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.