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Ramos-Horta promises prosperity to Timor

Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for helping East Timor obtain independence and is now running for president, vowed yesterday to bring more prosperity to the crisis-wracked country, but warned that progress would not be easy.

Ramos-Horta was made prime minister last year when the tiny country's first post-independence government collapsed following an army mutiny and street violence that killed 37 people and saw the return of peacekeeping troops.

He said that grave problems remained, but "not to the extent that some pessimists paint -- that this is a failing state or [that] the country is in civil war."

"I think we avoided a civil war," he said.

Ramos-Horta said the years ahead are likely to be tougher than those since East Timor voted to end 24 years of Indonesian rule in a 1999 UN-sponsored referendum "because of the crisis that we have had for almost the last 12 months."

"The people will be less forgiving because they've been waiting for more than five years now for the fruits of independence and ... there is a lot of disagreement with the leadership," he said.

Following East Timor's successful bid for independence, vengeful Indonesian troops and militiamen killed hundreds of people and torched much of the state infrastructure before foreign troops arrived to restore order.

Ramos-Horta was the public face of the East Timorese resistance movement at the UN during Indonesian occupation.

He was foreign minister before becoming prime minister in July.

He said the next government would bring increased wealth to the country's 900,000 people, who remain among the poorest in Asia.

"Although we have much more money, we have to deliver much faster," he said, referring to an expected infusion of cash from offshore oil and gas reserves.

Some people fear that next month's presidential election could spark fresh violence in the country, which is tense amid an ongoing Australian military operation to capture fugitive soldier Alfredo Reinado, who is linked to last year's unrest and outbreaks of gang violence.

President Xanana Gusmao, a close ally of Ramos-Horta is an independent organ and the leader of the country's armed resistance to Indonesian rule, is not running for re-election.

An aide to Reinado said yesterday that the latter was prepared to negotiate if military operations against him were halted.

"If they want to enter a dialogue, it is easy. The operation has to stop," the aide, speaking under cover of anonymity, quoted Reinado as saying.

The aide said Reinado was pleased that two bishops were recently appointed as mediators for any future dialogue.

"I am very happy," Reinado said, as quoted by the aide. "The church is an independent organ and I trust them more that they will be able to take the dialogue forward."

Australian troops surrounded Reinado's mountain base late last month and attacked it a few days later, killing four of his armed supporters.

But the renegade soldier eluded the offensive as well as a manhunt launched after the failed attack.

Reinado's base was located in Same, 50km south of Dili and the aide said the rebel was sorry for the hardship the town's residents had suffered due to the military action.
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