UPDATED ON:
MONDAY, MARCH 03, 2008
7:32 MECCA TIME, 4:32 GMT
 
NEWS ASIA-PACIFIC
E Timor president forgives attacker
Jose Ramos-Horta was voted president
in elections last May [EPA]
East Timor's president, recovering from an assassination attempt last month, has forgiven the rebel soldier who led the attack on his home, the country's interim president has said.
 
Jose Ramos-Horta was seriously wounded in the attack early on the morning of February 11 and is still receiving treatment in an Australian hospital.

But in a statement issued from his hospital bed, he forgave Alfredo Reinado, the rebel leader and former soldier who was killed in the shootout, and asked East Timor's government to support Reinado's family.

Ramos-Horta also called for calm and asked for a thorough investigation into the attacks on himself and Xanana Gusmao, the prime minister who escaped unharmed.

 

The statement was released by Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo, East Timor's interim president, after visiting Ramos-Horta in the Darwin hospital where he is being treated on Monday.

 

"The president also said that he forgives the deceased, Alfredo Reinado Alves, and asked the government to support Alfredo's family," de Araujo said.

 

'Stop the violence'

 

Ramos-Horta, a Nobel peace prize laureate, was flown to the Royal Darwin hospital in Australia's Northern Territory shortly after he was shot and remained in an induced coma for 10 days.

 

"The president is very lucid, showing his concern for the country and the responsibility of the head of state," said de Araujo.

 

"The president also expressed gratitude to the nation and to the church for their prayers and asked people to stop the violence."

 

The attack on Ramos-Horta's home underscored the continuing fragility of East Timor's nascent democracy six years after becoming an independent nation.

 

Australia and New Zealand have both beefed up their security presence in the country, with international forces joining local police hunting the other renegade soldiers accused of taking part in the attacks.

 

On Sunday one of the top surviving rebels involved in the raids, Amaro da Silva Susar, surrendered to police, admitting he took part in the attack on Ramos-Horta's home but denying that he shot the president.

 

"I surrendered because I want my country to progress in the future, so its people can live in calm," he said.

 

East Timorese authorities have issued at least 17 arrest warrants for renegade soldiers accused of taking part in the attacks.

Source: Agencies
Related:
East Timor president conscious  
(21 Feb 2008)
Hunt on for East Timor rebels  
(16 Feb 2008)
E Timor declares state of emergency  
(12 Feb 2008)
E Timor president wounded in attack  
(11 Feb 2008)
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