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Aussies to East Timor Again- but is "Peacekeepers" the correct term?

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Are these deployments "peacekeeping" or has the CBC mucked this up?


Peacekeepers head to East Timor
Last Updated Wed, 24 May 2006 11:35:25 EDT
CBC News
International peacekeepers are on their way to East Timor while the U.S. and Australian embassies ordered most staff to leave after escalating gun battles between ex-soldiers and the military.

 
(CBC) 
East Timor has been plagued by violence since nearly 600 soldiers were fired earlier in 2006 after going on strike to protest against alleged ethnic discrimination in the military.

A series of gun battles this week killed two people and wounded nine others in the Timorese capital, Dili.

"We can't control the situation," said East Timor's foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta.

Australia sends battalion

The government requested troops from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal to help "disarm renegade troops and police rebelling against the state."

The Australian peacekeepers were expected to arrive soon in Dili.

According to the Financial Times, Australia is sending a battalion, or up to 1,300 troops. Portugal said it was sending a police unit while New Zealand also pledged police support. It was not clear what Malaysia's role would be in the force.

Threat to start guerrilla war

The former soldiers say they were discriminated against because they come from the west of the country and have different ethnicities than military leaders, who mostly come from the east.

A government commission is looking into the ex-soldiers' allegations, but has yet to release results.

After deadly riots in April, some of the ex-soldiers fled Dili for the country's rugged hill country and threatened guerrilla warfare if they didn't get their jobs back.

Latest violence starts with ambush

On Tuesday, they ambushed troops on the outskirts of the capital, sparking the gun fights that left at least two people dead.

On Wednesday, there was more violence on the west side of Dili, which later spread south, close to the home of the top military chief, Brig.-Gen. Taur Matan Ruak, officials and witnesses said.

Timor is the world's newest nation. It voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999 after 24 years of brutal occupation that human rights groups say left as many as 200,000 dead.

Australia led a UN-backed intervention force to East Timor to control violence by pro-Indonesian militias after East Timorese voted for independence. More than 1,000 people died in the violence following the vote.

East Timor is a former colony of Portugal.
 
Looking over shoulder....where's the NDP???  ::)
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5014830.stm

Australians head for East Timor 

Disgruntled ex-soldiers are fighting street battles with troops
Fresh clashes have broken out in East Timor, as Australia prepares to send troops to help quell the violence.
Fighting has erupted in various parts of the capital Dili, and at least one soldier has been killed.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard said 150 commandos would arrive later on Thursday to help secure the airport.

The troops, part of an international team, are responding to a call from the East Timorese government, after weeks of rioting by disaffected ex-soldiers.

Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta admitted on Wednesday that his government "could not control the situation".

Australia has experience of providing military aid to East Timor, as it led a UN-military force into the country in 1999 to end the unrest sparked when the population voted for independence from Indonesia.

Ex-soldiers' protests

The unrest began with the splintering of the armed forces in March.

Nearly 600 of the army's original force of 1,400 went on strike for better working conditions. They were subsequently sacked.  TENSIONS MOUNT

Feb: More than 400 troops strike over pay and conditions
March: Government sacks nearly 600 of 1,400-man army
April: Rioting by sacked troops leaves five people dead


Rocky ride to nationhood 

The violence rose and five people were killed in clashes in April, and tens of thousands fled Dili fearing further unrest.

This week, the tension has again escalated. At least three people have been killed since Tuesday, and gunfights around Dili are continuing for a third day, with shoot-outs reported close to the presidential palace and on the sea front.

Mr Howard said the Australian commandos would arrive in the country later on Thursday, ahead of a main deployment of up to 1,300 troops.

"These Australian forces will take immediate action to secure the perimeter of Dili International Airport," Mr Howard said.

"It's our expectation that this will ensure the airport remains open and functioning normally."

Australia is just one of the countries that have responded to East Timor's request for help in stabilising the situation.

In Portugal - the former colonial ruler of East Timor - Prime Minister Jose Socrates said Lisbon would send a contingent of paramilitary police in "a gesture of solidarity".

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said a detachment of troops was ready to deploy, but she first wanted more details of the mission.


Tens of thousands of people have fled Dili amid the violence
"It's very important not to walk into what is a factional dispute, in some respects, and be seen to be taking sides," Ms Clark told New Zealand radio.

Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson warned on Thursday that the situation for the troops would be dangerous.

"We are now in a situation where we have, of 1,400 soldiers in the East Timorese army... 600 who have left. They have trained, many of them are unhappy and many of them are armed," he said.

 
Has there been a response on this from the Canadian government yet?  Although in that list I didn't see a request for Canadian intervention, would Canada perhaps participate as we were a contributor on the last mission to East Timor?  Even if that contribution was not substantial.
 
Peacekeeping vs putting down a rebellion - I fail to see the similarities.

Just me though.

MM
 
Wouldn't that be like having a UN peaceforce coming into Caledonia Blockade??
 
medicineman said:
Peacekeeping vs putting down a rebellion - I fail to see the similarities.

Me too, but if the R22R has to put down another native rebellion, I'm calling it peacekeeping!!  
 
GAP said:
Wouldn't that be like having a UN peaceforce coming into Caledonia Blockade??

Understatement of the year.

whiskey601 said:
Me too, but if the R22R has to put down another native rebellion, I'm calling it peacekeeping!!  

We'll give them blue hats for that too.  We could give them loaded magazines, but not allow them to put in their weapons or have them on their person for that matter, to look less aggressive.

MM
 
It seems very messy, good luck and God Bless the Troops involved.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5014830.stm

Commandos secure E Timor airport 

Australian troops were warned to expect a dangerous mission
Australian commandos have landed in East Timor in an effort to quell three days of increasing violence.
About 150 troops secured the airport in the capital, Dili, amid reports of mounting casualties in the city.

A further 1,300 Australians, and troops from Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal are also heading to East Timor.

Reports say a number of people have died and many have been injured in Dili, where disgruntled ex-soldiers are fighting government troops.

Australia's ABC radio reported that a fleet of ambulances were requested after a battle outside Dili's main police station.

A UN official in the city described "constant gunfire" around the organisation's compound, and said the army was "on the rampage".

"Nobody knows actually what's going to happen, because the law and order seems to be totally collapsed," Jawad Omar told ABC.

A South Korean national was shot in the neck during the fighting and is recovering in hospital.

  A taxi stopped and four guys with machetes jumped and rushed the shop

Chris Manson


Eyewitness: East Timor unrest
Send us your comments 
East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta admitted on Wednesday that his government "could not control the situation".

Australia has experience of providing military aid to East Timor, as it led a UN-military force into the country in 1999 to end the unrest sparked when the population voted for independence from Indonesia.

Prime Minister John Howard sped up the deployment of the main Australian force to East Timor after hearing of the worsening security situation in the island nation.

He warned Australian MPs that the situation in East Timor was violent and volatile.

"This is a dangerous mission and a dangerous situation and we must not walk away from the possibility that casualties could be suffered by the forces that will go to East Timor," he told parliament.

Ex-soldiers' protests

The unrest began in March, when nearly 600 of the army's original force of 1,400 went on strike for better working conditions. They were subsequently sacked.

The violence escalated and five people were killed in clashes in April, and tens of thousands fled Dili fearing further unrest.

This week, the tension has again risen. At least three people have been killed since Tuesday, and gunfights around Dili are continuing for a third day, with shoot-outs reported close to the presidential palace and on the sea-front.

TENSIONS MOUNT

Feb: More than 400 troops strike over pay and conditions
March: Government sacks nearly 600 of 1,400-man army
April: Rioting by sacked troops leaves five people dead


Splits behind security woes
Rocky ride to nationhood 

"These Australian forces will take immediate action to secure the perimeter of Dili International Airport," Mr Howard said.

"It's our expectation that this will ensure the airport remains open and functioning normally."

Australia is just one of the countries that have responded to East Timor's request for help in stabilising the situation.

In Portugal - the former colonial ruler of East Timor - Prime Minister Jose Socrates said Lisbon would send a contingent of paramilitary police in "a gesture of solidarity".

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said a detachment of troops was ready to deploy, but she first wanted more details of the mission.

"It's very important not to walk into what is a factional dispute, in some respects, and be seen to be taking sides," Ms Clark told New Zealand radio.

 
Interesting post by a_majoor in the "Sudan - The Mega Thread":
United Nations: The World's Mall Cops

While much of the world rushes toward the sound of screaming and gunfire...

    Many dead in chaotic East Timor, where Australian forces are seeking to halt the bloodshed....They'll be joined by New Zealand troops, finally deployed following days of Clarkish dithering....Forces from Malaysia and Portugal are also soon to arrive.

...one force flees, profoundly useless in a crisis:

    The UN is planning to evacuate the majority of its 300 to 400 staff in East Timor, possibly from today.

A liberal friend of mine, when asked why she was obsessed with defending the United Nations, once said that it was because "it's all we have", apparently unaware of the fact that countries can take action for themselves.
The UN will do the same thing as in 1999-2000: they will let an international coalition do the work, return when order is restored, then claim all the credit.

Good luck Diggers !!!
 
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said a detachment of troops was ready to deploy, but she first wanted more details of the mission.

  ::), incompetant woman.


It's bad enough she has run down the NZDF to the point where they can only send 120 troops within the region, and they cannot deploy anywhere on their own without foreign logistical and protective help, but now she hesitiates like this in such a crisis.

Thank christ I'm not a New Zealander.
 
Well Aljeezrah posted a picture of an “Imperialist” Australian soldier in East Timor, so that way we all know that it’s apart of the Neocon plot to take over the world.  ::)
 
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