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Leadership, peace more important than ‘perfect’ democracy
When leaders do not manipulate people’s sentiments and emotions, there will not be any hatred.
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Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta speaks on Aug. 7, 2023, at the "Democracy Dialogue: The Sustainability of Democracy in Southeast Asia" discussion at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. The event was held to mark the 40th anniversary of The Jakarta Post. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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mid intense geopolitical rivalry and widespread democratic backsliding, Timor-Leste has defied the odds by becoming the most democratic country in the region while also maintaining neutrality. It has also maintained a strong relationship with Indonesia despite being a former colony. On the sidelines of The Jakarta Post’s Democracy Dialogue event on Monday, Timor-Leste President and Nobel Peace laureate José Ramos-Horta sat with Tenggara Strategics’ Philips J Vermonte and the Post’s Yvette Tanamal to discuss Dili-Jakarta relations, democracy and leadership. The following are excerpts from the interview.
Question: What is your perception of Indonesia given what happened in our past? How do you inspire the Timor-Leste people to not hate Indonesia?
Answer: My familiarity and relations with Indonesia goes back a long time. In the late 1960s, I read and saw movies about Sukarno and Indonesia’s struggle for independence. During Portuguese rule, I learned about diplomacy and politics from the former Indonesian consul in Dili, Elias Tomodok, whom I visited often. He was very political; he did not like at all the Portuguese colonial rule but was friendly with the Portuguese governor at public events.
At the beginning of the struggle, there was a great leader, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, who I grew up with in a Catholic mission school. He was extraordinarily intelligent and a humane individual. From day one, he would always say: We are not fighting the Portuguese people, we are not fighting the Indonesian people. We are fighting for independence.
Years later came Xanana Gusmão with the same policy. In speeches, press or political writings, there was never any demonizing of Indonesia or other countries. We never used religion, ethnicity or terror, which is a strategy often used to provoke anger and mobilization.
In 1976, when I was lobbying in Washington, there was a congressman called Frank Wolf from Virginia who was a conservative Republican. He initiated a bill to impose mandatory sanctions against any country persecuting Christians, which a friend of mine suggested I take advantage of. My answer was, no; that’s not correct.
The problem in Timor-Leste was not Muslims vs. Christians. Many of the [Indonesian] generals involved in the invasion were actually Catholics or Protestants; I made a joke that in Indonesia, violence is non-discriminatory.
