DILI(AP): Australia's foreign minister on Thursdaybecame the highest-level foreign official to visit East Timor since it installed a new government, arriving days after machete-wielding youths clashed in the streets.
Alexander Downer will discuss the current security situation with top government leaders as well as representatives of the opposition, Vice President Jose Louis Guterres said.
The one-day visit comes weeks after President Jose Ramos-Horta named his close political ally, Xanana Gusmao, the country's new prime minister.
The move was aimed at ending a standoff following inconclusive parliamentary elections in July, but the former ruling party Fretilin protested, saying it garnered the most votes in the polls and had the right to govern. Several people have died in rioting since then.
Downer, who arrived in Dili early Thursday, "will discuss the current security situation" with Ramos-Horta, Gusmao, and with Secretary General of Fretilin, Mari Alkatiri, among others, said Vice President, Jose Luis Guterres.
He also will meet Australian and New Zealand troops, deployed to East Timor after a military mutiny last year triggered clashes that left dozens dead and led to the collapse of the young government. (***)
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