[Opinion] President of Kind

President Xanana Gusmao in newly independent East Timor doesn’t seem intent on staying in power. He told a Portuguese newspaper in a recent interview, “I’d quit today if I could.” It doesn’t sound like a lip service. In fact, he once said in his acceptance speech during the presidency race, “I know that I am not fit for the job. I have always wanted to grow pumpkins and raise animals when this day came.” In the interview, he added, “I didn’t want to be president, but people can count on me to defend their interests.”

▷ Isn’t he great? Gusmao had led the independence movement against Indonesian occupation for more than 20 years. He was also a poet and educator. It might too early to jump to a conclusion, but president like him deserves public trust. He was a freedom fighter but then later led reconciliation between pro-Indonesia and pro-independence groups. UNSCO, recognizing his contributions to peace, named him this year’s peace award winner.

▷ When it comes to leadership of struggles and reconciliation, former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela is the man in case. After 27 years of imprisonment, he finally became president in 1994, opening an era of Africans in South Africa. Yet, he did not choose retaliate white people. Instead he led the effort for great reconciliation between the two races, pacifying angered black people who had gone through the infamous racist policy. When his five-year term presidency drew near to an end, most of South Africans wanted him to stay for another five years. Mandela, however, handed over his power to vice president and left the office, saying “I will spend the rest of my life with my seven grandchildren, walking around the valleys, hills and brooks.” We can easily imagine how beautiful the scene would be.

▷ Pity that we haven’t had such a beautiful president for more than a half century. Having passed through the dark years of military dictatorship, we were hoping to see a beautiful president. But the governments led by two prominent freedom fighters dashed our hope. Just as we think we had enough of mismanagement and corruption, we hear those allegations about a secret deal with the North and lobbying for Nobel Peace Prize. Set to have a new president in less than two months, this time we just hope he will be the man who knows the value of trust and hope. The reality, however, betrays our hope again. Politics in this nation now stands for slandering, defamation and animosity. How long do we have to wait to see a beautiful president?

Jeon Jin-woo, Editorial Writer youngji@donga.com