The President of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, and the embassy of Angola in East Timor expressed dismay at the death on Sunday of Francisco Guterres “Lu Olo”, former East Timorese head of state, highlighting his importance in the country’s history.
“It was with great dismay that I learned of the passing of Francisco Guterres Lu Olo,” states José Maria Neves in a letter sent to his East Timorese counterpart, José Ramos-Horta, and released to the press today.
In the letter, the Cape Verdean President remembers “Lu Olo” as an “unavoidable figure in East Timorese history”, as a “builder of an independent and democratic East Timor and a defender of reconciliation, peace, and sustainable development.”
Francisco Guterres “Lu Olo”, aged 71, who died Sunday in a hospital in Malaysia, was President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor between 2017 and 2022, having also held the positions of president of the Constituent Assembly and of the National Parliament.
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In his capacity as president of the Constituent Assembly, “Lu Olo” officially proclaimed the restoration of East Timor’s independence on May 20, 2002, and swore in Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão as President of the Republic.
In another letter, also sent to the East Timorese Presidency and released today, Angola, through its ambassador in Dili, stresses that the legacy of “Lu Olo” will remain as a “testimony of courage, dedication, and commitment to the freedom, democracy, and sovereignty of East Timor, values that deeply unite our nations within the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.”
“May his memory and legacy inspire new generations and strengthen the ideals of peace, justice, and development in East Timor,” adds the ambassador of Angola to East Timor, José Andrade de Lemos, in the letter.
The wake for “Lu Olo”, who was also president of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, began Monday at his residence and ends today.
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The funeral ceremonies will take place on Friday.
