East Timor's president said he would decide whether to resign after hearing yesterday if the ruling party had agreed to sack the prime minister, who he blames for weeks of violence and political chaos.
As members of the ruling Fretilin party met to deliberate their next political move, hundreds of people, loyal to President Xanana Gusmao poured onto the capital's streets to show their support.
Gusmao, a former guerrilla leader revered for helping East Timor win independence from Indonesia, has said he no longer trusts Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who faces accusations of arming a hit squad to terrorize opponents.
The choice of losing either the president or the beleaguered prime minister has prompted thousands to take to the streets of the capital in recent days, waving the national red, black and yellow flag and chanting "Step down, Alkatiri."
Hundreds of loyal Gusmao supporters packed into a convoy of nearly 30 trucks and minibuses yesterday, heading to Fretilin's headquarters. For nearly three hours, the protesters, mostly young men, shouted against Alkatiri, labeling him a terrorist and a communist.
Portuguese peacekeepers guarded the Fretilin office, keeping the orderly but vehement crowd from crossing the street to the building, where party members were meeting. By early afternoon, though, only a handful of Fretilin members had gathered, perhaps kept away by the long line of protesters.
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.
The arrest of former Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato on charges of providing weapons to the self-proclaimed leader of a hit squad allegedly commissioned by Alkatiri has intensified accusations against the prime minister.
Alkatiri has denied any knowledge of the hit squad.
But the country's top prosecutor said yesterday that Lobato -- charged with attempted revolution, conspiracy and providing state weapons to civilians -- claimed in a closed court hearing that Alkatiri knew civilian militias were being armed.
"Rogerio Lobato said ... the prime minister had all the knowledge about the distribution of the weapons," Prosecutor-General Longuinhos Monteir told reporters, adding that it was too soon to say if the prime minister also would face charges.
RSS