[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 64 (Thursday, May 15, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4616-S4617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______
                                 

              NOBEL PEACE PRIZE RECIPIENT JOSE RAMOS-HORTA

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to welcome Jose Ramos-
Horta to California. In recognition of his indefatigable efforts on 
behalf of the people of his native East Timor, Mr. Ramos-Horta was 
coawarded the 1996 Nobel Prize for Peace. He will be in San Francisco 
in June to participate in a 3-day conference on peacemaking. There he 
will be joined by numerous national and world leaders including fellow 
Nobel laureates, the Dalai Lama of Tibet and Rigoberta Menchu of 
Guatemala.
  The issue of East Timor has a special relevance in California, which 
is home to the largest concentration of Portuguese-Americans in the 
United States. Shortly after Portugal took steps in 1974 to end 
political oppression at home, it withdrew from most of its foreign 
territories, including East Timor. Although Portugal ceased to exercise 
colonial influence over East Timor in the midseventies, it has remained 
an important voice of conscience regarding East Timor ever since.
  As may be expected at the conclusion of 500 years of foreign rule, a 
brief period of struggle ensued between rival factions in East Timor. 
For many, the pain of this civil strife was tempered with optimism over 
the prospect of imminent, peaceful self-rule. Exiled by colonialist 
authorities for his early proindependence stance, Mr. Horta was 
particularly encouraged by events.
  This hope of a budding nation was crushed when troops from 
neighboring Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975. Annexation followed 
the next year and so began a period of often brutal occupation. 
Regrettably, over 20 years later, for many East Timorese the dream of 
political independence has been replaced, at least in the short term, 
by the struggle for the most basic of human rights.
  In self-imposed exile since the invasion, Jose Ramos-Horta has never 
forgotten his homeland and its desire for peace and freedom. He 
travels, writes, and speaks continually about what has occurred and 
what is occurring in East Timor. It is testament to his passion and the 
resilience of his countrymen

[[Page S4617]]

that the troubles of this small island no longer fester in obscurity.
  Jose Ramos-Horta is the latest in a distinguished succession of 
modern leaders who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice much for 
the causes of peace and justice. I know I join many of my colleagues 
and millions of others when I say that it is my hope that, like Nelson 
Mandela, Lech Walesa, and Andrei Sakharov, Mr. Ramos-Horta's crusade 
meets with rapid success and spurs further advances in human rights 
across Asia and the world.
  He and his words of peace and dignity are always welcome in 
California.

                          ____________________