
DILI-East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot and seriously wounded Monday by rebel soldiers in an assassination attempt that plunged the fledgling nation into a fresh crisis.The Nobel peace laureate was airlifted to Australia for emergency treatment after being shot in a dawn gunbattle at his residence in which rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed, said Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.Gunmen also targeted the home of Gusmao himself in coordinated attacks that prompted a state of emergency in the fragile nation, where international forces remain on patrol after being deployed amid unrest in 2006.After exploratory surgery at an Australian military hospital in Dili, 58-year-old Ramos-Horta was rushed to the Australian city of Darwin for emergency medical treatment."I am hopeful for his full recovery," Royal Darwin Hospital general manager Len Notaras said after seeing Ramos-Horta, adding that he had been struck by up to three bullets. "The fact that he is in a stable condition is a good sign that we should see some reasonable outcomes for him...He's not fighting for his life but his injuries are extremely serious," the doctor told AFP."The next 24 to 48 hours will be a critical time for all of us."Ramos-Horta suffered two bullet wounds to the upper chest and one to the abdomen, Notaras said, adding that the president was heavily sedated but not on life support."He is in the process of recovery and is out of danger," parliamentary speaker Fernando de Araujo said while on a visit to Lisbon.Gusmao declared that a state of emergency would be in force nationwide for at least 48 hours, with a curfew beginning at 8:00 pm (1100 GMT) and people to be banned from conducting meetings or rallies.The declaration must still be formally approved by the acting head of state, first deputy speaker of the national parliament Vicente Guterres, but the curfew appeared to have come into force.An AFP correspondent said streets were deserted, shops and kiosks shuttered barring a few hotels, and Portuguese troops on patrol on several roads.Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his government would send "substantial" reinforcements to boost the 800-strong troop contingent already in East Timor working with 1,700 UN police to help stabilise the situation."This government will stand resolutely with the democratically-elected government of East Timor at this time of crisis," Rudd told reporters in Canberra, adding that he would visit the impoverished nation later in the week.New Zealand Defence Minister Phil Goff said his country also had troops on stand-by to head to Dili if needed.United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked and dismayed" over the attack, urged the nation's one million people to remain calm.Gusmao vowed to restore stability in a press briefing broadcast live on television and radio."The state will not tolerate any armed organisations or groups aiming at bringing down this state," said Gusmao, who served as president following independence in 2002 until Ramos-Horta was elected last year.He confirmed that rebel leader Reinado had died at the home of Ramos-Horta. The president and rebel had met previously for negotiations on his surrender."In the exchange of shots, Alfredo Reinado and one of his men fell on the spot and they have been taken to the morgue for autopsies," Gusmao said.Reinado emerged as a key figure in the 2006 unrest involving factions of the military and police that led to the deaths of at least 37 people and displaced more than 150,000 others.He was arrested on charges of illegal weapons distribution, desertion and attempted murder. He had however escaped from jail and eluded security forces since then.Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters that such acts of violence "cannot be justified" and said he was praying for his counterpart's recovery.The Indonesian military commander of the border region said he had requested that security be tightened to prevent the escape of rebels into Indonesia.Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and ruled the former Portuguese colony brutally until 1999, when the United Nations took charge and the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in favour of breaking away.Ramos-Horta was the troubled nation's international voice during the two decades of occupation and his efforts to bring peace to his homeland earned him a 1996 Nobel Peace Prize.
As in the days of Noah....