Cardoso visits East Timor, names new foreign minister
Cardoso visits East Timor, names new foreign minister
DILI, East Timor (AP): Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed on Monday a new foreign minister as he arrived in East Timor for a visit aimed at strengthening bilateral ties with the fledging nation.
Cardoso, who is on a tour of Asian countries, told waiting reporters at Dili airport that he had picked former foreign minister Celso Lafer to replace Luiz Felipe Lampreia.
On Jan. 10, Lampreia resigned from the post he held for the past six years. Cardoso accepted the resignation and named the ministry's secretary general, Luiz Felipe de Seixas Correia, as acting foreign minister.
Cardoso said Lafer would make a good foreign minister because of his international experience. In addition to serving as foreign minister in the early 1990s, he was also Brazil's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, and the country's trade representative.
Cardoso later held talks with Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Brazilian head of the UN transitional administration in the territory.
He also met with Jose "Xanana" Gusmao, the former rebel leader widely expected to become the country's first president when it gains full independence later this year.
Cardoso, who is on his first visit to the country, laid a wreath at Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery where Indonesian soldiers massacred at least 50 East Timorese mourners at a funeral in 1991.
"Keep in mind the sacrifices of those who are not with us here today," he said. "I am convinced that the East Timorese people will be able to implement not just democracy, but also a better society."
Indonesia occupied the province in 1975 and ruled it until 1999 when its people voted overwhelmingly for freedom in a UN- sponsored referendum.
The world body is overseeing the territory's transition to independence.
Brazil has contributed troops and police to the international peacekeeping force currently in the half-island state. It currently has 84 men serving in the international force.
East Timor was a Portuguese colony for 300 years before the Indonesian invasion. Many East Timorese people still speak Portuguese and authorities are considering making it the national language. As the world's largest Portuguese-speaking country Brazil is expected to provide expertise and language teachers.
"We all recognize that Brazil can do more and we know there is the will and ability to do more," Vieira de Mello said.
Late Monday, Cardoso left for a two-day visit to neighboring Indonesia.
Cardoso said he planned to discuss with President Abdurrahman Wahid the security situation on the border between East Timor and the Indonesian-held western half of the island.