Indonesian ID card found on body of East Timor rebel leader

Dili, Sept 17 (DPA) - Slain East Timor rebel leader Alfredo
Reinado had an Indonesian citizenship card in his pocket when he
was shot on February 11 during an attack on the president, media
reports said Wednesday. Reinado, a former commander of the
military police in Dili until he left his post and took up arms
against the state in 2006, led a handful of rebels to the
president's home in Dili, where he was shot dead by presidential
guards.

However, his men continued the shootout and 30 minutes later
President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot twice as he walked toward
his home.

According to the autopsy report, the card was found during the
autopsy the afternoon of February 11, reported The Timor Post.

With a citizenship card, or KTP card as they are known in
Indonesian, Reinado could have fled Timor after the attack.

The Indonesian Embassy in Dili denied that the document was ever
officially given to Reinado, diplomats told Deutsche
Presse-Agentur dpa.

Victor Sambuaga, the Indonesian head of political affairs in
East Timor, said KTP cards are given only to citizens born in
Indonesia.

Sambuaga said he had no idea whether or not the card was real or
forged as Timorese authorities have yet to release the card to
his government for inspection.

He added that after seven months of investigation, the Timorese
government has yet to request any information about the document.

According to The Timor Post, Reinado's card bore the name
Simplisio de la Crus.

Sambuaga said newer cards are digital and solid plastic, but an
older card could have been tampered with quite easily. He
suggested Reinado got a real card and doctored it.

"The old type was only laminated so the photo could easily been
cut open and changed," Sambuaga said.

When President Ramos-Horta returned to East Timor in April after
two months of recovery in a Darwin, Australia, hospital, he
accused Indonesian television station Metro TV of giving Reinado
travel documents and smuggling the rebel over the border in 2007
to do a TV interview.

Metro TV has denied any illegal activity and Ramos-Horta has
since rescinded his accusations, though this latest revelation
could spark renewed speculation.