Bronwyn Hurrell, Canberra – Australia has an affinity with East Timor that dates back to World War II when Australian soldiers were supported and sheltered by the locals, who paid a high toll at the hands of the Japanese.

A new closeness was forged when Australia stood in the frontline of support for East Timor's transition to independence from Indonesia in 1999. Now, the recurrence of unrest in Dili on the long, slow road to nationhood has sparked calls for more Australian assistance to our troubled neighbour.

Riots last week in the capital left at least five people dead in the worst violence since independence. A demonstration by hundreds of sacked soldiers escalated into violence that left about 50 injured and 100 houses destroyed. Nearly 600 military personnel were sacked for deserting amid complaints of discrimination between those from the east and west of East Timor.

Disenfranchised youth, spurred by criminal gangs, also were believed to have been part of the turmoil. The incident sparked real concerns the fragile peace might not hold before elections early next year.

Prime Minister John Howard yesterday was grappling with the issue of sending in more Australian troops. With its mission due to expire in weeks, the United Nations was considering an extension. Experts, meanwhile, were calling for more to be done about the root of the turmoil, poverty.

Institute for International Business, Economics and Law senior lecturer Jim Redden, of Adelaide, was in East Timor when the trouble broke out. He was training government officials in the relationship between trade, the economy and poverty reduction. He described a cocktail of ills that led to one or two ugly scenes after what had been a series of well-behaved demonstrations.

"It wasn't always the military – disgruntled youth, an argument, a bit of alcohol, frustration," he said. "We certainly felt a fear of the unknown."

His first-hand experience left him in no doubt the UN should extend its involvement in the young country. Mr Redden said compared with such places as the Solomon Islands, East Timor hardly was "a basket case". "It has been the most peaceful post-conflict country over the past 50 years. Generally, things are working quite well," he said.

Mr Redden, however, also said when food, transport and communication services went down during the riots, there was no emergency plan. "I think the continued presence of the UN there needs to be promoted and supported by Australia and America to allow them to get such emergency plans in place," he said.

Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty agreed it was not unusual for problems to occur in countries with police forces that sprung from military organisations. "We see this from time to time in many places, sometimes because of the historical evolution of policing in some of these countries," he said. "We're going through another period, unfortunately, of violence, but we have a situation we hope can be resolved very quickly."

The Federal Government indicated it only would send ground troops to East Timor if sought by the East Timorese administration. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan intended to beef up security forces to head off any voter intimidation in the lead-up to the polls.

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta has asked the UN Security Council to maintain a presence in Dili after its current political mission comes to an end next month. "We don't need any major police force, what we need is for continuing police advisers to our police," he said.

Experts said the help East Timor really needed was economic, rather than military. The last of Australia's peacekeepers left East Timor in June last year. The remaining contingent of more than 30 Australians included a handful of Australian Federal Police, who were training local border patrols, and about 30 Australian Defence Force members working on defence co-operation activities with East Timor's fledgling defence force. Each of the operations had cost in excess of $30 million for the five years to the end of 2005-06.

International politics senior lecturer Dr Felix Patrikeeff, of Adelaide University, said impoverishment was at the heart of East Timor's problems. "If the problem of the economy, the impoverishment of the place, had been dealt with, you probably wouldn't have had those (riots) emerging," he said. "It needs to be remembered that it's the newest state, it's a state that's had years of political turmoil."

Dr Patrikeeff said the training Australia was providing was not enough to solve East Timor's problems. "It needs direct economic aid," he said. "There just isn't enough money to go round. You need to deal with the root causes of the problems."

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer has flagged discussions with the UN could lead to an extension of its mandate in East Timor. "It's a decision that ultimately rests with the UN Security Council, although we are going to be, being East Timor's next-door neighbour, a country that has a considerable bearing on it," he said.