Allow me to thank the organisers of this Asia Pacific Solidarity Conference for extending to us the invitation to participate in this forum on behalf of Fretilin.

I am sure most of us are expecting this conference to come up with some practical proposals and concrete measures to improve our common struggle, instead of coming here to follow some good speeches. I will be brief to save time and give opportunity for everybody.

Unfortunately, although we are aware of the reality of the current situation in our region — where the social and political impact of the Asian economic and financial crisis is creating an ideal condition for our common struggle — still it seems to me that we need to be more capable of creating a real interactive regional solidarity movement involving the pro-democracy forces of each of our countries, the unions, the progressive forces or political parties an the liberation movements struggling for the independence of East Timor, New Caledonia, etc. to force the respective regimes and governments to give up their repressive or colonial policies and to fully respect our rights.

In East Timor, as you may know, people are facing one of the hardest situations now. The impact of the economic and political crisis in Indonesia and also the drought have created a situation close to an emergency one: lack of medicines and foods and the increase of the Indonesian armed presence and activities are creating a very difficult living conditions for the people in Atauro, Atabae and some part of the border region, and also the eastern and central parts of the Territory.

The increase of the violations of human rights in East Timor and Indonesia perpetrated by Indonesian police and armed forces show us that as long as the Suharto regime is governing Indonesia, there is not much hope for a just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable solution for the East Timorese.

So, there are no alternative for Fretilin and the Indonesian pro-democracy forces than to co-operate fully in their common struggle to force the dictatorship regime of Indonesia to collapse. There is no place for successive concessions whenever Suharto and his regime continue to use the repression and oppression as the instruments to stop the pro-democracy movements in Indonesia and the struggle for independence in East Timor.

As Xanana Gusmao recently said in a message from Cipinang Prison, and we fully agree, every kind of cease fire or cessation of hostilities in East Timor has to be part of a global deal between ABRI and Falintil, the Indonesian regime and the leadership of the East Timorese people. A unilateral decision of the East Timorese to cease hostilities, instead of creating favourable conditions to an acceptable solution to the East Timorese conflict, could lead to a global suicide of the resistance. So let us proceed with the struggle for peace, democracy and independence: A Luta Continua.

In the last decades, the Asia-Pacific region appears to be one of the major spheres of the world economy. With around 50% of the population of the world, it also represented half of the world’s gross national product. But we can never ignore that only two members of APEC, namely USA and Japan, are responsible for around 40% of the world’s gross national product. These numbers show us how powerful these two countries are and how big is their influence on the economies of the region and those of the South East Asian and the South Pacific ones.

These two countries alone have power enough to influence in positive or negative ways the evolution of the current situation affecting so strongly the economies of some of the other countries.

In stressing this, it is our purpose to get your attention to the real point that each of us has to be aware: for the success of our common cause we need to put under permanent pressure the government or administration of our respective countries or illegal administration and, simultaneously, to be capable to call the attention of the public opinion in US and Japan, by creating a lobby network to get the House and the Senate in Washington and the Parliament in Tokyo informed about the situation in each of our countries.

We, the East Timorese, do not have any doubt that the struggle for the liberation of our country is linked to the struggle of the people of Indonesia for democracy and all of the people of Asia Pacific region.

We are ready to co-operate with the Indonesian pro-democracy movements in their struggle to overthrow Suharto and his regime. And we are sure that the main contribution of the East Timorese people to the struggle of the Indonesian people is to proceed with their own struggle against the illegal occupation of East Timor for self-determination and independence. By doing so in East Timor and, through peaceful political ways all over the world, the East Timorese people are decisively contributing to get the Indonesian regime to face much stronger international isolation and to appear as an example of the possibility to resist against a regional power.

Ultimately, some pro-democracy leaders in Indonesia still consider East Timor as part of Indonesia. It is time for our Indonesian friends, with whom we have been co-operating, to deal with this question as a matter of priority to create the conditions for all of us to clarify the scope of our common struggle.

A Luta Continua.