East Timor's ruling party reaffirms support for PM Alkatiri [video report]

Prime Minister Alkatiri has repeatedly refused to resign. Picture / Reuters.

East Timor's prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, has survived the latest attempt to remove him from power, with the ruling Fretilin party reaffirming its support.

The Fretilin party's decision goes against a demand from the president, Xanana Gusmao, that the party find a new leader.

Mr Alkatiri's removal is seen as crucial to ending weeks of political turmoil.

But Fretilin's Central Committee says removing the prime minister would go against East Timor's constitution and the principles of democracy.

Already two government ministers have resigned in protest - the Nobel peace prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta, who held both the foreign affairs and defence portfolio's, and the communications minister, Ovidio Amaral.

Mr Ramos-Horta said he had tendered his resignation because he could no longer work under the government of Mari Alkatiri.

Radio Australia's reporter in Dili, Anne Barker, said Fretilin's decision would do nothing to calm the civil unrest that has wracked Dili now for two months, and was bound to spark new protests and louder calls for the prime minister to resign.

Meanwhile, Australia is seeking support for the United Nations to lead an international squad of 500 police to East Timor, which would include an unspecified number of New Zealand police.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer raised the issue in Paris at the weekend in talks with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.

France is a member of the UN Security Council.

"We would like to see the UN take control of the international police presence there," Mr Downer said after his meeting.

He said the aim was to have 500 police on the ground in East Timor coming from the countries that at present have troops there in the 2500 foreign peace-keeping force: Australia, Portugal, Malaysia and New Zealand.

But unlike the present military arrangement, which is an Australian-led force with the approval of the UN, Mr Downer wants the international police force to be a UN-controlled force.

He said there had to be legal guarantees and protections for international police operating in another country "and there are real questions at the moment in East Timor about that - about what they can do".

Mr Downer said he hoped the detail could be negotiated over the next three to five weeks.

President Xanana Gusmao retreated from his threat last week to resign if Alkatiri did not quit.

Mr Downer said he had last week warned Jose Ramos Horta, while he was still East Timorese Foreign Minister, to try to resolve the political problems quickly.

He had told him: "Don't think we are staying indefinitely. We're not. we're going to leave before too long. So you fix things up pretty quickly while we're here."

Prime Minister Helen Clark would not comment last night on what New Zealand's contribution might be but indicated announcements would be made soon.

New Zealand is thought to back the notion of a UN-led force that would also play a key role in rebuilding the East Timorese police force.

Mr Downer is likely to brief Foreign Minister Winston Peters on progress when the pair meet in Paris tonight for a Pacific summit hosted by French President Jacques Chirac.