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East Timor PM 'ready to resign'

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Alkatiri said Monday he was ready to resign as prime minister.

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East Timor
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(CNN) -- Amid pressure to step down, East Timor's embattled Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Monday he "is ready to resign" in an effort to end weeks of unrest.

Alkatiri said he came to the decision after "having deeply reflected on the present situation prevailing in the country" and "assuming my own share of responsibility for the crisis affecting our country," among other reasons.

He also said he would step down to "avoid the resignation" of President Xanana Gusmao, who had threatened to abandon his post if Alkatiri did not resign.

Gusmao is respected by many for fighting against Indonesia's occupation, which ended in 1999.

Alkatiri is blamed for weeks of unrest in East Timor that began in March when the government fired 600 soldiers who had gone on strike against alleged discrimination in the military.

The soldiers left East Timor's capital, Dili, for the countryside, where they set up armed camps.

Last month, Gusmao asked international peacekeeping troops to help quell the violence. Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and New Zealand responded to the call.

East Timor, formally known as the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, became independent in 2002. It declared independence in 1975 after four centuries as a Portuguese colony, but Indonesian troops invaded just days later and ruled it for the next 24 years.

East Timor broke away from Indonesia amid a wave of violent protests that followed the 1999 referendum on independence. A U.N. transitional administration ruled the territory for nearly three years before full independence in May 2002.

Alkatiri's statement said he was ready to have a dialogue with Gusmao to "contribute if necessary to the formation of the interim government."

"Finally, I declare that I will reassume my functions as a member of the national parliament until the end of the parliamentary term," Alkatiri said.

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