International

Tue 27 Jun 2006

East Timor leader admits defeat

EAST Timor's embattled prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, resigned yesterday, saying he would share responsibility for the crisis that has gripped Asia's newest nation for more than two months.

News of his departure was welcomed by thousands of people who have been demonstrating in the capital for the past week.

They cheered and beat drums as word of his resignation spread. A convoy of about 200 buses and vans drove through the seaside capital of Dili, their horns blaring.

Mr Alkatiri said he was stepping down to avoid the resignation of the nation's popular president, Xanana Gusmao, who had threatened to quit unless the prime minister left office.

Mr Gusmao said he accepted the resignation and had called for a meeting of the state council, a presidential advisory committee, for today.

Mr Alkatiri, who said he would remain a member of parliament, told a news conference he was assuming his own share of responsibility for the crisis affecting the country.

The prime minister has been widely blamed for violence that erupted in May as fighting within the armed forces spiralled into rioting, arson and looting in Dili.

The mayhem ended only with the arrival last month of a 2,700-strong Australian-led peacekeeping force.

Calls for Mr Alkatiri's resignation have been the rallying cry of protests by thousands of Timorese that peaked in the past six days after an Australian news documentary linked him to a plot to arm a civilian militia.

This article: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=936542006

Last updated: 26-Jun-06 00:44 BST