The comments come as opposition parties—namely the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), People’s Liberation Party (PLP), and KHUNTO—voted down the new government’s policy program on Thursday and continue their call to the President of the Republic to offer them the chance to form a governing coalition.

The opposition parties say the new minority coalition government led by the Fretilin Party and the Democratic Party, is unconstitutional and its policy program does not address the country’s development problems.

In response to growing angst amongst Timorese of a return to political instability, Lere Anan Timur said veterans supported Prime Minister Alkatiri and his coalition government to govern for the five year-period. He said Timor-Leste and its people deserved stable leadership.

“We don’t want the government today to lead and then another one comes in to make changes, this will only make our people suffer and remain poor,” Lere said from his office in Fatuhada.

He said the new young parliamentarians needed mentorship, calling on political veterans’ Xanana Gusmão, Mari Alkatiri, Taur Matan Ruak and Ramos Horta, to show leadership and “embrace each other” and their difference with dialogue.

“We are disappointed because when we were in the mountain in 1984 many veterans and population dies but we never surrender to our fight and until now when we get our independence we must not stop this,” Lere said.

“Because of that we the veterans call on the nation’s leaders to embrace each other and together make the peace and stability for Timorese life.”

Domingos Soares ‘Maubere’, a priest from the Catholic Church in Becora, also condemned the opposition parties’, saying their actions were motivated by self-interest and greed.

“Our representative sit in the national parliament defending their self only and with an ambition to lead, but they never consider the population‘s situation,’’ Maubere said after mass on Sunday in Dili. 

 According to the Constitution of Timor-Leste, the Government can fall if the National Parliament rejects its policy program twice.

New elections are then a possibility because Alkatiri’s coalition may not be able to pass a budget.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday Alkatiri said his government was preparing a new government program.