Dili (
deelee), spelled
Díli in
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
, is the capital and largest city of
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. It lies on the northern coast of
TimorTimor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara....
island, the easternmost of the
Lesser Sunda IslandsThe Nusa Tenggara , or Lesser Sunda Islands, are a group of islands in the middle-south part of Maritime Southeast Asia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
. Dili is the chief port and commercial centre for East Timor, and has approximately 150,000 inhabitants. There is also an airport in Comoro,
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International AirportPresidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport , formerly known as Comoro International Airport, is an airport located in Dili, the capital of East Timor...
, renamed after independence leader Nicolau Lobato, which is used for commercial and military flights.
Dili (
deelee), spelled
Díli in
PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
, is the capital and largest city of
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
. It lies on the northern coast of
TimorTimor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara....
island, the easternmost of the
Lesser Sunda IslandsThe Nusa Tenggara , or Lesser Sunda Islands, are a group of islands in the middle-south part of Maritime Southeast Asia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
. Dili is the chief port and commercial centre for East Timor, and has approximately 150,000 inhabitants. There is also an airport in Comoro,
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International AirportPresidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport , formerly known as Comoro International Airport, is an airport located in Dili, the capital of East Timor...
, renamed after independence leader Nicolau Lobato, which is used for commercial and military flights. Dili is located at . It is also the capital of the
districtEast Timor is divided into thirteen administrative districts. The districts are divided into subdistricts, and further subdivided into sucos.
The borders between Cova-Lima and Ainaro and between Baucau and Viqueque were changed in 2003....
of
DiliDili is the name of one of the 13 districts of East Timor, which includes the national capital Dili. It has a population of 167,777 , most of whom live in the capital city. The district has an area of 372 km
2...
, which includes the surrounding area.
History
Dili was settled about 1520 by the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, who made it the capital of
Portuguese TimorPortuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
in 1769. During
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Dili was occupied by the
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese. East Timor unilaterally declared independence from
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
on November 28 1975. However, nine days later, on December 7, Indonesian forces invaded Dili. On July 17, 1976, Indonesia annexed East Timor, which it designated the 27
th provinceThe province is the highest tier of local government subnational entity in Indonesia. Each province has its own local government, headed by a governor, and has its own legislative body...
of
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
,
Timor Timur (
IndonesianIndonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Classical Malay of the Riau-Johor Sultanate. It was first declared the official language with the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, following the 1928 unifying-language declaration in the...
for
East Timor), with Dili as its capital.
However, a guerrilla war ensued from 1975 to 1999 between Indonesian and pro-independence forces, during which tens of thousands of
East TimorEast Timor, also known as Timor-Leste is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
's and some foreign civilians were killed. Media coverage of the 1991
Dili MassacreThe Santa Cruz massacre was the shooting of East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991, during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.-Background:...
helped revitalise international support for the East Timorese independence movement. In 1999, East Timor was placed under UN supervision and on May 20 2002, Dili became the capital of the newly independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. In May 2006,
fighting and riotingThe 2006 East Timorese crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili...
sparked by conflict between elements of the military caused significant damage to the city and led to foreign military intervention to restore order.
Buildings and monuments
Most buildings were destroyed in the violence of 1999, orchestrated by the
Indonesian militaryThe Indonesian National Armed Forces in 2009 comprises approximately 432,129 personnel including the Army , Navy including the Indonesian Marine Corps and the Air Force .The Indonesian Army was formed during the Indonesian National Revolution, when it undertook a...
and local
pro-Indonesia militiaPro-Indonesia militias were East Timorese paramilitary militia groups that formed to show loyalty to the Indonesian government during the movement for East Timorese independence in the late 1990s...
s (see Operation Scorched Earth). However, the city still has many buildings from the
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
era. The former Portuguese Governor's office is now the office of the
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government in East Timor. The President is the head of state. The Prime Minister is chosen by the political party or alliance of political parties with a majority in the national legislature and is formally appointed by the president...
. It was previously also used by the Indonesian-appointed Governor, and by the
United Nations Transitional Administration in East TimorThe United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor provided an interim civil administration and a peacekeeping mission in the territory of East Timor, from its establishment on October 25, 1999 until its independence on May 20, 2002 following the outcome of the East Timor Special...
(UNTAET).
Even under Indonesian rule, during which the
Portuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
was banned, Portuguese street names like
Avenida Marechal Carmona remained unchanged, although they were prefixed with the
IndonesianIndonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Classical Malay of the Riau-Johor Sultanate. It was first declared the official language with the declaration of Indonesian independence in 1945, following the 1928 unifying-language declaration in the...
word
Jalan or 'road'. The
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
at Motael became a focus for resistance to Indonesian occupation.
Legacies of
JakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a greater population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa , Jayakarta , Batavia , and Djakarta . Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of and a population of 8,489,910...
's occupation are the Church of the
Immaculate ConceptionThe Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin. Under this aspect Mary is sometimes called the Immaculata , particularly in artistic contexts...
, seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of DíliThe Roman Catholic Diocese of Díli is a diocese located in the city of Díli in Timor-Leste.-Leadership:* Bishops of Díli ** Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva...
, purportedly the largest cathedral in
Southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
, and the 'Integration Monument', commemorating the Indonesian annexation of the territory in 1976. Featuring a statue of a Timorese in traditional dress, breaking the chains round his wrists, the monument has not been demolished.
Education
Schools in Dili include
St. Joseph’s High SchoolSt. Joseph’s High School is a high school in Dili, East Timor. It was founded by the Dicosese of Dili in 1983/84, when East Timor was still part of Indonesia. In 1993 the school was entrusted to the Society of Jesus.In 1999 the school had 350 students and 42 teachers...
(Colégio de São José).
There are two International schools in Dili, an Australian managed school by the name of Dili International School and an American government sponsored school, called Quality International School.
East Timor's major
higher educationHigher education refers to a level of education that is provided by universities, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic...
institution, the
Universidade Nacional de Timor-LesteThe National University of East Timor , based in Dili, is the major institution of higher education in East Timor.-The University - UNTIM:...
, is based in Dili.
Transportation
Dili is serviced by
Presidente Nicolau Lobato International AirportPresidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport , formerly known as Comoro International Airport, is an airport located in Dili, the capital of East Timor...
, the only international
airportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
in East Timor. Dili has the only functioning international airport, though there are airstrips in Baucau, Suai and Oecusse used for domestic flights. Until recently, Dili's airport runway has been unable to accommodate aircraft larger than the
Boeing 737The Boeing 737 is a short to medium range, single aisle, narrow body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has nine variants with the -600, -700, -800 and -900 currently in production.Originally envisioned in...
or
C-130 HerculesThe Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft built by Lockheed. Capable of takeoffs and landings from unprepared runways, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport aircraft...
, but in January 2008, the Portuguese charter airline
EuroAtlantic AirwayseuroAtlantic airways is a charter airline based in Sintra, Lisbon, Portugal. It operates worldwide charter services, with an emphasis on the USA, Canada, Mexico, Pakistan and Australia, as well as ACMI and other wet lease operations...
operated a direct flight from
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
using a
Boeing 757The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twinjet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the 757 can carry between 186 and 279 passengers, and have a maximum range of 3,100 to 3,900 nautical miles depending on variant and seating configuration...
, carrying 140 members of the
Guarda Nacional RepublicanaThe Portuguese Republican National Guard is the gendarmerie of Portugal. Members of the GNR are soldiers, who, unlike the officers of the Public Security Police , are subject to military law and organisation...
. Under Portuguese rule,
BaucauBaucau is the second-largest city in East Timor, after Dili, the capital, which lies 122 km away.Baucau has about 16,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Baucau, located in the eastern part of the country...
airport, which has a much longer runway, was used for international flights, but following the Indonesian invasion this was taken over by the Indonesian military and closed to civilian traffic.
External links