***** Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 15:30:40 +1200 From: Philip L Ferguson <PLF13 at student.canterbury.ac.nz>
Yesterday I sent an email which had stuff that Fretilin leader Jose Ramos Horta said in a major interview on a TV current affairs programme here on Monday night (Sept 13). I didn't have my notes from the interview at the time, so thought I'd repost it, with my notes.
Horta had just met Clinton and he said that the meeting confirmed his view of Clinton as "a very warm, caring and compassionate person". He stated that Clinton is the Western leader who has most raised the question of East Timor. He then praised Madeleine Albright. He then moved on to praise the speech Clinton made last week and the positive role of US world leadership.
He then said, "we have to do everything to support Habibie" whom , he said, had made a "brave, courageous decision" in relation to East Timor.
Horta then echoed UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson* and argued for a UN_initiated War Crimes Tribunal on Indonesian Crimes in East Timor.
Asked about rebuilding East Timor, he said Fretilin people had been busy lining up a lot of overseas investors for reconstruction work and that there was a meeting set up with the World Bank later this year.
Philip Ferguson
* Mary Robinson was president of Ireland in the late 80s/early 90s. She has a long record of support for the partition of Ireland and British imperialism, along with a liberal social conscience. *****