On behalf of President Xanana Gusmão and Prime
Minister José Ramos-Horta and on behalf of the people
of Timor-Leste, allow me to congratulate you, Madam,
on your election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-first session. Your experience and
diplomatic ability will ensure the success of this
session.
I would also like to congratulate your
predecessor, His Excellency Jan Eliasson of Sweden,
for the critical role he played in the reform of the
United Nations, including the establishment of the
Human Rights Council and Peacebuilding
Commission.
I would also like to extend my congratulations to
permanent representatives and experts, for their
positive contributions during the long and arduous
negotiations. I take this opportunity to also
congratulate His Excellency the Ambassador of
Angola, Mr. Ismael Gaspar Martins, for his election as
President of the Peacebuilding Commission.
Allow me to extend the congratulations of the
people and Government of Timor-Leste to the people
and Government of Montenegro on their new
membership at the United Nations.
At the outset of this sixty-first session, a great
son of Africa and of the world, His Excellency Kofi
Annan, delivered his last report as Secretary-General
of our Organization. In the complicated international
landscape of the past 10 years, he and his team
contributed significantly to the advancement of the
noble ideals of the United Nations in the world,
including his decisive contribution to the independence
and liberation of my country, Timor-Leste.
Our people will never forget his decisive support
and we wish much success to him and to Mrs. Nane
Annan, whom we honour for her contribution to the
strengthening the role of women in the world and for
the compassion shown to those who suffer.
In July of this year, the Prime Minister of the
Constitutional Government, Mari Alkatiri, resigned
from his post and a new Government, under the
leadership of Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta, was
sworn in.
Since our independence in May 2002 and until
July of this year, significant gains were made in the
establishment of the institutions of the State and in the
creation of basic conditions to facilitate investment,
both national and international.
The new Prime Minister, in his speech to the
National Parliament, reiterated his determination to
implement the following policies — reconciliation; the
consolidation of security and reform of defence and
security institutions; parliamentary and presidential
elections before May 2007; the reduction of poverty,
economic growth and investment in rural areas; good
governance; the finalization of the land border
demarcation between the Republic of Indonesia and
Timor-Leste; and ratification of the agreement with
Australia, known as “Greater Sunrise”.
The Government will continue to implement the
national development plan, which was initiated by the
first Constitutional Government, and will do all it can
to attain the Millennium Development Goals as
outlined at the Summit in 2000.
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In relation to political affairs, the Government, in
conjunction with the Presidency, the National
Parliament, the political parties, the religious
institutions, civil society and traditional society, will
hold a national dialogue to recapture the confidence in
our State institutions that was lost.
Only yesterday, the Head of Government,
Mr. Ramos-Horta, met with the representatives of the
armed forces who had been dismissed — now referred
to as “the petitioners” — to once again find a solution
that is in conformity with the laws of Timor-Leste and
that is acceptable to the various parties involved in the
situation.
The Government of Timor-Leste is determined to
proceed with the reform of the security and defence
institutions, namely Falintil-FDTL and the National
Police Force of Timor-Leste.
The National Police Force, an institution whose
mandate it is to promote law and order, disintegrated
partially during the recent crisis. A first group of 25
members of the Police Force resumed duty this week
under a mentoring scheme run by the United Nations
Police in Timor-Leste. The reconstitution of the
National Police Force as a professional, non-partisan
police force is critical to stability.
As political leaders of a young nation, we
acknowledge that not every decision made was right
and that some decisions created discontent and were
part of the cause of the demonstrations in April, May,
June and July of this year.
We are all interested in carrying out a profound
and honest reflection on the causes of this crisis. The
President of the Republic, Mr. Kay Rala Xanana
Gusmão, the Prime Minister, Mr. José Ramos-Horta,
together with leaders of the Catholic Church and other
religious denominations, will co-organize a national
conference based on our culture and traditional values,
in which various actors, including civil and traditional
society, will participate.
(spoke in English)
As a post-conflict country, we have recently
experienced a relapse of violence owing to institutional
failures of our defence and police forces, high levels of
unemployment and wrong political decisions that we
took as leaders of a new country. As a result of the
violence, we had almost 150,000 internally displaced
persons and almost 100 dead. Consequently, the
President of the Republic, Mr. Xanana Gusmão, the
President of the Parliament, Mr. Francisco Guterres
Lu-Olo, and Prime Minister of the first Constitutional
Government, Mari Alkatiri, had to request international
help. Immediately, our closest neighbours, the United
Nations, members of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Community of
Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), and members
of the Pacific Islands Forum extended their support in a
variety of ways.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank
Indonesia, Malaysia, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand,
Japan, China, the United States of America, Korea,
Kuwait, the CPLP, the European Union and Cuba, and
many other countries, for their invaluable support
during the recent crisis in Timor-Leste.
We also welcome the establishment of the
Independent Special Commission of Inquiry for Timor-
Leste by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to study the
events surrounding the crisis and the allegations of
human rights abuses. We commend the members of the
Security Council for their support in the creation of the
United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste
(UNMIT) pursuant to Security Council resolution 1704
(2006). We praise all United Nations and other
international agencies currently based in Timor-Leste.
Without their support, our response to the humanitarian
crisis would not have been as successful as it is today.
The Government is fully aware that reconciliation
and justice need to work hand in hand with
development. This fiscal year’s budget was increased
by 122 per cent. It focuses on job creation, not only in
towns, but fundamentally in rural areas, where the
majority of our population lives. It is a budget for the
poor. We hope that this new economic policy,
combined with the policies of reconciliation and
dialogue, will help defuse the tension and will build
common understanding and reinvigorate trust and
confidence in our common and shared future.
As in difficult times in the past, we are
determined to succeed and restore to the people of
Timor-Leste the stability and peace that we need to
develop our country and improve the living conditions
of our people.
To achieve these goals, we also need the support
of the United Nations and the international community
at large to help organize and supervise the upcoming
legislative and presidential elections in our country. A
17 06-53952
free, transparent and fair election will definitely pave
the way for a stable political and social environment.
In the international arena, we have seen an
increase in violence, war and intolerance. Last week, in
this Assembly, on 21 September, the President of the
Palestinian Authority, Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, made a
strong appeal to the international community to not let
the olive branch fall from his hand. The international
community needs to continue its strong support for the
forces of peace and moderation in Palestine and for the
President of the Palestinian Authority. The
international community also needs to engage the
elected Palestinian Government in order to find ways
to guarantee a free and democratic Palestine living side
by side with the State of Israel in peace and harmony.
After many years of conflict and violence, the
people of Lebanon need a peaceful environment. We
hope that the arrival of United Nations forces will help
protect that country’s sovereignty and its territorial
integrity.
In Darfur, Sudan, we require the sustained
attention of the international community in order to
bring to the people of Sudan the peace and stability
they need.
With respect to Western Sahara, we believe that a
dialogue between the Government of Morocco and the
leaders of the Polisario Front will help lead to a
solution in accordance with relevant United Nations
resolutions.
As a small country, we believe that
multilateralism, dialogue, negotiations, democracy,
human rights, respect for the Charter of the United
Nations, and respect for each others’ culture and
religious values, are the best answers for today’s
challenges and intolerance. We will continue to support
all initiatives, such as interfaith cooperation and
dialogue among civilizations.
After the Monterrey, Mexico, conference, in
March 2002, many initiatives were taken to increase
the financial resources of developing countries, one of
which was the Millennium Challenge Account. This
year Timor-Leste was selected as a threshold country,
and we are working with Millennium Challenge
Corporation members with a view to benefiting from
the grant funds.
We commend President George W. Bush, his
Administration, our friends in the House of
Representatives and Senate and the people of the
United States of America for that great initiative. It
will definitely help to reduce poverty and promote
development in our country and in other countries in
the developing world.
We also commend the European Union and its
Commission President, Mr. Durão Barroso, for its
continuing support for developing countries, including
Timor-Leste.
As a least developed country and a member of the
Group of 77 and China, we share the common view
that the allocation of 0.7 per cent of the gross domestic
product of developed countries to official development
assistance is crucial, not only for development in the
South, but also so as to maintain stability, peace and
progress in the world.
We would also like to welcome the recent
initiative of Brazil and France to tax air travel in order
to provide additional funds for financing development.
In conclusion, I would like to say a few words in
our national language, Tetum.
(spoke in Tetum; English text provided by the
delegation)
We would like to reiterate our thanks to all of
you, your peoples and your Governments for your
support during the crisis. I pray to God to continue to
protect you, your Governments and your peoples.