The official transfer of power from United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, to Jose “Xanana” Gusmao, the new President of an independent East Timor (Timor Leste), took place in a lavish ceremony outside Dili at midnight on May 20.After 450 years of Portuguese rule, followed by 24 years of Indonesian occupation and 30 months of UN Administration, East Timor begins life as a free nation with great optimism, fuelled by the people’s enormous courage.Significantly, the independence celebrations…
