East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, has warned that the United Nations peacekeepers stationed in the new nation are not managing to control border raids into East Timor by pro-Indonesian militia, and that the Australian Government and the United Nations have been slow to take the threat seriously.

Transcript:

John Highfield: And as Australian war plans for Iraq intensify, East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, is today warning that the United Nations peacekeepers stationed in this new nation on our doorstep, are not managing to control border raids into East Timor by pro-Indonesian militia.

Mr Ramos Horta says the Australian Government and the United Nations have been slow taking the threat seriously.

Mr Ramos Horta says if the destabilising activity on the border with Indonesian West Timor is not stopped and stopped soon, the UN peacekeeping mission which involves around 1,000 Australian soldiers, may need to be extended beyond next year.

The East Timorese Foreign Minster is also proposing that the Australian forces and other peace keepers join his country's own fledgling Defence Force units for joint operations on the border. Here's Matt Brown in Canberra.

Matt Brown: East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, says pro-Indonesian militia attacks across the border from West Timor into East Timor have been a growing problem since late last year. One incursion even occurred under the nose of Australian peacekeeper.

Jose Ramos Horta: One militia said he crossed the border on December 18, just ten metres away from some Australian units, stationed along the border.

Matt Brown: An attack at the start of the year in the Atsabe district overwhelmed the local Police. But Jose Ramos Horta says the United Nations and the Australian military were initially sceptical about the magnitude of the problem and the need for military involvement.

Jose Ramos Horta: In the beginning, obviously, their common thinking in Timor by the UN, the UN Police and the Australian side as well, were that these were matters low in order. Even after the violent incident of Ahabe [phonetic], you know the sub-district of Atsabe near the border, where a group of armed men totally overwhelmed the police. This is not just a Police matter, this becomes an army or defence matter.

Matt Brown: The scepticism of the Australians and the international security force in East Timor has diminished in part, due to the intelligence from captured militia.

Jose Ramos Horta: The captured militia say that they enter East Timor from West Timor as early as December last year. So contrary to some factors some people believe or try to make us believe that these were internal problems of East Timor. Actually there are not.

They are militias who train in West Timor. The militias came in with weapons, sophisticated weapons that totally overwhelm our police.

Matt Brown: Now Jose Ramos Horta wants the rules of engagement changed in East Timor. He wants to get his forces into action on the border along with the Thai and Australian peacekeepers stationed there.

Jose Ramos Horta: The agreement that we have had so far is whether there should be a deployment at all of the East Timor defence force. Our defence force is still in the making but its knowledge of the terrain is well known, its experience in dealing with this kind of activity is well known.

While the peacekeeping force do not know the people for obvious reasons, they don't speak the language, they don't know the terrain. So we have proposed joint activities between our defence force and the peacekeeping force. That is where the UN is a bit reluctant and understandably so, because the UN doesn't want to get into any mistake.

Matt Brown: Negotiations are underway now to beef up the joint security effort on the border with West Timor. But given the determination of Australia's Defence Minister to push ahead with re-establishing close ties with the disgraced Indonesian Kopassus special forces ten days ago, Mr Ramos Horta delivered a difficult warning to the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer.

Jose Ramos Horta: I did raise the possibility of militia involvement or Kopassus involvement.

Matt Brown: Mr Ramos Horta argues that if the situation with militias on the border isn't dealt with soon, the United Nations' mission in East Timor, may need to be extended, and that will involve a difficult decision for an overstretched Australian military, which must consider this ongoing security sore on our doorstep as well as costly operations in the Persian Gulf and other peacekeeping duties.

John Highfield: Matt Brown in Canberra.