Fed: east Timor would like Aust troops to stay on: Ramos Horta

AAP General News (Australia)
08-30-2000
Fed: east Timor would like Aust troops to stay on: Ramos Horta

East Timor plans to ask Australian troops to remain in the troubled territory even
after full independence, as part of a continued United Nations peacekeeping presence.

Nobel peace laureate and independence leader JOSE RAMOS HORTA says Indonesian West
Timor is still a security risk, and foreign troops would help deter violence.

He's told the ABC he hopes the Australian people will support that.

Foreign Minister ALEXANDER DOWNER will visit East Timor today as part of celebrations
for the first anniversary of their vote to end Indonesia's often brutal rule.

Australian soldiers form part of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor --
UNTAET -- which is preparing East Timor for its first elections, possibly in one year.

AAP RTV kmh/rt

KEYWORD: TIMOR HORTA (CANBERRA)

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