Gusmao sworn in as East Timor PM amid violence

Former resistance fighter Xanana Gusmao was sworn in as East Timor’s prime minister today as violence by supporters of the party shut out of the new government entered a third day.

At least 12 people have been injured in the unrest, mostly involving young men torching unoccupied buildings, throwing stones at UN vehicles and setting up roadblocks in areas loyal to the former ruling party.

Gusmao, who used to be East Timor’s president, pledged to bring peace and restore unity to the tiny, impoverished nation following his inauguration at the state palace in the capital, Dili. His deputy and the country’s new Cabinet were also sworn in.

“I want to restore the trust of the people in the government and the rule of law,” he said.

He also said he would introduce “radical reforms” in the security sector, a reference to the military mutiny last year that led to violence and the collapse of the last government.

Gusmao was appointed prime minister on Monday by President Jose Ramos-Horta, who used his constitutional right to break a political logjam following inconclusive elections in June.

The former ruling party, Fretilin, won 21 seats in the 65-member Parliament in June elections, well short of a majority, but insisted it had the right to form the next government. Gusmao’s party won 18, but formed a coalition that now has 37 seats.

Fretilin – which had proposed a unity government with an independent prime minister – called the decision to appoint Gusmao illegal and vowed to have it overturned in court.

Dili was mostly calm today, a witness said, but sporadic violence was still occurring in Baucau, 80 miles to the east, said police inspector Pedro Belo.

Yesterday, gangs in Baucau set ablaze the offices of international aid groups and government agencies. Unrest was also reported yesterday in Viqueque, another Fretilin stronghold to the south.

East Timor broke free from decades of Indonesian rule in 1999 in a UN-sponsored referendum. Three years later it became Asia’s newest nation, but the euphoria quickly evaporated amid the challenges of governing a divided, impoverished people.

Last year, a military mutiny sparked clashes between rival troops that led to gang violence, arson and looting. More than 35 people were killed and some 150,000 others fled their homes before the collapse of the government and the deployment of foreign peacekeepers.