Policarpo also questioned Ramos-Horta's urgent request for a United Nations-sponsored national referendum for the area, saying that in the mid-1970s Ramos-Horta's party opposed the idea of such a referendum.

Policarpo claimed to represent East Timorese who believe in peaceful coexistance under an Indonesian government.

He said that the integration of the East Timorese in Indonesian society gives them a form of independence.

Ramos-Horta and several audience members questioned the credibility of Policarpo and other hostile questioners who, they said, may be the mouthpieces of the Indonesian government.

Policarpo said that he had come to the U.S. for the specific purpose of informing the American public and would be in the country for only a few weeks. He said that he is a banker in the Regional Development Bank of East Timor.

Ramos-Horta also gave praise to Mass. State Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton) for his efforts in sponsoring a bill in the State Assembly which ensures that state businesses do not make any investments in Indonesia or buy Indonesian products.

He called Pacheco a "Schindler of East Timor", referring to the well-known German businessperson credited with saving the lives of about 1,000 German Jews during the Holo-caust.

In attendance last night, Pacheco said that he and other legislators hope "to try to get the word out [about] the injustice that is going on [in East Timor]...and to try to have some increased dialogue on the issue."

Some audience members welcomed last night's speech as an opportunity to learn more about the situation of a people who seldom receive the attention of the west.

"I was very unfamiliar with the conflict in East Timor," said Georgia A. Wallen, a Kennedy School Student.

Wallen said that she thought Ramos-Horta "was very passionate and very thoughtful and self-controlled.