Twelve months ago there was great fanfare when East Timor was declared the world's newest nation. But today the celebrations were muted as President Xanana Gusamo lamented the nation's problems in his address to the East Timorese people. The President says despite gaining freedom, high unemployment and extreme poverty are still prevalent in East Timor and he's pointed the finger of blame at local politicians and bureacrats. And in a veiled reference to last December's violent riots in Dili which were reportedly aimed at toppling the government, the President has called for a united front to move forward.

Presenter/Interviewer: Maryann Keady, Dili

Speakers: East Timorese marching band; Jose Texeira, East Timor's Minister for Investment and Tourism; Xavier Dos Amaral, leader of East Timor's ASDT party

Keady: While the music and marching bands were on show to celebrate a year of Independence, the President's speech highlighted the need for co-operation within the country, not just internally, but between the international and local community.

Speaking of the need of an "improved environment of mutual trust and genuine co-operation" between the United Nations and Timorese, he said national stability was the number one goal and said the violence of December 4th could not be considered a barometer of the situation inside the country.

But just prior to today's show of unity, opposition figures came out and blasted a report by UN police that purported to show them behind large demonstrations attempting to disrupt the day. Xavier Dos Amaral, the leader of ASDT and one of the people named in a memo shown on local TV has rejected out of hand suggestions he is planning unrest.

Amaral: "I know nothing, my conscience, and I am the first one in [19]74 20th May, to declare that Timor must be independent. It means an independent nation with free from oppression from abroad, to be free to talk what they want to talk, what they feel right and create a democracy. So I think that we give all that we will make independence on this and to claim a land of peace and harmony. So how can I to provoke the war?"

Keady: It was just another chapter in the political intrigue that characterises Independent Timor, the country that on Independence must deal with the range of interests within the country, a result of its UN status.

It's unclear whether the President's statements on December 4th – emphasising the need for the country to move on from that day – will satisfy large sections of the community. There has been no official report handed down by the UN, the government or the parliament into those behind events, despite repeated requests. And today was not without its own "external" threat.

The Australian government issued a travel warning of a possible terrorist threat, just before Independence, a warning that Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta in a press release, rejected out of hand, saying as Timor and Australia did not share intelligence resources, it was hard to determine the nature of such a threat, but the government of Timor Leste believed it to be extremely low.

It reflects the complex relationship emerging between the two neighbours and the challenges ahead for East Timor regarding regional security and the relationship with its Timor Sea Treaty partner.

Responding to criticisms that a year on, Timor had gone slow on investment, and failed to provide necessary economic stimulus, Timor's Minister for Investment and Tourism, Jose Texeira said what was needed was closer co-operation between the governments of Timor and Australia on trade issues.

Texeira: "What I think needs to occur more is I think there needs to be more substantive government to government discussion in relation to attracting foreign direct investment from Australia into Timor Leste in a more substantive fashion. I don't believe that Timor Leste has seen the best of the investment that it can attract from Australia. I believe that a time is yet to come in the area of tourism for example, Australia can be a substantive tourism investor, in the area of the support to the oil and gas industry is another area. In the area of agri-business Australia could be a substantive investor in this country. We have not seen that yet."