Timor Leste Anniversary speech by Xanana Gusmao

Timor Leste Anniversary speech by Prime-Minister Xanana Gusmão

On The First Scientific Conference Commemorating The 9th Anniversary Of Timor-Leste’s Restoration Of Independence Dili, 17 May 2011

Excellency, President of the Republic Excellencies Honorable Dean Lecturers Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Students

First of all, I would like to thank you for this opportunity, to speak a little about the theme that was given to me: Nation Building and State Building.

In three days time, we will celebrate the 9th year anniversary of the restoration of independence, which we declared on 28 November 1975. This unilateral declaration was our own self-declaration, however, the international community had yet to accept or recognize it. It was only on 20 May 2002 that the international community gave the recognition that we needed, so that we could become a member of the community of nations in the world and, therefore, on September 2002, we became a member of the United Nations.

In the coming month of July, Southern Sudan will also go through the same process and the international community will be with them on this great day in which they will stand as an independent country and people. And also in the coming month of September, their nation will have a place in the General Assembly, as a member of the UN.

It has been 9 years that we have governed our beloved country. Many countries, in Africa and Asia, gained independence after World War II, meaning 66 years have passed. Countries from the CPLP, in Africa, such as Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Principe, have had 37 years.

That is why, it is very important for us to hold on to our thoughts as we have only recently established our nation and our State. When we do not measure correctly the time that each country has been independent, we make a mistake of comparing one country to another, we fail to see the challenges and difficulties that all countries faced in their first ten to twenty years of independence.

When we fail to understand a process, we have the tendency to expect more than what we are able to achieve under this process. In order to undertake an action with firmness (such that when we start something we have to finish it), to proceed with conviction (that is, if we do something, we believe that it is good), it is important that we do not lose sight of the process or its development.

And this process has to be our own – this is very important!

At the 3rd Bali Democracy Forum, where every year more and more countries are participating, and at Conferences, and also at Universities including some that are overseas, I always say that: - Democracy is a long process and it can only consolidate when everyone clearly understands the process;

- Democracy is a process that each country practices, according to its own conditions and characteristics.

We can travel the world and see that, in many countries, they focus on elections, that is, they believe that if elections are good, everything else will change. In Africa and in Asia, many countries, more than 40 or so, still face problems which are the same or greater or more difficult than Timor-Leste.

If we do not open our eyes, to do an extensive study of other countries’ processes, we will not be able to see what we ourselves can do, what we ourselves must do, and what we ourselves know that is good for us.

The principle theory that I have mentioned above, is the one we held, by ourselves, as we took action, in the 24 years of struggle until we won. If we did not have this way of thinking to guide our thoughts, we would have lost the struggle, long after 1979. That is why, we did not make a war in the dark, and we did not make a war without a theoretical base in which to place the process of war.

All processes are the same, and have their own course. Social processes can find their own difficulties and find their own results. Economic processes will always find its own difficulties and come to its own results separately. Political processes also have one way: they have their own challenges and when answering these challenges, the results will respond to its own process.

We are currently following the ‘popular revolution’ in North Africa as well as the Middle East. Egypt’s physical development provides cities that are great and beautiful; however, the political process provided an autocratic regime. This is the same for Libya, Syria, Yemen and Saudia Arabia.

In Asia, we see Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, as well as Papua New Guinea which Australia granted independence in 1975, and it is not surprising that they have moved forward. If we do not know how to study these processes with their own difficulties, we will not find a way to strive forward. In doing so, we can identify a good process, where we can see how it functions and measures the steps that are being taken, to achieve good results.

Processes of Nation Building are extremely complex, where all issues are together, yet at the same time separate, however interlinked or interdependent. Interdependent means that one area that functions well can influence the other. However, if an important area falls behind or is damaged, it can affect other areas, as well as have the ability to stop the entire process.

The process of State Building is a process with its own difficulties and with various challenges. And, more importantly, for our own understanding, it is a very long process. It is not a process that can be undertaken quickly.

Excellency, President of the Republic, Excellencies, Honourable Dean Lecturers Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Students

That is why, we can ask: What is a State? States have sovereign institutions, which are pillars of our independent Timor-Leste. Everyone knows the State Institutions: President of the Republic, National Parliament, Government and Judiciary.

We have recently achieved 9 years in the process of self-government! That is why we have to agree that we are still in the construction phase. This means that these institutions already exist, however, we need to make a continued and greater effort to strengthen each year, until each one has its own capacity to deliver good service.

The President of the Republic is the highest institution in our State and is an institution that overseas national unity, democracy, as well as other functions, and overseas the actors of that State that need to obey the Constitution and the Laws.

The National Parliament is a sovereign institution which is also critical. In the Parliament, where the representatives of the people present and defend the people’s aspirations, the parliamentarians then debate and approve the turning of these aspirations into laws. This institution also has a duty to audit the government’s policy, that is, the plans and measures of the government and review if all the government programs and plans have been implemented.

We also need to recognise that the Parliament in its two mandates (2002-2007 and 2007- 2012) has already achieved many things, however, there is still room for improvement, in order to truly represent the people’s wishes. This process needs to be given time, to reinforce the institution’s own capacity and institutional memory.

Government is an institution that has the responsibility to administer programs for five years according to its mandate, and in each year, follows its mandate. The government also needs to oversee and improve the public administration capacity and believe that only through a public service that is capable and professional and full of spirit to serve, can our State function effectively.

For this, the State Inspector General has responsibility to identify any irregularities in the administration. The government also must give attention to the training of the inspectors and auditors in the institutions of government, so that they can better do their work.

We now have a Civil Service Commission, which oversees the recruitment process which must be transparent, the promotion process which must be based on merit and not on friends or family, or political affiliation or bribes, and instead be a process which is based on honesty and fairness in the evaluation for all public servants, and also to impose disciplinary measures when they are deserved. It has been not much over a year since we have started and we still need a place or facilities, as well as people with capacity and aptitude to this job.

In the self-government process, we also have a process to build and strengthen all the institutions. That is why the State needs to help find solutions that are good for various problems which arise with an obligation to see all the mechanisms within our society.

That is why we have the Provedor for Human Rights and Justice which is currently performing its functions. We all need to accept that if they are to work according to our wishes it will take time as the Government needs to improve their conditions and increase the number of people with skills and capabilities.

Another important institution is the Anti-Corruption Commission. Sometimes I hear that, one year on, there has still been no arrest. To speak like this is poor, because we can not forget that for an institution to function properly human resources is a fundamental requirement. Investigation of corruption crimes is not the same as investigation of homicide. We first have to prepare our people.

Finally, the Courts are also one of our State pillars which uphold justice in our country. The courts’ responsibility is to make sure that everyone is under the law. According to our Constitution, this is our greatest value; everyone has access to justice and everyone is subject to the law.

However, we move forward: Courts, which are institutions that are independent from the three above mentioned institutions, must assure that there is no interference in their decisions. Recently we witnessed the Vice Prime-Minister going to Court as a defendant. José Luís Guterres, as a human being, suffered emotionally, morally and politically.

However, our State won! However, our State was strengthened! This is what is important! According to our constitution, we need to establish Courts as follows: Supreme Court of Justice and other Judicial Courts, Administrative Courts of Fiscal Accounts and Administrative Courts and Military Courts.

Today we only have the Court of Appeals, which has the highest responsibilities and competencies. This only says that we still have processes to establish in our State. This process needs to develop slowly because to establish it correctly, we need to consider our human resources. This is the factor that is still lacking in our country, which is like a measure of our capabilities in the process to establish a State.

The Government has also approved and sent to the Parliament proposed legislation to create the Chamber of Accounts as a first preparatory step for our administrative and fiscal system in our State.

For all the citizens to have access to justice we have to establish a court within our country. However, this is not enough. We also need Prosecutors and Public Defenders, we also have to properly prepare the civil servants in the justice sector, we also have to better prepare police investigators and we also need more lawyers.

Even though it is small, let us begin to celebrate. Yesterday I participated in a ceremony for new judges, prosecutors and public defenders who took office. A recruitment process is also now in place. In this year alone, 45 more will receive training. Sixty investigators will also receive training.

To understand all this we must not lose the sense that we are still in the process of establishing and strengthening the State’s institutions.

Ladies and Gentlemen Dear Students Now we move to the other question: What is a Nation?

The nation is the country Timor-Leste and all its people, the State and the whole society. According to the 2010 Census Statistics, which we did ourselves, Timor-Leste has 1.064 million inhabitants (This means Timor-Leste’s population is 1 million, 64,000). Looking at these age group figures we can see that the situation is very complex. Timor- Leste’s population is a very young population.

• There are more than 400,000 people up to the age of 15 • Up to the age of 25, there are more than 500,000.

This data can be seen from two perspectives: one, that RDTL has great hope for its future because our population is still young. The other is a big challenge for the education and for their training and their capacity.

This shows to all of us that the Education sector is the biggest and greatest priority for the future of this nation. Education for all children and a quality education. Education that needs to be orientated to all the children to acquire skills so in the end they can find jobs. Because our greatest challenge for our nation in this time is work and jobs for all the Timorese.

According to our Constitution, the State exists to look over the livelihood of the people. When we mention livelihood we cannot move away from the health sector which oversees the people’s wellbeing.

When sickness arises it affects a lot of people, and there is also sickness that affects small groups which they still look after. In order to look at all this sickness, the State needs to find ways to continue to attend and better plan so it can reduce, or in the end eliminate, some of the diseases from our country.

Many illnesses affect the population because of malnutrition and we can also mention food because there is still a lack of food. Therefore, the agriculture sector has the responsibility to improve and slowly it will eradicate hunger in our country. It is not just our people that are suffering hunger. Many countries, millions of people in the whole world, have a shortage of food or are hungry.

I only mention the areas that are important and very basic for the people’s wellbeing -for today and the future.

Excellency, President of the Republic Excellencies Honourable Dean Lecturers Ladies and Gentlemen Dear Students

In the process of establishing our nation, what are the mechanisms which the State needs to oversee?

When we mention mechanisms we are raising a big issue. Therefore, I will focus on two mechanisms that we need to really improve for the nation to move forward in a better way. a- Political mechanism, an area which, whether you like it or not, is a part of our lives according to our Constitution.

A democratic system that provides freedom of expression, in which every person is entitled to their own opinion, and there is no one who will prevent you from expressing your opinion. However, when we begin to establish a democratic process we think that democracy is used to shout at one another and put each other down and think that freedom gives us a license to do whatever we like.

Democracy is about the rights of every individual, however, it also about the rights of everyone. There is a very beautiful expression to help us understand: my right is only until the boundary where another person’s rights begin. In reality, we can say, my vegetable patch or my backyard is only until my neighbour’s fence.

When we have this understanding, we can begin to adopt the correct concept within a democracy. Because of this concept we can be assured of our own understanding regarding obligations. I have the obligation to respect other people’s rights, just as other people have the obligation to respect my rights.

Democracy does not only grant rights, democracy also gives obligations to each individual and everyone. When we are within a democracy we better understand obligations. Always within a society, the spirit of solidarity should be strong. Solidarity arises when we respect one another but it takes the whole society to love one another and to help each other.

Social mechanism In this mechanism, we will look at the various organisations that bring together a lot of people who think and want the same things.

We can mention religion in this context. Timor-Leste, while majority Catholic, respects other religions. In this area we all should be proud because there is true tolerance within our society.

However, because of this tolerance, in one or two years, some groups have taken actions, and later stolen other people’s property and have became a problem. All this can happen because we are the ones who received them in our house and we extended our hands to receive some food or money.

Lastly, external groups brought their religion and books which they distributed and which were radical. This can ruin us as a small nation, a nation that is still poor and we ask for all the religious orders to keep an eye on this. Radicalism has entered our country, so if we are not vigilant it will ruin us like it has done other countries in the world.

In the social mechanism, we also mention other organisations for the youth, for the women, for the professionals, for the vulnerable and for many others. Our State does not yet have the capacity to oversee all these mechanisms. After we see the general situation in the nation, the State has the duty to prioritise. However, we can not also think that everything is a priority. If we think like that, we are not thinking correctly.

In weighing up all the necessities, some became priorities to attend to in order to reduce these necessities.

Last Saturday, we met groups and organisations which are called martial arts or ‘ritual arts’, so that they can talk to each other and ask each other what each group can contribute to this beloved nation. They all made a promise that, as a group or organisation, they no longer want to be involved in violence in this country. The State’s obligation is to oversee this, to assist and to improve a spirit of citizenship in each Timorese’s thinking and action.

The State recognised that it has yet to give its maximum attention to the arts, to the culture, to the paintings, to the theatre, to the music and to the sports. However, we have to move slowly. We are in the process of strengthening our Nation and our State.

Last week also, the government met with the village chiefs to discuss their duties within their communities, to attend to the various problems that might arise and which will need to be resolved.

The Government is also working with the Civil Service Commission to bring together all public servants to discuss with them their rights as well as to reinforce their conscience regarding their obligations.

In the past few years, the Government sought to meet with the private sector, because we need to oversee our private sector, so they can improve in order to be better partners in the development of this country.

The biggest foundation for this process is security, stability, peace and love within the whole of our society. We have already started and we still need to continue.

Excellency, President of the Republic Excellencies Honourable Dean Lecturers Ladies and Gentlemen Dear Students

To conclude, I will talk a little about the construction of a citizenry. Our Constitution says all citizens are obligated to defend Timor-Leste’s sovereignty.

University, as an institution of higher learning, has a big responsibility in the process to establish our nation, that is: to educate citizens that are good and knowledgeable for the future.

Citizens who are good are those people who look to hold firm the principles that are good. Citizens who are good are those people who look to hold firm good values. Citizens who are good are Timorese which put the interest of people and nation above interest of individuals or other groups.

A citizen can be smart, however, and still become a citizen that is not good. Last week, I received the Dean and the Directorate of University of PGRI from Kupang. They informed me about the plans for co-operation with UNTL, and they also wanted to implement a Portuguese language course as well as activities in the area of sports in their university.

Our meeting was very positive. We discussed the responsibilities of the institutions of higher learning and we discussed the meaning of education. We came to the conclusion that education is to train people, to broader their minds to be able to understand and respond to the real world which they will confront. However, we also reminded each other that, in Indonesia, rivalry between schools has created violence, created intolerance (which in Indonesia is known as ‘braul antara sekolah-sekolah’), and a phenomenon which is a bad thing, because it is contagious to a society which has found a place to breed intolerance and violence in the future.

Because of this, institutions of higher learning have obligations to teach and reinforce moral values and ethics, so that they can produce good citizens for a Nation. I proposed to them that because this is a very important topic, the government is ready to lend support to the yearly seminars between university lecturers which are near us. To define what they all can see and need, so that universities can have the ability to better prepare ....the citizens for each other’s country and for the world.

Citizenship does not mean to just obtain an ID card, to vote for a political party or vote on Election Day. Citizenship means an obligation to positively contribute to the Nation.

Sometimes, the Timorese can side step their obligations, can lose their concept of sovereignty. This person, this Timorese, considers himself or herself as an independent person and, therefore, the interests of the Nation have no value to them.

They consider themselves to be independent, because it is not the State that pays their way, rather it is large organisations, such as perhaps UN agencies, where there are also questions of transparency and the effectiveness and results of the big budgets that they have spent. The BBC has reported that a UN agency has taken billions of dollars to Afghanistan, to fix the living standards of the children, however, when the money was spent and the agency left the country, the children were worst off than before.

I will make a small intervention and I ask your permission to speak a little longer, because yesterday I also read a beautiful document from UNMIT.

I am happy to read Timor ‘wikileaks’, or ‘UNleaks’, which was released yesterday by Tempo Semanal. On 24 January this year, UNMIT made a presentation to their staff about ‘Democratic governance in Timor-Leste’. In it, it said that Xanana Gusmão is a big obstacle to the development of democracy in Timor-Leste.

I was very happy because they showed that they do not know Xanana Gusmão. And now, I say to all of you, and also take this opportunity to inform them, just as in 2009 I informed Australian Intelligence when they asked me why I purchased the patrol boats from China. Xanana Gusmão was before a Marxism-Leninist, a member of the Fretilin Central Committee which claimed Marxism-Leninism as Fretilin ideology on 20 May 1977, in Laline.

Those who participated in this decision that are still living are Abel Larisima, Ma Huno and Filomeno Paixão.

Xanana Gusmão, who could have become President of Fretilin and President of RDTL, on 3 March 1981, at the Conference of the Re-organisation of the Struggle, when the path was wide open for him. But he did not want to, because his preoccupation was to learn to direct the struggle to win independence. And with his influence, Mr Abílio de Araújo, who at the moment is in Lisbon, was chosen.

In March 1985, Xanana Gusmão presented a plan for a solution to the struggle, a plan that only in 1999 was the UN able to apply.

In 1986, Xanana Gusmão took one year to study a better strategy for the struggle, withdrew from Fretilin so as to embrace other parties as well as to open the way for more parties. Friends of the Fretilin delegation outside the country wrote a letter to him, in the mountains, to say that they did not agree with this strategy, some even called him a traitor...to the revolution...until even today.

UNMIT and UN Agencies have forgotten that in 2001, after already approving the transition Plan for the Restoration, on the 20th of May, Xanana Gusmão no longer involved himself in the UNTAET process, nor did he involve himself in the political process for the Constituent Assembly Elections, he was sitting quietly, overseeing the veterans and receiving $500 dollars from the World Bank for the demobilisation of FALANTIL.

UNMIT considers Xanana Gusmão, the experts both Timorese and international who work in UNMIT, say: Xanana is the biggest obstacle to Constitutionalism.

In February 2008, Xanana Gusmão did not read correctly the Constitution of RDTL to stop the non-activities of UNMIT and the non-operations of the ISF, when he decided to create a joint operation so that our sovereignty would not be alienated; a decision I can guarantee that had it not been made we would still be in a crisis.

But for UNMIT, this would have been good....because they could get to stay here longer! And I must say, that some Timorese defend UNMIT and do not want it to leave, because it greatly assists the economy of our people and argue that if UNMIT leaves, our people will be very poor. But this has already happened when from 2000 to 2008, the international community spent almost 8 billion dollars in Timor-Leste and we do not see any physical development and even more poverty was created in our country. And because they are leaving, poverty increases, and this is our fault!

UNMIT also stated that my response to the “2009 State General Budget” case was very hostile, meaning that I showed a lack of respect to the Courts. I agreed that UNMIT had a lot of knowledge, with its nationals and internationals, which is why they did not correctly study my response to the National Parliament.

UNMIT’s knowledge can not understand that I as the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, do not accept theories from politicians or academics in Portugal, that the Courts referred to and relied upon in their judgment, because I have followed the financial and economic situation in Portugal. (As before, I do not fight in the dark). In my response, I mentioned that if the theories which the Court referred to in their judgment were correct, Portugal would not be falling down. Today Portugal, with 120 billion dollars in debt, is looking for assistance from the European Banks and the IMF. If this is a response that UNMIT classifies as hostile, this means that the “experts” in UNMIT are very clever indeed.

And UNMIT also mentioned the Maternus Bere case. Some Timorese also shouted, because people from other countries told them to shout. Saddam Hussein has been killed! Everyone was happy because justice has prevailed! In ten years, Iraq has had numerous elections according to international standards. In Iraq... the war still continues, and President Obama himself promised in his campaign to end the war, today, I say there is no capacity to make a decision regarding this issue. In January 2006, I went to Washington, I spoke at the Centre of Strategic Studies and I said: “President Bush, until the end of his mandate, did not manage to establish a date to reduce or withdraw the American troops from Iraq.” And I asked the Americans “Do not kill Saddam Hussein, use Saddam Hussein to make reconciliation in Iraq, or else, the Iraqis will continue to kill one another”. And, today, May 2011, they continue to kill each other and this war will not end quickly. Even though Osama Bin Laden has now also died.

These experts have not followed the events in Libya where people are also looking for a compromised solution to Muammar Gaddafi, to convince him to go to another Middle Eastern country, some with promises that he will not have to answer to anything. This is not possible, however, when we reflect on this, the big problem that will arise, is that any of the Middle Eastern nations which may receive all have problems of their own. Attempts such as this, have also arisen in relation to Hosni Mubarak, from Egypt.

That is why everything is relative. One thing is activism! Another thing is politics, where one has to defend the interest of the nation. And the interest of the nation is something that is very broad, from diplomacy to the aspects of practical relations, from economy to commerce, from security to sovereignty.

I also have my appreciation of UN agencies. My proposal is this: UNMIT and Timorese experts, offer your services to improve Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and give support to democracy in Yemen, Syria and Libya.

However, in the UNMIT presentation, in January 2011, they said that, only if the UN continues to be in Timor-Leste can this country improve.

I want to say to these Timorese, which have become experts for UNMIT, you do not need to show-off; you do not need to grovel for other people’s money, because this is a sickness, which we call mental colonialism or intellectual colonialism.

In the Portuguese language it is alienation. In our Constitution it says: do not alienate our sovereignty, do not sell our sovereignty to other people.

I am happy that UNMIT has this view of me. Perhaps they are the ones who elected me as a good person....to UNMIT, the people have a right to suspect that I have already alienated the interests of the people, I have already alienated our nation’s sovereignty. Therefore, I am happy.....because the nationals and internationals in UNMIT are not happy with me.

We know some people have become big “experts” in our country, however, maybe they should now work together with President Obama to look to resolve the 14.5 trillion dollar American debt, and the big fraud which the financial institutions and banks displayed in 2009 that damaged the whole world.

Some have become “expert” in macroeconomics and finance in our country. They have yet to learn that they are well groomed to serve Europe to get it out of its big problems, such as 788 billion in debts from Ireland, Greece, and Portugal and a “bailout” in which the European Bank and IMF can only offer 322 billion.

These experts today hold RDTL ID cards, but they do not yet know that greater countries in the world need them. America and Europe need these Timorese experts and internationals, to correct the standards which they so dearly defend.

And the world needs reform that is indeed big. Big organisations in the world need reforms which are bold and clear, in order to clean the dirt from within, so that they can gain experience to clean other people’s backyards. The UN itself needs this big reform.

In 2004, I and the current President Dr Ramos-Horta, at the time Minister of Foreign Affairs, went to visit Germany. German’s President asked for Timor-Leste to support reforms in the UN and their candidacy to the Security Council. I said to the German President: “Reforms in the UN can not just be by providing new members to the Security Council. There needs to be a true reform because the UN is a big organisation and very bureaucratic, which spends a lot of money...and we all see that poverty continues to increase throughout the world”.

There needs to be a reform throughout these agencies, where they only communicate with each other, where they defend the standards which they profess but seldom practice. Big and rich countries can not continue to impose their rules on the world. Small and poor countries can not also remain silent when receiving these empty words in their ears.

In February, I participated in the Jakarta International Dialogue on Defence. In my intervention I challenged the participants, civilians, politicians and military staff, from Europe to Asia, from UN representatives, to those from Africa and the Middle East, and said: “Why do we not look for a way to end the many wars which cost billions of dollars each year, so that the international community can make a good plan, to provide water to the places which are in drought, mostly in Africa, and therefore, money used for war can save thousands and millions of people and this provides real sustainability”.

The topic of transparency regarding assistance from overseas was also raised. I also raised this challenge there, because, why not? International agencies spend a lot of money, and in some places, take rice to distribute, write their own big reports that they have saved people from hunger in order to ask for more money to continue to distribute the rice.

Couple this with “sustainability”, which today comes across as a new word to some of the experts in our beloved country. Some Agencies or NGOs have found money, have come to do something, when there is no more money they come running to the government asking for assistance or else they will close. However, everyday, they preach to us regarding sustainability. And the Timorese which have already become experts, also mention everyday to us “sustainability”. Why is that? If they do not shout, people no longer give them money, and they also do not find sustainability.

My dear friends, Because of this, Timor-Leste today leads the g7+ where 17 countries come together, representing a total population of more than 350 million people to talk, or to say the right word, to correct the systems that are currently used throughout the world.

All these things that we the Timorese need to look to understand, look to accompany, look to listen, or else everyday we think that Timor-Leste is the worst in the world. If we did not know, we would think that the Timorese and international experts are right. To make us think that: in the world everyone has a job, everyone has liberty, everyone lives in peace, everyone has a full belly, their police do not hit their people, that they do not have crime, that there are no prisons, or that the hospitals are closed because there is no sickness, the rich people feed the poor three times a day, that governments do not have problems like in Timor-Leste.

We understand that we still have a lot of problems, we will improve. We all look to continue to make an effort. At an Indonesian University, I also delivered a speech last March and I said: “In developed countries there is a bad culture, the society does not value the efforts which their government is making to respond to the various necessities. People like to minimise these efforts which only strengthens other countries well being’.

However, it is not only because of this that the State is surprised. The State can not give value to the undeserved opinions of one or two individuals. The State needs to remain firm, follow the road that it knows to be correct and good for the people.

The correct way is this: during the war, we had one principle – “’Rely on your own strength’, meaning ‘Rely on your own capacity’”. We kept in our mind, another principle – “national unity through reconciliation”, meaning, we only build unity when we make peace and live in peace.

We know what we want and the State of Timor-Leste knows what its people want.

Díli, 17 May 2011.

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