A perda de Sérgio Vieira de Mello

Talvez a reação mais emocionada tenha sido na Austrália, vizinha do Timor Leste. Segundo o Herald Sun, lágrimas correram nas faces de parlamentares australianos.

Deputy Opposition Leader Jenny Macklin couldn't finish her speech, broke down and left the chamber. Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer, a good friend of Mr Vieira de Mello, fought back tears during his speech.

"He was a good friend of Australia, a good friend of mine and the Prime Minister's, and we will miss him and miss him very much," Mr Downer said. "This is a very sad day; a sad day for Australia, a sad day for the world."

Um editorial do New York Times, menos emocional, destaca a habilidade e a experiência na reconstrução de sociedades.

In truth, Mr. Vieira de Mello began his work there with too heavy an authoritarian hand, but he soon backed off and increased the role of the Timorese in the transition. From that work, he learned a key lesson, which he brought to Iraq: do everything possible to give the local population control of its own destiny. Mr. Vieira de Mello pressed the Americans to create the Iraqi advisory council as early as possible, excellent advice that was wisely accepted. It is a loss to us all that his clarity of mind — as well as his skill at rebuilding societies ripped apart by war — is now gone.

O obituário no Guardian comenta tb a atuação de Vieira de Mello no Iraque.

While Mr Bremer and John Sawers, the British envoy, sat quietly in the hall as representatives of the invading and occupying powers, Mr de Mello told Iraqis on national TV: "Iraq today finds itself in a unique and difficult situation - a great country beset by much recent tragedy, currently without full enjoyment of its sovereignty. Your convening marks the first major development towards the restoration of Iraq's rightful status as a fully sovereign state".

O Washington Post publicou um artigo do ex-embaixador americano na ONU, Richard C. Holbrooke, que conhecia o brasileiro há 20 anos. Holbrooke explica para os americanos a possível sinergia entre os interesses dos EUA e diz que até a turma do baby Bush reconhecia o valor dele.

But within months, Iraq demanded a strong U.N. presence, and one name was atop every list. Even the Bush administration knew that Vieira de Mello was something special. Uncomplainingly, he set off again at the request of his "brother" (Kofi Annan).
...
As Americans learn -- too late -- about this great man, I hope they will recognize that he and the others who died or were wounded in Baghdad were part of a vast army of U.N. civilian personnel serving in often hellish conditions around the world. Of course, they are not all as good as Sergio Vieira de Mello. Some are simply time-serving bureaucrats, as is true in most large institutions. But many are very good indeed.

Os Repórteres sem Fronteiras tb divulgaram nota lamentando a perda daquele que entre outras coisas defendeu a organização (btw, contra a posição do Brasil - veja nota) na Comissão de Direitos Humanos da ONU. Veja tb BBCBrasil, Voice of America e o programa do Democracy Now! com depoimentos sobre a tragédia e a reapresentação de uma entrevista com o diplomata brasileiro.