| Subject: AFP: E Timor PM refuses calls to
step down
Also: East Timor president accuses
Catholic church of inciting anti-government protests
Last Update: Saturday, April 23, 2005. 5:36pm (AEST) E Timor PM refuses
calls to step down
East Timor's Prime Minister Mari Alkatari downplayed a Catholic
church-backed protest held earlier this week in Dili and rejected
demonstrators' calls that he step down.
"According to international press reports there were no more than
1,000 people at the protest, which does not seem very significant for a
Church which has the support of more than 90 per cent of the
population," he told Portuguese daily newspaper Publico.
On Tuesday, there had been reports of at least 3,000 people responding
to calls from priests to gather outside government offices in Dili to
demand compulsory religious education in schools in what observers say was
one of the largest protests since East Timor gained sovereignty in May
2002.
About 96 per cent of East Timor's 800,000 people are Roman Catholic.
The former Portuguese colony also has Muslim and Protestant minorities.
The Government decided in February that there should be no mandatory
religious education in the national curriculum although students could
study it if they wished.
Father Benancio Araujo, a spokesman for Dili Diocese, called on the
demonstrators to "topple the anti-democratic regime" while
several at the peaceful protest demanded that the Prime Minister resign.
Mr Alkatri rejected the charges that his Government was not democratic,
arguing that if this was the case nations like Australia and Portugal
which have invested in East Timor since it gained independence from
Indonesia would have already denounced his administration.
"They never did this because we are an effective democracy,"
he told the newspaper.
Asked if he would consider stepping down or calling a snap poll, Mr
Alkatri said: "I will neither resign nor call early elections."
"The fact that some members of the church asked for the
resignation of the Prime Minister in recent days demonstrates well how the
Church went beyond its role of preaching, education, aiding the poor,
being a critical conscience," he said.
The protest is the latest in a series of conflicts between the
Government and the Church, which played a key role in the push for East
Timor's independence.
-AFP
--- AP
East Timor president accuses Catholic church of inciting
anti-government protests
East Timor's president on Saturday accused the country's Roman Catholic
Church of instigating anti-government protests demanding the introduction
of compulsory religious classes in schools.
Thousands of people have taken part in peaceful rallies in the capital
Dili over the past week. About 6,000 people protested on Saturday,
demanding that the leftist government of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri
resign over the issue.
President Xanana Gusmao said he welcomed the protests as a sign that
East Timor is a democracy but he criticized demonstrators who are calling
for the sacking of Alkatiri.
"We are thankful that (people) are calling attention to the
problems but the change of the government must be done according to the
constitution," Gusmao said on the sidelines of the Asian-African
summit in Jakarta.
"If not, then every time you don't like a prime minister you can
just ask him to resign," he said.
Gusmao blamed the church for the protests, which come a month before
the fledgeling nation marks the third anniversary of its independence.
"The church is organizing this," he said. "I don't
believe it's appropriate for the church to do this."
"If it is about religion, we can accept this. If it is for
political motives, we don't accept too much involvement of the church in
these demonstrations."
East Timor is one of two predominantly Catholic nations in East Asia.
About 96 percent of its 800,000 people are Roman Catholics, and there are
small Muslim and Protestant minorities.
The country's secular government decreed in February that religion
should not be a compulsory subject in government schools, although it
would be made available as an option for all students.
East Timor gained independence in May 2002 after a U.N.-supervised
referendum in 1999 brought an end to Indonesia's occupation of the former
Portuguese colony.
During Indonesian rule, religion classes were mandatory in all schools.
In addition to demanding more religion in schools, demonstrators also
have pressed for justice for victims of the 1999 violence, when up to
2,000 people were killed by withdrawing Indonesian troops and their
militia proxies.
Political and economic ties with Jakarta have blossomed since
independence, and the two governments have agreed not to prosecute those
responsible for the bloodshed. Instead, they have formed a joint
commission aimed at bringing about reconciliation between the two sides.
Gusmao also said the country faced a long list of problems _ poverty,
joblessness and lack of infrastructure. He said he would encourage donor
nations that are scheduled to meet in the capital Dili next week to
continue providing aid to his country.
"As president, my concern is about the economic situation of the
people," he said. "For us to solve this, we need money. We
cannot have plans without money. Basically, we (want donor countries) to
continue to help us."
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