Seven Questions: José Ramos-Horta

FP: How would you assess the role of the United Nations and the international community since they first intervened in 1999?

JRH: I am eternally grateful to the international community, which has invested so much in this country. With mixed results, for sure -- the U.N. is not a perfect organization. But we have to accept our share of responsibility for developments so far. It was not the U.N. that decided the police and Army should fight in 2006. It was not the U.N. that told [former president and now prime minister] Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão and [former Prime Minister] Mari Alkatiri to quarrel. There are many more-important issues facing the U.N. and the international community than Timor-Leste.

FP: Prime Minister Gusmão has recently been accused of approving a large contract with a company of which his daughter was a major shareholder. What is your response to these corruption allegations?

JRH: I remain 100 percent confident in Xanana Gusmão. He was right in assigning contracts to 15 Timorese companies, and his daughter happened to be a minor member of one company. Should he have said that this company cannot take part just because of that? I don't know the details of how this was done. But I can guarantee that Xanana Gusmão is the most decent, most caring person you will find in this country.

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