Timor grills ex-PM after UN probe into May violence

DILI, Nov 7 (Reuters) East Timor questioned today former prime minister Mari Alkatiri a few weeks after a UN report called for a deeper probe into allegations that he had armed civilians during a wave of violence in May.

Alkatiri, who was forced to resign in June, was widely blamed for the violence that erupted after fighting within the armed forces spiralled into rioting and looting in the streets of the capital, Dili.

Alkatiri, who heads the political party dominant in parliament, denies any wrong-doing. The chaos in May killed more than 30 people and displaced over 15,000 from their homes.

''Some people want to have an outside trial...,'' Alkatiri told reporters, without elaborating. ''But we should let our judiciary do its job, have faith in it and believe in ourselves,'' he said after being questioned by prosecutor Felismino Cardoso.

A report released last month by a UN-appointed Independent Special Commission of Inquiry called for further investigation to determine whether Alkatiri should face criminal charges for fomenting the violence.

It also recommended that several officials, including the former interior minister and the military chief, be prosecuted for illegal distribution of weapons.

Australia in late May led a force of more than 3,000 peacekeepers to end the fighting in East Timor, which pitted ethnic gangs against the country's fledgling police and military.

Last month, violence fighting flared again in Dili between armed youths, killing up to four people and shutting down the main airport.

The territory of around a million people voted in a 1999 referendum for independence from Indonesia, which annexed East Timor after Portugal ended its colonial rule in 1975. East Timor became independent in 2002.

REUTERS BDP BD1307