E Timorese leader bags European peace prize

“We hope that the experiences of 25 years of suffering will put your people in a position to realise its dream of a pluralist democracy,” Fontaine said when she handed over the prize which carries a cash award of 15,000 Euros (15,000 dollars).

Gusmao, who has fought for East Timor’s independence from Indonesia since 1974, said: “Our people want to build a civil society after months of murder and persecution.”

In a referendum on August 30, nearly 80 per cent of the East Timorese population voted for independence.

Gusmao had been released in September from seven years of detention in Indonesia. He is expected to be the first president of the new country.

Previous winners of the Sakharov prize named for Russian dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989) include former South African President Nelson Mandela, Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Chinese Dissident Wei Jingsheng.