Peter Cole-Adams – The Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr Downer, telephoned his Indonesian counterpart, Mr Ali Alatas, last night to repeat Australia's concern over security breakdowns in East Timor.

Mr Downer said he emphasised the importance of next week's independence-or-autonomy ballot being free and fair. If it was a debacle, which he did not expect, it would cause international problems for Indonesia.

Mr Downer told ABC television he believed the Indonesian police and military had the ability to provide security for the ballot. "Whether they do remains to be seen," he said. "But there is no excuse for them not being able to secure the situation in East Timor after the ballot. Indonesia must understand the eyes of the world are on it, and [on] the behaviour of the police, military and militias."

He said security had improved in some parts of East Timor but there were still problems in the west of the territory and a potential for trouble in other parts. Mr Downer will meet the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, Mr Stanley Roth, in Canberra for talks centred on East Timor tomorrow. Mr Roth will address the National Press Club on Thursday.

The Australian Government will hope and expect that Mr Roth will put to rest suggestions that differences remain between Washington and Canberra over East Timor. Mr Downer was embarrassed earlier this month by the leak of a record of a conversation between Mr Roth and the Secretary of the Foreign Affairs and Trade Department, Dr Ashton Calvert, last February.

In it, Mr Roth was quoted as saying he believed a full-scale peacekeeping operation would be necessary in the territory. The US and Australia have since emphasised there are no policy disagreements, but the question of sending in armed UN peacekeepers was raised again last weekend by US Senator Tom Harkin during a visit to the territory.