NZ soldier fires to disperse crowd in Dili

New Zealand soldiers have fired their first shot in their deployment to restore order in East Timor.

The single shot was fired during a standoff last Friday in Dili between a New Zealand patrol and a crowd of 30 people armed with machetes which had confronted the soldiers' Timorese interpreter, Defence Minister Phil Goff said yesterday.

"The New Zealand soldiers are well trained and handled the situation in a competent and professional manner. As a result of their actions the crowd dispersed and the situation was quickly brought under control."

New Zealand has 167 Defence Force personnel in East Timor, a force which is about to be joined by up to 25 armed police officers. The New Zealand troops, along with forces from Australia, Malaysia and Portugal, were rushed to East Timor after factional disputes within the armed forces erupted into violence.

The dispute claimed its biggest political casualty on Monday with the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. The former Prime Minister, who has been widely blamed for playing a leading role in sparking rioting which claimed at least 30 lives, now faces the prospect of being arrested on the orders of East Timor's chief prosecutor on charges relating to weapons being distributed to rebel soldiers.

Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteiro said Mr Alkatiri had been "summonsed to appear in the prosecutor's office for interrogation".

Asked if the former leader could face charges after questioning, Mr Monteiro said: "I don't want to comment on it now. We will see what the answers are that the Prime Minister will give."

ABC TV's Four Corners broadcast last week what it said was evidence of Alkatiri's involvement in arming a hit squad to silence his opponents.

Mr Goff yesterday reiterated calls by Prime Minister Helen Clark for the United Nations to play a leading role in restoring order in East Timor.

"We need to look at how we can restore institutions such as the defence forces and the police in a way that they can be relied on to do their job competently and sustainably. That's a big challenge, and the sort of work I would expect the United Nations to be involved with."

The UN, which had been about to withdraw from East Timor when rioting broke out, is now considering its future role in the country.

New Zealand had soldiers in East Timor from 1999 to 2002, as the country sought to establish itself after gaining independence from Indonesia. Mr Goff said the present deployment to East Timor was likely to last at least until the country's election, scheduled for March, and could well last longer.

"We leave people there for as long as it is necessary to leave them there, and we know this about peacekeeping from some experience, that it's a long term business, it's never a short-term business," Mr Goff said.

"We're not looking at a premature withdrawal of our troops at this stage, but at the point where stability in our view, and the view I guess of the United Nations, is entrenched, that new institutions have been created, that there is a more stable political situation in East Timor, then at that point we can look at the necessity of maintaining troops at that level."

Mr Goff said the first New Zealand platoon in Timor would be brought home shortly because its soldiers had been dispatched at such short notice.

Those soldiers would be replaced, and New Zealand would maintain a full company of soldiers in East Timor.