Not long ago, I worked with a group fighting for East Timor’s independence. It was a rare time I actually had something to do with the political process instead of just watched. I organized demonstrations and painted signs and argued in meetings with UN officials. I fervently wanted East Timor’s independence from Indonesia. It was in 1998 and 1999. Once upon a time, East Timor was part of a global Marxist National Liberation Movement that threatened to communize third-world countries into hammer-and-sickle republics based on an outdated German philosophy that failed every time it was ever tried. The real game…

East Timor’s new Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta has been sworn in a new cabinet in at a ceremony in Dili. The ceremony marks further progress towards a return to order for the country, which was hit by serious street violence and unrest. Factional fighting erupted three months ago, leaving at least 21 people dead and thousands displaced. President Xanana Gusmao said the swearing in “closed a cycle of profound crisis” that had threatened the nation. “We must now make enormous efforts to bring reconciliation among the East Timorese and to heal the wounds that divide them,” he told ministers. But…