International peacekeeping troops could be in East Timor within three days following yesterday's announcement by President B.J. Habibie, who bowed to fierce international pressure to help end the violence there.
President Habibie announced the decision in a nationally televised speech in which he said he wanted to "stop the suffering and mourning immediately".
The Indonesian Foreign Minister, Mr Ali Alatas, will travel to New York today to work out the details of the intervention force with the UN Security Council.
While a timetable has yet to be announced, foreign troops could be deployed in the former Portuguese colony within 72 hours, according to officials in Australia, which is expected to provide 4,500 troops for a 7,000-strong international mission which will work alongside Indonesian troops.
The Australian Defence Minister, Mr John Moore, said last night that the peacekeeping force could be put together in three to five days. Several Australian warships and military aircraft have been on high alert in the port of Darwin for over a week.
The United States is expected to supply troops but only for communications and logistics. Britain will send a destroyer and a Gurkha battalion from Brunei, according to the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook. Portugal will supply two battalions of troops, and France, New Zealand and Italy have also offered forces.
Mr Habibie's announcement reverses Indonesian policy that peacekeeping troops would not be invited into the territory until November. It comes after two weeks of killing and arson by pro-Jakarta militias and Indonesian troops since East Timor voted by 78.5 per cent on August 30th for independence.
There was relief in the besieged UN compound in Dili where 1,000 refugees are sheltering, though this was tempered by fear that militias and soldiers would vent their anger about the decision before peacekeepers arrived.
Violence has continued over the weekend, with reports of Indonesian soldiers shooting at people in the hills around the town of Dare and killing a woman.
The East Timorese spokesman, Mr Jose Ramos-Horta, speaking in New Zealand, urged the United Nations to deploy the peace force without delay and bring food supplies to starving refugees. In Jakarta, Mr Xanana Gusmao, the East Timorese resistance leader freed last week after more than six years in jail and under house arrest, pledged restraint from his guerrillas.
The Indonesian President told the nation he had telephoned the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, "to inform him about our readiness to accept international peacekeeping forces through the UN from friendly nations to restore peace and security in East Timor, to protect the people and to implement the result of the direct ballot of 30th August".
He said: "Too many people have lost their lives since the beginning of the unrest, lost their homes and security. We cannot wait any longer. We have to stop the suffering and mourning immediately. Since I took over, I have been determined to strengthen democracy in Indonesia, the rule of law, to stabilise our economy and to guarantee human rights. My position on East Timor was and continues to be determined by these values and goals."
President Clinton, in Auckland for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit (APEC), was described as "pleased" by the announcement. The White House National Security Adviser, Mr Sandy Berger, said the US contribution would involve troops to handle airlifts, logistics and communications support.
President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal cautiously welcomed Indonesia's decision and appealed for rapid deployment of the peacekeeping force and the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Air drops of relief supplies into East Timor could begin within days, diplomats in Auckland said.