NZ defence minister visits East Timor
Updated
New Zealand's defence minister Phil Goff has made his first visit to East Timor since the attacks last month on the country's leaders that left President Jose Ramos Horta wounded and rebel leader Alfredo Reinado dead. Mr Goff met with the country's leaders and expressed his support for East Timor in the wake of the attacks and discussed the continuation of New Zealand's commitment to the international stabilization force.
Presenter: Stephanie March
Speakers: Phil Goff, NZ Defence Minister, Jose Luis Gutteres, East Timor's Vice Prime Minister
MARCH: New Zealand Defence Minister Phil Goff yesterday completed his ninth visit to East Timor in nine years.
He met with many of the country's leaders including Prime Minster Xanana Gusmao.
GOFF: Why my message is to Prime Minister Gusmao and to all of our friends in Timor Leste is that New Zealand is committed as a neighbour, a friend and a partner to Timor Leste to work alongside you in your country to improve the situation both in terms of security and stability.
MARCH: Since 2000, that commitment has largely come in the form of the NZ troops deployed as part of the International Stabilisation Force, to maintain peace and security in the fledgling nation.
Of the 800 Australian and New Zealand troops currently in East Timor, New Zealand provides 180 navy, air force and army personnel - making it their largest active peacekeeping force in the world.
Despite his commitment to developing East Timor's security sector, Phil Goff says he will start withdrawing some of his troops from East Timor in October this year.
GOFF: How long will we need to have the ISF here? I think that really depends on the circumstances. You don't want to have people on the ground doing nothing, being bored, feeling that they've outstayed their welcome, equally to withdraw the ISF prematurely would almost certainly result in our having to come back.
MARCH: On Monday night the Defence Minister joined a group of his troops to go on a night patrol through the streets of Dili, and he said despite the apparent improvement in the security situation, the country remains fragile.
GOFF: Things are quite calm on the ground that however may disguise an underlying rather more fragile situation. Obviously February the 11th was a shock to people here as much as people in New Zealand and Australia, and what it was a reminder of too, I think is that the problems that led the government to invite Australia and New Zealand, Portugal back in in 2006 still remain to be resolved.
MARCH: In 2006 violence erupted in East Timor because of internal and external feuds between the country's police and military.
The crisis left 37 people dead, forced 150,000 to flee from their homes, and paved the way for former army Major Alfredo Reinado to command a group of rebels who were fighting the government to be reinstated to the military despite abandoning their barracks earlier that year.
It was these rebels that led the bloody attack on President Jose Ramos Horta last month, which left him servery wounded.
Despite the presence of more than 1000 thousand Australian, New Zealand and Portuguese troops in the country at the time of the attacks, Phil Goff says the rebels actions were unforeseeable, and that it's not fair to blame the international forces for what happened on the 11th of February.
GOFF: We can use that very useful tool of analysis hindsight to say maybe we could have done this or that, but I don't think that that can fairly be put down to a failing on the part of the international forces here.
MARCH: East Timor's Vice Prime Minster Jose Luis Gutters expressed his gratitude for New Zealand's offer to support for the government in the wake of the February attacks.
GUTTERS: We had a brief discussion on the events of the 11th of February and the government of New Zealand reiterated their willingness to continue to support and be willing and ready to send advisors to the government of East Timor in order to help promote the discussions on the security sector.
MARCH: During the attacks, one of the Presidents Timorese guards shot dead Alfredo Reinado, who had held the government at bay with his demands to be reinstated to the military for almost two years.
GOFF: And I think that it was fortunate that in the incident at the President's house Reinado was shot not by the ISF but by the President's own bodyguard. So there wasn't that factor that outsiders have killed Reinado, outsiders are siding with one group against another.
MARCH: Almost 30 of Reinado's followers remain on the run, and despite East Timor's government deploying over 450 of their own military to conduct operations in the mountains where the rebels are hiding, they are still negotiating with the group in the hope that they surrender.
So far six rebels - including the second in charge of the group Amaro de Costa, who's also known as Susar, have turned themselves in to authorities.
Phil Goff says that whilst negotiating with rebels is an unconventional tactic, if it leads to a peaceful outcome then they will support the government of East Timor's decision.
GOFF: Every culture does things in different ways and I guess I'm reluctant to come in from the outside and to say to the government of Timor Leste no you've got it wrong, this is how you should be doing it. They do have a different approach.
MARCH: And it seems the government's tactic is working.
Only minutes after Phil Goff left Dili's Government Palace and the Vice Prime Minster was speaking to journalists about their meeting, a convoy of police and military arrived with another rebel who had just handed himself over to authorities.
GUTTERES: And up till now in spite of having a military operation there was never a bullet shot by any member of defence force, but the results have been very substantial, and we just have to continue this process and see whatever we can achieve in a short time.
MARCH: Accompanied by the Prosecutor General who has been negotiating with the group, the rebel, only known as "Alex" and suspected to be a former police officer and member of Reinado's gang, was rushed inside to meet with the country's leaders.
Defence Minister Phil Goff says he hopes the rebel group, led by Reindao's right hand man Lt Gastao Salsinha, will follow the lead of "Alex" and the others and put their trust in the government.
GOFF: We know that the government has agreed that he would be accepted without any risk to his well being should he and his men decide to surrender themselves. And we look forward to that occurring and being a step towards the strengthening of security in Timor Leste as a whole.
