JAKARTA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked Timor-Leste leaders not to issue any statement that could be interpreted as if there had been an element in Indonesia possibly involved in the shooting of President Jose Ramos Horta on Feb. 11.

    The president made the remarks after Ramos-Horta linked the assassination attempt to "elements" in Indonesia upon his returning to Timor-Leste from Australia for treatment on Thursday morning.

    Ramos-Horta was quoted by the Associated Press in Dili as saying the ongoing investigations revealed that notorious rebel commander Alfredo Reinado -- who perpetrated the assassination attempt and was killed in an ensuing firefight -- had "a lot of contacts ... with elements in Indonesia".

    Yudhoyono told local reporters on Friday that he talked with Ramos Horta on April 10 when the Timor-Leste leader was being treated in Australia for gunshot wounds, Antara news agency reported on Saturday.

    "In the phone talks, Ramos Horta briefed me on the investigation being conducted on the shooting incident and asked for assistance from the Indonesian government," Yudhoyono said.

    After the phone talks, President Yudhoyono said, he instructed Indonesian Police Chief General Sutanto to immediately take pro-active steps to handle the matter.

    He said two high-ranking police officers were sent to Dili on April 13 and 15 to collect information from the Prosecutor General of Timor-Leste and to analyze the information together.

    "It was at this time that the Prosecutor-General officially asked, with arrest warrants, the Indonesian police to arrest certain names that were suspected of involvement in the shooting," he said.

    Based on the information, the Indonesian police acted swiftly to locate the whereabouts of these suspects. Everything progressed quickly, professionally and with a high spirit of cooperation, he said.

    "That is why I am a bit surprised to hear President Ramos Horta's statement yesterday (Thursday) because it is my understanding that the telephone conversation on April 10 is not for public knowledge yet. I had instructed my ministers and police chief not to disclose that information to the public in order to give an opportunity to the Indonesian police to hunt these suspects," he said.

    He said the Indonesian police arrested three citizens of Timor-Leste in accordance with the arrest warrants on Friday morning. They are identified as Egidio Lay Carvalho, Jose Gomes, and IsmailSansao Moniz Soares.

    "I would like to emphasize once again that these three suspects are all members of the military of Timor-Leste, who have been involved in the rebellious activities, and suspected of involvement in the shooting incident," he said.

    He said shortly after the shooting attempt on Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on Feb. 11, the Indonesian government condemned the incident which he saw as an assault on democracy.

    "I wrote a letter to Xanana on February 25, 2008, to ask what we could help. Before I phoned Ramos Horta on April 10, I had phone conversation with him on March 23 when he was being treated at the hospital," he said.