Mr ALBANESE(7.54 p.m.) —I rise tonight to put on the record my congratulations to two winners of this year's Nobel Peace Prize—the Bishop of Dili, Carlos Belo, and the Sydney-based academic, Mr Jose Ramos Horta. Both of them have fought relentlessly for the human rights of the East Timorese.

Bishop Belo returned to East Timor in July 1981 after being ordained to priesthood in Lisbon, Portugal, the year before. He has issued a number of statements and pastoral letters on the situation in East Timor calling for changes in the treatment of the East Timorese population by the Indonesian auth orities. He has also given refuge to youths being hunted for their alleged role in protest demonstrations in favour of democracy and self-determination.

Bishop Belo has been described in the media as a man who can `pack a political punch' and who has a well-deserved reputation for courage and stating the truth. Because of the stance, and the risks, he has taken in defending his people, he has come under increasing pressure from the Indonesian authorities. I note from a recent front page report in the Australian newspaper that President Suharto would not even offer his congratulations to Bishop Belo when they met in Dili during a presidential visit this week.

Jose Ramos Horta is currently in exile in Australia, working as a lecturer in the law faculty at the University of New South Wales. He was East Timor's Minister for External Relations and Information before the bloody invasion by Indonesian troops in 1975. Mr Ramos Horta heads the national council of East Timorese resistance and is a permanent representative to the United Nations for the East Timorese independence movement. I note that he has stated he wishes he could share the award with the Fretilin leader, Xanana Gusmao, who is currently being detained by the Indonesian forces.

Since the invasion, Jose Ramos Horta has continued to work tirelessly for independence out of Portugal, then the United Nations and now Australia. The awarding of these two Nobel peace prizes is a strong and stirring political symbol of which we in positions of political influence in Australia should take note. It is highly encouraging that such an important international statement has been made on behalf of the people of East Timor and their fight against the Indonesian authorities.

While the public hears little of what is happening in East Timor, we cannot turn a blind eye to the massacres and bloodshed that have occurred to the East Timorese at the hands of the Indonesian authorities since 1975. Mr Ramos Horta has said that Australia must be part of a concerted international effort to persuade Indonesia to withdraw troops from East Timor. It is significant that the United Nations and, indeed, most countries do not recognise the takeover.

I urge the members of this House to consider the plight of the East Timorese and to assist these two Nobel Peace Prize winners in achieving their dream of independence and the halting of violence against their people. This is an important human rights issue and history will certainly judge our role in its development.

It is significant that Australia has a particular responsibility, given the role that Fretilin and the East Timorese had during World War II in protecting Australian troops after the Japanese invasion of Timor. The Timorese suffered many thousands of casualties while defending and protecting Australian troops in Timor. Unfortunately, Australia's record in repaying that debt to the East Timorese leaves much to be desired.

I pass on my congratulations not only to the two individuals but also to the East Timorese people as I believe the Nobel Peace Prize award is not so much a recognition of those two individuals. Whilst that is important, it is also a recognition of the struggle of an entire people, and I think the Nobel recipients would agree. They are an entire people who have much in common with Australia being a Christian nation to the north of us. They have much in common with many Australians and I think this is an important recognition, one which the House should not let pass without some recognition of it. That is the reason for my raising this matter here tonight.