The Wall Street Journal-20080212-Politics - Economics- East Timor Declares State Of Emergency

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Politics & Economics: East Timor Declares State Of Emergency

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A WSJ News Roundup

East Timor declared a state of emergency after attacks on the country's top leaders in a failed coup left the president in "extremely serious" condition with gunshot wounds to the chest.

Acting President Vicente Gutterres announced a two-day state of emergency in an address on national television. The order allows authorities to ban demonstrations and carry out raids in homes without securing judicial permission.

A group of rebels led by a cashiered police commander staged the unsuccessful coup yesterday in which President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot and critically wounded.

In a second gunbattle about an hour later, rebels opened fire on the car of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, an independence-struggle hero, who wasn't harmed. In the earlier fighting outside Mr. Ramos-Horta's house, three men -- including rebel leader Alfredo Reinado -- were killed.

The 58-year-old Mr. Ramos-Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for leading a campaign to make East Timor independent of Indonesia, was shot in the stomach and chest. After initial treatment at an Australian army hospital in Dili, he was flown to a hospital in Darwin, Australia, under what was described as an "induced coma."

Hours after the shootings, Mr. Gusmao told reporters in Dili, "I consider this incident a coup attempt against the state by Reinado, and it failed." He said the rebels had aimed to "paralyze the government and create instability."

Australia said it would send more soldiers to the international peacekeeping force it heads in East Timor.