[Kabar-indonesia] Xanana says he will give Fretilin time to prevent his resignation

[Joyo at aol.com]

Associated Press 
June 24, 2006

Xanana says he will give Fretilin time to prevent his resignation

DILI (AP): East Timor's president said he would decide whether to resign 
after hearing Saturday whether the country's ruling party had agreed to sack the 
prime minister he blames for weeks of violence and political chaos.

President Xanana Gusmoa, a former guerrilla leader revered for helping East 
Timor achieve independence from Indonesia, threatened to step down Thursday 
after the Fretilin party threw its support behind Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

The choice of losing either the president or the beleaguered prime minister 
prompted thousands to take to the streets of the capital, many waving red, 
black and yellow flags and chanting "Alkatiri step down!"

Xanana said Fretilin asked that he wait to hand hisresignation letter to 
parliament until after they held a party meeting Saturday to discuss a solution to 
the crisis.

"I have no capacity to guess what they will decide," he said from his home in 
the mountains above Dili, adding that he had agreed to wait.

Many East Timorese say Alkatiri's decision to fire 600 disgruntled soldiers 
in March was to blame for street battles and gang warfare that left at least 30 
people dead and sent nearly 150,000 people fleeing from their homes.

The violence was the worst to hit the tiny Asian nation since it voted for 
independence seven years ago, but ebbed with the arrival of a 2,700-member 
Australian-led peacekeeping force several weeks ago.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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