Indonesia still questioning "elements" having links with Reinado

The Indonesian government is still waiting for clarifications about whom Timor Leste President Ramos Horta meant when he said "elements in Indonesia" had had contacts with rebel leader Alfredo Reinado.

Ramos Horta was quoted by the Associated Press as saying in Dili recently there was a possibility rebel army officer Alfredo Reinado, who had tried to assassinate him in an armed attack on his residence but was himself killed in an ensuing shootout, had "a lot of contacts ... with elements in Indonesia".

Horta was shot in the stomach during the pre-dawn attack on February 11, 2008 on his Dili home by rebel soldiers led by Alfredo Reinado.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda who earlier challenged Horta to provide evidence on his statement said on Monday Indonesia was waiting for explanations from Timor Leste on who were the `elements` referred to by the Timor Leste president.

"We want to hear whether the problem referred to as `elements` by President Ramos Horta has been overcome," Wirajuda said referring to the arrest by Indonesian police of three Timor Leste citizens last Friday.

The arrest was made based on information provided by the Timor Leste government.

"We rely on the information given by the Timor Leste government as to what it has meant by `elements`. We don`t know whether or not the elements meant are the ones we have arrested or whether there are others," the minister said.

The three Timor Leste citizens who were arrested by the Indonesian police were Egidio Lay Carvalho, Jose Gomes and Ismail Sansao Moniz Soares. They had entered Indonesia illegally.

Last week, in New York, Wirajuda challenged Horta to provide evidence on his allegation. "If Timor Leste can provide evidence, we will be ready to take follow up actions on the allegation," he said.

He said the Indonesian government had an open mind. If there was information ...