Christmas and New Year Message From the Secretary General of FRETILIN, Dr Mari Alkatiri

Christmas and New Year Message
From the Secretary General of FRETILIN, Dr Mari Alkatiri

Compatriots!
Sisters!
Brothers!


Within days we will commence celebrating the festive season of Christmas and the end of the year 2010.

Let this be a season of celebrations and that the new year is full of new horizons of hope and expectation.

In accordance with the cycle of life, another year has passed each one of us.

Shortly we will usher in the year 2011. It is a time to engage in a frank and honest self-assessment, with the courage and dignity to accept failures as failures and embrace our successes. There is no place to hide our problems. There is no need to punish ourselves with self-criticism, but we must seriously and profoundly reflect on our conduct during the last year, on what we have done and failed for the good of the people, our families and our society.

For us Timorese, 2011 will be a year of great challenges. It will be the year before the year in which Presidential and Parliamentary elections must be held. All of us need to move forward with confidence towards the 2012 elections. Therefore, 2011 must be a year where we create a climate of confidence and trust between all Timorese: confidence and trust in the values of the national liberation of the homeland and the people; confidence and trust in the political and constitutional system; and confidence and trust in the democratic process and its values.
Let us build a strong pact for stability, a new Platform for National Unity.

Let us unite around the Constitution and defend all the principles and values which are enshrined therein.

Let us unite to defend the democratic rule of law and reaffirm our indomitable will to defend all our achievements.

Let us unite against the use of violence as an instrument for obtaining political power.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, and I quote: “The moment there is suspicion about a person’s motives, everything he does becomes tainted.”

Therefore, our people expect freat lucidity of their leaders, more political maturity, total integrity, ethical behaviour in their daily activities, humility and modesty. The people demand of those same leaders the ability to think clearly and understand the consequences of each decision they make; to always look to build confidence and trust through their acts; and to eliminate all uncertainties and doubts which may increase both suspicion and mistrust.

The East Timorese people want peace and want it to be consolidated each and every day. They want their country to remain stable so that national development can proceed smoothly.

Our people will again be called on to vote in 2012. Therefore, the year ahead is crucial in creating confidence in the process which takes the Timorese people to the polls.

It is necessary that the principal political actors accept once and for all that the principle of alternation of the exercise of political power is of utmost sacredness. That the alternation is determined by the free exercise of a universal and secret vote is a logical consequence of a normal and democratically functioning society where power emanates from the people and is exercised within the limits set by the Constitution and the laws of Timor-Leste.

It is therefore important that all political leaders know how to contribute to the creaion of a climate of confidence which is necessary for the success of the entire process. It is imperative that all people contribute to the consolidation of the democratic rule of law where the will of the people is the single source of all legitimacy.

LET US ALL ERADICATE MUTUAL DISTRUST AND MAKE 2011 THE YEAR OF BUILDING TRUST BETWEEN TIMORESE AND THE YEAR OF NATIONAL SOLIDARITY.

LET ALL OF US PROCLAIM THE DECADE ENDING IN 2020 AS THE DECADE OF PEACE, STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT.

WE LIBERATED OUR HOMELAND FROM FOREIGN DOMINATION. NOW LET US FREE THE PEOPLE OF POVERTY AND ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DEPENDENCE.

A LUTA CONTINUA!

THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES!

To all I send my sincerest wishes for a Merry Christmas and A Prosperous New Year.

With the warmest regards.


Dili, 15 December 2010