DILI (AP): East Timor's president called on people Thursday to forgive former Indonesian president Suharto, who ordered the invasion of his tiny nation in 1975 and then oversaw decades of brutal rule that left up to 200,000 dead.
"It is impossible for us to forget the past," said Jose Ramos-Horta, who shared the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize with fellow countryman Bishop Carlos Belo for leading a nonviolent struggle against the Indonesian occupation.
"But East Timor should forgive him before he dies."
Soeharto was rushed to a hospital suffering from anemia and a dangerously low heart rate on Jan. 4. He has since developed sepsis, a potentially life-threatening blood infection, on top of multiple organ failure. Doctors said his breathing had improved in recent days and that he was slowly being taken off a ventilator.
"Soeharto is now in critical condition," Ramos-Horta told reporters. "He's just waiting for God's decision."
Indonesia ruled the tiny half-island territory, abandoned by its Portuguese colonial masters in 1975, until 1999, when a United Nations-organized plebiscite resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence. Some experts say up to 200,000 people were killed by Indonesian troops or from diseases linked to the 24-year conflict.
The UN sent a peacekeeping force and administered the territory for 2 1/2 years, then handed it to the East Timorese on May 20, 2002.
Ramos-Horta said Thursday he did not think Soeharto should be brought to justice for crimes carried out in East Timor. (**)
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