Jose Ramos-Horta
Jose Ramos-Horta
José Manuel Ramos-Horta GCL ACis the United Nations' special Representative and Head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau. He was appointed to this position on 2 January 2013. Previously, he was special envoy to fellow Lusophone country, Guinea-Bissau, and was the President of East Timor from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012, the second since independence from Indonesia. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize and a former prime minister, having served from...
ProfessionPublic Servant
Date of Birth26 December 1949
affected believe consider directly east either government people thousands victims
The East Timorese government does not believe that we should consider compensation for the victims because there are tens of thousands of people who were, in one way or another, affected by the violence either directly or indirectly.
number open pay raise structure terms victim worms
Such a structure would also raise a number of problems: first of all, which Timorese to pay compensation to? It would open a can of worms in terms of who was really a victim and who was not.
forgiving arms
More courage is required to forgive than is required to take up arms.
country integrity independent
The Commission has five commissioners from each side, plus three alternates, so all together sixteen members, people who are independent from the two governments, who have a lot of integrity, professional competence, and who have credibility in their respective countries.
friendship joints amnesty
The second one, the joint Truth and Friendship Commission, which we started now with Indonesia, that is the one that has been criticized; its terms of reference call for providing amnesty for those who cooperate in telling the truth. It does not lead to prosecution.
two iraq use
In the case of Iraq, notwithstanding the violence there at the moment, the very fact that a hideous regime - responsible for genocide, for the use of chemical and biological weapons, aggression against two neighbors - has been removed in itself is a positive development.
government appreciate support
The government can access these funds but only following approval by the parliament to support our budget requirements and investments in infrastructure development, education, public health, and so on.
aid assistance fully receive separate terms
We do not have a budget support. We are now fully independent in terms of requirements, but we still have a need for development assistance separate from the budget. So all the economic aid we receive is for development assistance.
assign dig truth
Working together, they will dig out the truth and nothing but the truth about what happened in '99, to assign responsibility, and to look at the institutional failings.