n
Three decades ago, he was a disjointed activist traversing the world corridors of power with a dream of gaining independence for his little homeland. Today, at 75, José Ramos-Horta is both the president and a relentless seller for the East Timor.
He asked the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, to “help us solve the problem of agriculture, food security and poverty”. He begged Vietnam leaders to do the same. He launched Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, the sovereign of the United Arab Emirates, his dream of building student dormitories.
Mr. Ramos-Horta undergoes increasing pressure to support his nation, the youngest Asia and one of his poorest. Hosting about 1.4 million people, the East Timor is half an island which is near the northern tip of Australia; The other half is part of Indonesia. Portuguese colony for centuries, it became an independent state in 2002 after a brutal occupation of Indonesia. Its saving of around $ 2 billion remains strongly dependent on oil and gas income, which evaporates rapidly, and more than 40% of its inhabitants would live in poverty.
“No country in Southeast Asia or Africa began as us, ashes, total destruction,” said Ramos-Horta. But, he added: “In 22 years, we should have resolved the poverty of children, the malnutrition of children, mother malnutrition and extreme poverty. It was therefore a failure.
However, by other measures, the East Timor or the Timor-Leste, as it is known in Portuguese, is a success. He strengthened his young democracy, organizing competitive elections with multiple transfers of power. It ranks among the highest in Asia for Press Freedom. Life expectancy is About 70,, About 64 years old in 2002. The whole population has access to electricity.
While politically motivated violence followed independence, including an attempted assassination on Mr. Ramos-Horta in 2008, during his first mandate as president, the country is now stable.
The East Timor is a positive case study for young post-conflict states, said Parker Novak, an Indo-Pacific Expert in the Atlantic Council. “They built a fairly resilient democracy. This is something they are very proud of, and rightly so. “”
In September, a visit to Pope Francis briefly placed the East Timor under the world’s projectors. About 97% of the population identifies as Roman Catholic, a legacy of the Portuguese colonizers and, more recently, the central role that the Church played in the victory of the independence of Indonesia. Some members of the clergy fought for independence, and the bishops and the nuns protected people from the Indonesian forces.
In Dili, the capital, the streets were rubbed and the walls freshly painted for the papal trip. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão was out with a broom.
For one of the least visited countries in Asia, it was a major moment. Apart from Dili, the main center of population, the East Timor always resembles an intact paradise. Large lush mountains are surrounded by large expanses of Azure seas. There are few people on its white sandy beaches.
Francis’ arrival has also raised memories of a tainted past. Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, one of the heroes of the independence movement, was accused in 2022 of having sexually abused children ago.
Few Timorais talk about Archbishop Belo, which remains largely revered. Mr. Ramos-Horta, who received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with Bishop Belo for their work to gain independence, said the case had already been discussed years ago by the Vatican ” And that any restitution had already been made between the Church and the victims.
The Chinese factor
On the field of the presidential palace in Dili, public members walk freely and sit freely in lush gardens.
Everything was made possible by China.
Beijing gave nearly $ 7 million To build the palace, which opened in 2009. (The US dollar is the official currency here.) Without a mile distance are the ministries of defense and foreigners, both built by China.
Ramos-Horta told how he had asked for help from the Chinese ambassador to provide clean water.
“Before even going to China, Chinese engineers were already coming to Timor to examine water sources for irrigation and water supply to communities,” he said. “The Chinese, they deliver very quickly.”
This dependence on China aroused fears concerning the intentions of Beijing in Eastern Timor, and what it could mean for the United States, which has intensified its presence of troops in the Australian port city of Darwin, A few hundred kilometers from East Timor.
“When China plans to invest in another developing country, they do it with a look certainly on a viable business, but with the other eye on a longer -term strategic interest,” said Damien Kingsbury, Professor Emeritus at Deakin University in Australia.
While Mr. Ramos-Horta took me on tour of the palace, he rejected these fears, saying: “China is not a threat to the world.”
He said Beijing was reluctant to help more, such as the creation of a police, because he was aware of the American and Australian sensitivities. He added that the East Timor does not borrow money from China and that the only military security arrangement that she has is with Australia.
Not “hostages of the past”
Mr. Ramos-Horta likes to share anecdotes. One was to come up against the Indonesian president, Prabowo suffered, in Singapore in July. Mr. Prabowo asked after the younger brother of Mr. Ramos-Horta, one of his close friends.
“This is the level of friendship we have with Indonesian leaders,” said Ramos-Horta.
The same Mr. Prabowo who directed the dreaded unit of the Special Forces of Kopauss who massacred hundreds in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation?
The Indonesian army moved a few days after the Portuguese departure in 1975, after the United States shed light on the invasion. They killed, according to certain estimates, up to 200,000 people before authorizing a referendum in 1999. Mr. Ramos-Horta lost four brothers and sisters.
However, in recognition of the honor of Indonesia of the results of the referendum, Mr. Ramos-Horta said that he and Mr. Gusmão, the Prime Minister, decided that they did not allow “to be hostages of pass”.
“We honor the victims. We bury the dead, but we look forward to it.
He said how when he and Mr. Gusmão heard for the first time that Mr. Prabowo had been elected, Mr. Gusmão was very happy “and gave him a boost.
“Those who were here, during the difficult period, they have the biggest emotional link” with the East Timor, said Ramos-Horta, adding that these people would further support the stability of the country.
Familiar challenges
A quarter of a century after the departure of the Indonesians, many heroes of the independence of the East Timor remain in the government. While Mr. Gusmão fought in the jungles, Mr. Ramos-Horta has spent decades in exile, lobbying for freedom. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister and is now in his second term as president.
“People feel obliged to their, they have released the country from a horrible military occupation,” said Charles Scheiner, a researcher at La’o Hamutuk, a local defense group. “Everyone in this country has a family that has been killed by the Indonesian army, and many of them are survivors of torture and rape.”
But winning sovereignty is different from the management of a country.
Analysts say that instead of using oil and gas income to improve decrepit schools and develop fishing and agriculture industries, managers have channeled them to create an inflated bureaucracy and pay people involved in the Post-independence violence of big pensions to “buy peace”. The World Bank has warned that the East Timor is heading for a “Budget cliff damage” by 2035.
“The underlying premise of democracy is that it would lead to a better creation of policies,” said Guteriano Neves, an independent political analyst based in Dili. “But this is not the case.”
Mr. Ramos-Horta counts on the development of an offshore gas field, called Greater Sunrise, to generate essential income. While coffee remains a major export, Mr. Ramos-Horta speaks effusion of Eastern Timor Diagration as a air cargo or pharmaceutical center. He also hopes to join the Association of Nations of Southeast Asia to facilitate regional trade.
The chances are long. Negotiations for the field of the Grand Sunrise continue, and should take at least five years of development before generating income. Tourism remains unexploited due to a few commercial flights. Internet speeds are still crawling.
About 25 minutes from Dili, in the village of Ulmera, Alda Bisoi Correia, 74, recalled why she had voted for independence. She was terrified by the pro-Indoneia militias, but said that it was “our last opportunity” to take a stand. Today, she wonders what it was.
“Independence has not made a difference for us,” she said.
Ms. Correia said the government does not provide water. His family cannot afford a refrigerator. His son is a security guard. Her adopted daughter, Sandra Correia Lopes, 12, weighs only 12 kilograms, 26 pounds, and frequently falls ill.
While the twilight turned to night, Sandra sat for dinner. It was a plate of rice and vegetables that his aunt had cooked on firewood. It will take almost a month before his family can afford to serve meat.
Hittu Carvalho of Jesus Contributed reports.
n
n
