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Kyodo

Wednesday October 6, 6:10 PM

E. Timor congratulates Yudhoyono on election victory

East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta on Wednesday extended the former Indonesian province's congratulations to Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on winning Indonesia's presidential election.

"We Timor Leste (East Timor) congratulate the elected president Bambang Yudhoyono," Ramos-Horta said, adding Yudhoyono would be a "good leader for the region and will be a good friend of East Timor."

Ramos-Horta, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his campaign for the East Timor people, also praised Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri for her efforts to normalize relations between East Timor and Indonesia.

"She is the one who led the effort to the process in Indonesia to have a direct presidential election. It was her. So, she left a very positive legacy," Ramos-Horta said.

East Timor, which was a Portuguese colony before being invaded by Indonesia in 1975, gained independence on May 20, 2002, after more than 24 years under Indonesian occupation and two-and-a-half years under U.N. administration.