East Timor, a land long brutalized by foreign occupiers, was declared independent last night in a joyous ceremony in the seaside capital of Dili, and took its place among the community of nations.
The world's newest country came into being with a solemn declaration of independence by parliamentary speaker Fransisco Guterres and a speech by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.
"I declare the establishment of the Democratic Republic of East Timor as an independent and sovereign state," Guterres said. "Glory to the heroes of our liberation."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Minutes later, former guerrilla commander Xanana Gusmao was declared the country's first president. Last month, the 55-year-old poet won the overwhelming majority of votes in a UN-supervised presidential election.
"Independence! As a people, as a territory, as a nation! One body, one mind, one wish!" Gusmao said, in a prepared speech. "Our independence will have no value, if all the people in East Timor continue to live in poverty and continue to suffer all kinds of difficulties."
The blue UN flag was lowered by a peacekeeper. The new national flag was escorted into the arena by a platoon of soldiers from East Timor's nascent defense force. It was raised as a choir sang East Timor's national anthem.
"I salute you -- people of East Timor -- for the courage and perseverance you have shown," Annan told an exuberant crowd as the UN officially transferred authority over the half-island territory.
"Yours has not been an easy path to independence," Annan said. "You should be very proud of your achievement. That a small nation is able to inspire the world and be the focus of our attention is the highest tribute that I can pay."
Thousands of East Timorese smiled, cheered and hugged each other in an outpouring of emotion marking the end of four centuries of Portuguese colonial rule, 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation and two and a half years of interim rule by the UN.
Thirty minutes earlier, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri arrived at the venue accompanied by Gusmao. They held hands and raised them aloft, as the crowd cheered and clapped.
Attending the festivities were former US president Bill Clinton, who officially represented the US, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio.
Jose Ramos-Horta, the new East Timorese foreign minister who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, told reporters that now is a time for "peace, tolerance and forgiveness."
"We are very happy. We are a proud and simple people who deserve peace, who deserve freedom," he said.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS