(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-02-12 11:54

UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Timor-Leste to remain calm Monday after what Ban called the "brutal and unspeakable attack" on critically injured President Jose Ramos-Horta.

The UN chief offered prayers for the Nobel Peace Prize winner's speedy recovery from gunshot wounds. The UN's most powerful body wished the president a speedy recovery and called on the government to bring "those responsible for this heinous act" to justice.

"The Security council further calls upon all people in Timor-Leste to remain calm, exercise restraint and maintain stability in the country," said a council statement read at the end of an emergency meeting. "The Security Council urges all parties in Timor-Leste to resolve any disputes through political and peaceful means within the framework of its democratic institutions."

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Ban also called on the Timorese people in a statement "to remain calm and refrain from all violent acts," U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said.

Rebel soldiers shot and critically wounded Ramos-Horta and opened fire on Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who was not hurt, in a failed coup attempt early Monday in the tiny Pacific nation that gained independence from Indonesia in 2002. Fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and one of his men were killed.

Ramos-Horta was injured in the stomach and chest and flown to a hospital in Australia. Dr. Len Notaros, the general manager of the Royal Darwin Hospital, said Tuesday morning that three surgeons operated on the president for three hours overnight to remove bullet fragments and repair wounds, and his condition was "extremely serious" but stable.

Timor-Leste, a former Portuguese colony, gained independence in 2002 after voting to break free from more than two decades of brutal Indonesian occupation in a UN-sponsored ballot.

The attempt to kill the country's two independence leaders was a striking reminder of the bitter rivalries beneath the surface in Asia's newest nation which analysts said could trigger more unrest and political turmoil in coming days.

At the start of a two-date UN General Assembly debate on climate change on Monday morning, Ban told diplomats, government officials, business and civil leaders, and environmental activists he wanted to add his voice "to all who pray for the full and speedy recovery of Timor-Leste's President ... after the brutal and unspeakable attack he suffered."

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