INTERVIEW | The Dili International Marathon is back, and East Timor’s newly elected president Jose Ramos-Horta is excited at its revival and the general spirit in his country.
He told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview, he views the resurrection of the marathon after a two-year dormant period due to the Covid-19 pandemic as a crucial step for East Timor to pursue further integration with its neighbours, particularly full members of Asean.
“We started the preparations not long ago, but everyone here in Dili, in East Timor, is very enthusiastic about it. The government and ministers of Youth and Sports and Tourism, our police and other authorities are all engaged to make it a very successful return of the Dili International Marathon.
“This is like starting again, starting anew after two years of Covid-imposed restrictions that did not allow too many public activities and a large concentration of people, but also closed off the country,” Ramos-Horta (above) said.
The Dili International Marathon is an annual event that started in 2009 to promote sports, tourism and the spirit of peace in the nation.
“We had to close off the country because other countries did. So even if we didn’t close off the country, the fact that Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and others were - we were closed off by virtue of that.
“But we took our own measures to prevent Covid from becoming a true pandemic in the country and we managed it extremely well. In the end, we never did suffer as much as Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, we had fewer cases, very few fatalities,” he said, adding that more than 70 percent of the East Timor people were vaccinated and hardly anyone was under hospitalisation.
Ramos-Horta pointed out that not only is East Timor’s public health doing good, but in terms of security, the country is very peaceful, calling it one of the most peaceful in the world.
“The country is really very good and in a state of tranquillity but we need some distraction and some entertainment. Sports are not only physical exercise, but it’s also mental and it’s emotional. It’s not only about prize money, but a sense of happiness of achievement,” he added.
Push to join Asean
Ramos-Horta was one of the key figures in East Timor’s independence struggle and recently returned to serve as president in May after handily winning the election against incumbent Francisco Gutteres.
He previously served as president from 2007 to 2012, foreign affairs minister from 2002 to 2006 and prime minister from 2006 to 2007 under Xanana Gusmao. A co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, he was behind the push for East Timor to join Asean, first making the application in 2011.
He met with his Indonesian counterpart President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in July and expressed the wish that Jokowi would help accelerate the acceptance of East Timor as the 11th member of the regional grouping.
Ramos-Horta said that his government had fulfilled all requirements to be the newest member of the bloc.
“We are joining Asean hopefully next year in 2023. And this is not happening out of the blue. It is a result of the hard work of building the country, on gaining the confidence of our neighbours Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and all the other Asean countries that have supported us and advocated our membership in Asean.
“We have a harmonious relationship between religions. Although we are 98 percent Catholic, we have Muslims and Protestants. Everyone gets along very well. We don’t have even a measure of criminality activities,” he said.
He added that Australia, in particular, had helped his nation in coping with the pandemic.
“But even on the economic front, unlike in some countries, when you read about the economic social upheaval in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and countries in the Middle East or Africa, we have to thank God, ourselves, and our leadership for taking measures in making policies that protected us from major medical, public health catastrophes and complete economic meltdown.”
Sports as gateway to the world
The marathon mostly involves national runners and competitors from Indonesia.
“We didn’t have the time and the conditions to promote it internationally. But some runners are coming from Indonesia. And some actually, I understand are from Kenya, the Kenyans never miss a good marathon.
“But this is only the beginning. Chapter one of many other initiatives that my office is launching for the next few months,” said the president.
While East Timor has been made to wait for full Asean membership, it began participating in the SEA Games much earlier.
“East Timor has participated in the SEA Games on numerous occasions and also in the Olympics. We participated for the very first time in Sydney with zero preparation. I can say that we used ‘bulldoze diplomacy’ and I managed to get the International Olympic Committee to accept us to participate without a recognised National Olympic Committee,” recalled Ramos-Horta.
“Then we were in the London Olympic Games in 2012. We also had athletes promoted by my office who took part in the New York Marathon, Tokyo Marathon and in almost all the Southeast Asian sports initiatives.
“With all this, we learned how to train and plan better, but we still have enormous difficulties. For example, we don’t have a national soccer stadium with international standards,” he said.
The president, however, is optimistic and believes the country will overcome these challenges and improve in sports development.
“I hope that during the next five years of my term, we’ll be able to have our federation and sports groups not only at the national level but at the village level. Everybody can participate and get active in sports.”
Ramos-Horta said his nation will soon be hosting world music and cultural festivals.
“It will be essentially traditional music and it will also have storytelling, poetry reading, as well as a cinema and some sports activities, like swimming and trekking,” he added. - Mkini
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