Nobel Peace Prize Awarded

OSLO, Norway: Two men struggling for peace in Indonesian-occupied East Timor received the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo's City Hall Tuesday. Angry Indonesian representatives boycotted the ceremony. Exiled Timorese activist Jose Ramos Horta shared the honor with Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. "I firmly believe that I am here essentially as the voice of the voiceless people of East Timor," said Belo in his acceptance speech. "And what the people want is peace. An end to violence and the respect for their human rights." The Indonesian government, which invaded East Timor in 1975 and annexed it a year later when Portugese troops pulled out in the middle of a civil war, has reviled Horta as a traitor and warned Belo to keep criticism at a minimum or face the consequences when he returns home. The government of President Suharto, who was behind the 1975 invasion, claims the question of East Timor's sovereignty was settled in 1976 when an local Indonesian-backed legislature voted for annexation. Citing millions of dollars spent to develop East Timor's infrastructure, schools and hospitals, Suhartos government is unwilling to abandon the island even in the face of international disapproval.