H.E. Fransisco Guterres (Lu-Olo)
General Coordinator of the Frente Revolucionaria 
do Timor Leste Independente,
Speaker of the National Parliament 
of the Democratic Republic of East Timor


 

H.E. The President of the People’s Republic of China and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China,

Excellencies Presidents and Representatives of Political Parties,

Excellencies Heads of State and Government,

Excellencies Presidents of National Parliaments and National Assemblies,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 I would like to prize the realization of this Third International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which I consider as an important mechanism toward the enhancement of relations between political parties in Asia opening up a new horizon of relation between people and states of the region where we live.

We feel honoured as a party and as the people of the new state of Timor-Leste to be considered by the Communist Party of China to participate for the 2nd time in this event.

The Revolutionary Front for Timor-Leste Independence (Fretilin) as political organization was first known as ASDT — The Democratic Social Association of Timor. It was established on 20 of May 1974, before transforming into Fretilin on 11 of September 1974.

Fretilin was defined by then as the organization that brought together all nationalist forces for the liberation of the people of Timor and to lead them toward progress, peace and freedom. Fretilin as a National Liberation Movement has since then evolved, both structurally and functionally into a political party organization, after 26 years of its existence, maintaining its front policy by embracing citizens with different ideology and political streams aiming at potentializing all energy to build the nation and enact a State where prevails Justice and Democracy. It is therefore, part of the pluralistic parties with strong humanistic focus, that fights for the creation of a society that is based on social justice, progress and participatory sustainable development.

Since its establishment, Fretilin was always fighting intransigently for the independence of Timor-Leste, because it believes that only with independence, Timor-Leste can fully contribute to regional and international peace and stability, allowing it to be the center of encounter between cultures and peoples of the world.

Fretilin is aware that the defense and security are fundamental issues that affect the life of each and every of its citizens, therefore it defends the needs of their participation through accountable and transparent institutionalized mechanisms that are rooted on précised constitution.

Fretilin understands that peace and internal stability are the necessary condition to secure development and social progress.

To fortify peace and stability, Fretilin defends that apart from the elimination of hunger and misery of its people it is necessary to create an equitative distribution of wealth of the country while the defense policy should be based on the following principles:

·Each citizen should assume his/her share of responsibility in the promotion of public order, defense and state security;

·Reinforcement of national unity in the defense of the nation interest;

·Independence of security and defense institutions;

·Prosecute the policy of peace, using force exclusively only for self-defense in proportion with threat;

·Prioritizing the use of prevention mechanisms and negotiated solution for conflicts;

·The creation of an environment of peace and security in the region and the world.

But peace and stability will depend on how much we respect our neighbours and other countries of the world.

Therefore in the international agenda, Fretilin is in favour of a foreign policy that promotes mutual co-operation, friendship and solidarity, passive coexistence and mutual respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and no-inference on the internal issues of other countries.

Excellencies and distinguished guests,

For Fretilin, the independence conquered once again with huge endurance should mean the enaction of a State with a transparent administration and good governance where corruption and nepotism should never find a ground to flourish.

The principle of governability and good governance linked closely to sustainability is indeed the foundation of the administration that Fretilin promotes and is about —

a modern administration that is characterized by its transparency and efficacy of its instruments and mechanisms that are created to maintain Law and Order, for the defense of the rights for life and access to employment, property, physical, moral and religious liberty of each citizen, the right to build a family, the right for education, health, decent house, the right to participate on the governance of the country, to resist against any arbitrary action, the rights for emigration, for commerce, for asylum and for vital space,

an administration that favours the universal values of human rights, the rights of women, of children, of labourer, of the eldest, of the disables and prioritize and initiate the process to access and ratify international conventions regarding the above mentioned issues.

Excellencies and distinguished guests,

Fretilin defines a national development policy that favours the national development sustainability by adopting the integrated development strategy of the country in order to allow poverty eradication as the center of any progress. And this can only be possible if development in any sector takes into account its impact on local community, on the environment and on the national society.

Fretilin considers that economic development is one of the key pillars for development, peace and stability, recognizing in the same time the impact and phenomenon of economic globalization and the importance of cooperation between people and nations for the achievement of national objectives. Fretilin defends that cooperation should be based on the principles of mutual interest, of reciprocal benefit and in the respect for diversity and territorial integrity of each country.

As a new state on the constellation of the states of the Asian Continent, we are in the evolution process of our political and economic relation with other countries in Asia and the world. Huge efforts has been undertaken by Fretilin during the last two years of its governance aiming at establishing the necessary base for the materialization of the above relations that reflects the principles of good neighbourhood and cooperation policy that Fretilin is in favour of.

Economic development promoted by Fretilin is rooted on the fundamental values of human being and the nature, adhering to the Millennium Development Goals as a way to synchronize efforts that are directed to promote a sustainable, just and equitative development, because it believes that its commitments are also made for the next generation that should never in any way become victims of a rampaging and wild exploration of the national natural resources policy.

Excellencies and distinguished guests,

Since the early stages that we were preoccupied to invest our efforts in the eradication of poverty, promoting a rapid, integrated, eqitative, and sustainable economic growth for the well-being of our people based on principles of law that we believe will contribute towards a political, socio and economic stability aiming at achieving a lasting peace in the region and the world.

Nevertheless, we have all faced during the last decades various phenomenon that have contributed to instability at the region as a result of disparities and social injustice which are part of factors that have among others the source of illegal trafficking, terrorism, etc.

We are aware that in this new century where we live, whereas science and technology has evolved to a dramatic extent, surpassing ideological and geographical barriers that separated people and states, transforming the world into a mega village of human civilization where everyone is dreaming for peace, stability and prosperity, which can only be achieved if all of us as individual, people and states promote the principle of cooperation, of mutual respect, of reciprocal support and solidarity.

We hope this initiative, could in fact serve as the foundation to fortify the exchange, cooperation and development of our countries in this region and the world that is the base for national, regional and the world peace and stability.

Thank you!