DATE=10/23/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=EAST TIMOR / GUSMAO / L-O
NUMBER=2-255390
BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN
DATELINE=JAKARTA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao
has pledged to do his utmost to rebuild his devastated
homeland after violence wrought by anti-independence
militia groups last month. But -- as Patricia Nunan
reports from Jakarta -- Mr. Gusmao declines to say
whether he would accept the position of president of
the newly-independent nation.
TEXT - Speaking at the United Nations compound in Dili
Saturday, Independence leader Xanana Gusmao vowed to
"raise East Timor from the ashes" left by anti-
independence militia groups that went on a reign of
terror in the territory last month.
He also is urging the East Timorese people to forget
the past and look toward to the future of the newly-
independent nation.
Mr. Gusmao made an emotional return to East Timor on
Thursday, after spending seven years in prison and
under house arrest in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
The former guerrilla leader fought in the jungle for
18 years before his 1992 arrest by Indonesian
authorities. He was released last month as part of the
East Timor peace process.
His experience as a guerrilla commander and as one of
Indonesia's most famous political prisoners has
prompted many to compare Mr. Gusmao to South Africa's
Nelson Mandela. However, as of now, Mr. Gusmao
refuses to say whether he would be available to lead
East Timor. The Indonesian government granted
independence to East Timor last week, after the
majority of East Timorese people voted to break free
of Indonesian rule in a referendum supervised by the
United Nations. The move marks the end of 24 years of
civil war, sparked when Indonesian troops invaded East
Timor in 1975.
The referendum was marred by violence when anti-
independence militia groups swept through East Timor,
destroying scores of towns and villages and forcing
hundreds of thousands to flee. An international
peacekeeping force was launched in East Timor to help
restore calm.
Mr. Gusmao says members of anti-independence militia
groups who want to return to East Timor must first
confess their crimes. Hundreds of militia-members are
believed to have fled into neighboring West Timor
after the arrival of the peacekeepers. Mr. Gusmao says
he cannot offer an amnesty to militia-members, but if
they do confess, he will try to prevent the East
Timorese people from seeking revenge against them.
(signed).
NEB / PN / WD
23-Oct-1999 06:54 AM EDT (23-Oct-1999 1054 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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