WHEN East Timor's President, Xanana Gusmao, received Australia's Alexander Downer on Saturday in his office in the Palace of the Ashes, the humiliation of his country's collapse overcame him.
Gusmao, the charismatic warrior-poet who led East Timor's guerilla resistance movement and spent seven years in an Indonesian jail, broke down in tears and wept openly.
I am no fan of Alex Downer, and I fully sympathize with Gusmao, but Australia’s foreign minister might be slowly learning how to deal with regional trouble spots.
There are signs that the mess will begin to resolve itself over the next few weeks. The long term difficulty is still one of changing the mindset from freedom fighting struggle to positive and peaceful nation building. Gusmao and Ramos Horta are still the best bet East Timor has to guide that process.
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