May 20, 2002

Tears and cheers greet dawning of East Timor After decades living under foreign powers, the East Timorese finally find freedom

ERIC ELLIS, Dili

Amid good-will messages from around the world, cheers for the leader of the former occupying country and a huge fireworks display, 150,000 East Timorese celebrated their country's birth yesterday as the world's newest nation, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor Lorosae.
After a long history of brutal oppression by foreign occupiers, the former Indonesian territory marked its independence with an eight-hour extravaganza attended by 600 foreign delegates, including Canada's Solicitor-General Lawrence MacAulay.

"I salute you, people of East Timor, for the courage and perseverance you have shown," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the exuberant crowd, clad in their national colours of red, white, black and yellow.
"Yours has not been an easy path to independence. You should be very proud of your achievement."

He praised the "unique work" of the UN in East Timor, noting that it was the first time in the organization's history that it had been the steward of a nation from its independence referendum -- in August, 1999 -- to statehood.

Shortly after the raising of new national flag, Jose Alexandre (Xanana) Gusmao, a 55-year-old poet and former guerrilla leader, was sworn in as East Timor's first leader.

Having served more than six years in jail and house arrest, he was elected President in a UN-supervised vote last month.

"Independence! As a people, as a territory, as a nation! One body, one mind, one wish!" he told the crowd, reciting a poem he had written.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri -- who spent much of her career opposing East Timor's independence -- was welcomed with cheers as she was personally escorted by Mr. Gusmao to the celebration in a sign of reconciliation.

"It is very important for us East Timorese to look forward and not dwell on past wrongs," said Paulino Pinto, a 23-year-old aid worker and student. "We must see our independence in an atmosphere of reconciliation with Ibu [Mother] Megawati."

On Saturday, Indonesia had provoked East Timor's first diplomatic incident by sending six warships into Dili's harbour to "protect" Megawati. But yesterday she was given three huge cheers as she took her seat among guests who included President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal (the former colonial power), World Bank chairman James Wolfensohn and former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

With UN security helicopters circling overhead, the $2-million celebration went off peacefully. It began with a huge mass at dusk, as Roman Catholic Church groups from across the country, many in tribal dress, received communion from Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with East Timor's new Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta.

In a message read by Monsignor Renato Martino, the Vatican's permanent observer at the UN, Pope John Paul urged East Timorese to build a righteous, free, peaceful society, saying:

"This land which God entrusted your laborious hands with will have to be based on the values without which no real democracy exists: respect for life and every person and real solidarity."

While the ceremony was underpinned by the solemn Catholicism practised by 95 per cent of East Timorese, there were also moments when it seemed Dili was playing host to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, with lavish cultural displays from the new country's diverse 13 districts, and the dancing of hundreds of children.

There were also solemn moments, as huge television screens showed occasional scenes of emaciated bodies and torture victims. The crowd cheered -- and many wept -- when pictures of the resistance leaders were displayed during a tribute to the heroes of the independence struggle.

In the Tribute to Heroes, 2,000 teenaged girls clad in simple white robes walked slowly into the arena to the strains of what was almost a dirge, the single candle each was carrying symbolizing the 200,000 people who died during Indonesia's 24-year occupation.

At the stroke of midnight, Mr. Annan formally transferred sovereignty, with the UN flag being replaced by the East Timorese flag -- the former bandeira of Fretilin, the onetime Marxist rebel group whose members now make up most of the new parliament.

Megawati had been under intense pressure in Jakarta not to go to Dili for the declaration of independence in what was, from 1975 until 1999, Indonesia's 27th province.

She spent only four hours in East Timor yesterday, spending half the time visiting a cemetery for Indonesian soldiers.

Despite fears for her safety in Dili, her visit was incident-free, save for a silent protest at the cemetery by about 100 protesters who stood by with their mouths symbolically taped shut. The Indonesian cemetery is opposite Dili's main Santa Cruz Cemetery, where Indonesian troops fired on mourners at a 1991 funeral procession of an independence campaigner, killing up to 250 people.

East Timor is not only the world's newest country; it is also one of the poorest. About 40 per cent of the 800,000 people are illiterate, and unemployment is estimated at 70 per cent.

"Everything will start from zero, but I am sure it will work out because we are starting with freedom," said Joao Freitas, a 22-year old student.