SYDNEY—The arrival of more Australian troops in East Timor today is aimed at having a "deterrent effect" in the wake of assassination attempts on the country's two leaders, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says.
A state of emergency is in force in the fledgling nation after rebel soldiers shot and critically wounded President Jose Ramos-Horta, and opened fire on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in a separate attack yesterday.
Mr Fitzgibbon said today it was too early to state who was responsible for the attack, believed to be a coup attempt, in which rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed.
"The details of the events of yesterday are still really sketchy and it is still too early for anyone to come to any final conclusions about who was responsible ultimately and what was their intentions," he told Fairfax Radio Network.
Mr Fitzgibbon said the Timorese capital, Dili, was calm early today, but that did not signify that the period of instability was over.
"In a country like East Timor, information is slow spreading and our experience in the past is that there is often a delay in between the incident and the consequences," he said.
"Our immediate intention and ambition is to ensure that calm is maintained."
An additional 120 Australian troops and 70 Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers are due to arrive in Dili later today, supported by the frigate HMAS Perth and C-17 and C-130 aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force.
They will add to about 780 Australian troops already in East Timor as part of the United Nation's International Stabilisation Force.
"That will send a very clear message to any group, the rebels or others, that they should reflect on our requirement that calm be maintained," Mr Fitzgibbon said.
"If we can have a deterrent effect we'll come out of the situation very, very happy."
Mr Fitzgibbon said Timorese authorities had been involved in negotiations with the rebel group in recent months, resulting in a reduced risk assessment.
The rebel soldiers who had remained in hiding in bushland were now "effectively leaderless", he said, and he hoped they would voluntarily disarm and turn themselves in.
"We hope that they will take the next few hours to reflect on their situation and to come to the logical conclusion that for them the game is up, and as a consequence they might turn themselves in," Mr Fitzgibbon said.
"President Horta is doing well, he is stable but it is too early to say that he is clear of any real danger."
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