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Interviews : Jose Ramos-Horta

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Interviewed August 2010

José Manuel Ramos-Horta is the president of the República Democrática de Timor-Leste (East Timor). In 1996, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his advocacy of human rights and self-determination for the Timorese people.

Born in Dili in 1949 to a Portuguese father and a Timorese mother, Ramos-Horta was educated in Catholic schools and became a journalist. His articles advocating independence for the territory led to his deportation at the age of 18. He returned to Timor in 1971 and, after the 1974 revolution in Portugal, joined with other young Timorese pro-independence activists to found the Social Democratic Association of Timor, later known as the Revolutionary Front of Independent Timor-Leste (FRETILIN). When FRETILIN declared the independence of East Timor in 1975, Ramos-Horta was appointed the minister of external affairs and was instructed to go abroad to seek international recognition and support. He was just 25 years old.

Ramos-Horta left East Timor three days before the invasion by Indonesian troops that led to a 24-year occupation. A few days later, he became the youngest diplomat ever to address the United Nations Security Council, successfully urging the Council to adopt a resolution that recognized the right of the people of Timor-Leste to self-determination and independence.

After the 1999 referendum in which the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia, Ramos-Horta returned to his homeland for the first time in 24 years. He served as foreign minister under the provisional United Nations administration (2000–2002) and during the first four years of independence (2002-06), and was selected as prime minister after the political and social crisis that led to the resignation of the first government in 2006. In 2007 he was elected president of the Republic, receiving over 70 percent of the votes cast.

On February 11, 2008, Ramos-Horta was shot twice and severely wounded. Evacuated to Australia, he remained for 10 days in an induced coma and spent several months recovering from his injuries. Upon his return to Dili, he was received in triumph by an estimated 100,000 people of all ages, walks of life, and political perspectives. 

If I were to-- send a message to people in—Burma or to the Palestinians or anyone who's struggling for freedom, for dignity, I say do not lose hope, persevere-- focus on the struggle. But never surrender to hatred, to violence because at the moment you surrender to hatred, to violence, you are losing.

And-- this is not rhetorical because-- if you are not able to-- maintain-- your-- integrity as a man, as a woman or non-violence, of-- as a human being, if you start-- feeling hatred, and temptation to use violence against the adversary, particular the adversary that is not armed, I guarantee you, you are starting to lose because you have already lost or you are losing your moral-- superiority, your moral integrity.

So my advice is-- never ever surrender to hatred. Never allow yourself to be hostage of violence, of-- hatred. Do not-- answer an eye for an eye. You manage to beat your adversary with your resilience, your-- your faith, with your commitment to-- non-violence. My advice also is-- be open-minded, be flexible.

Do not be dogmatic. Look at tactics, how you can advance your cause one little step at a time. Maybe step sideways in order to move forward. Don't-- go against a rock, against a wall. Try to-- move around. So-- be very flexible always-- tactically. Focus on your goal. The goal is freedom, the goal is independence. But everything else is negotiable. Everything else is tactical. You-- must be-- f-- flexible. 



More from Jose Ramos-Horta

Jose Ramos Horta: Resist Hatred “Never ever surrender to hatred.” Jose Ramos-Horta: Technology “One of the first satellite phones in the world, we bought it. That phone cost $30,000, the size of a briefcase.” Jose Ramos-Horta: U.S. Military Aid The importance of the United States Congress’s limitations on military aid to Indonesia after the Santa Cruz massacre. More + Jose Ramos-Horta: International Presence The international presence in East Timor during the Indonesian occupation. Jose Ramos-Horta: Turning Point The Santa Cruz massacre and the international reaction to it. Jose Ramos-Horta: Opposition to Terrorism "We were completely against any act of terrorism. . . . Had we done that, I do not believe we would be free today.” Jose Ramos-Horta: Collapse from Corruption The strengths and weaknesses of the Suharto dictatorship. Jose Ramos-Horta: Network of U.S. Support Early support for human rights and self-determination in East Timor from the United States Congress and the Catholic Bishops’ conference. Jose Ramos-Horta: Importance of Unity The strengths and weaknesses of the Timorese self-determination movement. Jose Ramos-Horta: Road to Self-Determination Sources of support for the Timorese self-determination movement. Jose Ramos-Horta: International Reaction The United Nations reaction to the invasion of East Timor in 1975 Jose Ramos-Horta: Personal Motivation "My motivation was always my sense of what is fair, what is not fair, what is just, what is unjust.”