Summary Former members of the East Timorese resistance have revealed a secret plan to bust their leader Xanana Gusmao from his Jakarta prison cell in the 1990s. Jose Ramos Horta, now East Timor's Foreign Minister, says he planned a commando raid on the prison, using British special forces veterans, when it appeared Gusmao was unlikely to be released. Interviewed for the ABC's Australian Story program, Mr Horta said he had never spoken publicly about the plan, which would also have used veterans from the war in Bosnia. The program profiles Xanana Gusmao's Australian-born wife Kirsty Sword, at the time an undercover agent for the Timorese resistance, and the conduit for the plan to raid the prison. Kirsty Sword spent four years in Jakarta secretly helping the campaign for East Timor's independence, while working for an Australian aid agency and teaching English. She first met Gusmao at Jakarta's Cipinang prison in 1994, and the pair married in Dili after his release in 1999. With Xanana Gusmao tipped to become East Timor's first President after elections in April, Kirsty Sword Gusmao will be First Lady of the newly independent country.
Directed : Unknown
Written : Unknown
Stars : Caroline Jones Leigh Sales Eddie Perfect Jimmy Barnes
Genres : Biography Documentary
Release date : Feb 24, 2001
Countries of origin : Australia
Official sites : ABC iView Official Australian Story Website
Language : English
Filming locations : ABC Studios, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Production companies : Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Summary Former members of the East Timorese resistance have revealed a secret plan to bust their leader Xanana Gusmao from his Jakarta prison cell in the 1990s. Jose Ramos Horta, now East Timor's Foreign Minister, says he planned a commando raid on the prison, using British special forces veterans, when it appeared Gusmao was unlikely to be released. Interviewed for the ABC's Australian Story program, Mr Horta said he had never spoken publicly about the plan, which would also have used veterans from the war in Bosnia. The program profiles Xanana Gusmao's Australian-born wife Kirsty Sword, at the time an undercover agent for the Timorese resistance, and the conduit for the plan to raid the prison. Kirsty Sword spent four years in Jakarta secretly helping the campaign for East Timor's independence, while working for an Australian aid agency and teaching English. She first met Gusmao at Jakarta's Cipinang prison in 1994, and the pair married in Dili after his release in 1999. With Xanana Gusmao tipped to become East Timor's first President after elections in April, Kirsty Sword Gusmao will be First Lady of the newly independent country.
Genres : Biography Documentary
Release date : Feb 24, 2001
Countries of origin : Australia
Official sites : ABC iView Official Australian Story Website
Language : English
Filming locations : ABC Studios, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Production companies : Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
