Gusmao urges grassroots democracy

Gusmao urges grassroots democracy

EAST TIMOR: President Xanana Gusmao took stock of his new nation
on Friday in a speech marking 100 days of independence, calling
for greater grassroots democracy to check potential abuse of
power.

Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo marked another
anniversary -- three years since the vote to break away from
Indonesia -- with a plea for an international tribunal for
offenders in the 1999 violence which surrounded the vote.

Gusmao, responding to recent anti-government protests, hit
back at those who "want to create a crisis" and urged people to
give the government time.

A public holiday commemorated the UN-organized referendum, in
which almost 80 percent voted to break away from Indonesia
despite a terror campaign by Indonesian-backed local militias.
--AFP