Belo's burden

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