Celebration of the 11th Anniversary of the Restoration of Independence of the DRTL
On the 20th of May, at the Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace in Aitarak-Laran, Dili, the President of the Republic of East Timor, Taur Matan Ruak, presided at the ceremony of Hoisting the Flag.
In his speech,Taur Matan Ruak declared, "this year's Restoration of Independence celebration, sets the moment when the country enters a new phase of social and economic development. We have to work together to build our country according to our own dreams. This is the best tribute we can pay to our National Liberation Heroes. Nationalism and freedom have always been instruments used to develop societies, to eradicate poverty, to improve the quality of life and guarantee peace, security and prosperity in a country. This is the task that we now need to meet; we must convey to our young people the example of sacrifice, of serving the nation, the firmness placed in the struggle for national sovereignty and the lessons we have learned over the past decades. We also need an efficient State apparatus to help us meet our national development priorities and to improve the quality of our public administration, "said the President.
The Head of State went on to add “our country is presently at a special historical moment, which represents the opportunity for all of us to determine our future and make our society modern, to reinforce our identity and take advantage of our good traditional values. All the Timorese people have the obligation to take part in making our society and our country a better one.
Present at this ceremony of Hoisting of the Flag were, the President of the Court of Appeal, Cláudio Ximenes, the President of the National Parliament, Vicente Guterres, the President of the Assembly from São Tomé e Príncipe, Alcino de Barros Pinto, the Vice Prime Minister, Fernando La Sama de Araújo and other members of Government, parliamentarians, diplomats, students and the community in general.
During this year's commemorations, various other activities took place throughout the capital, such as, exhibitions, concerts, blood donations, street animation, games and Artistic Caravan.
