Horta speaks to public meetings
By Jon Lamb and Sean Moysey
ADELAIDE — East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta addressed more than 500 people at a public meeting here on February 7. Ramos Horta was greeted with a standing ovation — applause and cheers filled Maughan Church in recognition of his long struggle for peace and freedom for East Timor.
Horta told the audience that the prize was a tribute to the "dignity, the tenacity and the courage of all the people of East Timor", and gave special mention to imprisoned resistance leader Xanana Gusmao.
Horta said that the resistance today is stronger than ever, and comprises "the entire country, the entire people — everyone today in East Timor".
He also spoke of positive developments within Indonesia with the emergence of the pro-democracy movement, explaining the importance of dissident writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer, union leader Muchtar Pakpahan and the imprisoned "young revolutionaries" of the People's Democratic Party.
While the repression in East Timor had worsened, he said, criticisms from the US and the European Union, and New Zealand indicating that it no longer recognises the annexation of East Timor as "irreversible", marked an important shift in international support.
On February 4, Horta spoke in Canberra, as a guest of the Australia Institute, to an audience of 150, consisting of diplomats, solidarity activists, academics, local and federal politicians and Catholic and Anglican clergy.
Expressing solidarity with Burma, Horta argued that an economic campaign against the Burmese government would assist the democratic movement, but said that the East Timorese liberation movement did not support sanctions against Indonesia. Growth in investment in Indonesia helped to create a new "middle class" and "labour movement who are on the side of democracy".
Horta said a preliminary step to a solution was the election of an indigenous East Timorese government. A basis for discussion between East Timor and Indonesia exists right now, he said, adding that all countries should advise Indonesia to negotiate.
In concluding, Horta condemned the Liberal government's proposals to scrap Radio Australia, outlining the service's role in transmitting valuable information to the peoples of Asia.