President of East Timor Wounded in Rebel Attack

Feb. 11th. (NY Times) - President José Ramos-Horta of East Timor was shot and seriously wounded Monday, and gunmen attacked a convoy carrying Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, threatening to further destabilize the struggling young nation. Officials blamed a renegade military officer who they said was killed in an exchange of gunfire, suggesting that the attacks in Dili, the capital, were an attempted coup. Mr. Gusmão was unhurt and called on the nation to remain calm. “The state came under attack,” he said. “The attempt to kill the prime minister and president today failed, and only the president was injured.” Mr. Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his efforts to free East Timor from Indonesian domination, was in stable condition after being shot in the stomach, officials said. A military spokesman, Domingos da Camara, said the attacks were carried out by Alfredo Reinado, the leader of a rebellious military group. He said Mr. Reinado was killed in an exchange of gunfire between the president’s guards and the occupants of two cars that were driven by his house early in the morning. Any involvement by Mr. Reinado could not be independently confirmed.

East Timor won independence from Indonesia in a referendum in 1999 and became a self-governing nation in 2002 after a transition period under United Nations administration. But it has failed so far to stabilize its young democracy, and tensions mounted this month as rebels loyal to Mr. Reinado fired on Australian troops who are part of a peacekeeping force. “We’re in for another period of instability because there has been more than one shooting this morning,” said Sophia Cason of the International Crisis Group in a telephone interview on Monday. “There’s more than one group involved, and even if the president manages to pull through, the fact that there has been an assassination attempt against him will cause some instability,” she said. “There are people who are going to be very concerned and upset about what’s happening.”

Mr. Reinado had led a revolt against the government since 2006, when factional fighting killed 37 people and drove 150,000 people from their homes. Many of them remain in tents, saying they are afraid to return to their homes for fear of more violence. Mr. Ramos-Horta, 58, was elected president last May after serving as foreign minister. He succeeded the former guerrilla leader, Mr. Gusmão, who was later elected prime minister. Mr. Ramos-Horta led an international campaign for independence from Indonesia, which occupied East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, for 24 years and remained the international face of the world’s youngest nation. He received the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.

Last month the International Crisis Group warned that there was a risk of more unrest unless the police and the military were reformed. In November, Mr. Reinado threatened to use force against the government unless it met the demands of his group of hundreds of military deserters. “I will lead my soldiers down to Dili,” he said. “The situation and stability of this country will be worse.” Mr. Reinado’s revolt reflected divisions within the police and the military and unresolved social and economic issues that have contributed to continuing poverty and instability. “The problem is that a lot of the issues which led to the crisis in 2006 haven’t actually been dealt with,” Ms. Cason said. “There hasn’t been the reform of the military or the reform of the police that’s needed. “The other causes are high-level political disputes, massive unemployment, which has led to an increased number of fights between street gangs. All of these issues are still here.”
By Seth Mydans and TIM JOHNSTON
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