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Gusmao blames Fretilin for Timor violence

05 Apr 2007 11:19:00 GMT
Source: Reuters

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East Timorese presidential candidates (L-R) Lucia Lobato, Ramos Horta, Joao Carrascalao and Fernando Lasama participate in an election debate in Dili, April 5, 2007. East Timor president Xanana Gusmao on Thursday blamed the rival Fretilin party for violent clashes in the run-up to Monday's presidential vote and warned of "a spiral of violence" if Fretilin's candidate lost.
REUTERS/LIRIO DA FONSECA

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(Adds call from international community to shun violence)

By Lenita Sulthani

DILI, April 5 (Reuters) - East Timor President Xanana Gusmao on Thursday blamed the Fretilin party for violent clashes in the run-up to Monday's presidential vote and warned of "a spiral of violence" if Fretilin's candidate lost.

At least 30 people were injured Wednesday when rival party supporters threw rocks at each other during the last day of official campaigning for Monday's presidential election.

"Now the world can see that there's a party that instead of calling their supporters to calm down, they allow their supporters to provoke, to throw stones, to fight in the streets," Gusmao said in an interview with Reuters Television.

East Timor was wracked by violence ahead of its independence in 2002 and 30 people were killed in a rebellion last year.

Gusmao said East Timorese were still traumatised by last year's violence and he warned of more to come if Fretilin presidential candidate Fransisco Guterres lost.

"I believe if their candidate loses, it will be a spiral of violence," he said.

"I believe if they feel they will win by violence, it will be their destruction because all Timorese don't like violence."

A Fretilin campaign official, Carmen da Cruz, told Reuters her party did not endorse violence.

"From the beginning, Fretilin leaders have called for tolerance and patience... but maybe because there were too many people what happened was beyond the control of the party leaders," she said.

Former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's Fretilin Party led East Timor's struggle against Indonesian rule and is the dominant party in parliament.

Guterres is a frontrunner among eight candidates contesting Monday's election but faces a high-profile candidate in Jose Ramos-Horta, who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize during the struggle for independence from Indonesia.

Gusmao, a charismatic independence hero and ally of Ramos-Horta, is not running for re-election but has said he would run for prime minister in parliamentary elections due this year.

Pro-Indonesian militia went on a rampage before and after East Timor voted to break away from 24 years of Jakarta rule in a 1999 referendum, destroying much of the its infrastructure and killing about 1,000 people, according to the United Nations.

East Timor descended into chaos against last year after the government sacked 600 rebellious soldiers. The violence drove about 100,000 from their homes and prompted further intervention by foreign troops.

A statement signed by representatives from Japan, Portugal, New Zealand, the United States and the European Union urged calm.

"There's no place for violence or the use of other coercive means during voting or in response to election results."

Mal Rerden, the commander of the International Stabilisation Forces in East Timor, said he had a comprehensive security plan to prevent violence during the elections. (Additional reporting by Ahmad Pathoni)

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Last updated:Thu Apr 5 14:16:57 2007