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East Timor rebels say they will hand over weapons

Rebel soldiers in East Timor have promised to turn in more weapons to Australian-led peacekeeping forces, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said yesterday.

The surrender of the firearms showed "good faith and a sense of responsibility" on the part of the rebels, Ramos-Horta told reporters before departing for Bali for a crisis meeting with his President Xanana Gusmao and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Rebel troops, led by Major Alfredo Reinado, surrendered their weapons to Australian troops Friday at their mountain hideout of Maubisse, south of Dili.

"He [Reinado] pledged to continue to see whether there are other weapons," Ramos-Horta said, adding that Reinado was trying to persuade other armed groups to lay down their arms.

Ramos Horta said he had spoken with Major Augusto Tara, another rebel leader holed out in an area outside Dili, who had also promised to "surrender weapons in negotiations with Australian forces."

Ramos Horta commented that the surrendering of weapons was a step in the right direction but that "It's not the end of the story. If anything, it shows good faith and trust in us [by the rebels] that truth and justice be done."

The disarmament will add to increasing pressure on UN-backed international prosecutors to investigate rebel claims that East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri had been arming gangs to foment violence, Ramos Horta added. The government must now ensure that the "international community holds a thorough investigation into weapons distribution," he said.

The tiny Catholic nation was plunged into civil unrest when Alkatiri in March sacked 600 soldiers from the country's west who had complained of discrimination. This triggered clashes among rival security forces and gang wars on the streets that killed 21 people.

Some 2,200 peace keepers from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal were flown in to quell the violence and are now trying to restore order in Dili, where over 133,000 people have been displaced.
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