Former journalist Mário Robalo, who in 1991 managed to interview Xanana Gusmão while underground, believes that independence for Timor-Leste would currently be very difficult or even impossible.
In the Summer of 1991, while the former Portuguese colony was still under Indonesian occupation, the former reporter for the weekly newspaper Expresso obtained permission from Jakarta to visit the territory through then-ambassador Francisco Lopes da Cruz, an advisor to dictator Suharto.
“Today, independence would not have been possible given the unfortunate current global scenarios,” said Mário Robalo during an interview.
Residing in the Viana do Castelo area,…