Lisbon – A leader of East Timor's guerillas said Tuesday that the armed struggle for independence would continue because Indonesia has refused to negotiate an end to Jakarta's rule in the half-island territory.

"We've no other choice than to keep on fighting," Taur Matan Ruak said in an interview broadcast on Portuguese state radio RDP. "We've have several times stated our willingness to negotiate a solution with the Indonesians, without pre-conditions... but (Indonesian President) Habibie has never made himself available," Ruak said in Portuguese by phone from East Timor.

Habibie has offered to grant some autonomy to East Timor and to release imprisoned rebel leader Xanana Gusmao in exchange for international recognition of the region as Indonesia's 27th province. Gusmao's release was a "fundamental" first step in negotiating a lasting solution for the territory, Ruak said, adding that autonomy would be only an interim solution on the road to full independence.

The United Nations is brokering ongoing talks between Lisbon and Jakarta on East Timor. The next meeting is scheduled for New York on Oct. 6. Portugal insists that a referendum be held in East Timor on the territory's future.