The ousted prime minister welcomed me to his spacious compound where I met his son and daughter, both home from studying overseas, and his muddy, wriggling puppies that quickly Pollacked my best chinos.
The media image of Mari Alkatiri is of an unsmiling, severe and aloof man; this is far better than what most ordinary people say about him. In person, he is urbane, articulate and informal. He disarmingly opened our conversation by saying that I must have heard rumors about corruption, squirrelly oil deals, arming hit squads and the like. But it was not the time for a confession.
Alkatiri views his June 2006 resignation as a public service of sorts, saying his restraint in face of an "unconstitutional coup aimed at destroying Fretelin [the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor] and me" averted further violence. He spoke of an Australian- orchestrated media conspiracy to discredit him and spread false allegations. He suggests that his forceful negotiating position over the division of energy revenues with Australia may have soured Canberra toward him.