Diana crash survivor to
rebuild life in East Timor(UK Times)
BY ANDREW PIERCE AND BOB HOWARTH IN EAST TIMOR
TREVOR REES-JONES, the sole survivor of the car
crash in which Diana, Princess of Wales, died, has started
a new life in one of the world's most dangerous
troublespots.
The former bodyguard to the Princess and Dodi Fayed
has taken up the post of deputy head of security for the
United Nations in Suai, East Timor, which is at the centre
of running battles with armed militia.
Tomorrow sees the first anniversary of the massacre of
200 men, women and children in the town, which is close
to the disputed border with West Timor.
Mr Rees-Jones, 32, who underwent massive
reconstructive surgery on his face after the Paris crash
three years ago, is on a one-year contract alongside UN
peacekeepers from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and
Pakistan. Two UN peacekeepers were recently killed in
the town in clashes with the Indonesian-backed rebels.
The former British paratrooper arrived quietly on August
4 only weeks after making an emotional pilgrimage for the
first time to the Princess's last resting place.
Mr Rees-Jones, whose book The Bodyguard's Story
comprehensively rejected Mohamed Al Fayed's
conspiracy theories about the crash in which his son also
died, spent two hours at the island grave at Althorp,
Northamptonshire.
The trip was planned after he decided to leave Britain to
try to rebuild his life 8,500 miles away from the constant
reminders of the crash. Mr Rees-Jones went to live in his
family home in Oswestry after he recovered from his
injuries, and worked for a security firm. He has studiously
avoided publicity and declined to speak about his new
role.
But his life in Suai is in stark contrast to that of personal
bodyguard in the Al Fayed empire. He sleeps in a
rundown building that has come under fire from the militia.
He runs the risk of contracting dengue fever and malaria,
which have struck a quarter of the Timor-based soldiers
this year.
Tomorrow up to 10,000 people are expected to attend a
memorial service at Suai Cathedral, where the massacre
took place last year in the aftermath of the disturbances
that followed the 78 per cent vote for independence from
Indonesia. The local militia embarked on a nationwide
rampage that left thousands dead and sent hundreds of
thousands fleeing.
Suai, in southwestern East Timor, is the headquarters for
more than 2,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers
who have been in regular clashes with well-armed militia
patrols crossing from West Timor.
Mr Rees-Jones, a key figure in the security arrangements,
still has physical and emotional scars from the crash. In his
book he branded as a myth the claims that the Princess
and Dodi Fayed chose an engagement ring while
holidaying in Monte Carlo just before their deaths.