Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
CORRECTED: A new political generation rises in East Tim
Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:19am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
(Corrects finance minister's position to independent, and not in Gusmao's political party, in paras 22 and 23)
By Sunanda Creagh
DILI (Reuters) - As a student activist in Jakarta, Avelino Coelho da Silva sought refuge in the Austrian embassy to avoid capture by Indonesian troops. Now as East Timor's Secretary of State for Energy Policy, he installs solar power in villages.
Coelho, 46, is likely to be among the next generation of leaders in the tiny, oil and gas-rich nation which voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia exactly a decade ago.
Both Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, 63, who was imprisoned by Indonesia, and President Jose Ramos-Horta, 59, who campaigned abroad to keep East Timor's struggle in the public eye, are independence heroes.
But a new generation of political leaders, most of whom were children or students during Indonesia's rule, is getting ready to take over.
A former Portuguese colony, East Timor was invaded in 1975 by Indonesia. An estimated 180,000 died during the occupation, and the U.N. estimates about 1,000 East Timorese died in the mayhem that surrounded the 1999 vote for independence.
Since then, Dili has struggled to tackle security, social and economic woes including high unemployment, splits in the army, and poor infrastructure, healthcare and education.
"If you look at other members of cabinet, I tell you, 80 to 85 percent are new generation. People no more than 35-45 years old, who grew up in the era of occupation. This is the new generation running the country. They are the hope of this country," said Ramos-Horta.
Damien Kingsbury, an East Timor analyst from Australia's Deakin University, said there are already several people in East Timor ready to take over the reins from Gusmao and Ramos-Horta.
"It's essentially the student generation, members of the student resistance organizations and expat Timorese who went back from Australia and Indonesia," Kingsbury said.
The next elections are due in 2012.
The challenges the new leaders face remain daunting. Many roads are just dirt and gravel, making communication with remote villages tough.
Almost 30 percent of the adult population is illiterate: the young men who hang around on Dili street corners are evidence of the 40 percent jobless rate in a country where average household monthly income is just $27. In parts of Dili, roadside stalls sell cast-off clothes to people who can't afford to buy them new.
Coelho's Rural Electrification Master Plan has brought electricity to 17 isolated villages in just over a year by installing solar power systems, funded by the government but owned, installed and maintained by community cooperatives.
"Now they have electricity for five to six hours a day. Before, they spent $US1 a day to buy kerosene but now they can save $US30 a month and use it for other things," he said. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
FEATURE-A new political generation rises in East Timor
Special Coverage: The Drug War
Home-grown addicts
Drug gangs in Guatemala are paying runners and hitmen with cocaine, driving a growing local market and leaving a trail of addicts in a country already wracked by poverty and crime. Full Article | Full Coverage
More International News
Japan opposition crushes LDP in historic election
| Video
Lockerbie bomber release "linked to oil deal": report
Serious fraud complaints double in Afghan vote
Israeli planes hit suspected Gaza tunnel building
Australia probes North Korea weapons for Iran seizure
More International News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Japan opposition crushes LDP in historic election | Video
Capitalism the villain as Moore movie hits Venice
EMC co-founder Richard Egan dies
"Zombie suppliers" haunt manufacturing sector
NEWSMAKER-Japan's Aso leads party to crushing defeat
UPDATE 1-New stroke drug looks set to replace warfarin
Lockerbie bomber release "linked to oil deal": report
Evacuations grow as Los Angeles area fire rages | Video
U.S. credit card issuers pare lending limits
U.S. unveils new rules on border searches of laptops
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Hip lenses for new outlook on life
DPJ tipped to win in Japanese vote
Nadal looks ahead to the US Open
Suit keeps baby safe, parents calm
Tributes paid at Kennedy funeral
Self-made Bionic Man
Final campaigns in Japan election
Crowds pay respects to Kennedy
More attacks strike near Baghdad
Future wheelchair gets moving
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.