east timor update

7/27/2019 East Timor Update

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OFFICIAL NAME:

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste

Geography

Area: 15,007 sq. km.Cities: Capital--Dili, Baucau.Terrain: Mountainous.Climate: Tropical; hot, semi-arid; rainy and dry seasons.

People

Nationality: Noun--Timorese; adjective--Timorese.Population (2004): 924,642.

Religion: Catholic 98%.Languages: Portuguese, Tetum (official languages); English, Bahasa Indonesia (workinglanguages).Education: Literacy--41%.Health: Life expectancy--49.5 years. Mortality rate (under 5)--126 per 1,000 live births.

Government

Type: Parliamentary democracy.Independence (from Portugal): November 28, 1975.Restoration of independence: May 20, 2002. (See History section.)Constitution: March 2002.Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government),cabinet. Legislative--unicameral parliament. Judicial--Supreme Court and supportinghierarchy. As the Supreme Court has not yet been formed, the Court of Appeal functions,on an interim basis, as the Supreme Court.Major political parties: Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (FRETILIN),Democratic Party (PD), Social Democratic Party (PSD), Timorese Social DemocraticAssociation (ASDT).

Economy

GDP (2004 est.): $370 million.GDP per capita (nominal): $430.GDP composition by sector: Services 57%, agriculture 25%, industry 17%.Industry: Types--coffee, oil and natural gas.Trade: Exports--coffee, oil and natural gas. Major markets--Australia, Europe, Japan,United States. Imports--basic manufactures, commodities. Major sources--Australia,Europe, Indonesia, Japan, United States.

GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE

East Timor is located in southeastern Asia, on the southernmost edge of the Indonesianarchipelago, northwest of Australia. The country includes the eastern half of Timor island


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as well as the Oecussi enclave in the northwest portion of Indonesian West Timor, andthe islands of Atauro and Jaco. The mixed Malay and Pacific Islander culture of theTimorese people reflects the geography of the country on the border of those two culturalareas. Portuguese influence during the centuries of colonial rule resulted in a substantialmajority of the population identifying itself as Roman Catholic. Some of those who

consider themselves Catholic practice a mixed form of religion that includes local animistcustoms. As a result of the colonial education system and the 23-year Indonesianoccupation, approximately 17% of Timorese speak Portuguese and 63% speak BahasaIndonesia. Tetum, the most common of the local languages, is spoken by approximately91% of the population. Mambae, Kemak, and Fataluku are also widely spoken. Thislinguistic diversity is enshrined in the countrys constitution, which designatesPortuguese and Tetum as official languages and English and Bahasa Indonesia asworking languages.

HISTORY

Portuguese and Dutch traders made the first western contact with East Timor in the early

16th century. Sandalwood and spice traders, as well as missionaries, maintained sporadiccontact with the island until 1642, when the Portuguese moved into Timor in strength.The Portuguese and the Dutch, based at the western end of the island in Kupang, battledfor influence until the present-day borders were agreed to by the colonial powers in 1906.Imperial Japan occupied East Timor from 1942-45. Portugal resumed colonial authorityover East Timor in 1945 after the Japanese defeat in World War II.

Following a military coup in Lisbon in April 1974, Portugal began a rapid anddisorganized decolonization process in most of its overseas territories, including EastTimor. Political tensions--exacerbated by Indonesian involvement--heated up, and onAugust 11, 1975, the Timorese Democratic Union Party (UDT) launched a coup d'tat inDili. The putsch was followed by a brief but bloody civil war in which the RevolutionaryFront for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) pushed UDT forces into IndonesianWest Timor. Shortly after the FRETILIN victory in late September, Indonesian forcesbegan incursions into East Timor. On October 16, five journalists from Australia, Britain,and New Zealand were murdered in the East Timorese town of Balibo shortly after theyhad filmed regular Indonesian army troops invading East Timorese territory. OnNovember 28, FRETILIN declared East Timor an independent state, and Indonesiaresponded by launching a full-scale military invasion on December 7. On December 22,1975 the UN Security Council called on Indonesia to withdraw its troops from EastTimor.

Declaring a provisional government made up of Timorese allies on January 13, 1976, theIndonesian Government said it was acting to forestall civil strife in East Timor and toprevent the consolidation of power by the FRETILIN party. The Indonesians claimed thatFRETILIN was communist in nature, while the party's leadership described itself associal democratic. Coming on the heels of the communist victories in Vietnam,Cambodia, and Laos, the Indonesian claims were accepted by many in the West. Majorpowers also had little incentive to confront Indonesia over a territory seen as peripheral totheir security interests. Nonetheless, the widespread popular support shown for the


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guerilla resistance launched by the Timorese made clear that the Indonesian occupationwas not welcome. The Timorese were not permitted to determine their own political fatevia a free vote, and the Indonesian occupation was never recognized by the UnitedNations.

The Indonesian occupation of Timor was initially characterized by a program of brutalmilitary repression. Beginning in the late 1980s, however, the occupation wasincreasingly characterized by programs to win the "hearts-and-minds" of the Timoresethrough the use of economic development assistance and job creation while maintaining astrict policy of political repression, although serious human rights violations such as the1991 Santa Cruz massacre -- continued. Estimates of the number of Timorese who losttheir lives to violence and hunger during the Indonesian occupation range from 100,000to 250,000. On January 27, 1999, Indonesian President B.J. Habibie announced hisgovernment's desire to hold a referendum in which the people of East Timor would chosebetween autonomy within Indonesia and independence. Under an agreement among theUnited Nations, Portugal, and Indonesia, the referendum was held on August 30, 1999.

When the results were announced on September 4--78% voted for independence with a98.6% turnout--Timorese militias organized and supported by the Indonesian militarycommenced a large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. While pro-independence FALINTIL guerillas remained cantoned in UN-supervised camps, themilitia killed approximately 1,300 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people intoWest Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's infrastructure, including homes,irrigation systems, water supply systems, and schools, and nearly 100% of the countryselectrical grid were destroyed. On September 20, 1999 the Australian-led peacekeepingtroops of the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) deployed to the country,bringing the violence to an end.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

East Timor became a fully independent republic on May 20, 2002, followingapproximately 2-1/2 years under the authority of the UN Transitional Administration inEast Timor (UNTAET). The country has a parliamentary form of government with itsfirst parliament formed from the 88-member Constituent Assembly chosen in free andfair, UN-supervised elections in August 2001. The 29-member Cabinet is dominated bythe FRETILIN Party, which won the majority of Assembly seats. Mari Alkatiri,FRETILIN's Secretary General, is Prime Minister and Head of Government, and XananaGusmao--elected in free and fair elections on April 14, 2002--is President and Head ofState. UNTAET's mandate ended with independence, but a successor organization, theUN Mission for the Support of East Timor (UNMISET), was established to provideadditional support to the Government. In April 2005, the UN Security Councilunanimously passed a resolution establishing a small follow-on special political missionin East Timor, the UN Office in East Timor (UNOTIL), to succeed UNMISET when itsmandate expires on May 20, 2005. UNOTIL will remain there until May 20, 2006.

Under the constitution ratified in March 2002, "laws and regulations in force continue tobe applicable to all matters except to the extent that they are inconsistent with theConstitution;" and Indonesian and UNTAET laws and regulations continue to be in


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ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). East Timor's foreign policy has placed a high priorityon its relationships with Indonesia; regional friends such as Malaysia and Singapore; anddonors such as Australia, the European Union, Japan, Portugal, and the United States.

U.S.-EAST TIMOR RELATIONS

East Timor maintains an embassy in Washington DC, as well as a Permanent Mission inNew York at the United Nations. The United States has a large bilateral developmentassistance program, $22.5 million in 2004, and also contributes funds as a major memberof a number of multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and WorldBank. The U.S. Peace Corps has an active program in East Timor.

Principal U.S. Officials

Ambassador--Grover Joseph Rees IIIDeputy Chief of Mission--Sean B. SteinPolitical/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Curtis Ried

The U.S. Embassy in East Timor is located at Praia de Coquieros, Dili; tel: 670-332-4684, fax: 670-331-3206. The embassy's web site is under construction.

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