Dili – An army rebel who played a key role in the revolt that sent East Timor into chaos earlier this year held reconciliation talks with the defence chief on Thursday on the crisis that has beset the country and its security forces.

It was the first public appearance by Major Alfredo Reinado in the capital since he escaped from a city prison along with 50 others in August in the wake of the violence that broke out in the Southeast Asian state in May.

Reinado, who retreated to the jungle after his escape, was flown by helicopter from his hideout by Australian peacekeepers to meet Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak at the military headquarters in Dili. "I want the freedom to find a solution (to East Timor's crisis)," Reinado told reporters after the meeting.

Matan Ruak said he had been given a mandate by the government to hold a dialogue with Reinado.

"We both have the willingness to contribute to solving Timor Leste's problems," he told reporters after meeting President Xanana Gusmao. "We all agree that we have to talk and this is a good thing. We will see other steps to be taken in the coming days," he added.

At least 30 people were killed and around 100,000 displaced in the violence, sparked by the sacking of 600 mutinous members of East Timor's 1,400-strong army. Reinado deserted the military in sympathy with the sacked soldiers, who complained of discrimination, and led a revolt against the government.

The chaos led to the deployment of an international peacekeeping force which currently numbers 2,500 troops and police.

Authorities were reluctant to recapture Reinado after he escaped jail where he was held on murder and weapons charges. They had instead called for dialogue with him.

Violence breaks out in the tiny nation sporadically, and some Timorese say gangs often fight one another with stones and homemade weapons.

East Timor voted in a 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, which annexed it after Portugal ended its colonial rule in 1975. The country became fully independent in 2002 after a period of UN administration.