Gusmao quits as Timor's de facto leader

LISBON - East Timor leader Xanana Gusmao has resigned as head of the Asian territory's de facto parliament, saying internal squabbling was hampering moves to independence, Portuguese news media reported.

But it was not clear whether the former guerrilla chief, who has used resignation threats to get his way in the past, was determined to withdraw from the political fray this time round.

His decision was spelt out in a letter to the United Nations' representative in East Timor, Sergio Vieira de Mello, who has administered the former Portuguese colony since it voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

Portuguese news reports said Vieira had no immediate comment on the resignation, which Gusmao said was effective immediately.

Gusmao, whom many expect to become East Timor's first president, said he was taking the step after a heated debate earlier this week in the National Council which he said revealed deep political divisions.

"I feel, as President of the National Council, that any attempt to overcome the deadlock is in vain due to the lack of willingness by members of this body to advance the (independence) process," he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Gusmao, who spent seven years in an Indonesian jail for guerrilla activities, is the dominant political figure in East Timor.

He has no apparent heir if he sticks to his decision to stand down.

The move follows warnings by Gusmao, who was released from jail in Jakarta shortly before the vote for independence, that East Timor was in danger of plunging back into political chaos.

Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976 in an action never recognised by the international community, saying it was seeking to restore order after civil war erupted following Portugal's hasty withdrawal a year earlier.

Under plans for transition to full statehood, an estimated 400,000 eligible voters are due to elect a Constituent Assembly in the territory's first democratic elections on August 30.

The assembly will then have 90 days to prepare and approve a constitution ahead of full independence set for late 2001.

But Gusmao said in his letter that the infighting in the National Council was delaying decisions on details of the constitution and sowing confusion among the population.

"As I refuse to be part of a politically irresponsible process, I hereby tender my resignation," Gusmao added.

Gusmao also complained about charges that he was not democratic, made by representatives of the former Falintil guerrillas, who have been demobilised and are being transformed into a defence force.

"I do not have any political ambition and I do not have any political party," he said.

UN police arrested three men earlier this month on suspicion of involvement in a possible plot to assassinate Gusmao.

There have also been growing signs of violence in the impoverished territory, which is struggling to recover from devastation wrought by pro-Indonesian militias after the independence vote that ended often brutal military rule by Jakarta.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has warned that the goal of full independence by the end of this year may be overly ambitious.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Timor mission

UN Transitional Administration in E Timor