his men supposedly handed over their guns. Then they allowed Reinado to hold a stash of weapon right under their nose. This is right after a weapons handover was supposed to have taken place under their supervision. The Australians soldiers even tried to complicate the attempt to arrest Reinado by the Portuguese GNRs. Next, their friends, the New Zealanders left their posts in Becora prison allowing Reinado to walk out with his men, including a number of convicted pro-Indonesia militiamen.

Their attempts to arrest Reinado is laughable and insulting to anyone’s intelligence to say the least. Rather, their relationship with Reinado points to the contrary of their supposed mission in Timor-Leste. When Reinado threatened to shoot Australian soldiers, the head of the Australian army in Timor-Leste and other politicians in Canberra paid lip service to calm Australian voters. Instead of arresting Reinado, the Australian soldiers actually brought him a present, a rocket launcher. It left to be wondered whether an Australian army guard was at all necessary to keep Reinado firmly put in Ermera. The fact that the Australian soldiers were present in Ermera for this end looks nothing more than show. There was no real effort to keep tag on Reinado, much less to arrest him. The signal from the Australian soldiers were clear, “if you want to get out of here you can. We will not try to stop you.” A few days later Alfredo Reinado and his men walked off.

In the context of Australian’s role in the war on terror, if Australian soldiers can’t even guard a small time rebel and his group or track him down and arrest him, what hope is there for Australian soldiers involved in the war on terror? What hope is there for Australian soldiers in locating and capturing Osama Bin Laden? What hope is there for Australian soldiers in keeping the peace in Iraq and dismantling the Al Qaida networks?

But, if the Australian soldiers are serving a different agenda other than that of peacekeeping, this criminal and immorally unacceptable. And what agenda is this? Helping one rebel group topple a democratically elected government? Using one rebel group to redraw the political landscape of an independent country? Regime change? The setting up of a puppet government that will tow Australian line? Another Fiji? Another Solomon Islands? Another Papua New Guinea? Either way, the Australian soldiers, far from contributing to the restoration and preservation of peace, law and order, are actually helping to destabilize the country even further.

At this moment Alfredo Reinado and up to 100 of his followers are resisting arrest and have barricaded themselves in a government building in Same. They are heavily armed and surrounded by Australian soldiers attempting to capture him. Like his previous base in Maubisse, the current compound where he and his men have barricaded themselves have similar strategic positions. The building, a former colonial residence housing the local administrator, is situated on top of a hill overlooking the town below. Reinado’s rhetoric have toughened and are aimed to his former patrons, President Xanana and Prime Minister Horta. He has vowed to fight to death rather than surrender. He called President Xanana Gusmão “stupid” and has promised to reveal “all”. Many people are hoping that Reinado makes it out alive for various reasons. One of them and perhaps the most important one is to make sure that his promise to tell all is carried out. If the attempt to capture him turned violent and casualties recorded, this has the potential of further destabilize Timor-Leste. Australian soldiers will bear the brunt for allowing or failing to prevent Reinado’s escape. If the Australians soldiers shot at and killed Reinado and any of his men, this would also place the soldiers at a very difficult position inside the East Timorese community at large. Already they are being regarded with much suspicion by the easterners. If the westerners also turned against them, this will open up a new chapter in Timor-Australia relations.

The people of Same in general are not sympathetic to Reinado and his men. Had the population some sort of sympathy, they would have mobilized to keep Reinado safe and away from the Australian soldiers. Reinado and his men would not have had to retreat and isolate themselves just to a small area of the town. Actually, when Reinado arrived in Same with his entourage and spoke to the some of the villagers, he was quickly attended to with a clear message that he needed to go somewhere else. Sensing that he could not trust the villagers fully, he retreated to the compound which was to become his stronghold. Other villagers outside of Same town, in particular the ones that lie on the main road like the village of Holarua have set road blocks to prevent anyone else from joining Reinado.

In the past threats to capture Reinado have never been made good. Australians soldiers seemed sympathetic to Reinado if not siding with him. At this point, whatever actions the Australians take will have a major impact on Timor-Leste’s stability. Reiado has openly defied and rejected his commander in chief, the President of the Republic. More and more East Timorese leaders are coming out to have this renegade captured, safe for some political opportunists like Leandro Isaac and members of the opposition parties. Perhaps President Xanana and Prime Minister Horta finally realized that the boy wonder they groomed has turned into a monster and is threatening to bring them both down.

Australian soldiers have since launched their attack on Reinado’s “stronghold”. Four of Reinado’s henchmen died in the assault while he and a dozen of his men escaped. So much for fighting to the death! It is deeply suspicious whether Reinado escaped or whether the Australians have allowed him to escape. Reinado’s best bet would be to give himself up to the Australians who would definitely look after him. If some of the villagers get their hands on him, it may be that he won’t live long enough to tell the tale of what happened and who conspired with him to bring Timor-Leste to its knees.