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Australians to monitor Indonesian poll CANBERRA: Australia will send up to 25 observers to monitor Indonesia's national elections in June, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said on Wednesday.

"To assist in making the June elections as successful as possible, I wish to announce today that we are planning to send a team of around 20 to 25 observers, including parliamentarians, to monitor the elections themselves," Downer said.

"We would envisage these observers being part of a wider international effort," Downer told a National Press Club lunch.

Australia has pledged up to A$15 million (US$9.3 million) to help with the poll and has offered technical aid through the Australian Electoral Commission for about 350,000 polling booths.

On the subject of East Timor, Downer said Australia was fixed on a peaceful transition towards either independence or autonomy for the former Portuguese colony, and would do what it could to ensure any move away from Jakarta's rule went smoothly.

Indonesia and Portugal agreed earlier in March to let the East Timorese decide whether they wanted autonomy or independence in a U.N.-organised direct ballot in July.

Downer said he hoped a U.N. peacekeeping force would not be needed in the territory, but added Australia would be prepared to "respond appropriately" to any possible contingency.

Fighting between pro-independence and pro-Jakarta forces in East Timor intensified in January after Indonesia said it could countenance full independence for the troubled province.

Australia has previously said it was too early to talk of sending troops to East Timor, but earlier this month announced that due to regional unrest it had doubled the number of soldiers ready for rapid deployment.

"We hope that East Timor's transition can be handled in such a way that peacekeeping forces are simply not required. But if that does not eventuate, and if the U.N. makes the call, Australia will respond appropriately," Downer said.

Downer said Australia's action at the time would be decided by considerations such as resources available, risks to personnel, the probability of success and whether defence force or police contributions would clash with other interests.

"What we won't be doing is indulging in Rambo-esque posturing, defining a hairy-chested role for ourselves before asking the basic question of what the objective should be."

The United Nations has said it would need to establish a presence in East Timor soon to organise the July autonomy ballot, but it has stopped short of talking about a peacekeeping force.

Indonesia invaded East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, in 1975 and annexed it the following year, a move not recognised by the United Nations.-Reuters