East Timor

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Repúblika Demokrátika Timór Lorosa'e República Democrática de Timor-Leste
Flag Coat of arms of East Timor Coat of arms
Motto: Unidade, Acção, Progresso (Portuguese: "Unity, Action, Progress")
Anthem: Pátria
Capital and largest city	Dili
Official languages	Tetum and Portuguese1
Demonym(s)	East Timorese
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	José Ramos Horta
• Prime Minister	Xanana Gusmão
Independence  from Portugal²
• Declared	November 28, 1975
• Recognized	May 20, 2002
Area
• Total	15,410 km2 (5,950 sq mi) (158th)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• July 2005 estimate	947,000 (155th)
• Density	64/km2 (165.8/sq mi) (132nd)
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$1.68 billion (206)
• Per capita	$800 (188)
HDI (2007)	0.514 low (150th)
Currency	U.S. Dollar³ (USD)
Time zone	UTC+9
Calling code	670
ISO 3166 code	TL
Internet TLD	.tl4
Indonesian and English are recognised by the Constitution as "working languages". Indonesia invaded East Timor on December 7, 1975 and left in 1999. Centavo coins also used. .tp is being phased out.

East Timor (officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste) is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. The small country of 15,410 km² (5,400 mi²) is located about 640 km (400 mi) northwest of Darwin, Australia.

East Timor was colonised by Portugal since the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until Portugal's decolonisation of the country. In late 1975 East Timor declared its independence but was invaded and occupied by Indonesia later that year, and declared that country's 27th province the following year. In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory and East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the twenty-first century on May 20, 2002. Alongside the Philippines, East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia.

At $800, the per capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity adjusted) of East Timor is one of the lowest in the world. Its Human Development Index (HDI), however, corresponds to a medium degree of human development and places East Timor 142nd among the world's nations.

Etymology and naming issues

The country is known as East Timor in English, Timor-Leste in Portuguese (sometimes spelled Timor Leste, without a hyphen), and Timór Lorosa'e in the Tetum language. "Timor" derives from timur, the word for "east" in Indonesian and Malay which became Timor in Portuguese and hence English. Lorosa'e is also the word for "east" in Tetum (literally "rising sun").

The Portuguese name Timor-Leste (pron. IPA: [ti'moɾ 'lɛʃtɨ]) is sometimes used in English, as is, albeit very infrequently, the unofficial Tetum name. Following the country's independence, its government has requested that the official name in all languages be Timor-Leste, but this has not yet become the norm worldwide. However, several influential countries and organizations have started applying this naming doctrine: for example, the United Nations officially calls the country Timor-Leste in English, and the country was admitted to the UN General Assembly under this name. Among world governments, both the United States government and the European Union have recently begun using the country's own preferred terminology. Wikipedia's present usage of the term East Timor, rather than Timor-Leste, derives from what is believed to be the most widespread English-language usage as of today; it should not be taken to reflect any partiality in the naming issue.

History

Main article: History of East Timor

Early history

The island of Timor was originally populated as part of the human migrations that have shaped Australasia more generally. It is believed that descendants from at least three waves of migration still live in the country. The East Timorese are primarily of Melanesian races, with a population of 680,000 by the time of the Portuguese withdrawal in 1975. The first were related to the principal indigenous groups of New Guinea and Australia, and arrived before 40,000 years ago. Around 3000 BC, a second migration brought Austronesians, who later continued eastward and colonized Island Oceania, and are 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 fourteenth 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 sixteenth 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.

Portuguese colonization

East Timor, as well as other areas of the East Indies, was of colonial interests of Portugal and the Netherlands dating back to the sixteenth century. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to colonize South-East Asia when they arrived in the sixteenth 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 (1580-1640), all the surrounding outposts were lost and eventually came under Dutch control by the mid-seventeenth century. The area became a colony in 1702 with the arrival of the first governor from Lisbon. In the eighteenth century, the Netherlands gained a foothold on the Western half of the island, and formally received West Timor in 1859 through the Treaty of Lisbon. By this time, Timor had been formally split, with the Dutch controlling most of the western half, and the eastern half under the control of the Portuguese. When East Timor first became an item in international forums on decolonization in the early 1960s, the Indonesians explicitly discounted any territorial claims over the Portuguese colony. 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 in an attempt to preempt 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 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 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 over the decolonisation of Angola and Mozambique, 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

Main article: Indonesian invasion of East Timor

In the April 1974, the nonviolent Carnation Revolution of Portugal overthrew the fascist dictatorship, and slowly began to withdraw from its colonies, East Timor included, which had been under Portuguese influence for nearly 400 years. 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. This led to a brief civil war in 1975 as well as a series of attacks across borders. Indonesia alleged that the East Timorese FRETILIN party, which received some vocal support from the People's Republic of China, was communist. Fearing a Communist domino effect in Southeast Asia—and in the wake of its failed South Vietnam campaign—the United States, along with its ally Australia, supported the pro-Western Indonesian government's actions. This led to a 24 year rule over East Timor, which was quietly supported by major world powers desiring close relations with Indonesia, itself a vast, ethnically diverse country of over 200 million people (Cashmore, Ellis). The efforts to fully assimilate the East Timorese, the majority of which was Roman Catholic, was unsuccessful, despite the tools of repression and propaganda used, including the Indonesian people’s colonization of the people’s lands. The invasion by Indonesia of this tiny island nation in 1975 and the subsequent occupation constituted one of the most serious violations of human rights during the second half of the twentieth century. Despite the subsequent levels of colonialism, Timor managed a high degree of autonomy during much of this period, maintaining their traditional historic trade with the archipelago. Though Portuguese rule came with the traditional pattern of abuse and mistreatment, they ruled Timor with a degree of neglect (Rudolph), leaving a weaker colonial impact than in many other colonized areas of the world

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 any way of enforcing this mandate. Two days before the invasion of Dili and subsequent annexation, U.S. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met President Suharto in Jakarta where Ford made it clear that "We will understand and will not press you on the issue. We understand the problem and the intentions you have." Kissinger added: "It is important that whatever you do succeeds quickly [because] the use of US-made arms could create problems." U.S. arms sales to Indonesia continued well into the Clinton Administration, although the U.S. did eventually discontinue its support of Suharto's regime. As "Timor Timur", 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."

The East Timorese guerrilla force, Falintil, fought a campaign against the Indonesian forces from 1975 to 1999, some members being trained in Portugal by Portuguese special forces. Jimmy Carter, during his first year in office, authorized 112 million dollars worth of military arms to Indonesia, which allowed an expansion of the war on land as well as air, with overwhelming consequences, resulting in the deaths as many as 200,000 East Timorese, more than one third of the island nation’s population .

Demonstration for independence from Indonesia.

Indonesian rule in East Timor was often marked by extreme violence and brutality, such as the Dili massacre in 1991 and the Liquiçá Church Massacre. From the beginning of the invasion in 1975, the widespread amount of killing that occurred was staggering, with hundreds being executed on docks in Dili and being thrown into the sea (Charny,Israel W. Encyclopedia of Genocide Volume I. Denver: Abc Clio), as many as 60,000 being slaughtered within the first few months of the invasion. 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. A detailed statistical report prepared for the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor 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. Since each data source used under-reports actual deaths, this is considered a minimum. Amnesty International estimated deaths at 200,000.

Ben Kiernan has written in War, Genocide, and Resistance in East Timor, 1975–99: Comparative Reflections on Cambodia that "the crimes committed... in East Timor, with a toll of 150,000 in a population of 650,000, clearly meet a range of sociological definitions of genocide used by most scholars of the phenomenon, who see both political and ethnic groups as possible victims of genocide. The victims in East Timor included not only that substantial 'part' of the Timorese 'national group' targeted for destruction because of their resistance to Indonesian annexation... but also most members of the twenty-thousand strong ethnic Chinese minority prominent in the towns of East Timor, whom Indonesian forces singled out for destruction, apparently because of their ethnicity 'as such.'". For many reasons, the occupation of East Timor was more political and nationalistic than religious. The Christian and Muslim majorities in Indonesia both supported the takeover of East Timor. There was definitely an ethnic component that assisted the Indonesian in justifying their invasion, helping fuel the opposition. They viewed the East Timorese as a “backward Melanesian race” who they had helped becomes liberated from Portuguese rule. They defended their occupation of the grounds that it was an attempt at rebuilding infrastructure, which the Indonesians had bought and paid for with their own capital, after centuries of neglect. If anything, these improvements were used to try and win the support of the population and to better impose Indonesian rule. Despite these efforts, winning the hearts and minds of the East Timorese people was as a whole unsuccessful, so the conflict quickly became handled through political oppression, knowing the international community wouldn’t want to risk losing its close relations with this resource rich, strategically located nation. They tried to impose control by indoctrinating them in the official ideology of the Suharto dictatorship, and there was virtually no contact with the outside world for the first thirteen years. Despite their efforts at reformed education and thought, they failed to change the nationalist cause of the East Timorese, and by the 1990s, there was an international awareness of their situation. The opposition condemned the governance of East Timor by the Suharto regime, but at the same time still favored East Timor’s integration into Indonesia

Indonesia’s military regime seems to have been motivated by the desire to consolidate the fragile national unity of the country through an example of strength and firmness against East Timorese efforts at independence. This conflict is significant on many levels, not solely on the loss of life. In percentage of people massacred, this represents the deadliest conflict since the end of World War II, with an even higher percentage of the population’s death than the genocide in Cambodia during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. A significant factor in all this is the neglect of the U.S. and the rest of the international community, opening backing Indonesia’s occupation as well as supplying their own weaponry for the occupational forces, while most of the Muslim world backed the Timorese repression. Many students also saw this conflict as the classic triumph of realpolitik over international legal norms and principles. In the end, it was the mobilization of NGOs that created a position in which these allied governments could no longer supply Indonesia with its normal military and financial support, forcing their government to realize that good international relations were exceedingly more important than the need to maintain a stranglehold on East Timor. The final weeks of occupation ended in 2000, not without a last series of brutal killings and demolition of property. This was a historical moment highlighting the importance of non-governmental organizations, and how they mobilize to support suppressed minorities despite the economic interests of other world powers.

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 was held on August 30, 1999. 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 Guterres, broke out soon afterwards. A peacekeeping force (INTERFET, led by Australia) intervened to restore order.

The militias fled across the border into Indonesia, from which they attempted sporadic armed raids, particularly along the southern half of the main border held by the New Zealand Army. 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 was formed to investigate alleged atrocities. The result of these actions caused Osama Bin Laden to threaten Australia and Australian interests.

Following a visit by Xanana Gusmão to Lisbon, Portugal agreed to recognise East Timor's independence on May 20 2002. On September 27, East Timor joined the United Nations.

2006 crisis

Main article: 2006 East Timorese crisis

Unrest started in the country in April 2006, following riots in Dili. A riot broke out during a rally in support of 591 East Timorese soldiers who had been dismissed for deserting their barracks; 500 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. While unclear, the motives behind the fighting appeared to be the distribution of oil funds and the poor organization of the Timorese army and the police, including former Indonesian police and former Timorese rebels. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri called the violence a "coup" and welcomed offers of foreign military assistance from several nations. By May 25 2006, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Portugal sent troops to Timor, attempting to quell the violence.

On June 22, 2006, President Xanana Gusmão delivered an ultimatum on a national television broadcast, saying that he would resign as President the following day if Prime Minister Alkatiri did not resign. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri replied that he would only resign if Fretilin wanted him to do so. On 25 June, a meeting of Fretilin leaders confirmed Alkatiri's status as Prime Minister and in response, Foreign and Defence Minister José Ramos Horta resigned from office. Pressure was mounting on Mari Alkatiri as 8 more ministers threatened to resign the next day, June 26. On the same day, 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". José Ramos Horta was appointed as his successor on July 8, 2006.

In the build-up to the April 2007 presidential elections there were renewed outbreaks of violence in February and March 2007, particularly in the city of Same. At this point people that had fled the 2006 violence in Dili were still displaced, living in camps around the country. José Ramos Horta was inaugurated as President on May 20, 2007 following his election win in the second round.

United Nations missions

• UNAMET United Nations Mission in East Timor June—October 1999
• UNTAET United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor October 1999—May 2002
• UNMISET United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor May 2002—May 2005
• UNOTIL United Nations Office in Timor Leste May 2005—August 2006
• UNMIT United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste August 2006 - present

Politics

Government Palace in Dili.

Main article: Politics of East Timor

The Head of state of the East Timorese republic is the president, 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 as the prime minister. 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 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

Districts, subdistricts, and sucos

Map of the districts of East Timor.

Main articles: Districts of East Timor, Subdistricts of East Timor, and Sucos of East Timor

East Timor is divided into thirteen administrative districts:

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

Geography

Map of East Timor shows cities and main roads.

Main article: Geography of East Timor

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 meters (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, Suai and Oecusse used for domestic flights. Dili's airport runway is unable to accommodate large aircraft.

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.

Economy

Main article: Economy of East Timor

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 United Nations, 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 (and subsequently killed in Baghdad, 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 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, [1] 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. [2] 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 $30 billion 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 RQ-1 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. [3] 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. [4]

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, [5] but the Australian government had withdrawn itself from these international jurisdictions (solely on matters relating to maritime boundaries) shortly before Timorese independence. [6] [7] Nevertheless, under public and diplomatic pressure, the Australian government offered instead a last-minute concession on Greater Sunrise gas field royalties alone.[8] 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 [9]) 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. [10]

Subdistricts suffer from hunger in November 2007

In 2007 bad harvest lead to a dearth in several parts of Timor-Leste. In November 2007 still eleven subdistricts are needing food supply by international aid.

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, Portugal's Banco Nacional Ultramarino, and Indonesia's Bank Mandiri.

Demographics

File:369949523 075e97ebb3 b.jpg

Indigenous Timorese in traditional dress.

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 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. Mário Viegas Carrascalão, Indonesia's appointed governor between 1987 and 1992, is also a mestiço. East Timor also has a small Chinese minority, most of whom are Hakka. Most left after the Indonesian invasion, with most moving to Australia 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). The population predominantly identifies as Roman Catholic (90%), though local animist traditions have a persistent and strong influence on the culture. Religious minorities include Muslims (5%) (including former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri) and Protestants (3%) (including Taur Matan Ruak, Commander of the Falintil-FDTL). Smaller Hindu (0.3%), Buddhist (0.1%) and traditional animist minorities make up the remainder. Church membership grew considerably under Indonesian rule, as Indonesia's state ideology Pancasila 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, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize 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

Main article: Languages of East Timor

East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, a local Austronesian language. The predominant form of Tetum, known as Tetun-Dili, grew out of the dialect favored by the colonizers at Dili, 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 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 about one million inhabitants (August 2005; estimate made by UNDP census consultant in Dili), 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.

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 (CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth, and a member of the Latin Union. It is the only independent state in Asia with Portuguese as an official language, although this is also one of the official languages of China's Special Administrative Region of Macau.

Culture

Main article: Culture of East Timor

See also: Music of East Timor

The culture of East Timor reflects numerous 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. 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. President 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 (IOC). The IOC board has granted full recognition to the East Timorese Olympic 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 (IAAF). The Federação de Badminton de Timor-Leste joined the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in April 2003. The East Timor Cycling Federation has joined the Union Cycliste Internationale. 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 joined FIFA.

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 held in Vietnam 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, six athletes participated in three sports: athletics, weightlifting and boxing).

On East Timor's performance in the 22nd SEA Games in 2003, karate coach 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.

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

Public holidays

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

Date	Name	Notes
January 1	New Year's Day
date varies	Idul Adha
March-April	Good Friday
May 1	Labour Day
May 20	Independence Restoration Day	Anniversary of transfer of sovereignty from the United Nations transitional government, 2002
May-June	Corpus Christi
August 30	Popular Consultation Day	Anniversary of the Popular Consultation, 1999
November 1	All Saints' Day
November 2	All Souls' Day
November 12	National Youth Day	Anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, 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
December 25	Christmas Day

In addition, the law defines "official commemorative dates" which are not considered holidays but could be subject to time off from work:

Date	Name
February-March	Ash Wednesday
March-April	Holy Thursday
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

See also

Column-generating template families

The templates listed here are not interchangeable. For example, using {{col-float}} with {{col-end}} instead of {{col-float-end}} would leave a <div>...</div> open, potentially harming any subsequent formatting.

Column templates

Type	Family	Handles wiki table code?†	Responsive/ mobile suited	Start template	Column divider	End template
Float	"col-float"	Yes	Yes	{{col-float}}	{{col-float-break}}	{{col-float-end}}
	"columns-start"	Yes	Yes	{{columns-start}}	{{column}}	{{columns-end}}
Columns	"div col"	Yes	Yes	{{div col}}	–	{{div col end}}
	"columns-list"	No	Yes	{{columns-list}} (wraps div col)	–	–
Flexbox	"flex columns"	No	Yes	{{flex columns}}	–	–
Table	"col"	Yes	No	{{col-begin}}, {{col-begin-fixed}} or {{col-begin-small}}	{{col-break}} or {{col-2}} .. {{col-5}}	{{col-end}}

^† Can template handle the basic wiki markup {| | || |- |} used to create tables? If not, special templates that produce these elements (such as {{(!}}, {{!}}, {{!!}}, {{!-}}, {{!)}})—or HTML tags (<table>...</table>, <tr>...</tr>, etc.)—need to be used instead.

Lists

• List of East Timor-related topics
• List of cities in East Timor
• List of East Timorese people

Sourcebooks

Cashmore, Ellis. Dictionary of Race and Ethnic Relations. New York: Routledge.

Charny, Israel W. Encyclopedia of Genocide Volume I. Denver: Abc Clio.

Levinson, David. Ethnic Relations. Denver: Abc Clio.

Shelton, Dinah. Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. Thompson Gale.

Rudolph, Joseph R. Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts. Westport: Greenwood P, 2003. 101-106.

External links

Government

• Timor-Leste.gov Official government site

Other

• Template:Wikitravel