DATE=04/17/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=EAST TIMOR/GUSMAO (NEWSMAKER) (L-O)

NUMBER=2-288806

BYLINE=PATRICIA NUNAN

DATELINE=JAKARTA

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: It has been a long journey for Xanana Gusmao from the jungles of East Timor to the office of the president. V-O-A's Patricia Nunan takes us on that journey with a closer look at the revolutionary-turned-statesman.

TEXT: To many, Xanana Gusmao is the symbol of East Timor's independence struggle.

A former journalist, Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao joined the Fretelin independence movement in 1974, when the group led the struggle for the territory's independence after 400 years of colonization by Portugal.

A year later, on December 7th, 1975, Indonesia invaded East Timor -- sparking the conflict that would propel Mr. Gusmao to the leadership of the territory's struggle for independence.

Many East Timorese credit Mr. Gusmao with transforming Fretelin from a fractious, demoralized movement into a potent and well-organized force that Jakarta had to contend with.

Indonesia arrested Mr. Gusmao in 1992 and sentenced him to 20 years in prison on charges of subversion. Ironically, it was in jail, not in the jungles of East Timor, that Mr. Gusmao became known across the world and his cause began to receive widespread recognition. The annexation of the territory by Indonesia -- a move never recognized by the United Nations -- started to receive more and more international condemnation.

Mr. Gusmao was released from prison in 1999, weeks after the East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence from Indonesia in a UN-supervised ballot. He returned home to a hero's welcome.

At 55, Mr. Gusmao says he only ran for the presidency after intense pressure from the United Nations and other East Timorese leaders. The truth, he says, is he would rather retire. Still, he has promised to work to help unify all the people of East Timor and made national reconciliation a top priority. (Signed)

NEB/PN/MAR