Dili, East Timor — Mozambican Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao Friday expressed optimism as regards East Timor's transition to full independence.
East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, was annexed by Indonesia in 1975, and was under brutal military occupation until a massive vote for independence in a referendum in 1999.
Currently, the territory is undergoing a transition period supervised by the United Nations.
Simao flew into East Timor from Indonesia on Friday morning and held a 30-minute meeting with Xanana Gusmao, the East Timorese resistance leader.
He said that his visit was to convey Mozambique's solidarity and happiness, "since the problems, which marred the process in its initial stage, are gradually being overcome. We are seeing signs of reconstruction here in Dili and consequently our hope is growing."
However, Dili still bears the signs of the wanton destruction perpetrated by the pro-Jakarta militia following the outcome of the referendum, with burnt-out buildings seen everywhere.
Apart from material damage, the ensuing violence claimed the lives of many people and caused a massive Diaspora as thousands of East Timorese were forced to seek refuge in West Timor.
But now some of the refugees have started returning. The UN estimates that some 200 refugees return daily.
Simao was at pains to say he had not come to teach the Timorese how to handle their transition. "We've nothing to teach to anyone, we don't have this pretension," he said.
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"We've only an experience which is available to whoever wishes to use it, including our mistakes, too," he said.
Gusmao, the chairman of the East Timorese National Resistance Council (CNRT), said that Simao's visit was of particular significance when considering the traditional support and solidarity that Mozambique always gave East Timor from 1975 onwards.
Mozambique had provided a home in exile for some notable East Timorese, such as Mari Alkatiri, the economics and internal administration minister in the transitional government.
Gusmao also expressed his feelings of solidarity with the victims of the current floods in central Mozambique.
He added that Simao had outlined what the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), currently chaired by Mozambique, can do in terms of political and diplomatic support for East Timor, among other types of co-operation.
Despite Simao's modesty, Gusmao did think that East Timor can learn from Mozambique, and currently the two countries have an exchange programme of personnel, particularly in the diplomatic field.
Simao also held meetings with Alkatiri, Novel peace prize laureate Jose Ramos-Horta and other members of the transitional government.
He is also scheduled to meet with 15 Mozambicans who are part of the civilian police in UNTAET, the United Nations mission in East Timor.
Currently training the East Timorese traffic police is a Mozambican police superintendent, Paulino Tete, and the head of the local police human resources department is also a Mozambican.
