Madam, - The recent election of Dr José Ramos-Horta as President of Timor L'Este (East Timor) with 73 per cent of the ballot is a most welcome development.
It shows is that, despite widespread unemployment and enormous poverty, the vast majority of Timorese have opted for democracy and the ballot box as the preferred means of settling their problems and differences.
One can only look on in awe at the enthusiasm with which this tiny nation of 900,000 has chosen the peaceful path to deal with the considerable challenges facing them. In voting for Dr Ramos-Horta as president, they have chosen an internationally known and experienced figure who can articulate their needs and aspirations on the world stage.
I have known Dr Ramos-Horta for several years. Not only does he have a considerable intellect, but long before 1999 he understood that independence would not only bring new opportunities to East Timor but would present it with severe challenges and even dangers. On several occasions he told me that the experiences of other emergent nations which had fallen under the control of dictators and demagogues as they struggled to deal with the difficulties of their newly won freedom was not lost on him. He was determined that East Timor should not go the same way. In choosing to remain aloof from party politics and run as an independent candidate, he has remained true to his word.
Last year, East Timor experienced its first political crisis which left scores dead and 150,000 people refugees in their own country. Thousands still remain in camps, and much work remains to be done in terms of rehousing and reconciliation.
In the aftermath of this crisis many commentators were willing to consign call this new nation a "failed state". Let us hope that this recent display of political maturity by the voters of one of the world's poorest nations has proven them wrong. And let us also hope that the Irish Government, which has been a very generous donor to East Timor, will look at the success of the recent ballot and the election of Dr Ramos-Horta and say that its money has been well spent. - Yours, etc,
SEÁN STEELE, East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign, Phibsboro Road, Dublin 7.