Mark Dodd, Dili – The East Timorese independence leader, Xanana Gusmao, has resigned as president of the National Council over a dispute involving the timetable for the handover of power by the United Nations.
Senior East Timorese officials in the transitional government say the spat, which erupted on Monday, is linked to concerns over Mr Gusmao's autocratic style – a charge that has received some support from diplomats and political analysts in Dili.
On Monday Mr Gusmao's critics in the National Council rejected his plan for a timetable for the handing over of power by the UN, but not because they were opposed. Rather, they said, Mr Gusmao, as National Council president, should have spent more time explaining the detail.
Established by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), the 36-member National Council serves as East Timor's de facto parliament, representing a cross-section of society.
It debates legislation proposed by the eight-person Transitional Cabinet, although ultimate executive power is held by the UNTAET chief, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who is in Brussels and will not return to Dili until next Friday.
"Xanana tendered his resignation on Monday after he presented the timetable for the the political transition. The National Council weren't happy. So he [Mr Gusmao] said, 'If you're not happy, I resign' and they've been trying to hush it up while they try and get him to retract," one senior UN official said.
Diplomats privately commend the council's decision and are not overly concerned. "It's part of East Timor's growing pains, part of the democratic process," one analyst said.
Regarded as the likely first president of the world's newest country, Mr Gusmao, a former commander-in-chief of the Falintil independence fighters, enjoys brinkmanship. He resigned as leader of the National Council of Timorese Resistance when things failed to go his way at a national congress last August – and just as quickly retracted his decision when supporters rallied behind him.
In the National Council, he may just have met a tougher opponent. The council was established by UNTAET to offset criticism that it was not doing enough to engage East Timorese in the decision-making process during the transition to independence, expected late next year.
Mr Gusmao's election this year as council president was by no means unanimous. Critics, particularly the Timor Democratic Union's Joao Carrascalao and Fretilin's Mari Alkatiri, think he has become too autocratic. Council members say that by rejecting Mr Gusmao's proposal they are also signalling that their parliament is not a rubber stamp.
National elections in the former Portuguese colony are scheduled for August 2001, setting the stage for the handover by the United Nations.
An Australian peacekeeper has been shot and wounded in an ambush by suspected pro-Jakarta militia near his battalion's headquarters at Balibo, in the troubled western border region of East Timor. Captain Mick Tafe said the soldier, whose name is not being released until his family is notified, was not in danger. A Black Hawk helicopter took him to a military hospital in Dili.