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| Southeast Asia |
| East Timor PM defiant over resignation calls |
| 2006-06-03 |
| DILI: East Timor's under-fire prime minister remained defiant on Friday in the face of a growing clamour for his resignation as the capital showed signs of returning to normal after days of violence. Mari Alkatiri, widely blamed for the unrest that followed his sacking of 600 soldiers complaining of ethnic discrimination, flatly rejected calls to step down and demanded that rebel forces hand in their weapons. "I will not resign," Alkatiri said in an interview with AFP. "There should be a decision by the irregular forces to hand in their weapons and I hope they will participate to help solve this whole problem, this crisis," he added. Rebel commander Major Alfredo Reinado on Thursday became the latest to urge Alkatiri to step down and said he should face an investigation for the killings of nine unarmed police by members of the military. The massacre was apparently the worst single incident of the chaos that has gripped the tiny Asian nation leaving 21 dead, tens of thousands fleeing from their homes and more than 2,000 foreign peacekeepers on the streets. |
| Posted by:Fred |