A political solution to the violence in East Timor could take weeks to be hammered out, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta warned yesterday as the UN readied an aid appeal for the tiny nation.
"As far as a political solution [is concerned], that would take a few more days or even weeks before there is an absolute clarity of what direction this country is taking," Ramos-Horta said.
The government of Asia's youngest and poorest nation has called in more than 2,200 foreign troops to help, most of them Australian. Dili appeared calm yesterday.
Ramos-Horta was speaking as he toured a refugee camp at a convent where 14,000 people -- among an estimated 100,000 who have fled their homes -- are staying.
The unrest has exposed a rift between respected President Xanana Gusmao, a former guerrilla leader in the fight for independence from Indonesia, and Alkatiri, who has been widely blamed for the violence.
The prime minister has hinted that Gusmao used the violence to try to push him out of power.
The rebels and other political opponents of the prime minister are to launch talks this week aimed at coming up with a formula for modifying the Constitution to give the popular Gusmao greater powers.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator in East Timor Fien Riske-Nielson said the world body would issue a "flash appeal" later Monday at its New York headquarters for more aid and to raise as much as US$18 million needed to sustain operations here for three months.
Riske-Nielson also said the number of internally-displaced persons who fled their homes after violence last month was now estimated at 100,000, scattered in various camps around the capital Dili and nearby districts.
"We are planning to do an assessment again in the coming days because there are indications that the number could be increasing outside Dili," he said.
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