Mark Dodd, Dili – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao has assumed sweeping new executive authority, invoking emergency powers under the country's constitution to help resolve the political crisis.
The move effectively marginalises East Timor's unpopular and unelected Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, who was accused of incompetence last week by Australian Prime Minister John Howard.
East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta told The Australian that Mr Gusmao would convene and chair two crucial agencies, The Supreme Council for Defence and Security and a Council of State.
"I have insisted to the cabinet that we must maintain absolute respect for the institutions of the state and that means the head of state," he said. "In matters of national security and defence he must be consulted at all times to seek his approval before decisions are made."
In its first meeting since the crisis in Dili erupted, cabinet on Saturday agreed to a proposal by Mr Ramos Horta to convene the two agencies.
The request was then delivered personally to the ailing President. Suffering chronic back and kidney pain, Mr Gusmao is living in a heavily guarded residence near the seminary town of Dare, surrounded by several hundred so-called rebel soldiers and police.
Last week, Dr Alkatiri argued furiously with Mr Gusmao against a request for Australian troops to restore order in the capital.
Dili has been racked by weeks of violent, ethnic unrest which most East Timorese blame on his Government.
Yesterday, Dr Alkatiri reiterated his claim that his administration was facing an attempted coup and, in a statement, cautioned Mr Gusmao to respect the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (East Timor).
He denied his Government had collapsed and said Saturday's full cabinet meeting had agreed to a range of measures designed to smooth co-operation between his Government and the 2200-strong Australian-led military taskforce now in the capital to restore law and order.
"We hope that this intervention puts an end to the violence that we have been going through over the last few days. This will take its time," he said.
Diplomats contacted by The Australian say Dr Alkatiri and his key Fretilin party supporters, Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato and party president Luolo, appear increasingly isolated.
Dr Alkatiri hit back at criticism of his Government by Mr Howard, who linked the turmoil in the impoverished country to poor governance. "We are now being accused of not being able to govern," he said. "I can assure that the Government will assume its responsibilities. I hope that the other sovereign institutions will do the same."
Earlier this month at a national congress of the ruling Fretilin party, Dr Alkatiri fended off a political challenge by invoking a show of hands to reconfirm his leadership. The challenger, Jose Luis Guterres, a political moderate and the former East Timor ambassador to the UN, dropped out of the contest.
Many East Timorese, including the influential Catholic Church, have expressed growing concern at the increasingly authoritarian direction of the Alkatiri Government and its inability to resolve long-festering troubles within the ranks of the armed forces.
Today, senior UN troubleshooter Ian Martin will arrive in Dili to assess the political situation and devise recommendations to help get the world's newest country back on track. Mr Martin, a local hero in East Timor for his leadership in overseeing the bloody 1999 independence ballot, will also recommend a dramatically revamped UN presence in East Timor.