Fretilin fury as Gusmao made PM

The Australian – August 07, 2007

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta correspondent

East Timor's former governing Fretilin party has threatened to walk out of the national parliament after President Jose Ramos Horta offered resistance hero Xanana Gusmao the prime minister's job yesterday.

Mr Gusmao will rule a coalition led by his National Council for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), which failed to gain a majority in recent national elections but has formed a strategic alliance with several other anti-Fretilin groups.

Fretilin, which won 21 seats to the CNRT's 18 in the polls six weeks ago, is furious that it has been denied government despite having the greater number of representatives in the 66-seat parliament.

"The 21 members we have in the house will go to the people and ask them whether they want us to remain there at all," Filemeno Aleixo, a senior member of the one-time revolutionary party's still-powerful central committee, told The Australian yesterday.

Ex-prime minister and Fretilin secretary-general Mari Alkatiri had in recent weeks been desperately trying to shore up support to regain his old job, from which he was deposed by Mr Ramos Horta at the height of violence last year that left dozens dead.

However, Fretilin opponents had been calling for the Marxist-inspired movement to take the lead in inspiring a true multi-party democracy, with itself as a strong opposition force, rather than disputing the electoral results. Mr Ramos Horta has been careful in recent weeks to be seen seeking consensus from all groups after the electoral deadlock, but yesterday's decision made real what most observers had been expecting.

Even Australian Prime Minister John Howard, during a visit to East Timor a week ago, had, in an extraordinary diplomatic intervention, described Mr Gusmao as the country's likely next prime minister.

Fretilin's perceived economic mismanagement and failure to engage in basic infrastructure spending translated to shocking results for the party both at thenational legislative election and a preceding presidential poll, which Mr Ramos Horta won comfortably.

The party, whose co-founders include Mr Ramos Horta and Mr Gusmao, had become increasingly marginalised in East Timorese politics as ordinary people questioned why millions of dollars in oil and gas money now flowing after landmark agreements with Australia was not being spent.

However the two men, who left the organisation more than 15 years ago arguing it did not adequately represent all East Timorese, will still need Fretilin's support in the new government if they are to launch a promised infrastructure and public spending program.

"We will ask some Fretilin members to sit in the cabinet, if they wish," CNRT Secretary-General Dionisio Babo said.

"We believe we are following proper procedure and the constitution, and that the people will also accept this, because what we are doing is appropriate."

Mr Babo said the Gusmao administration would be known as a government of majority alliance, whose 70 per cent hold on the parliament will be complemented among others by guerilla hero Fernando "Lasama" de Araujo's Democratic Party.

Mr Araujo's reward will be the position of parliamentary Speaker, a job previously held by Fretilin president Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres -- whose own political demise now appears complete after he was thrashed by Mr Ramos Horta in the recent national presidential vote.
Other members of the ruling coalition will include former governor Mario Carrascalao's Social Democrat Party and Xavier do Amaral's Association of Timorese Social Democrats.
Mr Aleixo predicted strife at Mr Gusmao's appointment, describing it as "obviously a violation of the nation and the constitution". "They are not being honest with themselves," he said.