Aid agency welcomes East Timor prime minister

Irish aid agency Concern today welcomed the appointment of a former Nobel Peace Prize winner as the new prime minister of East Timor.

Former foreign minister Jose Ramos-Horta, 56 said he hopes to bring peace and stability to the nation which won independence in 1999.

Concern runs community-based projects in over 2,000 villages in East Timor, in a bid to improve the living standards of local people.

Irish troops served on UN duty in the country since 1999 but withdrew last year.

Concern chief executive Tom Arnold, who met Mr Ramos-Horta recently, said: “I hope the future will bring more stability and less hardship for local people.

“I’ve met Ramos-Horta and was impressed by his credentials.

“Concern’s work is centred on making people more self reliant and strengthening community-based projects.

“We are trying to help people to be in a less vulnerable position when it comes to disasters such as flash floods and long periods of dry weather.”

Mr Ramos-Horta shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Carlo Felipe Ximenes Belo in 1996, for their efforts to win East Timor’s independence.

The veteran politician replaces former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who stepped down on June 26 after months of violence that claimed at least 30 lives and prompted 150,000 people to flee their homes and take refuge in makeshift camps.

Irish troops, which served on three UN missions in the country, comprised military observers, logistics experts and members of the Army Ranger Wing.