Subject: LUSA: Ramos Horta Preparing International
Advisory Commission for Transition to Independence
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 09:02:00 -0500
From: "Sharon R.A. Scharfe" <pet@web.net>17 FEV 99 - 12:39 East Timor:
Ramos Horta Preparing International Advisory Commission for Transition to Independence
Macau, Feb. 17 (Lusa) - Senior East Timorese resistance leader Jose Ramos Horta said
Wednesday he was preparing the formation of an international commission of economic and
financial experts to aid in the territory's reconstruction. Speaking to reporters in
Macau, Ramos Horta, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said he would call on his
"contacts" around the world for advice on investments and on the creation of a
future government to oversee a transition to independence from Indonesia. In Macau to meet
with Governor Vasco Rocha Vieira, Ramos Horta said he planned to visit Thailand, the
Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong during March in search of support. He said he would
also visit China, Japan and Taiwan. Ramos Horta reiterated his position that independence
should follow a transition period of "about three years." He said such a
transition should be carried out under the auspices of the United Nations, with Portugal
playing a "central role." "If Indonesia wishes to have a role during this
period," he added, "it would obviously have a place, especially to repair the
hurt it caused to the country and its people."
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