Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – East Timor's rebel leader, Major Alfredo Reinado, has agreed to surrender and face charges, including attempted murder, but a deal he negotiated secretly from his mountain base is almost certain to collapse.

The ruling Fretilin party has declared its opposition to the deal for Reinado, East Timor's most wanted man, to face the charges in Gleno, a small town in the country's coffee-growing western mountains where he has wide support.

The Fretilin leader Francisco Guterres, who is the president of the country's parliament, says the deal negotiated by Dili's Office of the Prosecutor-General is unconstitutional and reveals discrimination in the judicial system.

"All citizens must be treated equally and there should not be special courts for criminals," Mr Guterres said.

Reinado's lawyer in Dili, Paulo Dos Remedios, yesterday said the Prosecutor-General, Longuinhos Monteiro, had reached a "verbal" surrender agreement with Reinado, who is accused of ordering the first shots to be fired in bloody violence that erupted in Dili in April last year.

Mr Remedios said he understood Australian military officers played a key role in negotiating the deal with Reinado, who last week threatened to kill Australian soldiers if they tried to capture him and his heavily armed squad of soldiers. Australian soldiers have set up roadblocks around his base camp, four hours' drive from Dili.

Mr Remedios admitted that any agreement to hold a court sitting in Gleno would require approval of the Fretilin-dominated parliament because the town does not have court jurisdiction.

"There is no Gleno court under the laws of Timor Leste [East Timor]," Mr Remedios said.

Reinado become a hero-figure in East Timor's western mountains after he led a mass escape from Dili's main jail in August. His key demand is that he be tried as a military officer and not as a civilian.

"Alfredo ... has been fighting for weapons charges against him to be dismissed because he considers himself to be still a major in the army," Mr Remedios said.

"The Attorney-General has the power to dismiss those charges ... and he is willing to face the court on other charges, including attempted murder, as long as he is tried as a military officer." Mr Remedios said Reinado wanted to return to his position in the army and "be part of the solution to the crisis".

East Timor's President, Xanana Gusmao, has announced that presidential elections will be held on April 9. But he has said that national elections due to be held by May may now be delayed until later in the year.

Mr Gusmao, a former guerilla leader, has repeatedly said he will not stand for re-election and that he wants to spend his time growing pumpkins.

The Prime Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said last week he would only run for the presidency if there were no other candidates.

Peacekeepers, including Australians, have been struggling to quell gang violence, killings and arson in Dili, where more than 10,000 people are still living in squalid refugee camps.