The human rights atrocities in East Timor may seem abstract and foreign to Oberlin, but next week, Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Jose Ramos-Horta will visit Oberlin and speak of his homeland's plight.
Ramos-Horta is a spokesperson and symbol for East Timor, which has been under a police-state from Indonesia since Portugal ended its regime in 1975. Since that year, over 200,000 East Timorese have been killed.
"He advocates a peaceful resolution to the conflicts and wants human rights and self-determination for East Timor," first-year Sudah Muthuswamy, a member of Amnesty International, said.
According to his biography, Ramos-Horta was banned from his homeland in 1970 and exiled to Mozambique for opposing the Portugese regime in control at the time.
A champion of Timorese nationalism, Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1996 for his "sustained efforts to hinder the oppression of a small people," according to the Nobel Committee.
In addition to Ramos-Horta's presentation, Amnesty International will announce a proposal it will make to the Oberlin City Council to give honorary street names to two Oberlin streets. Their proposal is to rename West Lorain and West College after Nigerians.
Ramos-Horta will speak at Finney Chapel on Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
Fighting for peace: Jose Ramos-Horta will speak on his work to end the terror in East Timor. (photo courtesy of Office of College Relations)
Copyright © 1998, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 126, Number 14, February 13, 1998
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