East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta has paid tribute to a 15-year-old "hero" who alerted soldiers to rebel leader Alfredo Reinado on the day he was shot.
The Nobel Laureate was shot twice outside his Dili home on February 11. Reinado was shot dead in the attack, along with another rebel.
In an interview to be aired on ABC TV tomorrow, Mr Ramos-Horta says the "hero in this whole story" is a 15-year-old refugee who had been staying at the presidential compound for 18 months before the attack.
"It was him who saw Mr Alfredo Reinado taking weapons from the guards," Mr Ramos-Horta said.
"He then woke up two soldiers who were still sleeping in another area of the land, of the house, then one of them woke up, rushed to behind the house, saw Alfredo and aimed the gun at him. So this boy was really a hero."
Mr Ramos-Horta said he was shot in the back by one of Reinado's gang from a distance of less than 20m.
"The fact that I turned is what saved me because if I had not turned quick, I would have been hit ... on the chest." He also said that Xanana Gusmao lost touch with the East Timorese people during his presidency.
"Yes, he did lose touch. It's amazing how the five years you know can make a huge difference," he said.
After being hailed as a national hero in 1999, 2001 and 2002 Mr Gusmao registered less than a quarter of his previous vote five years later.
"That, I think, is partly because as president he didn't travel enough in the country," Mr Ramos-Horta said.
