New Year's Message from Dr. José Ramos-Horta

January 01, 2003

Much can be said about the deterioration of conditions in the world during the year 2002. We all began the year still in shock from the events of September 11, 2001. The US was bombing Afghanistan, as thousands of US children faced their first Christmas after losing a parent in the attacks.

In the time since, the terrorists struck again, more than once, most notably in the peaceful and gentle Indonesian island of Bali, where more than 180 young innocent people were violently killed for no reason. Violence has been rampant elsewhere in Indonesia. India and Pakistan have walked the brink of nuclear war. The Middle East, despite numerous attempts at cease-fire and negotiations by well intended people, has continued to collapse.

As we enter the New Year, the world remains in a state of suspense, hanging on every word from George W. Bush in his relentless campaign to disarm Saddam Hussein. There have been massive and impressive anti-war demonstrations in many parts of the world. I find the fact puzzling, however, that there has been no comparable protest in recent years, over the massive human rights abuses perpetrated by Saddam Hussein, against his own people.

While we all abhor war, we must at the same time ask ourselves whether ignoring the nature of the Iraqi regime and its long record of human right abuses and aggression enhances the credibility of those who oppose US military action in Iraq. No sane person wants to see bombs falling on civilians and children dying as a result of a political struggle, and my heart goes out to those who speak up for the rights of these people to live. But perhaps in this new year, the anti-war movement would do well to use some of its moral power to pressure Saddam Hussein to disarm and democratize, and grant the basic rights we enjoy which include the right to protest to the people of Iraq.

Another unfortunate hallmark of 2002 was the fact that the gap between the wealthy and the poor in our world continued to widen. The rich became richer. The poor became poorer.

Two things that I hope will command attention in the coming year, two large contributing factors, are the markets for goods from developing countries, and the lack of attention to disease control in the developing world.

The European Union has set a strong example in starting to open their markets for goods from the Least Developed Countries. I hope that the US, Canada and Japan will follow this lead.

However, it's a sad fact for countries such as East Timor that the potential benefits of market access are literally eliminated by the existing practices of agricultural subsidies paid out by the rich countries to their own farmers -- to the tune of US$300 billion a year. This is six times more than the volume of Overseas Development Assistance provided by the rich to the poor countries.

In fact, for every $1 provided through aid and debt relief, developing countries lose another $14 as a consequence of protectionist barriers in the rich world.

The Least Developed Countries are at the same time plagued by diseases that hamper production and cripple their workforces. While much has been done to bring the fight against HIV/AIDS to the world's attention, it is an indictment of mankind that while we have proven that it can be addressedand its impact significantly diminished in developed countries such as the US, a blind eye is turned to the overwhelming spread in underdeveloped countries.

This is not limited to AIDS. Little has been done about malaria, the prominent health risk we face in East Timor. I am convinced that if malaria affected Northern Europe and the United States, it would have been eliminated by now, or a vaccine found.

These are some of the challenges before us as we move into 2003. We should take with us, however, one of 2002's victories, a victory that is not small.

In May of this year, a small country stood up for the first time in 400 years as a free people. A new democracy was born. A new candle was lit in the world.

For twenty-four years, the East Timorese people maintained faith faith in the basic goodness of man, and hope and conviction that freedom would be theirs. They did not waver from this faith while 25 percent of their population was lost to violence, starvation and disease. They did not slide into revenge and hatred. When their faith was challenged, they did not give it up.

I am convinced that it was this faith and conviction that earned East Timor its independence. It was recognized and echoed by others with good hearts, in the United Nations, in the activist and human rights communities, and in other countries around the world.

We are still facing our challenges as a country. We are also turning our attention outward as we participate in addressing international issues and concerns.

It is my wish for the coming year that when people see East Timor, they will recognize what we accomplished by good people coming together, and that the lessons we learned from East Timor will be applied not only to facing our small country's challenges, but to improving conditions in other parts of the world.

My very best wishes to you for 2003, and God bless you in this coming year.

Dr. José Ramos-Horta

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