There's been another twist in East Timor's increasingly bitter internal politics, with former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri demanding that current prime minister Xanana Gusmao resign. Dr Alkatiri's demand follows claims from rebel leader Alfredo Reinado that Mr Gusmao orchestrated deadly unrest in 2006, in which at least 20 people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed. After those riots the then President Gusmao sought Dr Alkatiri's resignation, accusing him and several of his ministers of helping to arm civilian militias during the crisis.
Presenter - Steve Holland. Speaker - East Timorese president, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta.
Ramos-Horta: I have been talking with Mr Alfredo Reinado for over a year in trying to find a resolution to his situation and never before Mr Reinado told me anything about Mr Xanana Gusmao, the involvement with him or with anyone in enciting the crisis in 2006.
Holland: So it's just a case of political bickering?
Ramos-Horta: I would say so but on the other hand I received a letter from the President of Fretilin about this with these allegations more or less a month ago, and I have passed on to the Prime Minister, Mr Xanana Gusmao for him to clarify as is fit. The President of Fretilin also sent it to the Attorney General and the Ombudsman of Human Rights. It is up to the Prosecutor General to decide what to do with it. It is up to the providor, the Ombudsman to decide what to do with it, and then besides that we still have the parliament. Fretilin can raise issues in the parliament and they can get parliamentary commission to investigate the allegations by Mr Alfredo Reinado.
Holland: So from what you've told me you won't be asking the Prime Minister for his resignation?
Ramos-Horta: No absolutely not because I cannot do it because this is an allegation by one individual in a very vague manner. The allegation does not include similar to what happened two years ago with Mr Alkatiri and Mr Rojello Batu. This issue, the crucial issuee that really causes controversy here, anger, anguish, is the issues of assigning weapons to civilians. Yes the Prosecutor General in 2007 already dropped the case against Dr Alkatiri, that he was not aware, there's no evidence that he was aware of the weapons distribution by his minister of interior. In the case of Rogerio Lobato of course it was found that he was guilty and sentenced to seven and a half years prison. And the argument here at the time by the then president Xanana Gusmao is that well, in such a matter of such gravity the prime minister should resign straightaway because there are situations elsewhere in the world with much less gravity the prime minister take responsibility and resign. So that is the issue here. The allegations by Mr Alfredo Reinado amount to really rumours and no more than allegations, and any case do not involve the same issues like weapons distribution. However the best forum for this to be heard is the parliament, and of course the public has to know the truth and Fretilin is in the parliament, very heavy and very happy there. They could very well propose that the issue be debated and a commission be established to look into the allegation made by Mr Alfredo Reinado.
Holland: So there will be investigations?
Ramos-Horta: No I don't know, it's up to the Prosecutor General, up to the Ombudsman, up to the parliament.
Holland: And how does this situation affect the political stability of the country?
Ramos-Horta: Well I have to say I'm here, I travel all over the country almost non-stop, going from town to town, village to village. I have encountered thousands of people, even in areas that are supposedly Fretiliin-strongholds, thousands of people turn up and the main question they always ask is roads, that's the number one issue, second education, health, agriculture, employment, all of that. I have hardly heard anyone raising issues about Mr Xanana's involvement in one way or another in the crisis, I haven't heard anymore the discussions about constitutionality of this government or so on.