Thousands of East Timorese demand governor's resignation
DILI, East Timor (JP): Thousands of people continued to demand the resignation of Governor Jose Abilio Soares on Monday, holding demonstrations at Dili's Comoro airport and in Baucau.
The demonstrations began on Sunday after Abilio commented that civil servants opposed to the government's proposal to grant special autonomy to the province should resign or be fired. The protests passed off peacefully, but many of the province's migrant residents took the precaution of staying at home.
Abilio was out of town on Sunday and was scheduled to return home on Monday. Protesters carrying banners, pictures of jailed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and pro-independence flags waited for the governor at Comoro airport until 11:30 a.m. When he did not arrive, they proceeded into Dili.
The protesters alleged that Abilio was corrupt and had nepotistically recruited a number of his family and friends into the East Timor administration.
In Bacau, about 130 kilometers from Dili, thousands of people including government employees and students rallied outside the local legislative council.
They demanded the release of Xanana Gusmao and a military withdrawal from East Timor, this latter demand being in reference to distrust of the Armed Forces' claim that all combat troops have been withdrawn from the province.
During a meeting with Mauricio Freitas, the leader of the local legislature, representatives of the protesters demanded an independent organization be set up to monitor efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the problems dogging the province, including a full withdrawal of the Armed Forces.
Schools and stores in Bacau were closed during the demonstration and high school examinations were rescheduled.
Meanwhile, a riot reportedly broke out in Dili's Becora prison, in which nearby residents reported shooting had taken place. A prison official later denied these claims.
"There has been trouble in the prison, but there are no casualties," the Becora prison official said as quoted by Reuters. It was unclear what triggered the riot.
On Sunday, at least 30,000 people staged a demonstration in Dili to demand Abilio step down.
The protesters, mainly civil servants, were from CNRT and Forsarepetil, two groups supporting a referendum on self- determination for the former Portuguese colony.
On Sunday, supporters of integration with Indonesia demanded a gubernatorial election and proposed former governor Mario Viegas Carrascalao as a candidate.
Meanwhile 400 East Timorese students studying in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, met deputy provincial governor Johanes Suryo Prabowo on Saturday to ask him to guarantee their safety and to work to defuse clashes between youths hailing from the two neighboring provinces.
An East Timorese student was stabbed on Thursday during an attack on a dormitory in Kupang by unidentified people. The youth is receiving treatment in the city's Wira Sakti Hospital.
Kupang Police chief Lt.Col. Yeremias Sooai told The Jakarta Post that no arrests had been made in connection with the attack. Students have said their assailants were not fellow students. (33/01)