Timor task
Volume 11, No. 45, June 15, 2006
By Cpl Andrew Hetherington

Vigilant: Cpl Antonio Goncalves searches a local youth while Sgt Darren Andrews maintains security. Photo by LAC Rodney Welch

AUSTRALIAN soldiers continue to disarm rogue elements, protect citizens and support humanitarian efforts in a stabilising mission in East Timor that has created the conditions for the nation’s political leaders to resolve their differences.

The Commander of Operation Astute, Brig Mick Slater, said from the moment Australian soldiers hit the streets of Dili the East Timorese had been very supportive.

“The locals were very welcoming and they were quick to show us where the trouble spots were so we could get in there and do something about it,” Brig Slater said.

He said the difficulties the force was encountering in Dili were not easy to deal with.

“The complexity of the problems in East Timor is almost incomprehensible,” he said.

“There is no black and white in anything … and people have multiple allegiances they don’t declare.”

He said soldiers had to contend with two types of violence on Dili’s streets.

“There is the opportunistic stuff, and that is something that we are able to deal with quickly,” he said.

“There is, on the other hand, a good degree of coordination between some of the gangs, and it is quite likely that they’re using radios and mobile phones. But we’re getting on top of all of them.”

The work that the force had been carrying out so far in Dili had been a success on two levels, Brig Slater said.

“We have been disarming people, taking 1000 weapons off the streets, such as shotguns, high-powered military rifles, handguns and grenades,” he said. “We have also seen some positive changes in the political dynamics of the country.

We have actually started to see conditions stabilise sufficiently enough for people to start talking and to settle their differences. This is directly a result of what the Australian soldiers have been doing on the ground.”

As part of their role, soldiers from 3RAR have been providing protection for Dili firefighters and their families while they were out fighting fires.

Brig Slater was disappointed that such support was not accurately reflected in some media coverage in Australia.

“[The media] will show footage of soldiers standing there looking towards a burning house. What they don’t show is just beside the soldier is a fireman, who the soldier is protecting so he can fight the fire,” he said.

An important ADF initiative has been the creation of a Civil and Military Cooperation team that provides a link with the UN, non-government organisations and government departments. “Without them the force would not be able to interact with the local community,” Brig Slater said.

The force is currently in the stabilisation phase of the operation.

“We were pleased at the early success and the way in which we were able to get, for example, the Timorese Army to consolidate in their barracks – no one expected us to be able to do that in the time that we did,” Brig Slater said. “Those early successes have enabled us to get into this phase of the operation a lot sooner than what was expected.”
He said the mission would last for as long as necessary.

“Quite simply there will be good days and bad days; hopefully the good days outnumber the bad days. We will crack this nut, but it is going to take time,” he said.

“I think we will reach a point where we can probably scale down the force, redeploy some people back to Australia, or to the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Iraq or anywhere else we are serving at the moment.

“But I think we are likely to have a continuing presence here for some time yet.”

He said he was impressed with the way the Army, Navy and Air Force had combined as one force during the operation.
“The overall performance of the force on a scale of one to 10, I would rate it at least at 11.

“I have never seen such a good joint working environment; there is no Army, Navy and Air Force, there is only just the task force. This is one, whole organisation all moving forward together,” he said.

Brig Slater said it had been easy working with the overseas forces in East Timor.

“The Kiwis and the Malaysians that are here in Dili are very professional and are focused on the military mission,” he said.

“They are totally supportive of the Australian forces and are prepared to get in there to work side-by-side to achieve the same thing with us at the end of the day.”