A RETIRED Portuguese general who once commanded a UN force in East Timor claimed that Australia had provoked the crisis there in order to take control of the fledgling country. "What interests the Australians most is oil and gas," Alfredo Assuncao said in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias. "So what better way to control these enormously rich resources than to be physically present and control the country's political system?" said Mr Assuncao, who was chief of staff of a UN peacekeeping force in East Timor in 2000-01.More than 2200 troops and police from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal are currently in the former Portuguese colony struggling to restore order after an explosion of violence triggered by East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's decision in March to sack 600 soldiers. Dr Alkatiri is locked in a power struggle with President Xanana Gusmao.
Describing Australia as "the main enemy of the country," Mr Assuncao said the Australians had always wanted to "control everything and everyone" in East Timor and had been frustrated in this only because Mr Gusmao and Dr Alkatiri had previously shown a united front. "But the breakup of this union is opening the way for them to take control of the country," the newspaper quoted him as saying. Australia was trying to get rid of Dr Alkatiri "and anyone else putting East Timor interests above the ambitions of its neighbours," he said.
After the departure of the Portuguese, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia between 1975 and 1999, then came under direct UN administration until independence in 2002. Though the poorest country of Southeast Asia, it has vast reserves of oil and gas beneath the Timor Sea. Last January, East Timor and Australia signed a deal to share development of these fields following years of negotiation.
Also Friday, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs Fernando Neves said: "Australia should not get involved in the domestic affairs of East Timor. Neither Australia, nor Portugal. "Institutional questions in East Timor must be settled by the East Timorese," Mr Neves added.
Canberra and Lisbon have disagreed previously over their presence in East Timor. Earlier this month Portugal initially refused to put members of its National Republican Guard under the command of Australian forces in the country until an agreement was reached. Meanwhile the Portuguese Communist Party in a statement released Friday accused Australia of being an "occupation force" in East Timor.