Timor-Leste In Crisis After Attack

East Timor President Ramos Horta Shot in Assassination Attempt

Feb 14, 2008

Timor-Leste (or East Timor) is in turmoil after co-ordinated attacks on President Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao in a suspected failed coup.

An assassination attempt on February 11, 2008 on Jose Ramos Horta, President of Timor-Leste, resulted with Ramos Horta in a serious condition in an Australian hospital and the East Timor government declaring an attempted coup by rebel forces.

On Monday morning, President of Timor-Leste Jose Ramos Horta was the victim of an assassination attempt near his home in the capital Dili, suffering gunshot wounds to the shoulder and stomach.

Security forces returned fire and rebel soldier leader Alfredo Reinado and another rebel soldier were killed. The Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped a similar attack on the same morning uninjured.

The East Timor government believed the attack was a coup attempt and interim President Vincente Guterres initially declared a 48-hour state of emergency, later extended to February 23. The Australian government sent more troops to Dili to help enforce the state of siege.

President Jose Ramos Horta in Australian Hospital for Treatment

The President was flown to Royal Darwin Hospital in northern Australia for treatment, where doctors reported Ramos Horta was in a very serious condition and would need further surgery. Doctors said the president was in intensive care in an induced coma and would remain on life support until the following week.

In 1996, Ramos Horta jointly received a Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for Timor-Leste’s independence, gained in 2002 after more than two decades of Indonesian occupation.

Further Unrest for East Timor

East Timor has been in turmoil since May 2006 when violence broke out after military chief Mari Alkatiri sacked 600 of the country’s 1,400-member army on charges of desertion. Hundreds of soldiers had gone on strike in February 2006 over pay and alleged discrimination.

The sacking led to a revolt, with Reinado one of the key leaders, causing widespread chaos for months, leaving 37 dead and more than 100,000 people displaced from their homes.

Timor-Leste Struggles as New Democracy with High Food Insecurity

Timor-Leste is one of the world’s poorest nations and as a new democratic country it is struggling in its development objectives. The World Bank data on Timor-Leste in 2005 showed that life expectancy was 56 years and the adult literacy rate was only 58 per cent.

According to the World Food Programme (WTF), food insecurity in Timor-Leste was widespread due to low crop yields, lack of income, drought, underdeveloped markets, and civil unrest. The WTF reported that around 47 per cent of children under the age of five were chronically malnourished and 43 percent severely malnourished.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that infant and under-five mortality rates were relatively high, with malaria, diarrhoea and respiratory infections taking a heavy toll. Contaminated drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor nutrition exacerbated the health risks.

For more information on the current situation in Timor-Leste or about development assistance, visit the World Food Programme, UNICEF or Oxfam websites.

The copyright of the article Timor-Leste In Crisis After Attack in E Asian Affairs is owned by Jodie Martin. Permission to republish Timor-Leste In Crisis After Attack in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.