Addressing the Bali Democracy Forum on Thursday – held in the same building allegedly wiretapped by the Australian and US governments in 2007 – Mr Gusmao used his speech to deliver a scathing moral attack.
"When it comes to civic rights, which are imposed on new democracies or on countries in transition, the powerful countries shamelessly violate the civic rights not only of their citizens but, more scandalously, the citizens of other countries," Mr Gusmao said.
According to documents leaked by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, the Australian embassy in Dili was among several Australian diplomatic missions in Asia that were conducting covert surveillance in partnership with the NSA.
Before those revelations were leaked, Mr Gusmao earlier this year accused Australia of unlawfully tapping government negotiations on how oil revenues would be split in the tiny, oil-dependent nation in 2004.
"Either we are in the presence of an extreme distrust where everyone is a potential enemy," he continued, "or we are witnessing the fraudulent use of technology to obtain economic advantage over others, which is even more immoral when those others are weak and small."
In the lead up to the Bali conference, Indonesia has grown increasingly irate about Australia’s widening involvement in the alleged spying, a position amplified by unwillingness on the part of Australia and the US governments to either confirm or deny the claims.
"In the absence of such assurances to the contrary, of course we must assume that such activities are taking place," Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said in Jakarta Monday.
The spying row at first involved only the US and its allies, before it was revealed that the US-led spy network also extended to Asia and Australian embassies in Jakarta, Bangkok and Beijing, among others. It has since been revealed that Australia and the US were also spying on the UN climate change conference in Bali in 2007.
In the wake of the claims and no answers, Dr Natalegawa has threatened to review critical areas of bilateral cooperation with Australia, including sharing intelligence on terrorism and people smuggling.
"We have to review our co-operation, our information exchange with the two countries concerned, both the US and Australia, because if they did gather information out of the official framework, the question is what is the use of the official framework?" he said.
The Indonesian Foreign Minister has since voiced support for an anti-spying resolution at the United Nations.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also weighed in on the debate, urging the US and Australian governments to stop their wiretapping activities and warning that bilateral relations have already suffered a blow.
"As a sovereign country, Indonesia, along with these countries [US and Australia] must respect formal cooperation frameworks. This [alleged wiretapping] has damaged our trust in them," Julian Aldrin Pasha said, speaking on the president’s behalf a day before the Bali forum.
Pasha said the president was still waiting for an official explanation from the US and Australian governments before deciding what measures the government will take.
Julie Bishop, who will be attending the two-day Bali forum alongside her Indonesian counterpart, has played down speculation of a diplomatic rift. She is expected to meet with Dr Natalegawa and face more questions on Friday.
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