Portuguese leader visits E. Timor
Portuguese leader visits E. Timor
DILI, East Timor (AP): Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio was cheered and clapped by hundreds of people when he arrived in East Timor Saturday, 26 years after his country hastily ended almost 400 years of colonial rule.
The visit is the first by a head of state of Portugal since it pulled out in 1974, opening the way for Indonesia's invasion followed by decades of human rights abuse and guerrilla war.
"I bring a message of Portuguese solidarity and, to all of you, my friendship," Sampaio said, after inspecting an airport honor guard of about 300 barechested East Timorese warriors.
During his three-day stay, Sampaio is to meet with East Timorese independence leaders and UN administrators to discuss how to rebuild the half-island territory after last year's devastation that followed a vote for independence from Indonesian rule.
Indonesian soldiers and their militia allies went on a campaign of looting, burning and killing after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly in a UN-sponsored ballot to break away from Indonesia.
Sampaio is scheduled to attend a Roman catholic Mass later Saturday given by Nobel peace laureate Bishop Carlos Belo.
On Sunday, he is to meet with East Timorese leaders Jose Alexandre Gusmao and the senior UN official in the territory Sergio Vieira de Melo.
The world body has taken over administration of East Timor for a three-year transitional period to prepare for self-rule.
As well as millions of dollars in aid, Portugal is contributing 700 troops to a 9,000-strong UN-assembled peacekeeping force.
The force will replace Australian-led peacekeepers deployed after violence swept East Timor after the vote.
Portugal's pulled out of East Timor in 1974 as it grappled with a political revolution at home.
It's sudden withdrawal triggered brief civil war among rival East Timorese factions. That fighting gave Indonesia a pretext to invade.
Although Portugal is accused of abandoning its former colony, many East Timorese still maintain strong emotional ties with it.
Gusmao on Saturday said that Sampaio's visit "helps the tradition that already exists between our two countries and assures us that the tradition will continue".
On Friday, Gusmao announced Portuguese would be the territory's official language, saying East Timorese were indebted to their former colonial masters.
Gusmao, a former guerrilla leader imprisoned by Indonesia, is widely tipped to become East Timor's first president even though he has said he has no political ambitions.
Portugal maintained strong diplomatic pressure against Indonesia for the past 24 years, pressing the Southeast Asian nation to grant East Timor independence.