Gusmao 'sad' at becoming E. Timor's first president<\/p>\n
Guerrilla commander turned president-elect Xanana Gusmao feels
\n\"sad\" at becoming East Timor's first elected head of state, he
\ntold an Indonesian TV station.<\/p>\n
\"My personal feeling is sadness,\" he told the private TV-7
\nnetwork after winning the soon-to-be-independent territory's
\nfirst presidential poll last week with a resounding 83 percent of
\nthe vote.<\/p>\n
\"Sad, because once again I have lost my freedom.\"<\/p>\n
The charismatic and intensely popular Gusmao, 55, who spent 15
\nyears in the jungle fighting Indonesian troops and almost seven
\nyears in an Indonesian prison, was always a reluctant candidate
\nfor president.<\/p>\n
He had said he preferred to focus on looking after the
\nveterans of the 24-year guerrilla war against Indonesian rule,
\nand had dreamt of retiring to grow pumpkins after independence.<\/p>\n
When he announced his candidacy last August, he said he was
\ndriven into standing by pressure from domestic and international
\nleaders, most of whom named Gusmao as the only figure who could
\nunite East Timorese.<\/p>\n
In the interview with TV-7, Gusmao said his election had
\nforestalled his plans for the East Timor Veterans' Association,
\nwhich he heads.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sad also because I had my own plans for myself and for my
\ncolleagues from the (independence) struggle ... but what can be
\ndone?\"<\/p>\n
Gusmao will be sworn in as president by United Nations
\nSecretary General Kofi Annan when Annan formally declares East
\nTimor independent at midnight on May 19-20.<\/p>\n
Gusmao has pledged to reconcile East Timorese who had
\nsupported Jakarta's rule and those who opposed it, improve
\nrelations with Indonesia, and pursue amnesties for East Timorese
\ninvolved in the wave of Indonesian army-backed violence and
\ndestruction surrounding the August 1999 independence vote.<\/p>\n
The United Nations-supervised ballot resulted in a 78.5
\npercent vote to split from Indonesia, which had ruled the
\nimpoverished half-island territory for 24 years since invading it
\nin December 1975.<\/p>\n
The invasion followed the withdrawal of former colonial rulers
\nPortugal from East Timor after more than four centuries of harsh
\nrule. -- AFP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gusmao-sad-at-becoming-e-timors-first-president-1447893297",
"image": ""
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