East Timor eager for ASEAN ties

East Timor eager for ASEAN ties

KUALA LUMPUR (DPA): East Timorese independence leaders voiced
eagerness on Wednesday to build a "new relationship" with
Southeast Asian nations they once bitterly slammed for backing
Indonesia's 24-year occupation of the territory.

Speaking in Kuala Lumpur at the end of trip to several Asian
nations, independence leader Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao said the
foundation of closer ties had been laid between Southeast Asia
and a newly independent East Timor.

Xanana and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta said
they had a "very successful" trip to China, South Korea,
Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, where they met
government leaders and were assured of aid ranging from the
training of East Timorese government officers, to the building of
schools and food production.