The Pursuit of Peace

MANILA, Philippines - “My condition as a human being is what motivates me to fight for peace and justice.”

Timor-Leste president and Nobel Peace laureate Jose Ramos-Horta gives a thoughtful answer when asked about the motivation behind his work on forging and keeping peace.

Jose Ramos-Horta was born on Dec. 26, 1949 in the capital Dili. Directly affected by the conflict in Timor-Leste, four of Ramos-Horta’s siblings were killed by the Indonesian military. He had to go into exile because of his involvement in politics, and was only 25 when he was appointed foreign minister of Timor-Leste. Ramos-Horta studied Public International Law at The Hague Academy of International Law. He received his master’s degree in Peace Studies from Antioch University and attended post-graduate courses in American Foreign Policy at Columbia University in New York.

In 1996, Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with Bishop Ximenes Belo for their efforts in upholding people’s rights and finding diplomatic solutions to the conflict in Timor-Leste. In 2007, Ramos-Horta became the second president of Timor-Leste.

In Bridges: Dialogues Towards a Culture of Peace, a lecture series of the International Peace Foundation in cooperation with De La Salle University-Manila and Far Eastern University, Ramos-Horta explored the question, “Is Lasting Peace an Attainable Dream?”

In his welcome address, Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC described Ramos-Horta as one of the few who are “extremely committed to the pursuit of peace, not only in their work but also in their lives.” Previous keynote speakers for the Bridges lecture series were Nobel Laureate for Economics Robert Mundell, Nobel Laureate for Physics David Jonathan Gross, and former World Bank president James Wolfensohn. Scheduled to give his lecture early last year, Ramos-Horta’s visit was postponed after an assassination attempt in February 2008.

“I met Ninoy Aquino in New York when he spoke in Columbia,” he says at the beginning of his speech. He recalls waking up early just to get a front row seat for Aquino’s lecture. “I was very impressed,” he says, adding that Aquino delivered his speech without notes – a skill which Ramos-Horta has become adept at as well. A few years later, only two weeks before Aquino’s fateful trip back to the Philippines, Ramos-Horta spoke to him on the phone, telling him, “Don’t forget Timor when you become president,” to which Aquino replied, “How can I forget you, my brother?”

“I was very much inspired by Ninoy,” Ramos-Horta says. Perhaps it is the similarity in their experience of being exiled and fighting for justice that strengthened the affinity between the two leaders.

Highly aware of the conflict in Mindanao, Ramos-Horta says, “We can help in many different ways, aside from being a mediator,” clarifying that he has been approached by some friends asking for help in the situation.

“What I plan to do is mediate between Ateneo and La Salle,” he jokes to the delighted crowd.

Joking aside, he goes straight to answering the main question of the lecture: “Yes, peace in our world is an attainable dream.” But, he adds, “We have to take responsibility for creating a situation for peace.”

Ramos-Horta’s speech spanned many aspects, from economics and poverty to nuclear weapons, on which he comments, “We are unable to bring water to many villages, and yet we have technology to develop the most destructive weapons ever invented by humanity. But are these weapons of any use to save the country?”

Calling to mind the many wars in the history of the world – we need not look very far back, he says – and as someone who has gone through and experienced the effects of war, Ramos-Horta answers his own question: “No weapons can solve our daily problems. No amount of force can prevail over our ideals or our convictions.”

 “There are many people who can do the job better than Jose Ramos-Horta,” he says, challenging the audience into action. In fact, upon returning home after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he gave his medal to the resistance fighters. Part of the prize money went to a micro-credit fund, although he admits it has not been doing very well lately, noting that he, too, has also had failures despite his accomplishments and accolades.

To the younger generation, Ramos-Horta has much advice to share – “Study, study, study. Excel, be the very best. Be the pride of your parents, the pride of your community, the pride of your nation and serve your country and humanity.”

Jose Ramos-Horta is proud of the accomplishments of Timor-Leste, noting that there are now many young students from the country studying all over the world as scholars. Timor-Leste’s economy has also improved.

For his part, he has much more to offer the country and the world. He is seen as one of the possible candidates for United Nations secretary-general in the near future, although he says he is still deciding if he would like to pursue this position. He was already being considered as the possible successor to Kofi Annan, but he decided not to run in order to serve his country as prime minister.

“The test of leadership is compassion, humility,” says Ramos-Horta. He embodies these traits, when he contemplates the Nobel Peace Prize and concludes that it has not changed him. “I’m still the same human being with the same beliefs, the same principles, virtues – and flaws.”