Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended on Friday that nearly 2,000 U.N. troops and police be sent to East Timor as part of a new peacekeeping mission after violence in May that killed at least 20 people, according to Reuters. The mission would take over peacekeeping duties from an Australian-led international force sent in to restore peace in Asia's newest state after a wave of clashes and arson attacks. Malaysia, New Zealand and Portugal as well as Australia contributed troops and police to that force, which has now begun a gradual withdrawal as the tiny nation stabilizes. East Timor was plunged into violence after then-Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri dismissed 600 soldiers from its 1,400-strong army for mutiny when they protested over alleged discrimination against soldiers from the west of the country. A new government was sworn in a month ago. Annan, in a report to the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, recommended up to 1,608 police officers and 350 soldiers for the new mission, which he said should be given an initial one-year mandate. Its role would be to help the government ensure political stability, support 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections and maintain public security. It would also help East Timor rebuild its defense forces and its economy, fight poverty and promote and protect human rights, Annan said. A former Portuguese colony some 1,300 miles (2,100 km) east of Jakarta, East Timor was occupied by Indonesia at the end of 1975. It became independent in 2002 after being run by the United Nations for two-and-half years following an independence referendum in August 1999. U.N. peacekeepers were active in the country during the years of U.N. administration, but the Security Council ordered the mission to be gradually phased out after independence. The May violence prompted U.N. officials to warn of the potential risks of ending peacekeeping operations elsewhere too soon. "We now have a responsibility not only to remain committed to assist (East Timor) but to show that we commit ourselves to do so on a long-term basis," Annan said.
