Security concerns overshadow anniversary
East Timor's president marked the tiny country's third anniversary today with a sombre speech warning that patience and sacrifice are still needed in the face of a moribund economy, stifling poverty and a declining UN presence.
President Xanana Gusmao - a former freedom fighter jailed by Indonesia during its 24-year occupation - told thousands of citizens gathered at a soccer stadium in the capital Dili they should be proud of their country, but that "much more needs to be done" after gaining independence in 2002.
"We are three years old but our path ahead is still fraught with many challenges, in various aspects of nation-building, development and in reducing poverty," Gusmao said in a nationally-televised speech.
"Building a nation implies working hard, making sacrifices, having the stability to distinguish what can be done now and what will take time," he said. "But we are a resilient people and we understand that independence is a long process."
East Timor's 800,000 people voted for independence in 1999 in a UN-organised referendum. The Indonesian military and its proxy militias struck back, unleashing a wave of violence that killed 1,500 people and left 300,000 homeless.
The world body administered the territory for two and a half years, then handed it to the Timorese on May 20, 2002, but a UN mission has remained in the country.
While democracy has taken hold, East Timor remains one of the poorest in Asia. It is also dogged by double-digit unemployment and its greatest hope for economic growth - billions of dollars in oil revenue - has been delayed over an ongoing border dispute with Australia.
East Timor now faces the additional task of administering its porous borders without the help the UN peacekeepers. They ended their mission today as part of a larger reduction in UN forces from some 900-staffers to about 275 military, police and government advisers.
The smaller mission will remain for another year, after Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the country still needed international assistance to control its borders, develop a professional police force, establish judicial and financial institutions, and promote democratic governance and human rights.
Grumbling over the country's lack of progress has sparked periodic, anti-government demonstrations recently, including a 19-day protest involving about 3,000 people that ended earlier this month.
The mood today, though, was largely festive. The crowd - a mix of families, former freedom fighters and political supporters of the governing Fretilin Party - cheered their leaders and enjoyed traditional dances and patriotic songs.
