Subject: Church still 'leading light' in East Timor struggle for justice
Christian Today
Church still 'leading light' in East Timor struggle for justice
Posted: Tuesday, October 7, 2008, 12:28 (BST)
The church's ability to keep the East Timorese community strong through
25 years of occupation and conflict will also be "instrumental" in
helping the poverty-stricken country to move forward, a leading Timorese
politician, Fernanda Borges, will tell a UK audience when she visits
London on October 14.
Fernanda Borges MP, a committed Christian and East Timor's only female
party leader, will also say the British government and the international
community can now assist her nation by helping promote accountability
for past human rights violations and reparations for the victims of
those violations.
She will declare that 'transitional justice' for the victims of the
occupation is essential to long-term peace in East Timor and regional
stability in South East Asia.
"Attempts to deny or delay justice will only foster political insecurity
and sink the Timorese people further into poverty," says Borges. Despite
achieving independence in 1999, East Timor is still one of the poorest
countries in Asia, with 40 per cent of the population living below the
poverty line.
As a six year old, Borges witnessed the horrors of war first hand. Now,
three decades on, she has been dubbed East Timor's "Iron Lady" for her
uncompromising commitment to achieving justice for her people.
"The church has always been a leading light in our struggle and the
Catholic value system is still very important to the Timorese people,"
says Borges. "We now need help from Christians worldwide to ensure that
justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law are enshrined in
the modern day values of our newly independent nation".
Borges will deliver her address, 'Tipping the scales of justice in a new
nation', in support of international development agency Progressio's
'East Timor: Who Cares?' campaign.
The campaign is calling on the UK government to support the development
of a Timor-based transitional justice centre to help the East Timorese
government promote accountability, which will include the recognition of
past atrocities.
Progressio's Executive Director, Christine Allen, said: "East Timor is
approaching the 10th anniversary of its 1999 landslide vote for
independence.
"Fernanda Borges is one of the courageous politicians who has sided with
the Timorese people to call for justice as an alternative to amnesty and
impunity.
"We must heed her calls and speak out in solidarity with the people of
East Timor so that the tenth anniversary of the independence vote can
truly be a celebration of justice and hope for the people."
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