East timor, renamed timorleste after independence in 2002 a small tropical country northwest of australia, is one of the newest members of the united nations. In 1999 east timor voted for independence from indonesia. Timor simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The indonesian invasion of east timor in december 1975 set the stage for the. It was where i was to be working for 3 months as a livelihoods researcher and trainer with oxfam. At the heart of the crisis in 1999 was the question of east timor s political sta tus. It consists of the eastern half of the island of timor, the nearby islands of atauro and jaco, and oecussiambeno, an exclave of east timor situated on the northwestern side of the island, surrounded by indonesian west timor. Of course there were many incidents that accompanied east timor while still joining indonesia, including various means against the indonesian military, to. Annex a brief history of east timor welcome to valdosta.
Timorleste is a country located in southeastern asia bordering the ombai strait, wetar strait, and the banda sea. The united states recognized timorleste, then known as east timor, on may 20, 2002, when it achieved formal independence. It comprises the eastren hauf o the island o timor, the nearby islands o atauro an jaco, an oecusse, an exclave on the northwastren side o the island, athin indonesian wast timor. The people of the first new nation of the century suffered some of the worst atrocities of modern times in. East timor sovereign island nation located in southeast asia. The former portuguese ter ritory, a colonial backwater. East timor is a parliamentary democracy, in which the president is head of state and the prime minister is head of government. The dutch and the portuguese fought for supremacy over timor, and portuguese sovereignty over the islands eastern half was settled by treaties in 1860 and 1893, although the latter became effective only in 1914. Department of defence australia, 2002, a short history of east timor. Shortly after obtaining independence from portugal in 1974, east timor or timor leste was invaded by indonesians who occupied the country until 1999. East timor or timor leste the rising sun of the east is the worlds newest country but it has an amazing history. The country currently has one document in the unesco memory of the world.
Australia also has a deep connection with this new nation. Timor leste occupies the island of timor with indonesia. The early austronesian huntergather arrivals were later joined by asian migrants who introduced agriculture. The country comprises the eastern half of the island of timor and the nearby islands of atauro and jaco. A chronology of key events in the history of east timor from the first portuguese colonisation in the 17th century to the present day.
Freedom of information act release to the national security archive 390. Historical dictionary of east timor historical dictionaries of asia, oceania, and the middle east book 79 kindle edition by gunn, geoffrey c download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. East timor has an exclusive economic zone of 70,326 km 2 27,153 sq mi. Country data timorleste is an internal data container not intended to be transcluded directly. East timors road to independence achieved on 20 may 2002 was long and traumatic. The president is directly elected to this largely ceremonial post. It comprises the eastern half and a northwest enclave of the island of timor and the islands of pulau atauro and pulau jaco. It occupies the eastern half of the island of timor, the small nearby islands of atauro and jaco, and the enclave of ambeno. Contemporary history, in carey and bentley, east timor at the crossroads, 240. East timor, santa cruz massacre, indonesia a documentary produced by amy goodman and journalist allan nairn on the santa cruz massacre and the history of indonesian and us involvement in the southeast asian nation. The portuguese period is rich in historical documents though the great. Politics of east timor by wikipedia elections in east timor by wikipedia timornet an information resource service on east timor the obscure history of east timor.
Political dynamics, development, and international involvement. The existing historical research justifies including genocide within the. A country in transition worlds newest nation in urgent need of international assistance to ensure stability in its transition childrens and womens lives continue to be at risk due to limited access to basic services. This book contains articles pertaining to the history of east timor as well as information about the fight for independence and future scenarios. The invasion and occupation of east timor has to be understood, if not necessarily excused, in the context of the cold war. Timor leste east timor has a rich history and culture developed over centuries. It consists of the eastern half of the island of timor in the indonesian archipelago, a small area on the northwest coast called oecusse and two small islands, atauro and jaco. Legend tells that a giant crocodile was transformed into the island of timor, or crocodile island, as it is often called.
Japanese forces occupied timor during world war ii. A second wave, which arrived around 3000 years bc, consisted of. Political dynamics, development, and international involvement congressional research service 6 n may 20, 2002, the democratic republic of east timor timorleste gained its independence, and on september 27, it became the 191st member of the united nations. East timor, island country in the eastern lesser sunda islands, at the southern extreme of the malay archipelago. According to indonesian documents that fretilin forces captured in 1982. An overview the four major phases of timor lestes history have. The culture of east timor reflects numerous cultural influences, including portuguese, roman catholic and malay, on the indigenous austronesian cultures of timor. The first inhabitants are thought to be descendant of australoid and melanesian peoples. Political dynamics, development, and international involvement congressional research service summary the democratic republic of timorleste gained independence on may 20, 2002, after a long history of portuguese colonialism and, more recently, indonesian rule. Timor is an island at the south end of the malay archipelago, north of the timor sea.
If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. East timor or timorleste officially the democratic republic of timorleste portuguese. East timor simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The history of peacebuilding in east timor by katsumi. There shall be original citizenship and acquired citizenship in the democratic republic of east timor. Ximenes and carter 1999 suggested that tourism could act as a strategic focus for sustainable development in east timor. East timor s road to independence achieved on 20 may 2002 was long and traumatic. This file contains additional information such as exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it.
For history enthusiasts, east timors resistance tourism which worth exploring are the xanana gusmaos current prime minister of east timor hiding place, balibo known for the killing of 5 journalists by the indonesian soldiers, santa cruz known for a massacre in 1991, japanese caves in baucau and many more. From the 16th century onwards, east timor was a portuguese colony known as portuguese timor. The democratic republic of timorleste or east timor is the newest independent country in the world, located in southeastern asia. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading historical dictionary of east timor historical dictionaries of asia, oceania, and the middle east. United nations integrated mission in east timor unmit east timor legal. This template is within the scope of wikiproject flag template, a collaborative effort to maintain flag templates on wikipedia. It was the most comprehensive of the books available on east timor, covering a large time period from prehistory through colonialism to scenarios for the future. Between 1945 and june 1974, the indonesian government, in compliance with international law, affirmed at the united nations and to the outside world that it had no territorial ambitions towards east timor. Amnesty international estimates that 200,000 died from military action, starvation or disease from 19751999. After the people of east timor voted for independence on the 30th august 1999, the indonesian military launched into a scorched earth rampage of the territory.
East timor comprises the eastern half of the island of timor, the nearby islands of atauro and jaco, and oecussiambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within indonesian west timor. Saigon had fallen, and it looked as though east timor might also go communist. Terms with manual transliterations different from the automated ones. Modern historyeast timor wikibooks, open books for an open. East timor is the eastern half of the island of timor, with an area.
Of special importance is the record of fords and kissingers meeting with suharto in early december 1975. Timor leste is a country located in southeastern asia bordering the ombai strait, wetar strait, and the banda sea. Langtet, is the head of state in east timor the president is elected by popular vote for a fiveyear term. National history remains an important concern of east timorese public life. War, genocide, and resistance in east timor, 19751999 201 03263 ch 09 71503 10. A brief history of east timor new internationalist.
In 1945, the portuguese administration was restored in timor leste. Places in east timor this category contains only the following page. East timors people belong to a number of ethnic groups, from a mix of malayan, indonesian, polynesian, melanesian and papuan backgrounds. Jun 19, 2017 of course there were many incidents that accompanied east timor while still joining indonesia, including various means against the indonesian military, to a referendum that resulted in independence. East timor travel doctor east timor, the travel doctortmvc has prepared a summary of some of these issues in the following pages. A documentary produced by amy goodman and journalist allan nairn on the santa cruz massacre and the history of indonesian and us involvement in the southeast asian nation. The portuguese began to trade with timor by the early 16th century and colonised it throughout the mid. East timor timor leste srtm30 the earlier gtopo30 30 arc second ca. This chapter examines visions of timorlestes future that emerged following three critical junctures in the territorys modern history the. Annex a brief history of east timor east timor human development report 2002 anthropological investigations indicate that the first people to arrive in timor, approximately 40,000 to 20,000 years bc, were of the vedoaustraloide type, similar to the vedas of ceylon. The largest ethnic group is the tetum, who may be descendants of invaders who brought indonesian culture to timor. The timor sea separates the island from australia to the south, and the indonesian province of east nusa tenggara lies to east timor s west.
Media in category history of east timor the following 9 files are in this category, out of 9 total. This was the report of the security council mission to timorleste, from 24 to 30 november 2007 2 october 2006 report of the united nations independent special commission of inquiry for timorleste. The day after kissinger left djakarta in 1975, the armed forces of indonesia employed american weapons to invade and subjugate the independent former portuguese colony of east timor. The islands surface is 11,883 square miles 30,777 km. It is used indirectly by templates such as flag, flagicon, and others. President of east timor simple english wikipedia, the. This was the report of the security council mission to timor leste, from 24 to 30 november 2007 2 october 2006 report of the united nations independent special commission of inquiry for timor leste. This is the 2002 video version of the 1991 radio documentary by amy goodman.
A strange quirk of history also created the enclave of oecussi as portuguese territory surrounded on three sides by dutch west timor and bordered on. The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to east timor. Pdf despite almost 500 years of direct contact with the west, the linguistic. Oecusse is an exclave, which means it is separated from the main part of the country by part of another country.
People around the world reacted immediately including the people of melbourne. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the. Before this time, the region had been a portuguese colony up until 1975 and was under indonesian sovereignty from 1976 to. It proposes that underlying their revisiting of the past is a call for acknowledgement of the agency of. The portuguese began to trade with timor by the early. The united states recognized timor leste, then known as east timor, on may 20, 2002, when it achieved formal independence. Indonesian documents leaked to the media as well as united nation reports, points. Highlights of the 2010 census main results in timorleste pdf. Modern historyeast timor wikibooks, open books for an.
The democratic republic of timor leste or east timor is the newest independent country in the world, located in southeastern asia. The khmer rouge subjected these groups to an especiall y harsh and. The democratic republic of east timor or timor leste is a country in southeast asia. Before this time, the region had been a portuguese colony up until 1975 and was under indonesian sovereignty from 1976 to 1999. History of east timor from an anthropological perspective. Melbourne support for a free east timor september 1999. Conflict profile east timor indonesia 1975 1999 shortly after obtaining independence from portugal in 1974, east timor or timorleste was invaded by indonesians who occupied the country until 1999. It also includes the smaller islands of atauro and jaco island, and a small area, named oecusse, inside the west side of timor. East timorese, writing the national history is still too controversial a task, with tensions over the. Genocide in cambodia and east timor 3 the choice of topic for this paper arose out of the authors personal trip to cambodia in december 2005 and the time spent one afternoon in the countryside with a local family whose smiling, aged. The president of east timor, officially the president of the democratic republic of timor leste portuguese. Table 1 provides a brief description of some of the. There are several reasons for east timor having been in focus in international affairs. Despite almost 500 years of direct contact with the west, the linguistic history of east timor has been relatively little studied to date.
East timor revisited the national security archive. The state shall recognise and value the norms and customs of east timor that are not contrary to the constitution and to any legislation dealing specifically with customary law. East timors constitutional passage to independence copyright. It occupies the eastern half of the island of timor, the small nearby islands of atauro kambing and jaco, and the enclave of ambeno, including the town of pante makasar, on the northwestern coast of timor. Their powers are somewhat limited, though they are able to veto legislation. Timorleste occupies the island of timor with indonesia. East timor is a country in southeast asia, officially known as democratic republic of timor leste. This analysis suggests that this is an understatement and that if tourism. It is divided between the independent state of east timor, and west timor, belonging to the indonesian province of east nusa tenggara. Isaacson gives a figure of 100,000 deaths resulting from the occupation, or oneseventh of the population, and there are good judges who put this. For the next 24 years, the territorys political status remained in dispute, both in east timor itself and internationally.