Foreign troops deployed after 2 killed in East Timor campaign violence

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/04/asia/AS-GEN-East-Timor-Campaign-Violence.php

The Associated PressPublished: June 3, 2007

DILI, East Timor: International troops were rushed Monday to a volatile region of East Timor where two men were fatally shot during campaigning for parliamentary elections later this month, authorities said.

One of the dead was a campaign worker for independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who is running for prime minister in the upcoming polls, seen as key to restoring stability in the tiny nation, police said.

An off-duty police officer was suspected in the killing in Viqueque district, the United Nations said, indicating bitter divisions in the country's security forces and ruling elite that exploded into violence and political turmoil last year remain a threat.

Later Sunday, Timorese police opened fire on a crowd confronting Gusmao and his supporters as they attempted to return the body to the man's family, the U.N. statement said, citing initial reports. A 24-year-old man was fatally shot and a 16-year-old boy was injured in the incident at a roadblock.

A platoon of foreign troops led by Australian soldiers was deployed to the district and the United Nations was reviewing its election security strategy, the statement said. A platoon typically contains between 30 and 40 soldiers.

"This is a very sad day for me and for East Timor's democracy," said Gusmao. "I again call on all people of our young nation to give up violence. With violence we only hurt ourselves, our country, and those that we love."

East Timor, which broke from Indonesian rule in a U.N.-sponsored 1999 ballot, had been heralded as a success in nation-building until a rift in the police and armed forces escalated into gunbattles, looting, arson and gang warfare just over a year ago. The violence killed 37 people and drove 155,000 from their homes.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta was elected president on May 9, raising hopes of stability, although more than 3,000 international police officers and soldiers remain stationed in the country to maintain peace and order.

Ramos-Horta took over from Gusmao, who was imprisoned during Indonesia's occupation for leading the resistance to Jakarta's rule.

Political commentators have expressed fear that efforts by Gusmao and Ramos-Horta to sideline the Fretilin party — which currently holds a majority of seats in the legislature — could lead to more bloodshed.

Last week, a hand grenade killed a man and wounded three others, while supporters of rival candidates clashed with machetes and rocks elsewhere in the country, wounding a dozen people.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, is the youngest and poorest country in Asia, with an unemployment rate of around 50 percent. About two-thirds of children under age 5 are malnourished.