of the International Declaration of the Rights.” When referring to Timor, Almeida Santos states: “There are three currents of opinion. Timor is still very far away from self-sufficiency in economical terms, which preclude thoughts of real independence. During 1974, Portugal injected more than 300 million Escudos (approx. AUD$ 8.6 mill.) and that was not enough. The more I go back in time, the harder it is to find more than moral satisfaction of our presence. If we combine that with the state of underdevelopment of the Territory, it is easy to conclude how fantastic is the dream of a total and immediate independence.” The weekly “VT” comments on Almeida Santos rhetoric: “The Minister came here. We were told he came to sound out the people. How? With preordained ideas? We are told, and it seems that the local Government spent millions of Escudos (tens of thousands of dollars) to stage a play, to make believe in a certain scenario. Such staging was very typical of the era before the 25 April. Has he taken it seriously? So it seems. So it shows his speech at the United Nations. Who is going to foot the bill? Was it a hurriedly assumption by Almeida Santos? The reactionary forces might even benefit from it.” By the second time in a row, the prices register very steep rises, up to 30 per cent during December. The Governor General visits Maubara, during the celebrations of the centenary of the birth of the hero Régulo Dom José Nunes, where his son and Régulo Dom Gaspar Nunes present an elocution, of vibrant partisan fervour during which he states: “I am not sure whether UDT took on my ideas or whether I took on theirs . . .” IV) THE MONARCHISTS DECOLONISATION PROCESS
ENLIGHTEN
THE
Tomás Dias Ximenes the Secretary-general of the recently formed PPMT gives an interview that must be remembered as basis for future studies in politicking: