Hi, I'm George Negus. Welcome again to Dateline.
And as you would expect off the top, East Timor.
It's almost a week now since the arrival there of Australian peacekeepers,
but peace, you'd have to say, still seems some way off.
What earlier this year started out as basically an industrial dispute between disgruntled soldiers
and the East Timorese government escalated in April,
when the armed forces split along ethnic and political lines.
On one side, rebel soldiers from the west of the country called for the resignation
of Prime Minister Murray Alcatiri, while on the other,
soldiers from the east remained loyal to the government.
Then last Wednesday, the police force fractured,
and pretty soon, rival mobs were slogging it out on the streets of Dilly.
On the scene when the first shots were fired last week was Dateline's David O'Shea.
In fact, for a while there, it seemed some of the shots were actually aimed at David.
What follows tonight is what David describes as four dark, desperate and drama-filled days in Dilly.
A warning, though, his report does contain graphic images of wounded, dying and dead Timorese
that some of you could find confronting.
MUSIC
East Timore is self-destructing.
These are the ruins of Tasitolo, a suburb in the capital Dilly.
What happened here four weeks ago sparked the political crisis that grips East Timor today.
On April the 24th, nearly 600 former soldiers marched on Dili.
All were from the Lorumonu people, the ethnic group based in the west of this tiny country.
They'd gone on strike at the beginning of March, complaining of discrimination in the army.
Prime Minister Marie Alcatiri responded by sacking the rebellious soldiers, nearly a third of the armed forces.
On April the 28th, groups of Lorumonu youths, sympathetic to the former soldiers, went on a rampage through Dili.
Government forces opened fire, killing five.
Many of the rebel soldiers and their supporters then retreated to the suburb of Tacitolo.
The army sealed off the suburb and shooting was heard throughout the night.
The rebel soldiers say that 60 people were killed, but this is yet to be investigated.
Claims of a massacre prompted the defection of 25 military police, along with their commander Alfredo Reinaldo.
Last Tuesday, my East Timorese assistant, Jose Bello and I, travelled into the hills just outside of Dili in search of Reinaldo.
I'd been tipped off that the rebel commander had come to the outskirts of the capital and might agree to be interviewed.
Until today, he'd been holed up 40 kilometres to the south, but in a seriously provocative act, he moved his heavily armed men to this ridge overlooking Dili.
Some people are going to be surprised or even worried that you're standing just above Dili here.
People are saying that you're going to go down and attack Parliament. There's lots of speculation.
What is my intention to attack the Parliament?
I don't know.
And also, why I go down to attack in Dili? If I want to attack in Dili, I attack Dili before I left.
But who I'm going to attack? I mostly here is to defend myself from any threat or anybody who want to harm me.
I'm to protect the others that want to defend the justice that I am here. Why I'm here? Because I want to see the justice.
In just a few hours' time, Alfredo Ronaldo would be labelled Public Enemy Number One by East Timor's Prime Minister.
But he told me he hoped the split in the armed forces could be resolved peacefully. Does this problem have a solution or is it already too late?
It's not too late. Never too late for any solution. It's not too late for East Timor to have independence after 24 years.
It's only everything has to end in a table by dialogue.
Partway through our interview, it starts to rain, although it doesn't seem to bother Ronaldo.
But we say rain is the civilian, it doesn't wet the military.
It's just the camera I'm worried about.
We find some shelter and when we continue, Ronaldo delivers an important message for Australia.
Then we need the support from the foreign countries, the closest neighbour like Australia and region, mostly.
An international from the UN is still a representative here because everybody here is very suspicious of what's going on and what will be the end of it.
Because they have a very ugly background and people know how to use a weapon, carry a weapon, how to shoot, how to kill.
And that's dangerous, very dangerous.
Anything else?
Good luck.
Prophetic words. Only a few minutes later, Ronaldo and his men are on high alert.
Government soldiers, the FFDTL, have been spotted by Ronaldo's sentries just down the road.
Function you're coming, no worries.
Tell me what's happening.
The FDTL is coming after us.
Just now?
Yeah.
Can you see them?
Oh yes, there.
How many people?
Are you sorry, are you sorry, are you sorry?
There's three men hiding just one is still standing, I can see them and I didn't think it's short.
The Australian Defence Force identified Alfredo Ronaldo as a future military leader when he attended training in Canberra.
Today he has a group of around 25 heavily armed men with him.
United?
Investment?
And then you numbers?
What are you talking about?
That means your life is not so far.
What was happening there?
They didn't want to redraw.
You gave them the opportunity and they refused.
I gave them so many times.
I gave them to go back, stay as they are so we can talk, we can sit and talk.
We didn't come here to fight against them, we came here to protect the people.
Yesterday they came here to shoot.
We're not here to fight.
But they come after us, for what purpose?
How many are there?
We don't know, there are many.
The government later said that the soldiers that Ronaldo fired on were unarmed, but within
minutes they're firing back.
I think so, it's not more than anymore.
We have to get out of here.
We will be trapped here I think.
I hope they can return to where they came from, to stop shooting.
With more grenades falling around us, it's time to make a dash for safety.
Brother, I'll go up there.
Come on brother, you go up there, you go down the stairs.
Right on.
It's okay.
Well this seems like a pretty bad escalation, we're not really sure which way to run at
the moment because I don't know my way around here we shouldn't go with them
we're right in the middle of this here this is bad
I call Foreign Minister José Ramos Jota and a member of Parliament Leandro Issa to ask for help
both men had told me they'd been negotiating with Ronaldo I just spoke to someone in Delhi
to Leandro Issaq and he told us to call the Australian Embassy I don't actually have the
number on me so it's a bit awkward because I don't know if they're chasing us and he said
that the army don't want the world to know that they're firing on Alfredo because Alfredo was
organizing a peaceful dialogue with Ramos Jota and Leandro Issaq and Shanana supposed to be
scheduled in a couple of days but it doesn't look good at the moment for that to go ahead you can
see how close we are to Delhi it's just up on the hill behind all of the civilians I'm with
here helping us to get away showing us the path out of here plus the Alfredo's men are hoping
that this is the catalyst that brings Australian police peacekeepers into his team or at the
moment on the right and with three of Alfredo's guys we're being walked away from it there's
a still sporadic gunfire going on down below hello hello did you hear me I just had a call
from the Australian Embassy in Delhi and they've advised us to leave Alfredo's soldiers if they're
the ones that have brought us up here but they've said that we should leave them and and hook up
with some local villagers go into a into a local village around here just sit and wait it out but
the problem is that the local villages around here are all empty because they've all left scared
for their lives during our four-hour walk to safety we're joined by dozens of refugees from
nearby villages they must have thought the days of packing up the rice pot and the bedroll were
long gone a mere six years after finally gaining independence history seems to be repeating itself
frightened and uncertain and once again fleeing for their lives
some of Ronaldo's troops come up the hill carrying an injured colleague he later dies
back at their base it's now raining heavily and the path is turning to mud if it's possible we
want to we ask today UN peacekeeping force to come this team or to maintain the security because
we have some security in here this is a this is a real escalation of the problem isn't it a real
yes getting worse yeah because of the stupid of the leader leader of the full force the
very force the very stupid man and now the situation is very bad in Delhi and we hope
that peacekeeping force can't destroy as soon as possible to maintain the security thank you very
much thank you after four hours we finally arrive at a small hospital where the Australian
Embassy has promised to send a car while we're waiting the gunfire seems to be getting closer
and I feel for the villagers that I'm leaving behind they have no friends in high places to
call for help traveling back to Delhi apart from the flooding it all seems quite normal but not
for long the fighting just a few kilometers away is already spreading ending any hopes for
reconciliation the next morning on Wednesday the Prime Minister Marie Alcatiri is called to the
President's office Prime Minister it was later reported that President Janana Gushmao wanted
to invite foreign peacekeepers and argued with Alcatiri who was resisting later in the day
both leaders issue separate orders to the army adding to the confusion over who is in charge
it soon becomes clear that significant numbers of police are defecting to the rebels but United
Nations police advisers refused to discuss the unfolding crisis no comments no comments no
problem general Anis Bajwa is deputy head of the United Nations mission here and he's trying to
figure out what's happening so what do you know now at the moment what's happening oh I'm just here
to find out yeah we met in the morning yeah but do tell me what are who are you representing
sbs television sbs yeah okay was it you yesterday up in the mountains yeah with yourself we need to
talk about that I'm sure yeah yeah okay we will all right let somebody to this is a particularly
difficult time for the UN it works closely with both the army and police who are now engaged in
open warfare is Brigadier General tell Matan Rakh still in control of the armed forces I'm trying
to call him I don't know I'm he must be I'm trying to call him his number is busy yeah
yeah good morning it is it is general Bajwa yes good morning general are you at the headquarters
if you are I'm I'm okay okay but your operation is going on over there the armed forces chief
Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak explains he's busy leading the operations against Ronaldo yeah
no no I will not talk to you now I will talk to you later in the afternoon sometime okay yeah
I'm bottom bye bye okay but while the army commander is fighting renegade soldiers a few
kilometres away his own home is under attack by a different group of rebel police hello I'm
actually in the middle of a bloody there's a gun battle going on pretty close by I don't
know if you can hear the shots yeah they're attacking I think they're attacking the armed
forces chief's house it's we've just arrived but the the shots have been ringing out now
for about 20 minutes on the hill behind just seeing a car speeding down the hill now it's
an ambulance and apparently one of the ambulances was shot at it's not long before government
soldiers arrive and move in to defend their commander's home it's three o'clock Wednesday
afternoon and with the battle around the army chief's house still raging the president has
invited all the foreign ambassadors to his office when the Indonesians arrive I can't help but
wonder what they make of the crisis in their former province
the Australians are next to arrive everyone here suspects the purpose of the meeting is
to call for foreign peacekeepers but when the diplomats depart half an hour later they're
not giving anything away is the meeting over the meeting finished yeah the decision been
made yeah but you maybe should talk to them okay thank you Australia's ambassador is no
more forthcoming a few hours later the decision to invite peacekeepers is finally made public
Australia New Zealand Portugal and Malaysia all agree to send troops it's Thursday two
days after the firefight in the hills and relations between army and police have now
hit an unimaginable low an amateur cameraman filmed these police officers minutes after
they were gunned down by government soldiers they'd been under siege in police headquarters
all morning and were finally escorted out after the UN took their weapons away and guaranteed
their safe passage police officer Lucia Fatima Jimenez believed the UN could protect her from
the soldiers 24 hours after the invitation for international help the appearance of two
Australian warships is well received certainly a sight for sore eyes that ship waiting a few
days for that after today's gun battles yeah what have you been doing today hiding mostly
inside the hotel yeah office it's a lot of machine gun fire just outside the office so
this is good when it's calmed everything down so it's really great but the soldiers were
too late to save the family who lived in this house a woman and four of her children aged
from three to 14 burned to death here as the first soldiers were arriving the house was
targeted in an act of revenge the woman who lived here was related by marriage to East
Timor's police minister Rogerio Lobato Lobato comes from the west of the country where most
of the rebels are from the mob that torched this house are from the east and were enraged
when police defected to the rebels a deadly cycle of revenge has begun for me it's something
that's unbelievable then why we can kill each other in one day and it's like it's it's happening
a sudden you know for me it's very it's very sad that you know why we are we are Timorese
we have to find each other and then it's a big responsibility for the leaders I think
leaders of this country that they should reflect themselves do a big reflection to you know
why these things happen that it's not easy you know to govern this country we have to
be we should find a good leader to govern this country otherwise these things will continue
to happen it's a tragedy that Australian peacekeepers are required once more on the
streets of dilly foreign troops may eventually be able to re-establish peace but to reunite
East Timor its leaders need to win back their people's trust and that will prove much harder
just a couple of normal working days in the life of a dateline video journalist in this
case David O'Shea in the thick of the escalation in East Timor as that woman in David's piece
of real reality television said we should reflect on why these things happen not a bad
point David's back safe and sound and since then of course chaos has reigned supreme in
dilly the Australian troops have arrived to try and stem the tide of violence and tonight
President Guzmão and Prime Minister Alcatiri are still arguing over who controls the armed
forces David by the way would like to pay a special
tribute to his local Timorese assistant Jose Bello in fact David went so far as to tell
me he couldn't have managed without his mate Jose.
