Shot East Timorese president had agreed amnesty with rebels

As East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta recovers from his fourth operation since being shot by rebels in an apparent kidnap attempt last week, it has emerged that a secret amnesty agreement had been agreed between the president and rebel leader Maj. Alfredo Reinado, who lost his life in the attack.

The amnesty, negotiated at an old Portuguese fort, involved the rebel leader surrendering to New Zealand
soldiers, then facing trial before being pardoned in an amnesty to be
announced by Ramos-Horta later in the year.

However Reinado had become unstable in the ensuing weeks according to reports, fearing a challenge of his leadership of the rebels who he had led since an uprising in 2006, reports say, leading to the tragic  events in  Dili last week.

Sources have also alleged that a "third hand" may have played some role in destabilising Reinado, with the finger pointed at Fretilin, the country's largest political party, who nevertheless lost power in recent elections.

Fretilin though has denied any involvement calling in a statement for an International Commission of Inquiry to investigate the events and bring the perpetrators of the violence to justice.