Refugee crisis and internal tensions dog East Timor

DILI (Reuters) - Delvina da Costa complained of squalidconditions and a shortage of food in the refugee camp where shehas lived for almost two years, but the prospect of returningto her old neighbourhood in Dili fills her with dread.

Her house in East Timor was burned down in 2006 during awave of violence that killed 37 people and forced 150,000 fromtheir homes, prompting the dispatch of international troops andUnited Nations police to restore order in the youngimpoverished nation of 1 million people.

"We feel it's not safe. There's no guarantee we will beprotected from attacks," da Costa, 26, said, holding her nakedone-year-old son in a refugee camp near Dili's largest hotel.

East Timor's government and the United Nations have starteda programme to relocate some 30,000 refugees living in campsthat dot the capital. Starting this month, food rations for thedisplaced have been reduced by half in an effort to preventrefugees from becoming too reliant on handouts.

Under the $15 million (7.7 million pound) programme, thegovernment will give $4,500 to each family whose home wasdestroyed as well as a two-month food ration and transportstipend, said Jacinto Gomes, state secretary for socialaffairs.

Those whose homes were damaged but which can still berepaired will get $3,000 and houses will be built in suburbsfor people unable to return to their former dwellings forsecurity reasons.

Gomes admitted that solving the refugee problems is not aneasy task.

"They have legitimate security concerns but the sooner theycan be relocated the better," Gomes told Reuters, adding thathe hoped the programme could be completed this year.

ETHNIC VIOLENCE

Allison Cooper, a spokeswoman for the United Nationsmission in East Timor, said that in addition to genuine fear,confusion over land ownership was also making it difficult forthe refugees to return home.

"It's very difficult for people who have become dislocatedto actually establish legally that they have land," she said.

The violence two years ago was triggered by the dismissalof 600 soldiers who complained that they had been discriminatedagainst because they were from the western part of the country.

The soldiers' sacking by the previous government promptedprotests that degenerated into ethnic violence and fightingbetween factions in the security forces.

Ethnic divisions and conflict in the security forces are inthe spotlight again following last week's attack on PresidentJose Ramos-Horta by army renegade Alfredo Reinado and some ofthe sacked soldiers who joined his revolt against thegovernment.

Ramos-Horta was shot and seriously wounded in the February11 attack on his house. Reinado was killed while leading theattack.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao escaped a separate attack onhis convoy the same day which was believed to have been carriedout by Reinado's followers.

Reinado became a powerful symbol of East Timor's east-westdivide after he deserted to join the sacked soldiers andlaunched an armed revolt against the government. Many in thewest of the country saw him as a hero defending their rightsand some politicians in the governing coalition also supportedhim.

He escaped from jail in Dili in August 2006 and evaded amilitary operation by Australian troops to capture him in hisjungle hideout, where he enjoyed protection from local people.

CRISIS SITUATION

The conflict in the predominantly Catholic nation is morecomplex than a divide between the east and west of the country,said Sophia Cason, an East Timor analyst for the InternationalCrisis Group thinktank.

"Within the east there are so many divisions between groupsthere. It's not like a cohesive east and a cohesive west," shesaid.

She stressed the need for reform in security forces and foraccountability for past crimes, saying that nobody had gone tojail for murders committed in 2006.

"None of these has been dealt with effectively, sohopefully the recent incidents will renew focus on thoseissues," she said, adding that the government should alsoaddress poverty, improve education and create investmentopportunities.

Refugees in the Dili camp, who are from the east, said thedeath of Reinado did not mean the threat against them was over.

"He may be dead but there are still others. As long as theyare still around, we won't sleep well," said one man, who gavehis name as Mariano. His friends nodded in agreement.

Jose Luis de Oliveira, director of East Timor's leadinghuman rights group Yayasan HAK, alleged that some oppositionpoliticians were trying to sabotage efforts to resolve therefugee problems to maintain a situation of crisis even afterthe death of Reinado in the attack on the president's home lastweek.

"People say once the Alfredo (Reinado) question isresolved, the refugee problem will be over, but as long asthese politicians have not achieved their goals, they willcontinue to perpetuate the problem," he said, noting that flagsof the opposition party, Fretilin, can be seen in most camps.

People in the districts who have to eke out a living havestarted to become jealous of refugees receiving food handoutsand this could create new tensions, he said.

East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, opted to break awayfrom 23 years of Indonesian rule in a violence-marred voteorganised by the United Nations in 1999. It became fullyindependent in 2002 after a period of U.N. administration butremains one of the world's poorest nations.

(Editing by Sara Webb and Megan Goldin)