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Perth: October 17, 1996
ope for East Timor in Belo's Nobel prize , 414.
By Peter Rosengren Australia's leading episcopal spokesman on justice and peace issues, Bishop William Brennan of Wagga, this week praised Bishop Carlos Belo of East Timor, the joint winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Bishop Brennan, chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Committee for Justice. Development and Peace said the prestigious award would affirm the apostolic administrator of Dili's work for justice, peace and reconciliation in East Timor. "This award is well-deserved as Bishop Belo has been a key figure In maintaining peace and stability in East Timor," Bishop Brennan said. "His policy. in a very difficult situation where his sympathies naturally lie with his people, has been to encourage peaceful solutions to the political and military problems being faced by his people." Bishop Brennan contacted Bishop Belo. who he has visited in East Timor three times since 1992, earlier this week to offer his congratulations on behalf of Australia's Catholic community Speaking this week following the announcement he had shared the prize with Sydney-based activist for the independence of East Timor, Jose Ramos Horta, Bishop Belo said oppression on the island continued. "If you go to the houses of the people, and to remote areas, you will feel that there is still oppression - there are soldiers everywhere, watching you, hearing what you are talking about, and concretely at this precise moment In one sub-district ... in the western part [of the island] the people, they cannot walk freely to their coffee plantations, to their rice fields because there are six or seven battalions there," he said. The bishop was interviewed on television before the arrival in East Timor last lbesday of Indonesian President Suharto who inaugurated a 27 metre high statue of Jesus in the capital of Dili commissioned by the Indonesian Government. President Suharto greeted Bishop Belo at the ceremony but did not refer to him or his award in any of the public ceremonies. Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Belo walks in procession in East During the earlier interview Photo. CAIS/Reuters Timor's capital Dili last Sunday. Bishop Belo said he did not know
stamp of recognition on Bishop Belo's work on behalf of his people, much as Archbishop Desmond Tutu's win had helped raise the profile of apartheid in South Africa as a world issue of concern during the 1980's. "I would hope too that the Indonesian Government may take a hint from it and rethink their policy with regards to East Timor," he added. He added that his most recent visit to Bishop Belo had been in February this year when the Dili seminary had been opened. He described Bishop Belo as "a man of extraordinarily high intelligence, in that he seems to be Bishop William Brennan able to keep a hundred things in how much President Suharto's his mind at the same time." He was extraordinarily courtevisit would actually achieve as combining a gentle personous, by visits many been had there high-ranking Indonesian officials ality and good humour. was in the past but nothing had come "above all a man of courage and a man of deep faith." of the visits. He said the Bishop's situation in "They never sit down to talk with the simple people from the coun- Dili was very difficult and he was constantly under surveillance. tryside." he said. Bishop Belo said in a statement Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, issued last week in Rome by his president of the Pontifical Counorder, the Salesians, that the cil for Justice and Peace and a freaward was a recognition of those quent papal envoy to world with whom he has worked for trouble spots, who visited East peace. Timor and Bishop Belo last Feb"This is a recognition, not of me, ruary, said last Saturday he found but of all the people of Timor, for the bishop to be "a young pastor the Catholic Church which works tirelessly pursuing an open diain Timor. and for all those who logue with all those who are conwork for peace and reconciliation cerned about the future of the between people." Timorese people." The 48-year-old bishop told He quoted the Pope. who in 1990 reporters he learned about the said, "The inhabitants of East prize after Communion. Timor continue to await propos"I can say that I am surprised, als capable of allowing the realibut at the same time, not." he said. sation of their legitimate "I am surprised because there aspirations to have their specific are many other people in the cultural and religious identities world who deserve this recogni- recognised." In a 1986 pastoral letter, Bishop tion more thanI do. I am not surprised becauseIlive the ordinary Belo sharply criticised Indonelife of a bishop and all events are sia's Government for its East Timorese birth control program, the same before God." Bishop Belo and Mr Ramos charging that family planning Horta, 51, will share the $1.2 mil- workers were distributing contralion award to be given at at a 10 ceptives indiscriminately to poor December ceremony in Oslo, people who were inadequately informed about the program. Norway. The bishop was instrumental in Bishop Brennan said Bishop the East Timorese situabringing Belo had seemed very happy at tion to the attention of the interthe news of the prize. "[The Indonesian authorities] national community following a have always treated him with 1991 massacre in which troops respect, they've always respected shot and killed up to 200 his position as a bishop and espe- marchers at a funeral procession cially they've respected the influ- in Dili, and again in 1994, after ence that he has with the East hundreds of mainly Catholic protesters were beaten by police. Timorese people," he said. He said he expected the award Continued on Page 11 would place an international Editorial - Page 7
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