Military

DATE=10/20/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=E.TIMOR - 1st FOREIGN MINISTER (L only)

NUMBER=2-268195

BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN

DATELINE=JAKARTA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: East Timorese independence leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta has been sworn in as East Timor's first foreign minister. As Patricia Nunan reports from Jakarta, Mr. Ramos Horta is putting top priority to restoring good relations with Indonesia - the nation that invaded East Timor and occupied it for nearly a quarter-century.

TEXT: East Timorese independence leader Jose Ramos-Horta says that as foreign minister, he plans to do his "utmost" to normalize relations with Indonesia. Mr. Ramos Horta also says that while there remain many serious problems between East Timor and Indonesia, they should not be an obstacle to dialogue.

East Timor won its independence from Indonesia after an UN-supervised vote in August of last year. The territory is currently being administered by the United Nations while it works to build viable government institutions and develop its own legal system.

One of East Timor's most-respected leaders, Mr. Ramos-Horta fled East Timor in 1975, just days before Indonesia invaded and subsequently annexed the territory. He spent the next 24 years in self-imposed exile, fighting for recognition of East Timor's right to independence.

Along with East Timorese spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Belo, Mr. Ramos-Horta won the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Earlier this year, Mr. Ramos-Horta joked about what the future might hold for him.

/// RAMOS HORTA ACT ///

Maybe an ambassador post sometime, maybe to Rome, my favorite city. It would be a bit difficult to justify an embassy to Italy, but if we decide to open one at least to the Vatican, since East Timor is predominantly Catholic then maybe we should have an embassy in Rome. Yes, I would go. Or as consul in Rio de Janeiro. Maybe ambassador in Paris but it's also difficult to justify one in France.

/// END OPT ///

But the job of Foreign Minister will not be an easy one.

Earlier this month, Mr. Ramos-Horta went before the United Nations in New York to call for establishment of an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor to punish those responsible for the violence that surrounded the vote for independence last year.

The investigation into the affair by Indonesia's attorney general's office has so far named 23 official suspects into the wave of killing by anti-independence militias, which human rights groups say received weapons and support from the Indonesian military. But the pace of the inquiry has been slow.

Also at issue is continued militia activity in the Indonesian province of West Timor. An UN spokesman describes the more than 120 thousand East Timorese refugees still living in West Timor as virtual "hostages" of the militia groups. (signed)

NEB/HK/PN/JO/PFH