DILI: Australia withdrew its last remaining police officers from East Timor yesterday as international forces wind up a 13-year presence in Asia’s youngest nation, where thousands have died in political turmoil.
The eight Australian officers serving with the UN Police boarded a Darwin-bound plane from the capital Dili as the United Nations prepares to officially end its peacekeeping mission by December 31.
International forces began pulling out in earnest in October, when the UN handed policing responsibility back to the nation which recently celebrated a decade of formal independence that ended Indonesia’s 24-year brutal occupation.
Australian police commander for the mission Charmaine Quade expressed confidence East Timor could handle its own security after successful national elections this year and the formation of a new government.
“Australian police have been there to contribute to the enhancement and professionalisation of the Timor-Leste police, and the competence the national police here have shown is testament to how far they’ve come,” she said.
The move comes after the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force (ISF) ceased its security operations in November and began pulling out some of its 390 troops from the country.
Australia has stationed 50 police at a time in East Timor under the UN since 2006, with 33 deployed this year under a bilateral capacity-building programme.
AFP
