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East Timor



 
 
East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor
Timor

Timor is an island at the south end of the Malay Archipelago, 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....
, the nearby islands of Atauro
Atauro Island

Atauro Island is a small island situated 25km north of Dili, East Timor, on the extinct Wetar segment of the volcano Inner Banda Arc, between the Indonesian islands of Alor and Wetar....
 and Jaco
Jaco (East Timor)

Jaco is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands. It lies across from the easternmost point of the island of Timor, Kap Cutcha. Its geographical coordinates are 8? 27' S and 127? 20' E....
, and Oecussi-Ambeno
Oecussi-Ambeno

Oecussi-Ambeno is a district of East Timor. It is a coastal exclave in the western part of the island of Timor, separated from the rest of East Timor by West Timor, which is part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia, and which surrounds Oecussi-Ambeno in all directions except the north, where it borders the Savu Sea....
, an exclave
Exclave

An exclave is strip of land that belongs to a political entity but that is not connected to it by land . The strip of land is surrounded by other political entities....
  on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n West Timor
West Timor

West Timor is the Indonesia portion of the island of Timor and forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, . West Timor's capital and chief port is Kupang....
. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia
Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the List of Australian capital cities of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,900, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely peopled Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities....
.

East Timor was colonized by Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, 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....
 in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor

Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portugal control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
 until Portugal's decolonization of the country.






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Encyclopedia


East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor
Timor

Timor is an island at the south end of the Malay Archipelago, 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....
, the nearby islands of Atauro
Atauro Island

Atauro Island is a small island situated 25km north of Dili, East Timor, on the extinct Wetar segment of the volcano Inner Banda Arc, between the Indonesian islands of Alor and Wetar....
 and Jaco
Jaco (East Timor)

Jaco is an island in the Lesser Sunda Islands. It lies across from the easternmost point of the island of Timor, Kap Cutcha. Its geographical coordinates are 8? 27' S and 127? 20' E....
, and Oecussi-Ambeno
Oecussi-Ambeno

Oecussi-Ambeno is a district of East Timor. It is a coastal exclave in the western part of the island of Timor, separated from the rest of East Timor by West Timor, which is part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia, and which surrounds Oecussi-Ambeno in all directions except the north, where it borders the Savu Sea....
, an exclave
Exclave

An exclave is strip of land that belongs to a political entity but that is not connected to it by land . The strip of land is surrounded by other political entities....
  on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n West Timor
West Timor

West Timor is the Indonesia portion of the island of Timor and forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, . West Timor's capital and chief port is Kupang....
. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 sq mi) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia
Darwin, Northern Territory

Darwin is the List of Australian capital cities of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 120,900, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely peopled Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities....
.

East Timor was colonized by Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, 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....
 in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor

Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portugal control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
 until Portugal's decolonization of the country. In late 1975 East Timor declared its independence but was invaded and occupied
Military occupation

Belligerent military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a belligerent....
 by Indonesia later that year, and declared that country's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state
List of sovereign states

:| #Internationally recognized sovereign states: #A #B #C #D #E #F #G #H #I #J #K #L #M #N #O #P #Q #R #S #T #U #V #W #Y #Z#Other states#Criteria for inclusion#See also#References#Footnotes |}...
 of the twenty-first century on May 20, 2002. East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, the other being the Philippines
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
.

East Timor is a lower-middle-income economy. However, it is the only country in Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
 to have a low Human Development Index
Human Development Index

The Human Development Index is an index used to rank countries by level of "human development", which usually also implies to determine whether a country is a developed country, developing country....
 (HDI) and is placed 158th
List of countries by Human Development Index

File:2006nian Renlei Fazhan Zhishu.svgThis is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in a United Nations Development Program's Human development Statistical Update released on December 18, 2008, compiled on the basis of data from 2006....
 among the world's states, the lowest in Asia.

Etymology and naming issues

"Timor" derives from timur, the word for "east" in Indonesian
Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Malay language from the Riau islands in western Indonesia, today called Riau Indonesian....
 and Malay
Malay language

The Malay language is an Austronesian languages spoken by the Malays and people of other ethnic groups who reside in Peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau Islands and parts of the coast of Borneo....
 (hence the Indonesian Timor Timur) which became Timor in Portuguese
Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
 and entered English as Portuguese Timor. Lorosa'e is also the word for "east" in Tetum, literally "rising sun".

The official names under the Constitution is República Democrática de Timor-Leste in Portuguese (pron
Pronunciation

"Pronunciation" refers to the way a word or a language is usually spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If someone said to have "correct pronunciation," then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
. ), which is almost universally used within the country, and in Tetum, Repúblika Demokrátika Timór Lorosa'e, which is infrequently used and is not standard across the many Tetum dialects. Following independence, the government requested the official name in all languages be Timor-Leste, but this has not been commonly adopted within English-speaking countries worldwide, where "East Timor" is the common usage. The Indonesian
Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Malay language from the Riau islands in western Indonesia, today called Riau Indonesian....
 name Timor Timur, abbreviated as Timtim, is now less widely used, with the Indonesian government and media now using Timor Leste.

The official short form names of countries worldwide are set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ISO 3166-1
ISO 3166-1

ISO 3166-1 is part of the ISO 3166 standardization published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of country, dependent territory, and special areas of geographical interest....
 official short name in English and all other languages is Timor-Leste. The ISO definition is adopted by the United Nations, the national standards organisations of France (AFNOR
AFNOR

Association fran?aise de Normalisation is the French national organization for standardization and is that country's ISO member body....
), the United States of America (ANSI), Britain (BSI
BSI

BSI is a three letter acronym that can stand for:* The Baker Street Irregulars, a fictional group featured in Sherlock Holmes stories* Banca della Svizzera Italiana...
), Germany (DIN
Din

DIN or Din or din can have several meanings:-* A din is a loud noise.* Deen , an Arabic language term meaning "religion" or "way of life"....
) and Sweden (SIS
SIS

The initials SIS may stand for:...
) and is universally used by international NGOs. Timor–Leste is used as a matter of protocol by the departments of foreign affairs of almost all countries for example, the USA Department of State and the European Union, notable exceptions being Australia, which uses "East Timor".

The ISO name gives rise to the standard three letter country code
ISO 3166

ISO 3166 is a three-part standardization published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of country, dependent territory, and special areas of geographical interest, and their principal country subdivision ....
 TLS and two letter country code
ISO 3166

ISO 3166 is a three-part standardization published by the International Organization for Standardization , and defines codes for the names of country, dependent territory, and special areas of geographical interest, and their principal country subdivision ....
 TL as in the country’s internet domain name. The old two letter country code, TP, is gradually being phased out.

History


Early history

The island of Timor was originally populated as part of the human migrations that have shaped Australasia
Australasia

Australasia is a region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes ....
 more generally. It is believed that descendants from at least three waves of migration still live in the country. The first were related to the principal indigenous groups of New Guinea
New Guinea

New Guinea, located just north of Australia, is the List of islands by area, having become separated from the Australian mainland when the area now known as the Torres Strait flooded after the last glacial period....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, and arrived before 40,000 years ago. Around 3000 BC, Austronesians migrated through to Timor, and are possibly associated with the development of agriculture on Timor. Thirdly, proto-Malay
Proto Malay

Proto Malay, also known as Melayu Asli or Melayu Purba in the Malay language, is an ethnic group in Malaysia. Anthropologists traced a group of newcomers Proto Malay seafarers migrated from Yunnan to Malaysia, during the stone age period....
s arrived from south China
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 and north Indochina
Indochina

Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a subregion in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China.The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries....
. The mountainous nature of the country meant that these groups remained separate, and explains why there is so much linguistic diversity in East Timor
Languages of East Timor

The lingua franca and national language of East Timor is Tetum, an Austronesian language influenced by Portuguese language, with which it has equal status as an official language....
 today.

Timor was incorporated into Chinese and Indian trading networks of the fourteenth century as an exporter of aromatic sandalwood
Sandalwood

Sandalwood is the name for several Fragrance woods. From the Sanskrit candanam the name is borrowed as the Greek sandanon. The local name in Indonesia and Malaysia is "Cendana" ....
, slave
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
s, honey
Honey

Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees , and derived from the nectar of flowers. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance?this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners...
 and wax
Wax

Wax has traditionally referred to a substance that is secreted by bees and used by them in constructing their honeycombs.It is an imprecisely defined term generally understood to be a substance with properties similar to beeswax, namely...
. Early European explorers report that the island had a number of small chiefdoms or princedoms in the early sixteenth century. One of the most significant is the Wehali
Wehali

Wehali is the name of a traditional kingdom at the southern coast of Central Timor, now in the Republic of Indonesia. It is often mentioned together with its neighbouring sister kingdom, as Wewiku-Wehali ....
 (Wehale) kingdom in central Timor, with its capital at Laran
Laran

In Etruscan mythology, Laran was the god of war. In art, he was portrayed as a nudity young man with a helmet and a spear. Laran's consort was Turan ....
, West Timor, to which the Tetum, Bunaq and Kemak ethnic groups were aligned.

Portuguese colonization

The Portuguese
Portuguese people

The Portuguese people are the ethnic group or nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of Southern Europe-Western Europe Europe....
 were the first Europeans to colonize the Malay archipelago
Malay Archipelago

The Malay Archipelago and Maritime Southeast Asia are names given to the archipelago located between mainland Southeast Asia and Australia....
 when they arrived in the sixteenth century. They established outposts in the (now Indonesian) Maluku Islands
Maluku Islands

The Maluku Islands are an archipelago in Indonesia, and part of the larger Malay Archipelago. They are located on the Australian Plate, lying east of Sulawesi , west of New Guinea, and north of Timor....
 and Timor and surrounding islands. During the House of Habsburg's rule over Portugal (1580-1640), all surrounding outposts were lost and eventually came under Dutch
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
 control by the mid-seventeenth century. Effective European occupation of a small part of the territory only began after 1769, when the city of Dili
Dili

Dili, also spelled D?li, is the Capital and largest city of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, the capital of so-called Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor

Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portugal control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
, was founded. In the nineteenth century, the Netherlands gained a foothold on the western half of the island West Timor
West Timor

West Timor is the Indonesia portion of the island of Timor and forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, . West Timor's capital and chief port is Kupang....
, and formally received it in 1859 through the Treaty of Lisbon. The definitive border was established by the Hague Treaty of 1916, and it remains the international boundary between the successor states East Timor and Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
.

For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post until the late nineteenth century. Investment in infrastructure, health, and education was minimal. Sandalwood
Sandalwood

Sandalwood is the name for several Fragrance woods. From the Sanskrit candanam the name is borrowed as the Greek sandanon. The local name in Indonesia and Malaysia is "Cendana" ....
 remained the main export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth century. In places where Portuguese rule was asserted, it tended to be brutal and exploitative. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering home economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies which met Timorese resistance.

In late 1941, Portuguese Timor was briefly occupied by Dutch and Australian troops in an attempt to preempt a Japanese
Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan was a Japanese political entity that existed during the period from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until its defeat in World War II in 1945....
 invasion of the island. The Portuguese Governor protested the occupation, and Dutch forces returned to the Dutch side of the island. The Japanese landed and drove the small Australian force out of Dili, and the mountainous interior became the scene of a guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is the Irregular warfare warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile Military tactics to combat a larger and less mobile formal army....
 campaign, known as the Battle of Timor. Waged by Allied forces and Timorese volunteers against the Japanese, the struggle resulted in the deaths of between 40,000 and 70,000 Timorese. Following the end of the war, Portuguese control was reinstated.

The process of decolonization
Decolonization

Decolonisation refers to the undoing of colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction....
 in Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor

Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portugal control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
 began in 1974, following the change of government in Portugal in the wake of the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril, was a left-leaning military coup started on April 25, 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, that effectively changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarianism dictatorship to a democracy after two years of a transitional period known as PREC , characterized by social turmoil and...
. Owing to political instability and more pressing concerns over the decolonisation of Angola
Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordering Namibia to the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and Zambia to the east, and with a west coast along the Atlantic Ocean....
 and Mozambique
Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest....
, Portugal effectively abandoned East Timor and it unilaterally declared itself independent on November 28, 1975. Nine days later, it was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces before the declaration could be internationally recognized.

Indonesian occupation


As political parties began to form and emerge inside the country, the Indonesian military headed an operation that backed Apodeti, a pro-Indonesian party that encouraged divisions between the pro-independence parties of East Timor. A brief civil war occurred in 1975. Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
 alleged that the East Timorese FRETILIN party, which received some vocal support from the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
, was communist. Fearing a Communist domino effect
Domino effect

The domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence....
 in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
—and in the wake of its South Vietnam
South Vietnam

South Vietnam refers to an internationally recognized state which governed Vietnam south of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone until 1975. Its capital was Saigon and its origin can be traced to the French colony of Cochinchina, which consisted of the southern third of Vietnam....
 campaign—the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, along with its ally Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, supported the pro-Western
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 Indonesian government's actions. The UN Security Council had a unanimous vote for Indonesia to stop its invasion and to withdraw immediately from East Timor’s borders, and was blocked by the United States from imposing any economic sanctions or other means of enforcing this mandate.

The territory was declared the twenty-seventh province of Indonesia in July 1976. Its nominal status in the UN remained that of a "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration."

East Timor Demo
Indonesian rule in East Timor was often marked by extreme violence and brutality; estimates of the number of East Timorese who died during the occupation vary from 60,000 to 200,000, A detailed statistical report prepared for the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor
Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor

The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor was an independent truth commission established in East Timor in 2001 under the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor and charged to ?inquire into human rights violations committed on all sides, between April 1974 and October 1999, and facilitate community reconcil...
 cited a minimum bound of 102,800 conflict-related deaths in the period 1974-1999, namely, approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 'excess' deaths from hunger and illness.

The East Timorese guerrilla force, Falintil
Falintil

Falintil originally began as the military wing of the Fretilin political party of East Timor. It was established on the 20th of August 1975 as a response to FRETILIN?s conflicting political interests with the Timorese Democratic Union ....
, fought a campaign against the Indonesian forces from 1975 to 1999, some members being trained in Portugal by Portuguese special forces. The Dili Massacre
Dili massacre

The 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....
 proved a turning point for the East Timorese cause internationally, and a burgeoning East Timor solidarity movement grew in Portugal, Australia, and the United States.

Independence

Following a UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia, Portugal and the United States and a surprise decision by the Indonesian President B. J. Habibie, a UN-supervised popular referendum
East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum

The East Timor special autonomy referendum was a referendum was held throughout East Timor on the 30th of August 1999. The referendum was the result of the ?Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and the Portuguese Republic on the Question of East Timor? and was held to determine whether East Timor would remain part of Indon...
 was held on August 30, 1999 to choose between Special Autonomy within Indonesia and independence. 78.5% of voters chose independence, but violent clashes, instigated primarily by elements within the Indonesian military and aided by Timorese pro-Indonesia militia
Pro-Indonesia militia

Pro-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 led by Eurico Guterres
Eurico Guterres

Eurico Barros Gomes Guterres is a pro-Indonesian or anti-independence militia terrorist recruited by the Indonesian military. He was involved in several massacres in East Timor, and a chief militia leader during the post-independence massacre and Timor-Leste Scorched Earth of the capital Dili....
, broke out soon afterwards. A peacekeeping force (INTERFET
INTERFET

The International Force for East Timor was a multinational peacekeeping taskforce, mandated by the United Nations to address the humanitarian and security crisis which took place in East Timor from 1999–2000 until the arrival of United Nations peacekeepers....
, led by Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
) intervened to restore order. The militias fled across the border into Indonesian West Timor, from which sporadic armed raids were attempted. As these raids were repelled and international moral opinion forced Indonesia to withdraw tacit support, the militias dispersed. INTERFET was replaced by a UN force of International Police, the mission became known as UNTAET, and the UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment
UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment

The UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment was the common title for an elite investigative unit created in the war torn and newly liberated country of East Timor in November 1999, under the direction of the United Nations mission in East Timor, consisting of International Police, Australian Military Police and New Zealand Military Police....
 was formed to investigate alleged atrocities. UNTAET was headed by the late Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello

S?rgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations diplomat who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN....
 as UN Transitional Administrator from December 1999 to May 2002. On December 2, 1999 De Mello established the National Consultative Council (NCC), a political body consisting of 11 East Timorese and four UNTAET members charged with overseeing the decision-making process during the transition period leading to independence. However, UNTAET experienced difficulties initially in establishing its credibility amongst the Timorese leadership, leading to street violence. An important workshop on March 1, 2000 brought the Timorese and UN leadership group together to tease out a revised strategy, and identify institutional needs. The Timorese delegation was led by José Ramos-Horta, and included Mari Alkatiri
Mari Alkatiri

Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri was the first Prime Minister of East Timor of an internationally-recognized East Timor. He served from May 2002 until he resigned on 26 June 2006 following weeks of 2006 East Timor crisis in the country....
. The outcome was an agreed blueprint for a joint administration with executive powers, including leaders of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction

National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction is a list of political parties in East Timor in East Timor founded by former President of East Timor Xanana Gusm?o in March 2007 in preparation for the East Timorese parliamentary election, 2007....
 (CNRT), led by future president Xanana Gusmão
Xanana Gusmão

Kay Rala Xanana Gusm?o Order of the Freedom is a former militant who was the first President of East Timor of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007....
. Further details were worked out in a conference in May 2000. De Mello presented the new blueprint to a donor conference in Lisbon, on June 22, 2000, and to the UN Security Council on June 27, 2000. On July 12, 2000, the NCC adopted a regulation establishing a Transitional Cabinet of four East Timorese and four UNTAET representatives. The revamped joint administration successfully laid the institutional foundations for independence, and on September 27, 2002, East Timor joined the United Nations.

Post independence

In April 2006, riots broke out in Dili following rivalry within the military and police; 40 people were killed and over 20,000 fled their homes. Fighting between pro-government troops and disaffected Falintil troops broke out in May 2006. Upon the invitation of the Prime Minister, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Portugal sent troops to Timor, attempting to quell the violence. On 26 June, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned as Prime Minister, following an ultimatum from President Xanana Gusmão
Xanana Gusmão

Kay Rala Xanana Gusm?o Order of the Freedom is a former militant who was the first President of East Timor of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007....
 that he would resign if Alkatiri did not. José Ramos-Horta was appointed as Alkatiri's successor on July 8, 2006. In April 2007, Gusmão declined another presidential term. In the build-up to the April 2007 presidential elections there were renewed outbreaks of violence in February and March 2007. José Ramos-Horta was inaugurated as President
President of East Timor

East Timor is an emerging democratic state. Its current president is Jos? Ramos-Horta.With the introduction of a new constitution, a parliamentary system was chosen with the president playing a largely ceremonial role....
 on May 20, 2007 following his election win in the second round. Gusmão was sworn in as Prime Minister on August 8, 2007. President Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an assassination attempt on February 11, 2008 in a failed coup apparently perpetrated by Alfredo Reinado, a renegade soldier who died in the attack. Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed. The Australian government immediately sent reinforcements to East Timor to keep order.

Politics

Gouverneurspalast Klein
The Head of state
Head of State

Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchic or republican nation-state, federation, commonwealth or any other political state....
 of East Timor is the President of East Timor
President of East Timor

East Timor is an emerging democratic state. Its current president is Jos? Ramos-Horta.With the introduction of a new constitution, a parliamentary system was chosen with the president playing a largely ceremonial role....
, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. Although the role is largely symbolic, the president does have veto power over certain types of legislation. Following elections, the president appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition
Coalition

A coalition is an Wiktionary:alliance among individuals, during which they cooperate in Joint venture, each in his own self-interest. Joining forces together for a common cause....
 as the Prime Minister of East Timor
Prime Minister of East Timor

The Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government in East Timor. The President of East Timor 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....
. As head of government
Head of government

The head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet . In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc....
, the prime minister presides over the Council of State or cabinet.

The unicameral Timorese parliament is the National Parliament
National Parliament of East Timor

The National Parliament of East Timor is the unicameral parliament national legislature in East Timor. It was created in 2001 as the Constituent Assembly while the country was still under the supervision of the United Nations, but renamed itself to the National Parliament with the attaining of national independence on May 20, 2002....
 or Parlamento Nacional, whose members are elected by popular vote to a five-year term. The number of seats can vary from a minimum of fifty-two to a maximum of sixty-five, though it exceptionally has eighty-eight members at present, due to this being its first term of office. The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions.

Government departments

  • Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste (police)
  • East Timor Ministry for State and Internal Administration
  • Civil Aviation Division of Timor Leste
  • Immigration Department of Timor Leste http://www.migracao.gov.tl


Districts, subdistricts, and sucos

East Timor is divided into thirteen administrative districts:

1. Lautém
Lautém

File:Lautem subdistricts.pngLaut?m is one of the districts of East Timor of East Timor, on the eastern end of the island of Timor. It has a population of 57,453 and an area of 1,702 km2....
2. Baucau
Baucau (district)

File:Baucau subdistricts.pngBaucau , is a districts of East Timor of East Timor, on the northern coast in the eastern part of the country. The capital is also called Baucau ....
3. Viqueque
Viqueque (district)

File:Viqueque subdistricts.pngViqueque is the largest of the districts of East Timor of East Timor. It has a population of 66,434 and an area of 1,781 km2....
4. Manatuto
Manatuto (district)

File:Manatuto subdistricts.pngManatuto is one of the districts of East Timor of East Timor, located in the central part of the country. It reaches both the south and north coasts of the island, and is only one of two districts to do so ....
5. Dili
Dili (district)

File:Dili subdistricts.pngDili is the name of one of the 13 Districts of East Timor of East Timor, which includes the national capital Dili. It has a population of 167,777 , most of whom live in the capital city....
6. Aileu
Aileu (district)

File:Aileu subdistricts.pngAileu is an administrative districts of East Timor of East Timor. It has a population of 36,889 and an area of 729 km?....
7. Manufahi
Manufahi

File:Manufahi subdistricts.pngManufahi is one of the districts of East Timor of East Timor. It has a population of 44,235 and an area of 1,325 km2....
8. Liquiçá
Liquiçá (district)

File:Liquica subdistricts.pngLiqui?? is one of the districts of East Timor of East Timor. Its capital is also called Liqui??.Liqui?? District is situated on the northern coast of East Timor, and borders the distrticts of Dili to the east, Aileu to the Southeast, Ermera to the south, and Bobonaro to the southwest....
9. Ermera
Ermera

File:Ermera subdistricts.pngErmera is one of the districts of East Timor of East Timor, located in the west-central part of the country. It has a population of 103,169 and an area of 746 km2....
10. Ainaro
Ainaro (district)

File:Ainaro detail map.png File:Ainaro subdistricts2.pngAinaro is one of 13 administrative districts of East Timor of East Timor, in the southwest part of the country....
11. Bobonaro
Bobonaro

File:Bobonaro subdistricts.pngThe Bobonaro district is one of 13 administrative districts of East Timor within the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste commonly known as East Timor....
12. Cova-Lima
Cova-Lima

Cova-Lima is a districts of East Timor of East Timor, in the Southwest part of the country. It has a population of 55,941 and an area of 1,226 km2....
13. Oecussi-Ambeno
Oecussi-Ambeno

Oecussi-Ambeno is a district of East Timor. It is a coastal exclave in the western part of the island of Timor, separated from the rest of East Timor by West Timor, which is part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia, and which surrounds Oecussi-Ambeno in all directions except the north, where it borders the Savu Sea....


The districts are subdivided into 65 subdistricts, 443 sucos and 2,336 towns, villages and hamlets.

Geography

Located in southeast Asia, the island of Timor
Timor

Timor is an island at the south end of the Malay Archipelago, 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....
 is part of the Malay archipelago
Malay Archipelago

The Malay Archipelago and Maritime Southeast Asia are names given to the archipelago located between mainland Southeast Asia and Australia....
, and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands
Lesser Sunda Islands

The 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....
. To the north of the mountainous island are the Ombai Strait
Ombai Strait

The Ombai Strait is the strait which separates the Alor Archipelago from the islands of Wetar, Atauro, and Timor in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Wetar, the Alor Archipelago, and West Timor are part of the provinces of Indonesia of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, while Atauro and the eastern part of Timor comprise the nation of East Timor....
, Wetar Strait
Wetar Strait

The Wetar Strait separates the eastern part of the island of Timor from the island of Wetar. It thus lies between the nations of Indonesia to the north and East Timor to the south....
 and the greater Banda Sea
Banda Sea

The Banda Sea is the sea of the South Moluccas in Indonesia, technically part of the Pacific Ocean but separated from it by hundreds of islands, as well as the Halmahera Sea and Ceram Seas....
, to the south the Timor Sea
Timor Sea

The Timor Sea is a sea bounded to the north by the island of Timor, to the east by the Arafura Sea, to the south by Australia and to the west by the Indian Ocean....
 separates the island from Australia, while to the west lies the Indonesian Province
Provinces of Indonesia

||-||-||}The 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 East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara

East Nusa Tenggara is a provinces of Indonesia of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor....
. The highest point of East Timor is Mount Ramelau
Mount Ramelau

Mount Ramelau or in Tetum Foho Tatamailau, is the highest mountain in East Timor and also of Timor island at 2,963 meters. The mountain is located approximately 70km south of the capital Dili in the district of Ainaro....
 (also known as Mount Tatamailau) at 2,963 meters (9,721 ft).

The local climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
 is tropical and generally hot and humid, characterised by distinct rainy and dry seasons. The capital, largest city and main port is Dili, and the second-largest city is the eastern town of Baucau
Baucau

Baucau 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....
.

The easternmost area of Timor-Leste consists of the Paitchau Range and Iralalaro area. This area has been proposed as to be the first conservation area in Timor-Leste as it contains the last remaining Tropical Dry forested area within the country as well as hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated. The Northern coast is characterized by a number of important coral reef
Coral reef

Coral reefs are aragonite structures produced by living organisms. In most reefs the predominant organisms are colonial cnidarian that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate....
 systems that have been determined as being at risk.

Economy

Prior to and during colonization, Timor was best known for its sandalwood
Sandalwood

Sandalwood is the name for several Fragrance woods. From the Sanskrit candanam the name is borrowed as the Greek sandanon. The local name in Indonesia and Malaysia is "Cendana" ....
.

In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of East Timor was destroyed by Indonesian troops
Military of Indonesia

The Armed Forces of Indonesia comprises approximately 410,000 personnel including the Indonesian Army, Indonesian Navy including the Indonesian Marine Corps and the Indonesian Air Force....
 and anti-independence militias, and 260,000 people fled westward. From 2002 to 2005, an international program led by the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
, manned by civilian advisers, 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, substantially reconstructed the infrastructure. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned.

One promising long-term project is the joint development with Australia of petroleum
Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid found in rock formations in the Earth consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights, plus other organic compounds....
 and natural gas
Natural gas

Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane. It is found associated with fossil fuels, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, and landfills....
 resources in the waters southeast of Timor. The Portuguese colonial administration granted concessions to Oceanic Exploration Corporation to develop the deposits, however, this was curtailed by the Indonesian invasion in 1976. The resources were divided between Indonesia and Australia with the Timor Gap Treaty
Timor Gap Treaty

Officially known as the Treaty between Australia and the Republic of Indonesia on the zone of cooperation in an area between the Indonesian province of East Timor and Northern Australia, the Timor Gap Treaty is a treaty between the governments of Australia and Indonesia....
 in 1989. The treaty established guidelines for joint exploitation of seabed resources in the area of the "gap" left by then-Portuguese Timor in the maritime boundary agreed between the two countries in 1972. Revenues from the "joint" area were to be divided 50%-50%. Woodside Petroleum
Woodside Petroleum

Woodside Petroleum Limited is an Australian petroleum exploration and production company. It is a public company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and has its headquarters in Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia....
 and ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips Company is an international energy corporation with its headquarters located in Houston, Texas. It is the fifth largest private sector energy corporation in the world and is one of the six "supermajor" vertically integrated oil companies....
 began development of some resources in the Timor Gap on behalf of the two governments in 1992.

East Timor inherited no permanent maritime boundaries when it attained independence, repudiating the Timor Gap Treaty as illegal. A provisional agreement (the Timor Sea Treaty
Timor Sea Treaty

Formally known as the Timor Sea Treaty between the Government of East Timor and the Government of Australia was signed between Australia and East Timor in Dili, East Timor on May 20, 2002, the day East Timor attained its independence from United Nations rule, for joint petroleum exploration of the Timor Sea by the two countries....
, signed when East Timor became independent on 20 May 2002) defined a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), and awarded 90% of revenues from existing projects in that area to East Timor and 10% to Australia. The first significant new development in the JPDA since Timorese independence is the largest petroleum resource in the Timor Sea, the Greater Sunrise gas field. Its exploitation was the subject of separate agreements in 2003 and 2005. Only 20% of the field lies within the JPDA and the rest in waters not subject to the treaty (though claimed by both countries). The initial, temporary agreement gave 82% of revenues to Australia and only 18% to East Timor.

The Government of East Timor has sought to negotiate a definite boundary with Australia at the halfway line between the countries, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982....
. The Government of Australia preferred to establish the boundary at the end of the wide Australian continental shelf
Continental shelf

The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, and was part of the continent during the glacial periods, but is undersea during Ice age such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas and Bay....
, as agreed with Indonesia in 1972 and 1991. Normally a dispute such as this could be referred to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands....
 or the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea#UNCLOS III....
 for an impartial decision, but the Australian government had withdrawn itself from these international jurisdictions (solely on matters relating to maritime boundaries) shortly before Timorese independence. Nevertheless, under public and diplomatic pressure, the Australian government offered instead a last-minute concession on Greater Sunrise gas field royalties alone. On July 7, 2005, an agreement was signed under which both countries would set aside the dispute over the maritime boundary, and East Timor would receive 50% of the revenues (estimated at A$
Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Islandss of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu....
26 billion or about US$
United States dollar

The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and was defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains of silver ....
20 billion over the lifetime of the project) from the Greater Sunrise development. Other developments within waters claimed by East Timor but outside the JPDA (Laminaria-Corallina and Buffalo) continue to be exploited unilaterally by Australia, however.

In 2007 bad harvest lead to deaths in several parts of Timor-Leste. In November 2007 eleven subdistricts still needed food supply by international aid.

East Timor also has a large and potentially lucrative coffee
Coffee

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, commonly called coffee beans, of the Coffea. Caffeinated coffee has a stimulating effect in humans....
 industry, which sells organic coffee to numerous Fair Trade
Fair trade

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a fair price as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods....
 retailers and on the open market.

Currently three foreign banks have a branch in Dili: Australia's ANZ, Portugal's Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Banco Nacional Ultramarino

Banco Nacional Ultramarino was a Portugal bank with operations throughout the world, especially in Portugal's former overseas provinces. It ceased existence as an independent legal entity in Portugal following its merger with Caixa Geral de Dep?sitos, the government-owned savings bank, in 2001....
, and Indonesia's Bank Mandiri
Bank Mandiri

Bank Mandiri is the largest bank in Indonesia in term of assets, loans and deposits. Total assets as of Q3 2006 were IDR 253.7 trillion . It also has Capital Adequacy Ratio of 23% , Return on Asset of 0.71 %, and Return on Equity of 7.38 %....
.

There are no Patent Laws in East Timor.

Demographics

The population of East Timor is about one million. It has grown considerably recently, because of a high birth rate, but also because of the return of refugees. The population is especially concentrated in the area around Dili.

The Timorese are called Maubere collectively by some of their political organizations, an originally derogatory name turned into a name of pride by Fretilin. They consist of a number of distinct ethnic groups, most of whom are of mixed Malayo-Polynesian
Austronesian people

Austronesian people are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak, or had ancestors who spoke, one of the Austronesian languages....
 and Melanesian/Papuan descent. The largest Malayo-Polynesian ethnic groups are the Tetum (or Tetun) (100,000), primarily in the north coast and around Dili; the Mambae (80,000), in the central mountains; the Tukudede (63,170), in the area around Maubara
Maubara

Maubara is a village in East Timor and is a subdistrict of the Districts of East Timor of Liqui?? , just west of the city of Liqui??.During the beginning of the Portuguese occupation, it was taken by the Netherlands....
 and Liquiçá
Liquiçá

Liqui?? is a coastal city in East Timor, 32 km to the west of Dili, the national capital. Liqui?? is the capital of Liqui?? district. The city has a population of 19,000 inhabitants....
; the Galoli
Galoli

Galoli is an ethnic group in East Timor with a population of about 50,000, primarily along the northern coast of the district of Manatuto . To the west lies the Mambai ethnic group....
 (50,000), between the tribes of Mambae and Makasae
Makasae

Makasae is a Papuan language spoken by about 70,000 people on the eastern part of East Timor, in the districts of Baucau and Viqueque , just to the west of Fataluku language....
; the Kemak
Kemak

The Kemak are an ethnic group numbering 50,000 in north-central Timor island. They primarily live in the district of Bobonaro, East Timor, though many live in the East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia....
 (50,000) in north-central Timor island; and the Baikeno (20,000), in the area around Pante Macassar
Pante Macassar

Pante Macassar is a city on the north coast of East Timor, 281 km to the west of Dili, the nation's capital. It has a population of 4,730 . It is the capital of the Oecussi-Ambeno exclave....
. The main tribes of predominantly Papuan origin include the Bunak
Bunak

The Bunak are an ethnic group that live in the mountainous region of central Timor, split between the political boundary between West Timor, Indonesia, particularly in Lamaknen District and East Timor....
 (50,000), in the central interior of Timor island; the Fataluku (30,000), at the eastern tip of the island near Lospalos
Lospalos

Lospalos is a city in East Timor, 248 km to the east of Dili, the national capital. Lospalos has a population of 28,000 and is the capital of the district of Laut?m....
; and the Makasae
Makasae

Makasae is a Papuan language spoken by about 70,000 people on the eastern part of East Timor, in the districts of Baucau and Viqueque , just to the west of Fataluku language....
, toward the eastern end of the island. In addition, like other former Portuguese colonies where interracial marriage
Interracial marriage

Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing Race groups Marriage, often creating multiracial children. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation ....
 was common, there is a smaller population of people of mixed Timorese and Portuguese origin, known in Portuguese as mestiços. The East Timorese mestiço best-known internationally is José Ramos-Horta, the spokesman for the resistance movement in exile, and now President of East Timor
President of East Timor

East Timor is an emerging democratic state. Its current president is Jos? Ramos-Horta.With the introduction of a new constitution, a parliamentary system was chosen with the president playing a largely ceremonial role....
. Mário Viegas Carrascalão, Indonesia's appointed governor between 1987 and 1992, is also a mestiço. East Timor also has a small Chinese
Overseas Chinese

Overseas Chinese are people of Chinese people birth or descent who live outside the territories administered by the rival governments of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ....
 minority, most of whom are Hakka
Hakka

The Hakka people are a subgroup of the Han Chinese people based in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian in China and speaking the Hakka language....
. Most left after the Indonesian invasion, with most moving to Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 although many Sino-Timorese have returned, including Pedro Lay, the Minister for Infrastructure.

Religion

Upon independence, East Timor became one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia (along with the Philippines
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
), although nearby parts of Indonesia also have Catholic majorities, including West Timor
West Timor

West Timor is the Indonesia portion of the island of Timor and forms part of the province of Nusa Tenggara Timur, . West Timor's capital and chief port is Kupang....
 and Flores
Flores

Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km? extending east from the Java island of Indonesia....
. The population predominantly identifies as Roman Catholic (97%), though local animist
Animism

Animism is a philosophical, religious or spiritual idea that souls or spirits exist not only in humans and animals but also in plants, rock s, natural phenomena such as thunder, geographic features such as mountains or rivers, or other entities of the natural environment, a proposition also known as hylozoism in philosophy....
 traditions have a persistent and strong influence on the culture. Religious minorities include Muslims (1%) (including former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of East Timor

The Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government in East Timor. The President of East Timor 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....
 Mari Alkatiri
Mari Alkatiri

Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri was the first Prime Minister of East Timor of an internationally-recognized East Timor. He served from May 2002 until he resigned on 26 June 2006 following weeks of 2006 East Timor crisis in the country....
) and Protestants (1%) (including Taur Matan Ruak
Taur Matan Ruak

Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak is the Commander of the Falintil-FDTL, the Military of East Timor. He was the last commander of Falintil, the insurgent army which resisted Indonesian the occupation from 1975 to 1999....
, Commander of the Falintil-FDTL
Military of East Timor

The Falintil-For?as de Defesa de Timor Leste or FALINTIL-FDTL is the Armed forces responsible for the defence of East Timor. The F-FDTL was established in February 2001 and currently comprises two small infantry battalions, a small Naval Component and several supporting units....
). Smaller Hindu
Hinduism

'Hinduism' is the predominant religion of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as , a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal dharma", by its practitioners....
 (0.5%), Buddhist
Buddhism

Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religionand is based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as "The Buddha" , who was born in what is today Nepal....
 (0.1%) and traditional animist minorities make up the remainder. Church membership grew considerably under Indonesian rule, as Indonesia's state ideology Pancasila
Pancasila Indonesia

Pancasila, , is the official philosophy foundation of the Indonesian state. Pancasila consists of two Sanskrit words, "panca" meaning five, and "sila" meaning principles....
 does not recognize traditional beliefs and requires all citizens to believe in God. Although the struggle was not about religion, as a deep-rooted local institution the Church not only symbolized East Timor's distinction from predominantly Muslim Indonesia, but also played a significant role in the resistance movement, as personified by Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo Salesians of Don Bosco, Order of the Freedom is a Roman Catholic bishop who received, together with Jos? Ramos-Horta, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, for their work "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor."...
, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. According to Nobel's will , the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for :wikt:fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the h...
 laureate. The constitution acknowledges the Church's role among the East Timorese people although it also stipulates a secular state that guarantees freedom of religion to everyone.

Languages

East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese
Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
, and Tetum, which belongs to the Austronesian
Austronesian languages

The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia....
 family of languages spoken throughout South East Asia. The predominant form of Tetum, known as Tetun-Dili, grew out of the dialect favored by the colonizers at Dili
Dili

Dili, also spelled D?li, is the Capital and largest city of East Timor. It lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, and thus has considerable Portuguese influence, but other dialects of Tetum are also widely used in the country, including Tetun-Terik which is spoken along the southwestern coast. Indonesian
Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Malay language from the Riau islands in western Indonesia, today called Riau Indonesian....
 and English are defined as working languages under the Constitution in the Final and Transitional Provisions, without setting a final date. Another fifteen indigenous languages are spoken: Bekais, Bunak, Dawan
Dawan

The term Dawan may refer to—* Ta-Yuan, a historical people of West China * another name for the Atoni people and language of Timor* a barangay of Mati, Davao Oriental, the Philippines...
, Fataluku, Galoli, Habun, Idalaka, Kawaimina
Kawaimina

Kawaimina is a syllabic abbreviation used to refer to four similar dialects of East Timor, specifically Kairui, Waimoa language, Midiki, and Naueti, spoken by one or two thousand speakers each....
, Kemak, Lovaia, Makalero, Makasai, Mambai
Mambai

For the Indian metropolis, see MumbaiThe Mambai are an ethnic group in East Timor. They number about 80,000 from the interior of Dili District to the south coast of the territory, especially in the districts of Ainaro and Manufahi....
, Tokodede, and Wetarese
Wetarese

Wetarese is the language of Wetar, an island in the south Moluccas, Indonesia, as well as the nearby islands Liran and Atauro, the latter belonging to East Timor....
.

Under Indonesian rule, the use of Portuguese was banned, but it was used by the clandestine resistance, especially in communicating with the outside world. The language, along with Tetum, gained importance as a symbol of resistance and freedom and was adopted as one of the two official languages for this reason, and as a link to nations in other parts of the world. It is now being taught and promoted widely with the help of Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, Portugal
Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, 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....
, and the Latin Union
Latin Union

The Latin Union is an international organization of nations that use a Romance languages. Its aim is to protect, project, and promote the common heritage and unifying identities of the Latin, and Latin-influenced, world....
, although its prominence in official and public spheres has been met with some hostility from younger Indonesian-educated Timorese.

According to the 2006 UN Development Report (using data from official census), under 5% of the Timorese population is proficient in Portuguese. However, the validity of this report has been questioned by members of the Timorese National Institute of Linguistics, which maintains that Portuguese is spoken by up to 25% of Timorese, with the number of speakers more than doubling in the last five years. Along with other local languages, Tetum remains the most common means of communication between ordinary Timorese, while Indonesian is still widely used in the media and school from high school to university. A large proportion of words in Tetum are derived from Portuguese, but it also shares many Malay-derived words with Indonesian. Many Indonesian words are still in common use in Tetum and other Timorese languages, particularly numbers.

East Timor is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries
Community of Portuguese Language Countries

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries is the intergovernmental organization for friendship among lusophone nations where Portuguese is an official language....
 (CPLP), also known as the Lusophone
Lusophone

A Lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language natively or by adoption. As an adjective, it means "Portuguese-speaking". The word itself is derived from the name of the ancient Ancient Rome Roman province of Lusitania, which covered an area that is today Portugal....
 Commonwealth, and a member of the Latin Union. It is the only independent state in Asia with Portuguese
Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
 as an official language, although this is also one of the official languages of China's
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 Special Administrative Region
Special administrative region

A special administrative region, or SAR may be:People's Republic of China* Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, self-governing subnational entity in Hong Kong and Macau ...
 of Macau
Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region, , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong....
.

Culture

The culture of East Timor reflects numerous influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic, and Malayisia, on the indigenous Austronesian
Austronesian people

Austronesian people are a population group present in Oceania and Southeast Asia who speak, or had ancestors who spoke, one of the Austronesian languages....
 and Melanesia
Melanesia

Melanesia literally means "islands of the black-skinned people". It is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western side of the West Pacific to the Arafura Sea, north and northeast of Australia....
n cultures of Timor. Legend has it that a giant crocodile was transformed into the island of Timor, or Crocodile Island, as it is often called. East Timorese culture is heavily influenced by Austronesian legends, although the Catholic influence is also strong.

Illiteracy is still widespread, but there is a strong tradition of poetry. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, for example, is a distinguished poet. As for architecture, some Portuguese-style buildings can be found, along with the traditional totem houses of the eastern region. These are known as uma lulik (sacred houses) in Tetum, and lee teinu (houses with legs) in Fataluku. Craftsmanship is also widespread, as is the weaving of traditional scarves or tais.

Sports


International sports associations

East Timor has joined many international sport associations, including the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an organization based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas on June 23, 1894....
 (IOC). The IOC board has granted full recognition to the East Timorese Olympic
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 Committee (COTL). The IOC had allowed a mainly symbolic four-member team to take part in the 2000 Sydney Games under the Olympic flag as "Independent Olympic Athletes." The Federação de Timor-Leste de Atletismo has joined the International Association of Athletics Federations
International Association of Athletics Federations

The International Association of Athletics Federations is the international Sport governing body for the sport of athletics . It was founded in 1912 during a war, at its first congress in Stockholm, Sweden, Sweden by representatives from 17 national athletics federations as the International Amateur Athletics Federation....
 (IAAF). The Federação de Badminton de Timor-Leste joined the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in April 2003. The East Timor Cycling Federation
East Timor Cycling Federation

The East Timor Cycling Federation is the national sport governing body of bicycle racing in East Timor.The Federation is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale and the Oceanian Cycling Confederation....
 has joined the Union Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is a cycling association that oversees competitive cycling events internationally. It is the world governing body for jurisdiction in the sport of cycling....
. The Confederação do Desporto de Timor Leste has joined the International Weightlifting Federation. East Timor is also a full member of the International Table-Tennis Federation (ITTF). In September 2005, East Timor's national football team
East Timor national football team

The Timor-Leste national football team is the national team of Timor-Leste and is controlled by the Federa?ao Futebol Timor-Leste. East Timor has never had success on the international stage....
 joined FIFA
FIFA

The F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by its acronym, FIFA , is the international sport governing body of association football....
.

Participation in international events

East Timor has taken part in several sporting events. Although the athletes came back with no medals, East Timorese athletes had the opportunity to compete with other Southeast Asian athletes in the 2003 Southeast Asian Games
2003 Southeast Asian Games

The 22nd Southeast Asian Games were held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 5 December - 13 December 2003. The games were opened by Vietnamese prime minister Phan Van Khai in the newly constructed...
 held in Vietnam
Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
 in 2003. Most of their equipment was lent by the other nations competing. In the 2003 ASEAN Paralympics Games, also held in Vietnam, East Timor won a bronze medal. In the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team officials from 201 countries....
, six athletes participated in three sports: athletics, weightlifting and boxing).

On East Timor's performance in the 22nd SEA Games
2003 Southeast Asian Games

The 22nd Southeast Asian Games were held in Hanoi, Vietnam from 5 December - 13 December 2003. The games were opened by Vietnamese prime minister Phan Van Khai in the newly constructed...
 in 2003, karate
Karate

or , and often mis, is a martial arts developed in the Ryukyu Islands from indigenous fighting methods and Chinese martial arts kenpo. It is primarily a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands and ridge-hands....
 coach
Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach or manager is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportsperson....
 Austo Aparício remarked, "This was an opportunity for our athletes to gain experience. East Timor is still young, so it has lots of financial problems." He also commented on his team's karate performance, "We are fairly good at karate and we can make sure that we win a medal in the Philippines in 2005." East Timor went on to win three medals in Arnis at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games
Arnis at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games

The arnis tournament at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games was held on December 1, 2005 to December 4, 2005 at the Emilio Aguinaldo College in Ermita, Manila....
.

East Timor was also one of the competing nations in the first
2006 Lusophony Games

The 1st Lusophony Games were held in the Macau of the People's Republic of China between October 7 and October 15, 2006. The 2006 Games were the first edition of this multi-sport event for Portuguese language-speaking countries and territories, under the banner of ACOLOP....
 Lusophony Games
Lusophony Games

The Lusophony Games is a multinational multi-sport event organized by the ACOLOP, which involves athletes coming from Lusophone countries, namely those belonging to the CPLP , but also others where there are significant Portuguese communities or that have a common past with Portugal....
, winning a bronze medal in the women's volleyball competition (finishing third out of three teams), despite the fact the team had lost all its three games.

On October 30, 2008, East Timor earned their first international points in a FIFA
FIFA

The F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by its acronym, FIFA , is the international sport governing body of association football....
 match with a 2-2 draw against Cambodia.

Public holidays

East Timor now has public holidays that commemorate historic events in the liberation struggle, as well as those associated with Catholicism and Islam. They are defined in .

Date Name Notes
January 1 New Year's Day
New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome ....
 
date varies Eid al-Adha
March-April Good Friday
Good Friday

Good Friday, also called Holy Friday, Great Friday or Black Friday, is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday . It commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Golgotha....
 
May 1 Labour Day
Labour Day

Labour Day or Labor Day is an Year holiday celebrated all over the world that resulted from the trade union movement, to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers....
 
May 20 Independence Restoration Day Anniversary of transfer of sovereignty from the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 transitional government, 2002
May-June Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)

Corpus Christi is a Christianity Religious festival. Its purpose is to honour the Eucharist, and as such it does not commemorate a particular event in Jesus' life....
 
August 30 Popular Consultation Day Anniversary of the Popular Consultation, 1999
November 1 All Saints' Day
All Saints

All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a feast celebrated on November 1 in Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity in honour of all the saints, known and unknown....
 
November 2 All Souls' Day
November 12 National Youth Day Anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre
Dili massacre

The 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....
, 1991
November 28 Proclamation of Independence Day 1975
date varies Idul Fitri
December 7 National Heroes' Day Anniversary of Indonesian invasion of East Timor, 1975
December 8 Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception

For artistic depictions see Roman Catholic Marian art. For the novel by Ga?tan Soucy, see The Immaculate Conception.The Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic Dogma, the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary without any stain of original sin....
 
December 25 Christmas Day


In addition, the law
Law of East Timor

The law of East Timor is based on the Law of Indonesia, as was determined by the United Nations. While laws were originally published only in English language, the government began enacting law solely in Portuguese language in 2002....
 defines "official commemorative dates" which are not considered holidays but could be subject to time off from work:

Date Name
February-March Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday

In the Western Christianity calendar, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent and occurs forty-six days before Easter. It falls on a different date each year, because it is dependent on the Computus; it can occur as early as February 4 or as late as March 10....
March-April Holy Thursday
Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles....
May-June Ascension Day
June 1 International Children's Day
August 20 Day of the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of Timor-Leste (FALINTIL)
November 3 National Women's Day
December 10 International Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day

Human Rights Day is celebrated annually across the world on 10 December.The date was chosen to honour the United NationsUnited Nations General Assembly's adoption and proclamation, on 10 December 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the first global enunciation of human rights....


See also


Lists

  • List of East Timor-related topics
    List of East Timor-related topics

    This is a list of topics related to East Timor. Those interested in the subject can monitor changes to the pages by clicking on Related changes in the sidebar....
  • List of cities in East Timor
    List of cities in East Timor

    This is a list of cities, towns, and villages in East Timor.*Aileu **Aileu*Ainaro **Ainaro**Hatu Udo**Maubara*Baucau **Baguia**Baucau...
  • List of East Timorese people
    List of East Timorese people

    The following is a list of notable East Timor people:*Afonso Busa Metan*Alfredo Reinado*Anna Pessoa Pinto*Avelino Coelho*Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo...


Bibliography

  • Cashmore, Ellis (1988). Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations. New York: Routledge.
  • Charny, Israel W. Encyclopedia of Genocide Volume I. Denver: Abc Clio.
  • Dunn, James (1996). East Timor: A People Betrayed. Sydney: ABC Books.
  • Levinson, David. Ethnic Relations. Denver: Abc Clio.
  • Rudolph, Joseph R. Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts. Westport: Greenwood P, 2003. 101-106.
  • Shelton, Dinah. Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. Thompson Gale.
  • Taylor, John G. (1999). East Timor: The Price of Freedom. Australia: Pluto Press. ISBN 1856498409.


External links


Government
  • Official government site
  • [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/world-leaders-t/timor-leste.html Chief of State and Cabinet Members]
General information* from UCB Libraries GovPubs*