East Timorese president addresses UN, supports Palestinians, Western Saharans.

(From BBC Monitoring International Reports)

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao on 27 September marked his country's admission as the UN's 191st member with a defence of the right to independence of both the Palestinians and the people of the Western Sahara.

"East Timor cannot but express its profound concern at the rising level of violence in the Middle East," he told the UN General Assembly in a speech relayed live by Portuguese radio. "East Timor does not play blame-apportioning or finger-pointing games. Instead we would rather believe that there is, that there can be a solution to a conflict that has already shed so much blood and cost so many lives." …