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E. Timor tense as congress begins
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australia, New Zealand and Portugal have made plans to evacuate their citizens from East Timor if a tense political situation in the capital Dili again turns violent. At least five people have died and about 30 have been injured in recent weeks in riots stemming from dissatisfaction among members of East Timor's armed forces. Australia has already sent extra embassy security forces to Dili and has put two navy transport ships on standby in the Timor Sea. A third warship is on its way to the area. As the ruling Fretilin party congress begins Wednesday, East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri is under pressure over perceptions that he has mishandled the spate of violence that has wracked the tiny, impoverished country in recent weeks. He is being challenged for party leadership by Jose Louis Guterres, East Timor's ambassador to the United Nations, and could step down as prime minister if he loses the ballot. President Xanana Gusmao, the former Fretilin leader who led the guerrilla war against Indonesia during that country's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor, has urged Alkatiri and his government to resolve the security problem. Thousands of residents of Dili have fled the city to camp in the hills after vehicles, shops and offices were burned and trashed by angry mobs. At least five people have died in the riots and protests by soldiers sacked for desertion. The 600 dismissed soldiers went on strike in March, claiming that those from the western part of the island were being discriminated against. 1999 referendumEast Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, which already controlled the western half of the island. East Timor finally won freedom from Indonesian rule in 1999, when a U.N.-organized referendum on August 30 of that year resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence. But as many as 1,500 people died and much of East Timor's infrastructure was destroyed when pro-Indonesian militia gangs went on a rampage in the aftermath of the vote. Eventually, at the invitation of Indonesia's then-President B.J. Habibie, an Australian-led multinational force entered East Timor on September 20 and restored order. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in Sydney Tuesday that "any time the East Timor government or the United Nations asked us to contribute to stability again in East Timor we'd obviously look favorably on that request." He said Australian needed to be in a position to help evacuate people if the situation in Dili worsened. East Timor is the world's newest nation and among the poorest, with many of its people surviving as subsistence farmers. Tourism is a potential economic earner for the country, but the deteriorating security situation has impeded development. Another possilibility is oil and gas revenue from fields in the Timor Sea. The biggest such resource is the Greater Sunrise field, which could deliver as much as $15 billion in gas revenues to East Timor over a 20-year development period. Australia and East Timor have already signed an agreement to share revenue from the field, located 450 kilometers (280 miles) from the Australian city of Darwin and 80 kilometers from East Timor, but full development has been delayed over a disagreement about where an LNG gas processing plant should be built. 
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