President Ramos-Horta Calls for World Peace

SINGAPORE, www.news-viptv.com – Concerned about the wars raging in Myanmar, Gaza, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Sudan, the President of Timor-Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta called for peace and conflict prevention.

President Ramos-Horta conveyed this call for peace in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Summit, Singapore, Saturday (1/6/2024).

Regarding the ongoing conflict, using the example of Timor-Leste which lives in peace with neighbors Indonesia and Australia, the Nobel Peace Prize winner urged the parties involved in the conflict to agree to a humanitarian pause of at least 6 months.

“For the ongoing wars, those involved must pause and ask themselves, when will we stop all this death and destruction? Are we going to continue this madness, the further destruction of our cities and the death of our people? Or all sides should agree to a humanitarian pause of at least six months to care for the dead, wounded, orphans, reunite families, re-start schools, reactivate essential services and the economy and international trade. During this period, mediators facilitate, would go between, explore ideas for a comprehensive peace agreement,” said President Ramos-Horta.

In his speech, Ramos-Horta revealed that the international community had failed in preventing conflicts that occurred throughout the world and this needed to be reflected on.

“We must seriously reflect on the international community abysmal failure in preventing the current global conflicts and re-think conflict prevention and mediation mechanisms, both regional and global, so we can do better in the future,” said Ramos-Horta.

Regarding the South China Sea, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said that Ideally the South China Sea should be a Zone of Peace and Fraternity, regionally managed, and free of permanent military installations.

“Active dialogue and bilateral negotiations between claimant countries in the South China Sea must be intensified, always in good faith and avoiding “fait accomplis” so as to maintain trust,” he said.