Portuguese leader visits E. Timor<\/p>\n
DILI, East Timor (AP): Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio was
\ncheered and clapped by hundreds of people when he arrived in East
\nTimor Saturday, 26 years after his country hastily ended almost
\n400 years of colonial rule.<\/p>\n
The visit is the first by a head of state of Portugal since it
\npulled out in 1974, opening the way for Indonesia's invasion
\nfollowed by decades of human rights abuse and guerrilla war.<\/p>\n
\"I bring a message of Portuguese solidarity and, to all of
\nyou, my friendship,\" Sampaio said, after inspecting an airport
\nhonor guard of about 300 barechested East Timorese warriors.<\/p>\n
During his three-day stay, Sampaio is to meet with East
\nTimorese independence leaders and UN administrators to discuss
\nhow to rebuild the half-island territory after last year's
\ndevastation that followed a vote for independence from Indonesian
\nrule.<\/p>\n
Indonesian soldiers and their militia allies went on a
\ncampaign of looting, burning and killing after the East Timorese
\nvoted overwhelmingly in a UN-sponsored ballot to break away from
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Sampaio is scheduled to attend a Roman catholic Mass later
\nSaturday given by Nobel peace laureate Bishop Carlos Belo.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, he is to meet with East Timorese leaders Jose
\nAlexandre Gusmao and the senior UN official in the territory
\nSergio Vieira de Melo.<\/p>\n
The world body has taken over administration of East Timor for
\na three-year transitional period to prepare for self-rule.<\/p>\n
As well as millions of dollars in aid, Portugal is
\ncontributing 700 troops to a 9,000-strong UN-assembled
\npeacekeeping force.<\/p>\n
The force will replace Australian-led peacekeepers deployed
\nafter violence swept East Timor after the vote.<\/p>\n
Portugal's pulled out of East Timor in 1974 as it grappled
\nwith a political revolution at home.<\/p>\n
It's sudden withdrawal triggered brief civil war among rival
\nEast Timorese factions. That fighting gave Indonesia a pretext to
\ninvade.<\/p>\n
Although Portugal is accused of abandoning its former colony,
\nmany East Timorese still maintain strong emotional ties with it.<\/p>\n
Gusmao on Saturday said that Sampaio's visit \"helps the
\ntradition that already exists between our two countries and
\nassures us that the tradition will continue\".<\/p>\n
On Friday, Gusmao announced Portuguese would be the
\nterritory's official language, saying East Timorese were indebted
\nto their former colonial masters.<\/p>\n
Gusmao, a former guerrilla leader imprisoned by Indonesia, is
\nwidely tipped to become East Timor's first president even though
\nhe has said he has no political ambitions.<\/p>\n
Portugal maintained strong diplomatic pressure against
\nIndonesia for the past 24 years, pressing the Southeast Asian
\nnation to grant East Timor independence.<\/p>",
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