Lirio da Fonseca, Dili – East Timor's prime minister stood by the chief of the armed forces on Wednesday, after a UN inquiry called for his prosecution over the arming of civilians during a wave of violence in the tiny nation in May.
Tuesday's report, prepared by a UN appointed Independent Special Commission of Inquiry, recommended that former interior minister Rogerio Lobato, military chief Taur Matan Ruak and several others be prosecuted for illegal distribution of weapons.
"I have spoken with the Chief of the Armed Forces of Timor-Leste Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak and I am reiterating my full confidence in him and in his leadership," Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said in a statement.
"Throughout the crisis the senior command of F-FDTL (East Timor's defense forces) showed zeal and discipline," he said.
The 79-page report also called for a further investigation into former prime minister Mari Alkatiri to determine whether he should face criminal charges. Alkatiri stepped down under pressure in June.
Alkatiri, who heads the dominant Fretilin party in parliament, has been widely blamed for the violence which erupted after fighting within the armed forces spiralled into rioting, arson and looting in the streets of the capital, Dili.
The violence, triggered by the dismissal of about 600 soldiers, left more than 30 people dead and more than 150,000 displaced.
Ramos-Horta said the military leadership had not engaged in any cover up and an international commission had verified that all weapons given to ex-fighters had been surrendered and were accounted for.
Ramos-Horta, who last week urged foreign forces to stay until 2007 elections, described the UN team's work as impartial and independent and said East Timor's courts would be responsible for further investigations and prosecutions.
Australia in late May led a force of more than 3,000 peacekeepers to end the fighting, which pitted ethnic gangs and East Timor's fledgling police and military against one another.
President Xanana Gusmao on Tuesday urged parliament to "quickly take political and legislative or legal actions based on the materials in the commission's report."
But Elizario Fereira, head of the Fretilin faction in parliament, said the legislature was not in the position to take legal action and it should be left to the judiciary.
"We don't have the authority to launch investigations. We only have the power to issue political decisions," he said, adding that Fretilin accepted the report. Alkatiri's Fretilin has nearly two-thirds of the seats in the 88-member body, as well as a number of cabinet posts.
The territory of around a million people voted in a bloody 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, which annexed East Timor after colonial masters Portugal withdrew in 1975. East Timor was run by the United Nations for 2- years before becoming independent in 2002.