East Timor President orders PM to resign
By Jenny Booth and agencies
Times Online

The President of East Timor has asked Mari Alkatiri, the tiny nation's controversial Prime Minister, to resign after weeks of disorder and violence.

"I can confirm the letter that President Xanana Gusmao sent yesterday to Prime Minister Alkatiri. The letter is asking him to step down from office," said a close aide in Mr Alkatiri's office.

He said that Mr Alkatiri would meet his council of ministers tomorrow to discuss what the Cabinet thinks about the President’s request. Asked if the Prime Minister would go, he said: "Most probably, he will resign."

Many East Timorese blame Mr Alkatiri for weeks of unrest in the capital, Dili. They say that his decision to fire 600 disgruntled soldiers in March was to blame for the subsequent clashes and gang warfare that has left at least 30 people dead and sent nearly 150,000 people fleeing from their homes.

The violence is the worst to hit the nation since it voted for independence from Indonesia seven years ago, sparking bloody rampages by militias seeking revenge.

Until now President Gusmao - a hero to most in East Timor - has been standing by the elected premier, but today it emerged that Mr Alkatiri has lost the confidence of many of East Timor’s ruling party, who accuse him of lying about distributing weapons to civilians.

"We asked the president to suspend him as prime minister and form a transitional government while waiting for next year’s election," said Vicente Maubucy Ximenes, who said he was acting as a spokesman for most of the ruling Fretilin party.

Mr Alkatiri’s critics have also accused him of forming a hit squad to kill his political opponents. Independent UN and Australian police investigations into the claims are ongoing.

Longuinhos Monteir, East Timor's Prosecutor-General, told the AP news agency today that there was no evidence to support the allegations, but the Prosecutor's decision yesterday to order the arrest of the country’s former Interior Minister for allegedly giving guns to Vincente "Railos" da Concecao - the self-proclaimed leader of the hit squad - has nonetheless added to the pressure on Mr Alkatiri.

The Prime Minister has so far resisted the calls to quit, and said earlier this month he would resign only if Fretilin voted him out of office - an option that had been considered unlikely after his re-election as leader in May.

Mr Ximenes claimed to represent party members from ten of East Timor’s 13 districts, but that could not be immediately confirmed.

"He was involved in the distribution of arms, however he lied to the people saying he was not involved," Mr Ximenes said, adding that even if Mr Alkatiri did not distribute the weapons himself , "he was fully aware of what went on".

The United Nations Security Council, meanwhile, has extended the mandate of the UN office in East Timor for a further two months, and has urged all parties in the beleaguered nation to refrain from violence and take part in the democratic process.

About 100 men today staged a loud but orderly protest demanding that Mr Alkatiri resign, the second day the capital has seen demonstrations against him.

"We came to force Xanana to please make a decision and to hear the people," thre protest's organiser, Augusto Junior Tridade, said, before leading the protesters through the midday heat to the UN headquarters.

Sukehiro Hasegawa, a UN special representative, greeted the men and urged them to express their opinions peacefully. "The UN is here to stay to help your country to get over this crisis," he said.

"The UN and the international community will remain impartial and independent in carrying out the investigations and finding out just what happened here so that justice for all will prevail."