Xanana gets hero's welcome in Dili

DILI (JP): East Timorese resistance leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao returned to the territory on Friday for the first time in nearly seven years and called for reconciliation in the territory.

In a jubilant reception in Dili among 5,000 supporters, Xanana was tightly guarded by Australian troops from the International Force for East Timor (Interfet).

Stressing his role as a freedom fighter, Xanana donned military fatigues bearing the emblem and rank of the Falintil resistance movement.

"I understand that we have lost everything ... Everywhere in the land of Timor Loro Sae, people have destroyed, burned and killed. But our desire to become independent is now within our hands," he said to the emotional crowd.

"But we have to look forward," he yelled.

Xanana, who flew in to Dili Thursday evening, was accompanied on the podium by Falintil deputy commander Taur Matan Ruak.

Xanana, who was captured in Dili in 1992, was released by the Indonesian government last month following the historic Aug. 30 ballot on self-determination for the territory.

After his release Xanana took refuge in the British Embassy in Jakarta for several days before fleeing to Darwin.

"Our suffering we can leave behind. Today we see our future. This land is ours. We will be independent forever," he said in the local Tetum language.

Interfet Commander Maj. Gen. Peter Cosgrove, after briefly meeting with Xanana, described it as "a joyous day for East Timorese".

"We hope that with his wise and mature leadership, together with the other leaders of East Timorese society, that they can help the UN manage the transition to nationhood".

Cosgrove also revealed that Interfet forces have landed in the Ambeno enclave, located in East Nusa Tenggara province in the western half of Timor Island.

He said Interfet troops landed by sea at Oekussi, the town in the enclave.

AFP reported that Interfet troops detained 40 armed militiamen carrying pipe guns, swords and knives. However, no shots were reportedly fired.

"There was no report of TNI (Indonesian Military troops) in the area," Cosgrove said.

At the United Nations in New York, Reuters reported that Security Council members moved closer on Friday to authorizing a major UN operation to lead East Timor to independence after China apparently succeeded in having several references to human rights investigations eliminated from the text.

But council president Sergei Lavrov said it was uncertain whether the British-drafted resolution would be adopted on Friday or early next week.

Diplomats said the dispute over referring to an inquiry into alleged atrocities in East Timor appeared to have been resolved after the elimination of a call for all parties to cooperate with the investigation.

Other sections referring to the probe were changed during meetings late Thursday among senior officials from the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China, all permanent council members with veto power.

The main provisions of the resolution set up a UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), consisting of up to 8,950 troops, 200 military observers, 1,640 police officers and an unspecified number of civilian officials.

It is to take over from the Australian-led Interfet.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a recent report that the transition to independence could take two years to three years.

UNTAET, which will have the task of administering virtually all public services in the devastated territory, including the justice system, was expected to be given an initial mandate of 14 months until Jan. 31, 2001. (33)