Alfredo Reinhado

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Alfredo Alves Reinado (c.1967 – ), sometimes spelt Reinhado, is a former major in the military of Timor-Leste, the FDTL. He deserted on 4 May 2006 to join approximately 600 former soldiers who had been sacked in March 2006 after complaining of regional discrimination in promotions, sparking the 2006 East Timor crisis. Reinado is one of the leaders of the rebel soldiers, and the highest ranking deserter.

Reinado was captured by the Indonesian military (TNI) during their invasion of East Timor in 1975, and served as a porter for TNI in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.^[1]

He escaped to Australia in about 1990, working in the shipyards in Western Australia. After the referendum in which East Timor voted for independence, Reinado returned to the country where he entered the military of East Timor (Falintil-FDTL, or simply FDTL) and was appointed commander of the Naval Unit (which consists of two patrol vessels donated by the Portuguese Navy).^[1]

"In July 2004, Alfredo was removed as commander for getting into a fight with the police, and the following year was sent to a three-month naval training course at the Australian Joint Command and Staff College. He reportedly became involved with a junior female Timorese soldier there and was disciplined on return by being removed from the navy and given command of the military police, a distinct downgrading." The already existing break between Alfredo and his commanding officers worsened, so that there may well have been personal factors that drove him to desert in early May 2006, in addition to outrage over F-FDTL actions.^[2]

However, due to his acerbic style, he was eventually transferred to the Army headquarters in the capital Dili by Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, the commander of the FDTL.^[1]

Reinado's father and sister live in Australia. Over several years, Reinado travelled to Australia to receive military training from the Australian Defence Force, studying defence management in October 2003 and emergency management in August 2004. In 2005 he completed a three-month navy training module at the Australian Command and Staff College in Canberra.^[3] Reinado has also received training from the Portuguese military and the Brazilian military.^[4] He was eventually assigned to the military police, where he was in charge of a platoon of 33 troops.

On 4 May Reinado and 20 members of his platoon, along with four riot police, deserted their barracks and joined the rebel soldiers in the hills, taking with them two trucks full of weapons and ammunition.^{[1] [5]}

In an interview, Reinado said that he was motivated to leave his barracks and join the rebels following an incident on 28 April in which FDTL forces fired upon a crowd of rebel soldiers and unemployed youths demonstrating in the streets of Dili. He asserted that the Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri had given the order to fire into the crowd, because in his role as a military policeman he had escorted Colonel Lere Anan Timor, the chief of staff to FDTL commander Brigadier-General Ruak, to a meeting with Alkatiri, and had heard Lere say immediately after the meeting that "I already have orders to take action."^[4] Reinado also called for a full investigation into the events of 28 April, saying that Alkatiri's orders were "an unjustified act under the constitution".^[4]

He was detained by Portuguese and Australian soldiers in Dili on July 26 on charges of illegally possessing weapons. Angered by his arrest he refused to sign court papers. He was later charged with murder.

On 30 August 2006 ALFREDO Reinado, escaped from Dili's main jail with more than 50 other prisoners. Prison warden Carlos Sarmento said at least 57 inmates fled after breaking down several walls on the east wing. The breakout occurred within the New Zealand military's area of operations and came just a week after the UN was given approval to replace the Australian-led mission responsible for keeping law and order.

The escape was by coincidence on the anniversary of the 1999 vote for independence from Indonesia in a referendum.

The escape has created a new crisis for international security forces in East Timor, which have been struggling to curb gang violence. Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said after visiting the jail two weeks ago that security there should be improved.

Paulo Remedios, Major Reinado's lawyer, said that Major Reinado had been worried for some time about the lack of security at the jail.

"Threats have been made against Alfredo and he was taking them seriously," Mr Remedios said. "He told me of a plan to snatch him from the jail and to take him out of Dili on a boat — that was the rumour that my client heard."

A senior foreign security analyst based in East Timor said Major Reinado, former chief of the country's military police, "could easily disappear into the mountains" if not caught quickly. "And the problem is, there are still plenty of guns unaccounted for up in the mountains," he said.

Australian soldiers (Including SAS troopers - part of the Australian-led intervention force sent into the country in May) and Australian Federal Police officers are involved in a massive manhunt for the unarmed escapees, who include common criminals.

On Thursday, March 01, 2007, Alfredo Reinado was quoted as saying that "Australian special troops" were 500-800 metres away from his hideout and he would "fight to the end" against Australian troops surrounding him, according to Al Jazeera. Reinado and his men were involved in a stand-off near the village of Same, 50km (30 miles) south of the capital Dili, in East Timor's central highlands which stemmed from an incident involving the accused theft of automatic weapons by Reinado from a police post. Reinado criticized the government, stating that, "If any political leader wants to harm the stability of this nation, I have a right to stand up and defend the people." Police forces who have commented on the situation are demanding that Reinado give up his weapons in the name of keeping safe the people of Timor.^[6]

[edit] See also

• 2006 East Timor crisis
• Operation Astute

[edit] References