Prejudices Fuel Conflict in East Timor

Portuguese police officers stand at a government warehouse after it was looted, in Dili, East Timor, Friday, June 2, 2006. Around 1000 people, waiting for government food handouts, raided government warehouses in East Timor's capital on Friday, stealing computers, office chairs and anything else they could find, when they discovered the warehouse they had been standing in front of for hours was empty. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati) (Firdia Lisnawati - AP)

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri is also a polarizing figure whose opponents from east and west seek his ouster. "We hate Alkatiri," read a protester's banner on Thursday outside government offices in a colonial-era building on the waterfront.

Alkatiri is unpopular because he is perceived as haughty, given to playing favorites and thin-skinned about criticism, sometimes lambasting newspaper editors if he is unhappy about a report. He is one of a small number of Muslims in mostly Roman Catholic East Timor, and does not have close ties to the church.

Under the constitution, Alkatiri can only be removed in a vote of no-confidence in Parliament, but lawmakers are unlikely to convene soon because of security concerns. The prime minister appears intent on staying in power, though his top Cabinet allies, the interior and defense ministers, have quit to help defuse the crisis.

President Xanana Gusmao, a former guerrilla leader and independence hero, is navigating among the factions, using his stature to try to unify a bruised and bitter population.

Political observers say there is no sign that outside forces, including Indonesia or elements in the Indonesian military, are trying to foment unrest in East Timor.

However, a mob recently stole or destroyed prosecutors' evidence of 1999 massacres during the break with Indonesia, raising the possibility that those involved in the old killings might be active today.

The scourge of high unemployment is also a factor, with gangs of young men burning shops and cars seemingly at random, though many declared allegiance to "east" or "west" as a rallying cry.

The city of Dili was a flashpoint because many residents are relatively new arrivals, and the so-called divide between east and west flourished in neighborhoods with weak bonds. The rest of East Timor, so far, is peaceful.