Timor Leste roundup

Yesterday morning at Becora, Timor Leste, Kiwi troops led by Major Eugene Whakahoehoe took over from Charlie Company of Australia's 3RAR battle group just hours upon arrival.

They immediately set out to patrol some of Dili's toughest districts, tasked with bringing gangs of thugs to heel in townships razed by the violence that still continues to erupt in East Timor's capital.

He said he doubted if the Kiwis would need to use their guns to face down the gangs of slightly-built Timorese: "You put a 100kg Kiwi into the middle of a crowd and it's quite easy to disperse a crowd."

That's right. My first rugby debut was for my school team in a friendly against the New Zealand College and it's not an over-exeggaration when I say that they STEAMROLLED all over us 95-0! And they were on average two years younger than us!

Get out! The Kiwis are coming!

Major Alfredo Reinado, the fired army commander whose rebellion triggered the collapse of security, blamed Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri for the crisis and said it wouldn’t be over until he was gone from office.

He accused the prime minister of ordering troops in April to open fire on civilian demonstrators who supported the rebels. Five people were killed when rioting erupted.

Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato, who was asked by the government to step down earlier this week, officially announced his resignation Thursday. He said he accepted “moral and political responsibility” for failing to ensure the safety of the police officers killed last week.

Defense Minister Roque Rodriguez also resigned Thursday. The government had announced earlier in this week he would be replaced.

Looks like Alkitiri is doing a Rumsfeld but for the sake of peace and a bigger cause than himself, he should be humble, accept responsibility and resign so that Timor Leste can move on as a nation.