The unfortunate thing about overseas is that it is full of foreigners, and they have different traditions from us. That seems to be the gist of some lamentations here about the state of East Timor.

The conclusion some are drawing is that Australia has to keep full-time garrisons in the "arc of instability" around our shores. In Timor it will have to fight off efforts by the dastardly Portuguese to restore their absurd cultural influence.

The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, fortunately had some sensible things to say after his quick weekend visit to Timor. One is that Australia cannot rule its neighbours and needs other partners in a new United Nations program to build up Timor's institutions. Another is that it may not be a good idea to demand the head of East Timor's Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, as a claque of commentators are doing.

Mr Alkatiri after all leads the majority party in an elected parliament. He and the rest of the parliament face elections next April. He is clearly not the most liked politician in East Timor, and Mr Downer may not much like him either after bruising negotiations on offshore oil. He carries a lot of the responsibility for the army split that started this crisis. If he had offered to step aside earlier, as we suggested, that would have been a gracious gesture that might have calmed things more quickly.

Now it would look like submitting to blackmail by a renegade officer, Major Alfredo Reinado, who walked out with some of the military policemen he commanded and a lot of weapons and put himself at the forefront of the army rebels.

His grievance is an alleged order by Mr Alkatiri for troops to open fire on rioters in Dili on April 28, causing six deaths. Whether Mr Alkatiri gave such an order is unclear, however. Perhaps nobody did. The later massacre of disarmed policemen while they were under the charge of a United Nations official suggests fire control is weak.

All these incidents should be investigated fully. Meanwhile, shoring up East Timor's political institutions is more a priority than scoring points against particular leaders, none of whom emerge with much credit so far, except the Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta. The Portuguese, latterly trying to make up for their ignoble exit in 1975, can hardly be blamed for their interest. Their culture is a plus for a small country that needs tourism to create jobs, and it opens windows to a wider world.