Belo's burden

Dili's Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo formally received the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize Tuesday. Together with him, number-one East Timorese separatist Jose Ramos Horta also received the thus- far highly respected award.

Worthy of discussion is Bishop Belo's position. As a religious leader who is highly respected by the people of East Timor, Belo had displayed a most laudable stance. The remark in his speech that the 1996 Nobel award did not belong to him or the people of East Timor only, but to all the people of Indonesia as well, was truly gratifying.

After the award has been received, we naturally hope that Bishop Belo will work even harder to convince the East Timorese that neither the Indonesian government nor the Indonesian Armed Forces could possibly be intending to make the people of the province suffer.

The reality that up to the present, the central government's policies have often led to dissatisfaction, may be caused by the fact that neither Jakarta nor the East Timorese have so far been able to find the right formula for development in that region.

It is not too much for us all to hope that after the awarding of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, Bishop Belo will be even more active in leading his flock towards the real and lasting peace which we all desire. Let the old wounds heal and let us forget the bitter experiences of the past and look forward to the dawning of the bright future that lies ahead.

-- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta