Timor PM will not be removed, says parliament chief

DILI, June 8 (Reuters) East Timor's parliament threw its support behind embattled Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri today, standing up to troops and protesters calling for his removal over violence that has gripped the capital, Dili.

''The parliament will not make any decision that will oust the prime minister,'' parliament chief Francisco Guterres said.

''The prime minister was elected by the majority party, Fretilin,'' he told reporters. ''Even if the president agrees to the removal of the prime minister, he must coordinate with the parliament. There has been no such decision up until now.'' The world's youngest nation was plunged into violence in May after Alkatiri sacked 600 of the 1,400-strong army for mutiny when they protested about alleged discrimination against soldiers from the west of the country.

Rebel troops and thousands of protesters have called for Alkatiri's removal, blaming him for the violence that has seen youth gangs fighting, looting and burning buildings in Dili.

Around 20 people have been killed and an estimated 100,000 people displaced. Trucks carrying more people into camps arrived in Dili today.

A 2,500-strong international peacekeeping force led by Australian troops now patrols Dili. The capital was calm today with peacekeepers checking vehicles as they arrived.

A UN-backed police force must be sent to East Timor for at least two years to restore law and order after the collapse of the local police, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta told Australian television today.

DISPLACED AT RISK UN special envoy Ian Martin was heading for New York to brief Secretary General Kofi Annan on the East Timor crisis.

He has not disclosed whether he will recommend a UN-backed police force be sent to the former Indonesian territory, though he told reporters before leaving that the United Nations was likely to take a larger role there.

Australia plans to double its commitment of police in East Timor to 200 and has called on the country to change its laws so foreign police can operate effectively.

Catholic aid agency Caritas Australia said the death toll from the violence may be higher than realised.

''The deaths that we do wonder about that haven't been recorded and are rumoured are the ones ... around the mountains around Dili,'' said Caritas Chief Executive Jack de Groot.

Most of those killed are thought to have belonged to rival police and army factions, but recent unrest has largely pitted gangs of youths allied to those factions and feuding groups from the east and west of the nation.

The UN's representative yesterday said that Alkatiri had agreed to an international investigation into the violence.

Aid organisation Plan East Timor said it believed tens of thousands of displaced people would remain in makeshift camps in Dili for at least another four weeks.

Director Tim Budge said there may be nearly 35,000 children, many suffering trauma and malnutrition, in over 30 camps.

''With girl children among large groups of people, there is the added potential for predatory behaviour,'' said Budge.

Australia led a UN-mandated intervention force into East Timor in 1999 after violence by pro-Jakarta militias flared following a vote by Timorese for independence from Indonesia.

East Timor was granted independence in 2002 after almost three years of UN administration.

REUTERS KD ND1538