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East Timor president sworn in

New East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta inspects the honor guard at the goverment office in Dili yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta took over yesterday as East Timor's president as the troubled nation marked five years since it gained independence from occupying Indonesia.

Ramos-Horta took an oath of office during a simple ceremony at parliament house in the capital, attended by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda and his Portuguese counterpart Luis Filipe Marques Amado.

The president pledged to unite the tiny nation whose people are desperately trying to claw their way out of poverty after voting overwhelmingly for independence in 1999.

"I swear to God, in the name of the people and for the sake of my honor, that I will duly exercise my functions, implement and abide by the Constitution and the law and dedicate all my energy and capacity to the defense and consolidation of freedom and national unity," he said.

The 57-year-old won a landslide victory earlier this month in the first presidential election since the former Portuguese colony gained its independence in 2002, after a bloody separation from Indonesia three years earlier.

Ramos-Horta, the international face of East Timor's independence struggle, replaces popular former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao.

He immediately pledged to reform the military and the police, after violence erupted last year between rival factions of the two security forces.

"I promise that I will work hard, to provide fair living conditions for the FDTL [armed forces] and the PNTL [police] and conditions for building up the professionalism of these two institutions," he said in a speech.

He also thanked countries and the UN for their continuing support in helping East Timor solve its many problems.

"I particularly wish to reiterate our appreciation for the commitment of Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, four friendly countries that did not hesitate to land on our shores when we appealed to them for help," he said.

Troops from those nations were deployed to restore security after the unrest in May that degenerated into gang violence and left 37 people dead. Another 150,000 were forced to flee their homes in fear.

Ramos-Horta appealed to the nation's youth in his speech, imploring them to steer away from the violence still flaring on Dili's streets.

"I ask the youth, all groups, all gangs and all martial arts groups, to throw away the feelings of vengeance and violence, to do away with knives, because these will only harm us, our country and yourselves," he said.

"With vengeance and violence, we will not win over anything. With conscience in our hearts and our minds, with books and computers, we can win," he said.

Ramos-Horta was sworn in by the man he trounced in the May 9 election, parliamentary speaker Francisco Guterres from the ruling Fretilin party.

Gusmao signed the documents handing over power to the parliament before they were transferred to Ramos-Horta. A declaration from the court of appeal that the election results were official was also read out.

Guests then sang the national anthem Patria Patria.

Ramos-Horta's brother Arsenio and sisters Rosa and Aida Horta attended. Most countries in the region sent their envoys and ambassadors for the ceremony.

Gusmao, a close Ramos-Horta ally, did not contest the election for the largely ceremonial job of president, and will instead run for the more powerful post of prime minister in next month's parliamentary polls.

Ramos-Horta later inspected the nation's troops during an independence parade in front of government palace.
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