|
DILI - TIMOR Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta on Sunday said he had been misquoted by the media and had not intended to blame Indonesia for a role in attacks earlier this year that left him fighting for his life.
The Nobel laureate was shot outside his residence in Dili, the capital of the south-east Asian nation, by rebels who separately ambushed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unhurt.
Ramos-Horta, who returned Thursday following two months of treatment in Australia, was last week quoted as saying that elements in Australia and Indonesia were involved in the attacks.
On Friday, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he was surprised at the reports.
But Mr Ramos-Horta said he had not intended to implicate Indonesia or the Indonesian armed forces.
'It was a misrepresentation by the media. I always said individuals in Indonesia. These individuals can be East Timorese, or they may already have become Indonesian citizens,' Mr Ramos-Horta said after attending a church service at Dili cathedral.
Tens of thousands of East Timorese fled into Indonesian-controlled West Timor during unrest amid a 1999 vote for independence. Many of them have since opted to remain in Indonesia. -- AFP
| 
