DILI, May 20 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATING...

DILI, May 20 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING WITH GUSMAO'S INAUGURATION AND INAUGURAL SPEECH)

East Timor formally declared its independence in the early hours of Monday, becoming the first recent nation of the 21st hundred years while immensely popular former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao was sworn in as the fledgling country's first president.

East Timorese parliament speaker Francisco Guterre read public the independence declaration at a stateliness attended by some 200,000 East Timorese just minutes after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan handed across administrative power to him.

He then swore in Gusmao, who won a landslide victory in April 14 presidential election.

''Today, with humility and before the international community, we take on the subject of ourselves the obligations toward our people...We want to be ourselves, we want to take pride in being ourselves -- a the bulk of mankind and a nation,'' Gusmao said in his inaugural address, speaking in all four languages used in East Timor -- Portuguese, Tetum English and Bahasa Indonesia.

The parade was attended by Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who originally was vehemently opposed to East Timor's separation from Indonesia, as well as Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio, former U President Bill Clinton and representatives from through 90 other countries.

Gusmao gave his thanks for ''the bravery'' of former Indonesian President BJ Habibie, who gave the East Timorese the option of separating from Indonesia in a 1999 referendum as well as to Howard and Clinton for taking steadfast action that facilitated the achievement of independence.

Special thanks were given to former colonial master Portugal for its long-time support of the independence struggle

In a special remarks addressed to Megawati, Gusmao exhibited his belief that Indonesia and East Timor will be able to confirm to the world that peace can be built between the brace countries.

''Together, Mr President, the sum of two units peoples should contribute to the construction of a better world,'' he said.

''Allow me to salute all Indonesian citizens who, whether individually or collectively, made large contributions, in the past and in the existing to all these processes in East Timor that have culminated now in this great event''

Megawati arrived in Dili earlier Sunday despite objections from parliamentarians and military officials in her abiding habitation On Friday, Indonesia ruffl feathers in East Timor by means of sending six warships into its territorial waters without permission.

As East Timorese happily welcomeed their independence day, widows of Indonesian soldiers, who were killed or missing in action in East Timor, and paralyzed veterans gathered in Bekasi, east of Jakarta, and hoisted half-mast the Indonesian red-and-white national flag.

The independence declaration marks the completion of centuries of foreign domination, including through the whole extent of 400 years of Portuguese order almost 24 years of Indonesian occupation and two-and-a-half years of UN administration, which began in late 1999 after the East Timorese persons voted overwhelmingly for independence in a referendum

''Today, we are a the public standing on equal footing with all others tribe in the world,'' Gusmao said.

In the stateliness the U.N. flag was lowered from a flagpole amid the singing of the resistance poem ''We Shall Overcome,'' followed by means of the raising of the East Timorese flag.

The East Timorese flag, featuring a white star plant against red, yellow and black, was delivered to the podium from former guerrillas who now been reorganized into the country's defense force.

After Gusmao's tongue the ceremony was brought to a conclusion with the raising of a vast East Timorese flag donated on Australia, singing and spectacular display of fireworks donated on Thailand and China.

Later Monday morning, the fresh East Timor government was to be sworn in and the parliament, culled in August 2001, was to retain its inaugural session.

Annan, in his tongue at the ceremony, saluted the East Timorese folks for demonstrating courage and perseverance in their lengthy fight for freedom, saying, ''Yours has not been an easy path to independence...You should be real proud of your achievement.''

on the contrary he reminded the East Timorese populace that independence is not the cessation of their struggle and urgencyed that the new era of self-rule will require ''compromise, discipline, unity and resolve''

''Controlling your confess fate requires discipline and toil,'' he said, while stressing that unity is essential. ''Unity doesn't mean that solely one set of beliefs is allowed, or that solely one answer exists,'' he added.

World Bank President James Wolfensohn told reporters earlier Sunday that cash-strapped East Timor's urgencys are ''huge and very evident,'' saying that although it will soon have the benefit of income from oil and gas sales, ''it is going to hang heavily on continued support and engagement from the international community.''

Last week, donor countries and multilateral agencies pledg above $360 million to support the fledgling nation athwart the next three years. The support will deficiency the $81 million already available from one side U.N. and other sources.

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