TIMOR LESTE President Jose Ramos-Horta has called for more dialogues to arrest a rising global trend which depicts a world in turmoil.
Referencing the Ukraine-Russia war, the Gaza tragedy and nearer to the region, the civil war in Myanmar, Ramos said there is a need for a humane approach to arrest this stirring violence.
"It is through dialogues and having the courage to call for a divine intervention of dialogues that these violence and blood bathes can be stopped," he said.
The 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winner said this when launching a book on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim entitled ‘Global justice and peace through dialogue’.
Present were Anwar's wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and the book's author Yusmadi Yusoff.
Citing Timor Leste's own past where the fight for Independence was tainted with violence between the East Timorese and their Indonesian's occupiers, Ramos cited the courage of then Indonesian President B.J. Habibie to withdraw from the former Portuguese colony and to grant independence for some 1.5 million people.
"I think Habibie is also entitled to a Nobel Prize and also the Indonesian military for not objecting to the move."
In this sense Timor Leste is fortunate that the bloodshed had stopped and a series of dialogues were held instead, which later paved the way for peace.
Hence, there is always goodwill which can stem from dialogues, said Ramos.
But to ensure it is successful, Ramos advocated a need for humility, forgiveness and a desire to move forward without clinging to history, as the antidotes to sustaining dialogues and peace.
There is also a need to be honest such as when a couple quarrels, there must be a recourse to have a dialogue to resolve the differences.
"We must also be willing to apologise and to hold effective dialogues, we must first have inner peace. We cannot crave for peace if we harbour ill will."
The former diplomat said the regional grouping of ASEAN can play such a role; to be a bridge to dialogues and peace as the middle power between the superpowers of China, US and Russia.
Later, Ramos, who counts on Anwar as a personal friend, said that he hopes Timor-Leste and Malaysia can cement a special partnership for the mutual benefit of both nations.
He urged Malaysian investors to probe the opportunities in oil and gas exploration, education and tourism.
Timor Leste will officially join ASEAN in October as the 11th member nation.
Ramos also said that the region must pay attention to the plight of the Rohingya, whom the world has forgotten in lieu of the civil war in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, Yusmadi said that his book illustrates that reforms are not dead but alive and can only be adopted in stages to ensure there is acceptance by all parties. - June 19, 2025.
