Lisbon - The East Timor independence leader, Mr Xanana Gusmao, has resigned from the Asian territory's National Council in protest over slow progress and internal squabbling, the Portuguese news agency Lusa said yesterday. Lusa said the resignation followed a heated debate in Timor's de facto parliament over political transition as the former Portuguese colony moves towards full independence.
"I feel, as president of the National Council, that any attempt to overcome the deadlock is in vain due to the lack of willingness by members of this body to advance the process," Mr Gusmao wrote in a letter to the United Nations transitional authority.