September 1, 2006 - 8:34AM
Two days after their audacious escape from an East Timor jail, rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and 56 other inmates remain on the loose, amid renewed violence in the capital.
As international peacekeepers put down new gang violence in Dili, Australian and other foreign police were no closer to recapturing Reinado and his supporters.
It is believed the former military police commander has retreated into the mountains behind Dili, leaving police to answer embarrassing questions about how he was able to simply walk out of Dili's Becora jail on Wednesday.
Reinado has been blamed for some of the worst violence that rocked East Timor in May, and it's feared he will rearm his supporters and threaten the relative calm peacekeepers have maintained since then.
The commander of the Australian Federal Police contingent in Dili, Steve Lancaster, offered few details about Wednesday's escape, which has sparked a blame game about who is responsible.
"It appears on facts available to me at this stage it was opportunistic at that time, and that's probably as far as I'm prepared to go," Lancaster told the ABC.
He said "there was force used in the initial action" at the jail, allowing some inmates to flee.
"Prison guards have been interviewed at this stage and nearly all the civilian witnesses that were around the area have been interviewed. It's now a case of putting that information all together and working out where or how this event actually took place," he said.
With that still unknown, the political fingerpointing began on Friday.
East Timorese Prime Minister Jose Ramos Horta said an Australian refusal to provide security at Becora prison had allowed Reinado and the others to escape.
But Australia's Prime Minister John Howard dismissed the claim, saying his advice was that it was not the role of the military to station guards at the jail.
"I am very concerned that these people escaped but I am quite certain the Australian Defence Force has done the right thing."
Police hunting for Reinado and the other inmates have made contact with their relatives and known associates, broadening their inquiries beyond Dili to centres across the country.
They want him back in custody before he has a chance to foment new unrest, but it seems he's already begun to rebuild his support base.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that he had circulated a letter within hours of his escape, urging East Timorese to rise up and join him in a "people power" revolution.
"All of us know that this government is illegal because it has not followed the democratic process," the Herald quoted the letter as saying.
People should "not be afraid to go into the streets to protest together because we have the right to remove the government".
But in a video statement obtained by Reuters Television, Reinado insisted he did not want to stage a new revolt.
"I have escaped from Dili not to revolt but because the judicial system in Dili is not good enough. But I will account for my action and answer any charges against me when the system has been improved," he said.
Meanwhile, gangs armed with stones and machetes clashed in Dili leaving at least eight injured, hospital officials said.
The fighting broke out after a gang attacked a refugee camp in Dili with stones, witnesses said.
International security forces arrived soon after to restore order.
East Timor's latest troubles began in May when fighting erupted between factions in the newly independent country's security forces. Tens of thousands of people still live in temporary camps.
Dili suffered a series of protests that evolved into widespread violence in May after 600 members of East Timor's 1,400-strong army were sacked.
In late May, former military police commander Reinado led his followers into the mountains behind Dili and refused to give up weapons until then-Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned.
An estimated 100,000 people were displaced and at least 20 killed in the violence, which led to deployment of a 2,500-strong international peacekeeping force.
The revolt stemmed from divisions between troops from the east and those from the west of the country, which was ruled by Jakarta from 1976 until an independence referendum in 1999.
Reinado had been facing attempted murder and firearms charges.
El ex primer ministro de Timor Oriental, Mari Alkatiri, quien fuera forzado a renunciar debido a los desórdenes públicos desatados en meses pasados en este nuevo país, ha acusado a elementos extranjeros de haber contactado militares timoreses para organizar un golpe de estado contra él. Los individuos, cuya nacionalidad no se ha aclarado, eran probablemente australianos o estadounidenses.

Mari Alkatiri también acusó al primer ministro australiano, John Howard, de presionarlo para que renunciara. Según Alkatiri, a él lo querían sacar porque el era muy “independiente” y eso amenazaba los intereses que Australia tiene por los yacimientos de gas del Mar de Timor.

Para completar de enturbiar la misión australiana, el miércoles (30), el mayor del ejército timorés Alfredo Reinado, quien se encontraba en la cárcel por ser el organizador de los desórdenes y las protestas que causaron decenas de muertes y llevaron a la renuncia de Alkatiri, escapó de la prisión con mas de 50 prisioneros y huyó con estos hacia la región montañosa y selvática de la isla.

Después del incidente de la fuga, el actual primer ministro José Ramos Horta declaró que el cuidado de los prisioneros estaba a cargo de las fuerzas australianas, descargando indirectamente la responsabilidad de la fuga sobre este contingente.

Por otro lado, Australia se ha visto envuelta en una disputa con las Naciones Unidas sobre el comando de la misión de ese organismo internacional en esta antigua colonia portuguesa.

Brasil, Portugal y Timor Oriental quieren que Australia retire sus tropas del país y que dé campo para que una misión de Cascos Azules se despliegue y asuma el control de la seguridad de la isla. Pero Japón y Estados Unidos prefieren que Australia esté al frente de la misión.