From etan-outreach@igc.apc.org Mon Jun 9 23:12:05 1997
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 1997 10:34:11 -0400
From: East Timor Action Network
Reply-To: east-timor@igc.org
To: east-timor@igc.apc.org
Subject: East Timor, Some Progress with the US Administration
From the desk of
Jose Ramos-Horta
1996 Nobel Peace Prize co-Laureate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Natacha Meden
Tel: 415 788 1234
East Timor, Some Progress with the US Administration
New York, June 4, 1997 - Jose Ramos-Horta is in San Francisco after two
weeks of successful meetings in New York and Washington with UN Security
Council members and U.S. officials, as well as with fellow Nobel Peace
Prize laureates.
Last Friday, May 30, he met with Ambassador Bill Richardson during a
luncheon hosted by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke in his home. Mr. Ramos
Horta was pleased with this first contact with a U.S. official at Cabinet
level and found Ambassador Richardson very friendly and understanding with
regards to the East Timor cause.
This meeting followed one in Washington on May 28th between Mr. Ramos-Horta
and Under-Secretary of State for Global Affairs Tim Wirth. The two men had
already met in February of this year. Mr. Ramos- Horta was encouraged by
this sustained interest.
In Washington, Mr. Ramos-Horta also briefed Senate and Congressional
staffers. He joined Kathryn Cameron Porter's (wife of Congressman John
Porter) in support of Kurdish activist Leyla Zana, member of the Turkish
Parliament imprisoned in Turkey.
Prior to his arrival in the capital, Mr. Ramos-Horta shared the prestigious
Ogden Lecture with Ambassador Holbrooke at Brown University.
Representative Patrick Kennedy then hosted a reception in Ramos Horta's
honor. The reception was attended by State Representatives and Senators
from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Mr. Ramos-Horta began his visit in New York, on May 22 with meetings at the
UN with Ambassador Jamsheed Marker, Special Representative of the UN
Secretary-General for East Timor, and with members of the Security Council.
Jose Ramos-Horta reiterated his complete trust in Secretary-General Kofi
Annan and Ambassador Jamsheed Marker. However, he remains skeptical with
regards to the forthcoming talks scheduled for June 19 and 20 between the
foreign ministers of Portugal and Indonesia, in view of Indonesia's
arrogance and intransigence.
Mr. Ramos-Horta believes that the sustained efforts of the
Secretary-General with active support of the U.S. and the European Union
can produce a breakthrough in the long run. He reiterated his full support
of the UN-supervised dialogue and stressed again that the use of force by
either side will not solve the problem of East Timor.
Returning to New York on May 29, he joined fellow Nobel Peace Prize
laureates H.H. The Dalai Lama, Oscar Arias, Elie Wiesel and Betty Williams
to co-sign and formally introduce the International Code of Conduct on Arms
Transfers devised by President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica. Mr. Ramos-Horta
is a member of the Nobel Commission on the International Code of Conduct on
Arms Transfers. On this occasion, Mr Ramos-Horta proposed the creation of
a network of Nobel Peace Prize laureates that would liaise between the
laureates so that they can speak out with one voice on crucial thematic
issues or country situations like East Timor, Burma. Tibet and many
others. No such forum exists as yet and the idea was enthusiastically
endorsed by all present.
In San Francisco, Mr. Ramos-Horta is participating in the Second World
Congress on Family Law and the Rights of Children and Youth, with Hilary
Clinton as Honorary Chairperson. The following week he will take part in a
conference on the Power of Nonviolence organized by Tibet House, in
presence of H.H. the Dalai Lama.
-- 30 --
END
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John M. Miller Internet: etan-outreach@igc.apc.org
Media & Outreach Coordinator, East Timor Action Network
PO Box 150753, Brooklyn, NY 11215-0014 USA
Phone: (718)788-6071
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Send a blank e-mail message to timor-info@igc.apc.org to
find out how to learn more about East Timor on the Internet
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