New York - East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta called on the UN Security Council on Thursday to continue its assistance to the tiny island nation in the Pacific, a call supported by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

A UN mission comprised of nearly 3,000 police and civilian personnel has been providing security to the country and training to local forces. The UN was first involved 10 years ago in helping East Timor to gain independence from Indonesia and in organizing elections to establish the current government.

Dili - Two years after the police and military collapsed and months of anarchy drove more than 100,000 people into displacement camps, East Timor has yet to fix the underlying causes of the instability, and, given the poor government turnout at a stability retreat Friday, it would seem there is still little political will to address the issues.

Only a handful of government officials bothered attending the government-sponsored retreat that was designed to look for long-term solutions to the problems threatening the stability of Asia's newest nation.

Dili - The East Timor government on Monday began emptying the largest displacement camp left in the capital in the first step in helping 2,000 displaced people return home.