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East Timor
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The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste or
East Timor is a country in Southeast Asia. It
consists of the eastern half of the island of
Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco,
and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave of East Timor
situated on the northwestern side of the island,
surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. The small
country is located about 400 miles northwest of
Darwin, Australia.
The name Timor is derived from timur the Malay
word for 'east', which became Timor in
Portuguese. The Portuguese name Timor-Leste and
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 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. With the Philippines, East Timor
is one of only two majority Roman Catholic
countries in Asia.
History
Main article: History of East Timor
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. 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 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 were the first Europeans to
arrive in the area, in the 16th century, and
they established an isolated presence on the
island of Timor, while the surrounding islands
came under Dutch control. The area became a
colony in 1702 with the arrival of the first
governor from Lisbon. In the 18th century,
Holland gained a foothold on the western half of
the island, and was formally given West Timor in
1859 with the Treaty of Lisbon. The definitive
border was drawn by the Hague in 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 a 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 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
this could be internationally recognised.
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 NATO founding member.
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
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. However,
internationally its legal status was that of a
"non-self governing territory under Portuguese
administration."
The East Timorese guerrilla forces, known as the
Falintil fought a very successful guerrilla
campaign against the Indonesian forces from 1975
into 1999. Their casualties were relatively
light compared to those they inflicted upon the
Indonesian military. However the Indonesians
generally took their frustrations out on the
civilian population, often torturing and killing
on the pretense that they were 'helping the
rebels'.
Indonesian rule in East Timor was marked by
extreme violence and brutality, two of the worst
examples of this being the Dili massacre and the
Liquiçá Church Massacre. During the invasion and
24-year occupation, 100,000 to 250,000 people
were killed out of an initial population of
about 600,000 at the time of the invasion. The
attacks on civilian populations were only
nominally reported in the western press,
especially in the United States, where the
atrocities of Pol Pot were given far greater
attention. 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
militia's 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 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 militia
dispersed. INTERFET was replaced by a UN force.
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.
Main article: Geography of East Timor
Map of East Timor with citiesThe 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 Tatamailau at 2,963 m.
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
is an airstrip in Baucau used for domestic
flights.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of East Timor
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
internationally is José Ramos Horta, the
spokesman for the resistance movement in exile,
and now Foreign Minister. Mário Viegas
Carrascalão, Indonesia's appointed governor
between 1987 and 1992, is also Mestiço.
Religion
The population is predominantly Roman Catholic
(90%), with sizable Muslim (5%) and Protestant
(3%) minorities. Smaller Hindu, Buddhist and
animist minorities make up the remainder.
Languages
Main article: Languages of East Timor
East Timor's two official languages are
Portuguese and Tetum, a local Austronesian
language. The official language Tetum, known as
Tetum-Dili, grew out of the dialect favored by
the colonizers at Dili, and thus has
considerable foreign influence, but there are
also has a variety of non-official dialects
which are widely used and known as Tetum-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 and Portugal. Some claim it is
now spoken by 25% of the population(source??),
although its prominence in official and public
spheres has been met with some hostility from
younger Indonesian-educated people. 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.
There remains great controversy over the
Timorese government's language policy which, in
practice, promotes Portuguese over the national
language Tetum. It is also not widely accepted
that any more than 5% of the population
currently speaks Portuguese with any
fluency.[1](2- Timorese Census) Local languages
and Tetum still remain the most common means of
communication between ordinary Timorese, while a
large segment of Timor's demographically young
population also speak Bahasa Indonesia.
Culture
Main article: Culture of East Timor
The culture of East Timor reflects numerous
cultural influences, including Portuguese, Roman
Catholic and Malay, on the indigenous
Austronesian 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. This catholicism
strengthened in response to the Indonesian
domination, which forced the population to adopt
a religion as a counter-communism policy.
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, known as uma
lulik, also survive. Craftmanship is also
widespread, as is the weaving of traditional
scarves or tais.
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Background:
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The
Portuguese colony of Timor declared itself
independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and
was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine
days later. It was subsequently incorporated into
Indonesia in July 1976 as the province of Timor
Timur. A so-called campaign of pacification followed
over the next two decades, during which time an
estimated 100,000 to 250,000 individuals lost their
lives. On 30 August 1999, in a UN-supervised popular
referendum, the people of Timor Timur voted for
independence from Indonesia. On 20 May 2002, East
Timor was internationally recognized as an
independent state and the world's newest democracy.
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Location:
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Southeastern Asia, northwest of Australia in the
Lesser Sunda Islands at the eastern end of the
Indonesian archipelago; note - East Timor includes
the eastern half of the island of Timor, the Oecussi
(Ambeno) region on the northwest portion of the
island of Timor, and the islands of Pulau Atauro and
Pulau Jaco |
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Geographic coordinates:
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8 50
S, 125 55 E
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Map references:
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Southeast Asia
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Area:
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total: 15,007 sq km
land: NA sq km
water: NA sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly larger than Connecticut |
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Land boundaries:
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total: 228 km
border countries: Indonesia 228 km |
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Coastline:
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706
km |
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Maritime claims:
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contiguous zone: NA NM
extended fishing zone: NA NM
territorial sea: NA NM
exclusive fishing zone: NA NM
continental shelf: NA NM
exclusive economic zone: NA NM |
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Climate:
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tropical; hot, humid; distinct rainy and dry seasons
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Terrain:
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mountainous
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Timor Sea, Savu Sea, and Banda Sea
0 m
highest point: Foho Tatamailau 2,963 m |
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Natural resources:
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gold,
petroleum, natural gas, manganese, marble |
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Nationality:
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noun: Timorese
adjective: Timorese |
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Ethnic groups:
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Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian), Papuan, small
Chinese minority |
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic 90%, Muslim 4%, Protestant 3%, Hindu 0.5%,
Buddhist, Animist (1992 est.) |
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Languages:
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Tetum
(official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian,
English
note: there are a total of about 16
indigenous languages, of which Tetum, Galole, Mambae,
and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of
people |
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Currency:
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US
dollar (USD)
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Currency code:
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USD
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