East Timor's Fretilin Party was Friday urged to abide by its pre-poll commitment to accept the outcome of the June 30 general election, pull its supporters into line and form the opposition in parliament, according to DPA. The call came after marauding gangs of aggrieved Fretilin supporters burned hundreds of houses and fought running battles with the 3,000 international peacekeepers and police drafted in a year ago. The foreign troops were brought in when Fretilin leader Mari Alkatiri was forced to stand down as prime minister after losing control of South-east Asia's poorest country. Fretilin this week boycotted the swearing in of former president Xanana Gusmao as prime minister of the world's newest country. Fretilin won the most votes of any single party at the polls and turned the most candidates, but its numbers in parliament were trumped by a coalition of four parties led by Gusmao. Alkatiri is refusing to accept the result and has been accused of fomenting violence. "Civil disobedience is legal," Alkatiri told Australia's ABC Radio. "We hope it will not lead to a people-power (uprising), but we cannot stop the people protesting for their rights." Some residents in Baucau and Viqueque in the eastern part of the country where Fretilin is strongest have left their homes and fled to the hills. There have been more than 50 arrests. President Jose Ramos Horta, who swore in Gusmao's new government, urged Fretilin to accept the will of the people and said pro-Fretilin civil servants should return to work or risk being sacked. Fretilin saw its share of the vote slide to 29 per cent from its 57 per cent in 2001 and has been unwilling to accept its fall from power. In a move intended to further sideline Alkatiri, Gusmao persuaded former Fretilin powerbroker Jose Guterres to accept the post of deputy prime minister. The elevation of Gusmao was a second bitter defeat for Fretilin after its candidate in May's presidential election was handily beaten by Gusmao ally Ramos Horta.
