Dili, 17 Feb. 2012: President of Republic, Dr. José Ramos-Horta, on Friday, conducted an open dialogue called “Road to peace and national unity” with the community in sub district of Lospalos, Lautem district.
Addressing the gathering, the President said “all political leaders of Timor-Leste, have to make an effort to avoid even a single conflict during the presidential and parliamentarian election this year, to show our political maturity, as , at this stage international community is paying close attention to the election in this country.”
Appealing to the all-political leaders, including the presidential candidates, to strengthen peace, Ramos-Horta said that strengthening peace was not only his responsibility, but a responsibility of all, including political parties, civil society, and the churches. He reminded all the political leaders, to be careful with their choice of words and expressions in their speeches and to ensure the country remains peaceful and trusted by the international community.
Talking about strengthening the economy and encouraging people to participate in the upcoming elections, he reminded the community that, if Timor-Leste can guarantee peace and stability, the country could attract foreign investments.
Commenting on his Presidential candidacy this year, he said that, whether he is elected or not, as a Timorese, he will stay in the country to assist the government and the new President of Republic to do their responsibility and eradicate poverty in the country.
Besides conducting a dialogue with the community in Lospalos capital, President Ramos-Horta also visited Souro and his village to conduct the same dialogue with the community in these two villages.
Lautem in located in the eastern side of Timor Island. According to the 2010 census, 60,218 people inhabit this district. Lautem is about 248 km out of Dili. During the Portuguese colonisation, Lautem was a council with the same name as today.
This district is composed of five sub districts, namely; Iliomar, Lautém, Lospalus, Luru and Tutuala. Besides speaking Tetum and Portuguese as the official languages, Fataluku is also spoken widely in Lautem. This language was originally from Papuas, a language which also spoken in Papua New Guinea.
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