Ramos-Horta calls for patience and support
East Timor must given more time to allow democratic institutions to take root before it is written off as a “failed state”, the head of the fledgling nation’s government said.
|
|
|
|
Dr Jose Ramos-Horta discusses
the recent past and future of East Timor. Photograph: Darren
Boyd, Coombs Photography. |
The Prime Minister of Timor Leste, Dr Jose Ramos-Horta, gave an assessment of the recent unrest in his country during a public lecture at ANU on 12 October.
Speaking to more than 350 people in the Coombs Lecture Theatre, Dr Ramos-Horta said the violence that erupted in April in response to sacked soldiers was “limited”, and that most of the populace had been opposed to civil war.
“We had all the ingredients ... we didn’t descend into civil war because the vast majority of people didn’t want a civil war. The vast majority of the youth didn’t want it. The political leaders did by and large behave responsibly.”
Dr Ramos Horta said other post-colonial nations like Indonesia, Nigeria and Colombia had achieved much since gaining independence - and that East Timor required more time to prove itself.
“You look at any of these countries and what they have achieved, in terms of nation building, democracy consolidation, rule of law, justice, human security, literacy, education, clean water for everyone, I don’t know if you’d call them failed states.”
Dr Ramos-Horta said his nation would prefer to retain the current security arrangements including the Australian military presence for the immediate future while the consolidation of democratic institutions continued.
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was invited to speak at ANU by the Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy.
Listen to the Dr Ramos-Horta speech via podcast at: http://info.anu.edu.au/Discover_ANU/News_and_Events/Public_Lectures/_2006podcasts/ramos-horta.mp3
^^
|
