UNAMET CHIEF JOINS FIRST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

As East Timor gets ready for the first anniversary of the popular consultation, the former chief of United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) Ian Martin, received a hero’s welcome today, when he visited the on-going CNRT National Congress in Dili.

In his speech, accompanied by applause and cheers, Martin was paying a tribute to all the staff of UNAMET.

However, he underscored that although UNAMET personnel had shown courage, in particular the local staff, it was only a fraction of the bravery shown by CNRT activists last year.

He also pointed out that the Popular Consultation was all about giving the people of East Timor a choice over their future.

“Therefore it is particularly wonderful to return and see the people of East Timor participating in deciding their own future in the kind of free and open discussion that was not possible during the time I first knew East Timor,” he added.

Other foreign dignitaries participating in the anniversary include United States Senator Tom Harkin and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

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