East Timor
East Timor, officially the
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in
Southeast Asia comprising the eastern half of the
island of
Timor, the nearby islands of
Atauro and
Jaco, and
Oecussi-Ambeno, an
exclave of East Timor on the northwestern side of the island, surrounded by
Indonesian
West Timor. The small country of 5,376 square miles (14,609 square kilometres) is located about 400 miles (640 km) northwest of
Darwin, Australia.
The name Timor derives from
timor or
timur, the word for 'east' in all the Malay languages (including
Tetum, the most widely spoken language in the country, as well as
Indonesian and
Malay), which became
Timor in
Portuguese. The Portuguese name
Timor-Leste and the
Tetum name
Timor Lorosa'e are sometimes used in
English. Lorosa'e means 'rising sun' in Tetum.
East Timor has the lowest
per capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity adjusted) in the world of only $400 (which corresponds to the
192nd, and last, position). However, regarding the Human Development Index, or
HDI, it is in
140th place among the world's nations, which corresponds to medium human development.
Colonized by
Portugal in the 16th century, East Timor was known as
Portuguese Timor for centuries. It was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, which
occupied it until 1999. Following the
UN-sponsored act of self-determination that year, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory, which achieved full independence on
May 20,
2002, becoming the first new country of the 21st century. With the
Philippines, East Timor is one of only two predominantly
Roman Catholic countries in
Asia.
Early history
Timor was originally populated as part of the human migrations that have shaped
Australasia more generally. It is believed that survivors from three waves of migration still live in the country. The first is described by anthropologists as people of the
Australoid type, who arrived about 40,000 years ago and form the principal indigenous groups of
New Guinea and
Australia. Around 3000
BC, a second migration brought
Melanesians, who later continued eastward and colonized nearly the whole
Pacific Ocean, and possibly associated with the development of agriculture on Timor. Finally, proto-
Malays arrived from south
China and north
Indochina.[
1][
2] The mountainous nature of the country meant that these groups could remain separate, and explains why there is so much
linguistic diversity in East Timor today.
Timor was incorporated into Chinese and Indian trading networks of the 14th Century as an exporter of aromatic
sandalwood,
slaves,
honey and
wax. Early European explorers report that the island had a number of small chiefdoms or princedoms in the early 16th century. One of the most significant is the
Wehale kingdom in central Timor, with its capital at
Laran, West Timor, to which the Tetum,
Bunaq and
Kemak ethnic groups were aligned.
The Portuguese
The Portuguese were the first
Europeans to arrive in the area, in the 16th century. They established outposts in Timor as well as in several of the surrounding islands. However, during the House of Habsburg's rule over Portugal, all the surrounding outposts were lost and eventually came under
Dutch control by the mid 17th century. The area became a colony in 1702 with the arrival of the first governor from
Lisbon. In the 18th century, the Netherlands gained a foothold on the Western half of the island, and was formally given West Timor 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.
In late 1941 Portuguese Timor was briefly occupied by Dutch and Australian troops, who aimed to thwart the
Japanese invasion of the island. The Portuguese Governor protested the invasion, and the Dutch forces returned to the Dutch side of the island. When the Japanese landed and drove the small Australian force out of Dili, the mountainous interior became the scene of a
guerrilla 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
decolonisation in
Portuguese Timor began in 1974, following the change of government in Portugal in the wake of the
Carnation Revolution.Owing to political instability and more pressing concerns with decolonisation in
Angola and
Mozambique, Portugal effectively abandoned East Timor, which
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 recognised.
The Indonesians
Indonesia alleged that the popular East Timorese
FRETILIN party, which received some vocal support from the
People's Republic of China, was communist. With the
American cause in
South Vietnam lost and fearing a
Communist domino effect in Southeast Asia, the U.S., along with ally Australia, did not object to the pro-Western Indonesian government's actions, despite Portugal being a founding member of
NATO.
The Indonesian invasion was launched over the western border on
16 October 1975. The day before the invasion of
Dili and subsequent annexation,
U.S. President Gerald Ford and
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had met
President Suharto in
Jakarta where Ford made it clear that "we will not press you on the issue." Several U.S. administrations up to and including that of
Bill Clinton did not ban arms sales to the Indonesian government, though the latter did eventually end U.S. support of Suharto's regime. The territory was declared the 27th province of Indonesia in July 1976 as
Timor Timur. Its nominal status in the UN remained that of a "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration."
The East Timorese guerrilla force,
Falintil, fought a campaign against the
Indonesian forces from 1975 to 1999. Their casualties were relatively light compared to those they inflicted upon the Indonesian
military.
|
Demonstration for independence from Indonesia |
Indonesian rule in East Timor was often marked by extreme violence and brutality, such as the
Dili massacre and the
Liquiçá Church Massacre. In addition, subsistence agriculture, food, and medical supplies were deliberately obstructed, resulting in heavy excess mortality. From 1975 until 1993, attacks on civilian populations were only nominally reported in the Western press. Death tolls reported during the occupation varied from 60,000 to 200,000[
3]. A detailed statistical report prepared for the
Commission on Reception, Truth and Reconciliation of Timor-Leste cited a lower range 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.[
4] Since each data source used under-reports actual deaths, this is considered a minimum.
Amnesty International estimated deaths at 200,000.
Independence
Following a UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia, Portugal and the US, on
August 30,
1999, a
United Nations-supervised popular
referendum was held. The East Timorese voted for full independence from Indonesia, but violent clashes, instigated primarily by the Indonesian military (see
Scorched Earth Operation) and aided by Timorese
pro-Indonesia militias, led by Eurico Guiterres, broke out soon afterwards. A peacekeeping force (
INTERFET, led by Australia) intervened to restore order. Militias fled across the border into Indonesia, from which they attempted sporadic armed raids, particularly along the
New Zealand Army-held southern half of the main border. 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, and the mission became known as
UNTAET.
Independence was recognised by Portugal after a visit of
Xanana Gusmão to Lisbon to choose the date. They decided
May 20,
2002, and East Timor joined the UN on
September 27 of that year.
2006 crisis
Unrest started in the country in April 2006 following the riots in Dili. A rally in support of 591 East Timorese soldiers, who were dismissed for deserting their barracks, turned into rioting where five people were killed and over 20,000 fled their homes. Fierce fighting between pro-government troops and disaffected Falintil troops broke out in May 2006 [
5]. While unclear, the motives behind the fighting appear to be the distribution of oil funds and the poor organization of the Timorese army and police, which includes former Indonesian police and former Timorese rebels. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has called the violence a "coup" and has welcomed offers of foreign military assistance from several nations [
6] [
7]. As of
May 25,
2006, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Portugal have sent troops to Timor, attempting to quell the violence [
8] [
9].
On
June 21,
2006, President Xanana Gusmao formally requested Prime Minister
Mari Alkatiri step down. A majority of Fretlin party members have demanded the prime minister's resignation, accusing him of lying about distributing weapons to civilians [
10]. On
June 26,
2006 Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned stating, "I declare I am ready to resign my position as prime minister of the government... so as to avoid the resignation of His Excellency the President of the Republic" [
11].
Jose Ramos Horta was appointed as his successor on
July 8 2006. [
12]
|
Government Palace in Dili |
The
Head of state of the East Timorese
republic is the
president, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and whose role is largely symbolic, although they are able to veto some legislation. Following elections, the president appoints as the leader of the majority party or majority
coalition. As
head of government the prime minister presides over the Council of State or
cabinet.
The
unicameral Timorese
parliament is the
National Parliament 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 52 to a maximum of 65, though it exceptionally has 88 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.
|
Map of the districts of East Timor, geographic order |
East Timor is divided into 13 administrative districts:#
Lautém#
Baucau#
Viqueque#
Manatuto#
Dili#
Aileu#
Manufahi#
Liquiçá#
Ermera#
Ainaro#
Bobonaro#
Cova-Lima #
Oecussi-Ambeno |
Map of East Timor with cities |
The island of Timor is part of the
Malay archipelago and the largest and easternmost of the
Lesser Sunda Islands. To the north of the mountainous island are the
Ombai Strait and
Wetar Strait, to the south the
Timor Sea separates the island from Australia, while to the west lies the
Indonesian Province of
East Nusa Tenggara. The highest point of East Timor is
Mount Ramelau (also known as
Mount Tatamailau) at 2,963 metres (9,721
ft).
The local
climate 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. Dili has the only functioning international airport, though there are airstrips in Baucau and Oecusse used for domestic flights. Dili's airport runway is unable to accommodate large aircraft.
Prior to and during colonisation, Timor was best known for its sandalwood. In late 1999, about 70% of the economic
infrastructure of East Timor was laid waste by
Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias, and 260,000 people fled westward. Over the next three years a massive international program led by the UN, manned by civilian advisers, 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned. This successful UN effort was headed by Special Representative of the
Secretary-General,
Sérgio Vieira de Mello, later to become
High Commissioner for Human Rights, who was killed in Baghdad in August 2003.
The country faces great challenges in continuing to rebuild the infrastructure and strengthen the infant civil administration. One promising long-term project is the joint development with Australia of
petroleum and
natural gas resources in the waters southeast of Timor.
The Portuguese colonial administration granted a concession to
Oceanic Exploration Corporation, [NASDAQ: OCEX.OB] of Denver, Colorado, to develop the petroleum deposits of the Timor Sea. Before the concession could begin to be developed, the Indonesian invasion made it impossible.
Timor Sea petroleum resources were divided between Indonesia and Australia by the
Timor Gap Treaty in 1989,[
13] which 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. [
14] Revenues from the "joint" area were to be divided 50%-50%.
Woodside Petroleum and
ConocoPhillips began development of some resources in the Timor Gap on behalf of the two governments in 1992.
OCEX currently has a $30B lawsuit against ConocoPhillips pending in US District Court in New York. This lawsuit is the company's sole significant asset; to fund the suit, it relies on the deep pockets of its majority owner,
James Neal Blue, who also owns
General Atomics (maker of the
Predator drone aircraft).
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, 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.[
15] 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.[
16]
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. The Government of Australia preferred to establish the boundary at the end of the wide Australian
continental shelf, as agreed with Indonesia in 1972 and 1991. Normally a dispute such as this could be referred to the
International Court of Justice or the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for an impartial decision,[
17] but the Australian government had withdrawn itself from these international jurisdictions (solely on matters relating to maritime boundaries) shortly before Timorese independence.[
18][
19] Nevertheless, under public and diplomatic pressure the Australian government offered instead a last-minute concession on Greater Sunrise gas field royalties alone.[
20] 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$26 billion or about
US$20 billion over the lifetime of the project [
21]) 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.[
22]
East Timor also has a large and potentially lucrative
coffee industry, which sells organic coffee to numerous
Fair Trade retailers and on the open market.
Currently three foreign banks have a branch in Dili: Australia's
ANZ Bank, Portugal's
Banco Nacional Ultramarino, and Indonesia's
Bank Mandiri.
East Timor has the lowest
per capita income in the world (USD 400 per
annum) according to the
CIA World Factbook, 2005.
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 and Melanesian/
Papuan descent. The largest Malayo-Polynesian ethnic groups are the
Tetun (or Tetum) (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 and
Liquiçá; the
Galoli (50,000), between the tribes of Mambae and Makasae; the Kemak (50,000) in north-central Timor island; and the
Baikeno (20,000), in the area around
Pante Macassar. The main tribes of predominantly Papuan origin include the
Bunak (50,000), in the central interior of Timor island; the
Fataluku (30,000), at the eastern tip of the island near
Lospalos; and the
Makasae, toward the eastern end of the island. In addition, like other former
Portuguese colonies where
interracial marriage was common, there is a smaller population of people of mixed Timorese and Portuguese origin, known in Portuguese as
Mestiço. The best-known East Timorese
Mestiço's internationally are
Xanana Gusmão, the resistance fighter and national hero, and now
President of East Timor; and
José Ramos Horta, the spokesman for the resistance movement in exile, and now
Prime Minister of East Timor.
Mário Viegas Carrascalão, Indonesia's appointed governor between 1987 and 1992, is also
Mestiço. East Timor has also tiny
Chinese and pure-blooded Portuguese (most of them left the area after Indonesian takeover) minorities.
Upon independence, East Timor became one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic
Christian countries in Asia (the other being the Philippines). The population predominantly identifies as Roman Catholic (90%), though local
animist traditions have a persistent and strong influence on the culture. There are sizeable
Muslim (5%) (former
Prime Minister of East Timor Marí Alkatiri being the most famous member) and
Protestant (3%) minorities. Smaller
Hindu,
Buddhist and traditional animist minorities make up the remainder. Church membership grew considerably under Indonesian rule, as Indonesia's state ideology
Pancasila, which requires all citizens to believe in God, did not recognise traditional beliefs. Moreover, as a deep-rooted local institution, the Church not only symbolized East Timor's difference to Muslim Indonesia but played a significant role in the resistance movement, as personified by Bishop
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, the 1996
Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (See also the
Liquiçá Church Massacre.) But important to note, the struggle was absolutely not about religion. The Church's role and place among the East Timorese people has been acknowledged in the East Timorese constitution. However East Timor is secular according to the constitution and guarantees freedom of religion to everyone.
East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, a local
Austronesian language. The official language Tetum, known as
Tetun-Dili, grew out of the dialect favored by the colonizers at Dili, and thus has considerable foreign influence, but there is also a variety of non-official dialects which are widely used and known as
Tetun-Terik. Indonesian and English are defined as working languages under the Constitution in the Final and Transitional Provisions, without setting a final date. Although the country has only about 1 million inhabitants, another fifteen indigenous languages are spoken:
Bekais, Bunak,
Dawan, Fataluku, Galoli,
Habun,
Idalaka,
Kawaimina, Kemak,
Lovaia,
Makalero,
Makasai,
Mambai,
Tokodede and
Wetarese.
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, Portugal and the
Latin Union, although its prominence in official and public spheres has been met with some hostility from younger Indonesian-educated Timorese.
2006 UNDP Report (using data from official census) and various local NGOs say that under 5% [
23] of the Timorese population is literate in Portuguese. The Government funded National Institute of Linguistics maintains it 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 for technical terms and in the media. A large proportion of words in Tetum are derived from Portuguese, while there are many Malay-derived words in Tetum shared 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 (
CPLP), also known as the
Lusophone Commonwealth, and a member of the Latin Union.
The culture of East Timor reflects numerous cultural influences, including Portuguese, Roman Catholic, and Malay, on the indigenous
Austronesian and
Melanesian 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. Like Indonesia, the culture of East Timor has been heavily influenced by Austronesian legends, although the Catholic influence is also strong.
Illiteracy is still widespread, but there is a strong tradition of poetry. President Xanana Gusmão is, for example, a distinguished poet. As for architecture, some Portuguese-style buildings can be found, although the traditional totem houses of the eastern region also survive. 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.
East Timor now has
public holidays that commemorate historic events in the liberation struggle, as well as those associated with Catholic Christianity.
