Australia Blamed for East Timor Crisis

In an interview released on Friday Portuguese Gen. Assuncao was quoted as saying that the government of Canberra is an enemy of East Timor as it always wanted to control everything and furthermore that Australia is the one to be held responsible for the current crisis in East Timor.

What Australians are interested in is oil and gas and there is nothing better than to be physically present to control the country's political system and its vast sources of wealth and this seems to be an accepted fact in a lot of circles. They had not succeeded so far because President Xanana Gusmao and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri were united but the breaking-off of the union paves the way for Australia to take control.

Chaos in East Timor started late May after the head of Government decided to dismiss 600 soldiers or about half of the Army who were said to be victims of discrimination on ethnic grounds. The dismissed troops staged a rebellion that killed about 30 people. Nearly 100,000 people were displaced as international troops were deployed to control the situation.

And in came the strongarm in the form of over 2,000 strong contingent including army and police forces from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal, arrived in Dili where violence hotspots remain. On Friday several Australian helicopters patrolled the cit, keeping under close watch the thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets to support President Gusmao.

Prime Minister Alkatiri is accused of having armed a civil militia to execute his political opponents which he denies and links to a campaign to force his resignation. He said he would not leave his post. However he admitted the likelihood to leave the Ministry of Energy Resources as a gesture of flexibility and openness.

Meanwhile UN agencies have expressed their fear that political tension may worsen the situation of the people and are preparing for a possible increase of displaced people with food and health needs.