Gusmao, the real statesman

Gusmao, the real statesman

One man stood out among the many dignitaries who attended
Sunday's celebrations to usher in East Timor's independence in
Dili. We are talking here about Xanana Gusmao, who took his oath
of office shortly after midnight on Sunday to become the first
president of the new independent nation.

Not only did he stand out among all other present-day leaders
in East Timor, which included two Nobel laureates, but also among
the other government leaders who were present, including
Australia's John Howard and Indonesia's Megawati Soekarnoputri,
who went to Dili to witness the historic event.

Here is a real statesman in every sense of the word.

Although he retains his nom de guerre, a reminder of his past
as a fierce independence fighter, Xanana Gusmao came across on
Sunday night more as a man of peace than a warrior.

He was highly popular among his people, so much so that he was
virtually forced to run in last month's election, breaking his
earlier promise to fellow fighters that they would forsake
government positions once their independence struggle was won.

His inaugural speech on Monday morning was very conciliatory
and sober about the challenges facing his people. And he took the
trouble of delivering it in four languages: Portuguese, English,
Indonesian and the local dialect, Tetun. Known for his charm and
charisma, Xanana Gusmao removed his tie to match the modest
appearance of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan during the transfer
of sovereignty, and put it back on when he gave his speech.

It was in his dealing with Indonesia, once his forsworn enemy,
that Xanana Gusmao displayed his statesmanship the most.

For a man who spent a good 24 years fighting against the
Indonesian Military, including spending six years in Jakarta
jails, you would be hard pressed to find any trace of hostility.

On the contrary, he went out of his way to send a message of
peace and reconciliation to Indonesia. He came to Jakarta to
personally invite President Megawati and other Indonesian leaders
to attend Sunday's independence celebrations.

On Sunday, he greeted Megawati on her arrival in Dili, and
then escorted her to lay wreaths at the Seroja cemetery, where
some 300 Indonesian soldiers, who died during Jakarta's military
campaign in East Timor, are buried. Later on at the ceremony, he
greeted Megawati and raised her hands in victory in full view of
his people and international TV cameras.

This is a man who has every right to despise his former
oppressors for everything they have done to him and his people.
While other leaders in East Timor still hold grudges against
Indonesia, he chose to put the past behind and move on.

Xanana Gusmao knows full well that the prosperity of East
Timor depends on its ties with Indonesia, and that the sooner
they bury the hatches, the better it is for both nations.

Nevertheless, it was magnanimous of him to make such a public
display of respect and affection toward Indonesia. We can only
feel relief that Megawati decided to attend the celebrations, in
spite of criticism and (false) accusations of betrayal from some
narrow-minded politicians here.

A CNN reporter, who covered the event live on Sunday, quipped
that if only countries in the Middle East had leaders of Xanana
Gusmao's stature, problems in that part of the world would be
resolved. Given that a man of his quality is rare in any part of
the world today, she should have extended the argument to include
the rest of the world, including the United States.

Because the Nobel Peace Committee has already extended the
prizes to two East Timorese figures, someone, somewhere perhaps
should take the trouble of creating a more prestigious prize for
Xanana Gusmao. It would not be exaggerating to call Xanana Gusmao
the Nelson Mandela of Asia.

Looking back, Indonesia's biggest loss in allowing East Timor
to vote for independence in 1999 is Xanana Gusmao. Then president
Abdurrahman Wahid already saw this quality in him when he
suggested that if East Timor remained part of Indonesia, he would
make the former guerrilla leader his foreign minister.

Since Indonesia is facing a severe shortage of leaders with
statesmanship qualities, if East Timor had remained part of
Indonesia and given the chance, Xanana Gusmao would outrun all
the other presidential candidates in the 2004 elections. If only
circumstances were different, Indonesia would benefit from his
leadership and statesmanship. But this should not be used as a
pretext to plan another invasion of East Timor and kidnap Xanana
Gusmao. For he belongs to the people of East Timor.