Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Dili
A nervous calm was in the air Saturday night in Dili after the evening news showed rebel military leader Maj. Alfredo Reinado handing over his weapons to Australian troops in a brief, orderly ceremony.
He had received written orders from Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao and in turn received protection from the Australians, the largest of the multinational peacekeeping forces here.
""He turned in his weapons just like that?"" said an astonished local watching the broadcast from Maubisse, 60 kilometers south of the capital.
But residents, thousands still living in tents, are not yet fully relieved, although Xanana will leave Saturday for a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono with one problem off his chest.
At least two civilian groups displayed weapons to journalists last week, saying they had acquired them from dismissed interior minister Rogerio Lobato, on orders from Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri to murder political opponents ahead of next year's polls. Both have denied the charges, but there are weapons in the hands of not-so benign groups nevertheless.
On Friday three men, reportedly members of a group of another rebel major, ran into the entourage of foreign and defense minister Jose Ramos-Horta outside Dili and had their weapons confiscated.
These other armed groups ""should follow the example of Reinado"", Ramos-Horta said Saturday at the airport.
Brig. Michael Slater, the Australian commander coordinating the multinational forces here, says protection will be given to all armed groups if they surrender their weapons.
""I am giving an example to the others,"" said Reinado, the former military police commander, referring to the other armed groups. He left his base following the April 28 shooting of army protesters and their supporters, blaming government forces.
Investigations have begun into a number of incidents, for which Ramos-Horta has promised ""justice and accountability"".
All the rebel groups, along with politicians from the minority opposition parties (the government's Fretilin has 55 of 88 parliament seats), want Alkatiri to step down -- another reason refugees say they cannot go home just yet. Government officials are optimistic that they will return home or move to temporary shelters within a few weeks.
If the Prime Minister and secretary-general of Fretilin steps down, ""there will be war,"" said a party executive. It became the next morning's headlines, and the homeless cowered back into their tents. The PM ""should step down, so that refugees can go home"", said a government official, requesting anonymity. But the prospect of being trapped between anti- and pro-Alkatiri crowds -- the latter would number at least 100,000, the PM said -- is something people would like to avoid.
In the refugees' experience, mobs mean ugly violence, thrown stones, deadly arrows and machetes.
""We're not afraid of guns and rifles, you die instantly,"" says a refugee unwilling to be identified. ""It's these other weapons ... terrible."" A nun at the Motael Clinic here says most wounds are from arrows.
Until Saturday, a few gunshots were still heard in the distance almost every night, even though some 2,000 multinational troops and police were patrolling the city.
After failing to find weapons in the Liquica district west of Dili, Slater said, ""The Timorese are very good at hiding weapons,"" but assured people the troops would keep looking for them.
