E. Timor hero seen in presidential race<\/p>\n
Reuters, Dili, East Timor<\/p>\n
East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao, who has said he has
\nno political ambitions, will likely run in the tiny territory's
\nfirst presidential election, the foreign minister said.<\/p>\n
The deadline for candidates is only days away but Jose Ramos
\nHorta told Reuters he was confident Gusmao, widely seen as the
\nnatural choice for president, would declare his interest in the
\nApril 14 vote.<\/p>\n
"He will run for president...he will present himself either as
\nan independent candidate, or as a candidate of one party or a
\ngroup of parties. I would prefer that he present himself as an
\nindependent," Ramos Horta, de facto foreign minister and the 1996
\nNobel Peace Prize laureate, said in an interview late on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
"I told him bluntly, it is false modesty. Why did you lead all
\nof us in this battle? Why independence if you do not want to
\ncontinue the journey? Why allow so many sacrifices by the
\npeople?" he said, recalling a conversation the two men had last
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
Saturday is the deadline to declare candidates for the vote
\nbut so far only one, Francisco Xavier do Amaral, has been
\nnominated.<\/p>\n
But he is not seen as a major challenge to Gusmao, despite
\nhaving been East Timor's first president in 1975 between a
\ndeclaration of independence from Portugal and Indonesia's
\ninvasion of the territory 10 days later.<\/p>\n
Gusmao enjoys broad-based support and popularity and recently
\nheld several community meetings throughout the tiny territory,
\nmoves analysts say show he has begun campaigning for the top job.<\/p>\n
The newly-elected president will take office on May 20, the
\nday East Timor is due to become formally independent.<\/p>\n
The United Nations has administered the tiny territory since
\nlate 1999, when foreign peacekeepers stepped in after pro-Jakarta
\nmilitias went on a killing spree and destroyed much of the
\ncountry after a referendum that saw an overwhelming vote for
\nindependence from Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The United Nations estimates some 1,000 people were killed in
\nviolence that followed the vote to end almost a quarter of a
\ncentury of often brutal Indonesian rule.<\/p>\n
Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and
\nannexed it the following year in a move never recognized by the
\nUnited Nations.<\/p>",
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