UN troops seen to stay years in Timor

UN troops seen to stay years in Timor

CANBERRA (Agencies): Australian Defense Minister John Moore
said on Monday that he expected a United Nations force to stay in
East Timor for years to secure a true peace.

"It's going to be longer rather than shorter," Moore told BBC
radio from Australia, which is leading the UN deployment.

"The duration of a force, I think, will be certainly medium to
long term."

Asked if that meant years rather than months, Moore replied:
"Yes."

Last month, the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for
independence from Indonesia in a ballot that prompted widespread
violence.

The multinational force, which will eventually number about
7,500 troops from more than 20 nations, was created by the United
Nations with a mandate to use "all necessary measures" to stop
the killing and facilitate humanitarian aid for hundreds of
thousands of refugees.

Moore said there was no resistance so far, despite fears that
pro-Jakarta militias might confront the international force.

"We're not anticipating any problems really. To date there's
been no problems," said Moore. "This morning, there's full
cooperation. There's no sign of hindrance and we expect the
deployment will go ahead without any hiccoughs at all."

As for the long term, Moore said the exact nature of the
deployment depended on Indonesian legislators but an
international presence would be needed for years in any case.

If the Indonesian parliament went along with the results of
the August 30 referendum, then the nature of the UN force would
change from peacekeeping to more of a "trusteeship", meaning
fewer troops and more technical experts, said Moore.

However, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Monday that
Australia's lead role in the multinational peacekeeping force in
East Timor could be wound up before Christmas.

Addressing the Australian parliament after the deployment of
some 2,000 troops in East Timor, Downer said the International
Force for East Timor (Interfet) would probably complete its task
in three months.

"Our expectation is that will take between two and three
months, probably nearer three than two if the assembling of such
particular types of operation in the past is any guide," Downer
said.

Separately, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Sunday warned
pro-Indonesia militias not to confront the multinational
peacekeeping force.

"I think we have tried to put in a force that has the right
strength, the right structure and the capacity to defend its
mandate and itself," Annan told the Cable News Network (CNN)
programme "Late Edition."

The peacekeeping force, Annan said, is prepared to strike back
if attacked.

"I would hope the militia will not try to take them on,
because they will defend themselves," Annan said.

Annan also said that the Indonesian military, which he blamed
for the violence in East Timor since its electorate voted to
become independent, has been instructed to harness the militias.

"The Indonesian military cooperated or acquiesced or ignored
what was going on in East Timor," he said. "How far up in the
military chain this goes I do not know. But it is clear the
military on the ground did cooperate."

In a related development, the United Nations said it would
begin rebuilding its mission in the ravaged East Timor capital
Dili on Monday after a quick, and so far peaceful, deployment of
a multinational force to the strife-torn territory.

"We want to have a functioning headquarters as soon as
possible," UN Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) spokesman David
Wimhurst said in Darwin.

UNAMET staff and about 1,500 East Timorese, who sought refuge
in the UN mission's Dili compound, were forced to evacuate last
week.

Wimhurst said UNAMET chief Ian Martin had already returned to
Dili and was set to be followed by about a dozen staff on Monday.

Meanwhile, East Timor's Nobel peace prize winner, Bishop
Carlos Belo, said on Sunday he would return to Dili when the city
was calm and a multi-nation peacekeeping force had deployed
across the territory.

Asked when he would return to the East Timorese capital, he
told Reuters: "When the UN force is in all towns and cities (of
East Timor) and when Dili is calm."

Bishop Belo said he did not know how much longer he would
remain in Portugal. He was speaking after celebrating Mass in the
central city of Fatima.

Last week Bishop Belo met Pope John Paul at the Vatican to
brief him on the situation in East Timor. He fled the territory
after pro-Jakarta militias attacked his house earlier this month.