low graphics version | feedback | help
|
 Jose Ramos-Horta"The task ahead of us is enormous"  real 28k |
Exiled leader returns to Timor
Ramos Horta (right) and Xanana Gusmao in Jakarta on Tuesday |
Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta has returned to East Timor after 24 years in exile.
|
Scores of people came to the airport to meet him, and a crowd was gathering to greet him along Dili's seaside promenade.
Accompanied by the head of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (Untaet), Sergio Vieira de Mello, Mr Horta was received by a welcoming committee of 37 resistance leaders.
He said he was "very, very happy" to be back.
Soldiers with the Brazilian and Australian contingents of the International Force for East Timor (Interfet) were also at the airport to provide security.
Residents in Dili have hung up street decorations in preparation for the homecoming of Mr Ramos Horta, who is regarded as foreign minister designate.
 I am overwhelmed, very, very happy  |
| Jose Ramos Horta |
He said before his arrival that he intended to help in whatever way he could to build peace and reconciliation, and to continue the effort to mobilise international resources for Indonesia.
"The task ahead of us is enormous," he told the BBC.
Vocal campaigner
But Mr Horta acknowledged that he returned with mixed feelings, saying he would find a country devastated by conflict, with more than 100,000 people still unaccounted for.
Mr Horta, 49, fled East Timor a few days before the territory was invaded by the Indonesian military in 1975.
Since then, he has been a vocal campaigner for his people, travelling the world to lobby for a free East Timor.
The independence activist is the co-winner, with Roman Catholic Bishop of Dili Carlos Belo, of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize.
Era of cooperation
An Untaet spokesman said the Nobel laureate planned to stay in the territory for several weeks and participate in a student peace festival.
President Wahid and Mr Gusmao agreed to turn the page on two decades of bloodshed |
The leaders agreed to turn their backs on the violence of the past and look forward to a new era of cooperation.
"We start now a new relationship between East Timor and Indonesia," Mr Gusmao told a press conference afterwards.
"We are committed to doing our best to create a co-operative, friendly and good relationship."
Mr Horta told the BBC that it was "remarkable" that he had gone from being Indonesia's "enemy number one", to participating in a "friendly meeting" with the country's head of state.
He praised the Indonesian president, describing him as a "leader of great moral standing".
|
Search BBC News Online |
|
|
||
|
 Advanced search options |
|
 BBC ONE TV NEWS |
|
| WORLD NEWS SUMMARY |
|
|
See also: |
|
|
|
 |
08 Sep 99 | East Timor |
|
Profile: Timor's exiled leader |
| |
|
|
30 Nov 99 | Asia-Pacific |
|
'New relationship' for East Timor |
| |
|
|
23 Oct 99 | Asia-Pacific |
|
'Day of freedom' for Timor |
| |
|
|
29 Nov 99 | Asia-Pacific |
|
Indonesia 'responsible' for Timor destruction |
| |
|
|
27 Oct 99 | Asia-Pacific |
|
UN wants $200m for East Timor |
| |
|
|
03 Nov 99 | Asia-Pacific |
|
UN teams snatch Timor refugees |
| |
|
|
06 Oct 99 | East Timor |
|
Bishop Belo: Timor's spiritual leader |
| |
|
|
Internet links: |
|
|
|
|
|
TimorNet |
| |
|
|
East Timor International Support Centre |
| |
|
|
East Timor Human Rights Centre |
| |
|
|
UN Mission in East Timor |
| |
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites |
|
Links to other Asia-Pacific stories are at the foot of the page.
