APSN | Former East Timor guerrilla leader and opposition figure Mauk Moruk killed in security operation, government says

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Former East Timor guerrilla leader and opposition figure Mauk Moruk killed in security operation, government says

ABC Radio Australia - August 9, 2015

East Timor's new leader in the footsteps of Gusmao – Nikkei Asian Review. March 10, 2015
East Timor swears in new prime minister and unity government – Agence France Presse. February 17, 2015
Opposition party member sworn in as premier of East Timor – Associated Press. February 16, 2015
East Timor president picks former health minister Rui Araujo to replace Xanana Gusmao as prime minister – ABC Radio Australia. February 11, 2015
Xanana Gusmao: East Timor's president accepts 'poet warrior's' resignation – ABC Radio Australia. February 9, 2015

A former East Timor guerrilla leader and long-time political opponent to Xanana Gusmao has been killed in a security operation, the government says, raising concern about unrest in Asia's youngest nation.

Mauk Moruk, widely considered a symbol of resistance against the government of the gas-rich but impoverished nation, was killed in a joint police and military operation in the Fatulia area on Saturday.

"Every effort was made during the operation to avoid this outcome," a government spokesman said in a statement, calling for calm. "Regrettably the operation was unable to avoid a confrontation resulting in an exchange of gunfire."

The spokesman added that there were "two other fatalities and a number of injuries" but did not identify them.

After decades under harsh Indonesian rule, when rebels battled Indonesian forces from the hills, the former Portuguese colony has struggled to develop economically since independence in 2002.

Mr Moruk, born Paulino Gama, often confronted another old guerrilla leader, Xanana Gusmao, the country's first president who stepped down as prime minister earlier this year, challenging the government to do more about poverty and unemployment.

The government said in a statement in May that a joint operation targeting Mr Moruk's Maubere Revolutionary Council (KRM) began in March following attacks on police.

Among those was an attack on a police compound by a group equipped with firearms and explosives which left four security personnel injured. It described the KRM as illegal and said the joint operation was to "prevent and suppress criminal actions from illegal groups".

A significant number of the group's members had surrendered, the statement said. The government spokesman said the country's security commission was due to meet on Monday to discuss the situation. (AFP/Reuters)

Source: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-08-09/former-east-timor-guerrilla-leader-and-opposition-figure-mauk-moruk-killed-in-security-operation-gov/1479488.