UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has appointed East
Timor's former president Jose Ramos-Horta as his new representative to
coup-stricken Guinea-Bissau.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who
helped bring independence to East Timor, will also lead the United
Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in the west African state.
Dr Ramos-Horta replaces Rwandan diplomat Joseph Mutaboba, whose term ends on January 31.
An exiled voice for East Timor during two
decades of Indonesian occupation, Dr Ramos-Horta advocated clemency for
Indonesians accused of atrocities as well as renegade troops who tried
to assassinate him in 2008.
The 63-year-old has since been active on international peace initiatives.
"If
in some ways I can help the UN in some region of the world, maybe in
West Africa, why not? I am more than willing. I have the commitment and
some modest experience in that regard," Dr Ramos-Horta said.
Guinea-Bissau and East Timor are both former Portuguese colonies.
Dr
Ramos-Horta has told Corinne Podger at ABC Radio Australia he accepts
his new role may involve some bridge-building between the UN and
Guinea-Bissau's transitional government.
He says that he has been
engaged in bridge-building for most of his life, for example between his
country and Indonesia and Australia, and between local gangs and
factions in the army and police.
Dr Horta says he knows he will
have to use all these skills in Guinea-Bissau and the countries in the
region so they all work on the same wavelength.
He was nominated
to the UN post just as the UN ended its 13-year peacekeeping mission in
East Timor on Monday and says he is optimistic about its future.
"The situation is very peaceful at the moment. Conditions are right for economic takeoff in the next five years," he said.
"So
I have full confidence that as I depart the country is in good hands
and when I return sometime in the future, I will find a vibrant economy
and a country that is even more peaceful and stable fully integrated in
the region as the 11th member of ASEAN."
ABC/AFP
.
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