CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Australian leaders have come out against plans for the United Nations to take over peacekeeping operations in Timor-Leste.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told Parliament Thursday it would be easier for Australian troops to continue leading the 3,000-strong peacekeeping force, which has restored calm in Timor after riots in May killed 21 people and forced 150,000 to flee their homes.
At the United Nations, however, Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a number of countries want Australia's forces to step aside in favor of a "blue helmets" operation. A U.N. Security Council vote is expected this week.
Downer says Australia will stay in command of the military component whether or not the United Nations takes charge of the overall mission.
"We think it would be just easier to do and simpler to administer if it was a 'green-helmeted' operation -- as it is at the moment," he said.
