EAST TIMOR: XANANA SAYS 'THANKS'
MELBOURNE: 12th July -- The Saturday edition of the
'Age', Melbourne's most prestigious daily paper, ran an article on a visit
to Don Bosco Fatumaca by Xanana Gusmao, President of East Timor, officially to
present prizes to graduates of the Technical Centre but unofficially, it seems,
to offer a warm thanks to Salesians who had supported him and his fellow
combatants in difficult times. 'The Age' appears to have had no difficulty
in identifying who those Salesians were and some details of meetings and events
during those times.
The wider context of the meeting between Gusmao and
men who had sought to broker peace or fight daily injustices affecting the lives
of the poor and the ordinary people appears to be a new law proposed by the
ruling Fretilin Party. Gusmao has used his power of veto to block the
Bill, at least for the moment, which proposes that foreigners 'cannot provide
religious assistance to defence and security forces'. As Xanana Gusmao put
it, 'The problem is that today we're speaking of restricitng foreigner's rights
to defend state security and national interests, but tomorrow we might be
talking about restricting our own citizen's rights'.
Legislation in the fledgling state of East Timor is
already severely hampering efforts by the Salesians and other missionaries
inasmuch as the cost of working with the people by remaining in the country is
being 'measured' at $30 per month.
