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The Age
Political leader goes into hiding

Tom Hyland and Lindsay Murdoch, Dili
June 11, 2006

THE leader of East Timor's main opposition party has gone into hiding, fearing for his life following a death threat he says came from Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Democratic Party leader Fernando de Araujo said he feared for his safety after local police told him they had orders from "high levels in the Government" to shoot him.

The threat was delivered by police intelligence officers, he said, but they refused to carry out the order, "as their conscience told them a different thing".

The officers did not say who in the Government issued the order, but Mr de Araujo said he believed it came from Mr Alkatiri.

"The Prime Minister is one of the most extreme guys we have in this country," Mr de Araujo told The Sunday Age from a village safe house in East Timor's west. "It's not impossible for him to kill."

He also accused Mr Alkatiri of orchestrating violence that has plunged the country into a political and security crisis, and of ordering the distribution of weapons to militants loyal to the Fretilin party, led by Mr Alkatiri and which dominates the Government.

"He's already created terror in our society," Mr de Araujo said. "Now people are living in fear, not only in Dili but in all the districts, because guns are now in the hands of civilians.

"Who created this situation? It's the Prime Minister."

Mr de Araujo's wife, Jacqueline Siapno, a Melbourne University political science lecturer, fled Dili with their three-year-old son last week, after their house was burnt down.

Mr de Araujo blamed the destruction of his house on Fretilin militants who feared the Democratic Party was a threat to their control.

Mr Alkatiri is resisting pressure to stand down following the eruption of the crisis in late April that has paralysed the Government and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.

He has consistently denied orchestrating the violence. He has also denied issuing death threats and has promised to co-operate with a United Nations investigation into the violence.

The Australian Government has sought to appear not to be taking sides in the political stand-off, saying it was up to the East Timorese themselves to resolve.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has said allegations against Mr Alkatiri were "extremely serious".

Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Downer said the allegations needed to be investigated by East Timorese authorities. If they lacked the capacity, the allegations should be handed to the UN to investigate.

Mr de Araujo's comments came as the leader of a heavily armed group holed up in the western mountains raised the possibility of joining hundreds of rebel soldiers to force Mr Alkatiri's downfall.

Vincente da Concecao, alias "Railos", said that while he had different grievances to the rebels in two other groups, "we have a common objective to bring down Alkatiri's regime".

Mr da Concecao appealed for protection from international peacekeepers in Dili after publicly accusing Mr Alkatiri last week of arming his men and ordering them to wipe out Government opponents.

Australian forces in Dili said they would protect the men if they surrendered their weapons.

Speaking at a mountain-top coffee plantation, Mr da Concecao said his main demand was for his 30 men to be protected. "I am under threat. But I am prepared to testify before an independent tribunal and say that Alkatiri gave us weapons to be used to ensure that he remains in power," he said.

But suspicions remain that an unidentified political force is behind his group.


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