Gusmao sees difficult years ahead

Gusmao sees difficult years ahead

EAST TIMOR: President-elect Xanana Gusmao says his country will
have to endure difficult times before it develops into a self-
sustaining nation.

"I believe we are going to have a very difficult three years"
after the country's formal independence on May 20, Gusmao said in
an interview broadcast on Tuesday on Portuguese public radio.

Gusmao told Radiodifusao Portuguesa that East Timor's first
step will be to establish state institutions and try to change
the mentality of the 800,000 citizens. The country lived under
Indonesian rule following the withdrawal of Portugal's colonial
administration in 1974.

International support is "absolutely necessary because we
don't have anything," Gusmao said. --AP