Timor-Leste

Repúblika Demokrátika Timor Lorosa'e República Democrática de Timor-Leste Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
Coat of arms of East Timor
Motto: Honra, Pátria e Povo (Portuguese: Honor, Homeland, and People)
Anthem: Pátria
Capital (and largest city)		Dili 8°34′S 125°34′E
Official languages		Tetum and Portuguese 1
Government		Republic
-	President	Xanana Gusmão
-	Prime Minister	José Ramos Horta
Independence		From Portugal2
-	Declared	November 28 1975
-	Recognized	May 20 2002
Area
-	Total	14,609 km² (159th) 5,640 sq mi
-	Water (%)	Negligible
Population
-	July 2005 estimate	1,040,880 (153rd)
GDP (PPP)		2005 estimate
-	Total	$370 million (210th)
-	Per capita	$400 (192nd)
Currency		U.S. Dollar3 (USD)
Time zone		(UTC+9)
Internet TLD		.tl (.tp is being phased out)
Calling code		+670

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, known before independence as East Timor, 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 14,609 square kilometers (5376 square miles) is located about 640km (400 miles) northwest of Darwin, Australia.

With the Philippines, Timor-Leste is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia. Up to 70,000 Timorese died fighting the Japanese in World War II, and up to 200,000 died in the struggle for independence.

Geography

The highest point of Timor-Leste is Mount Ramelau (also known as Mount Tatamailau) at 2,963 metres (9,721 ft).

The climate is tropical, generally hot and humid, and is characterized 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 — airstrips in Baucau and Oecusse are used for domestic flights. Dili's airport runway is unable to accommodate large aircraft.

Natural resources include gold, petroleum, natural gas, manganese, and marble. Natural hazards include floods and landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, and tropical cyclones. Widespread use of slash-and-burn agriculture has led to deforestation and soil erosion.

History

Australoid people, who populated New Guinea and Australia, arrived in Timor about 40,000 years ago. Around 3000 B.C.E., a second migration brought Melanesians, who later colonized the Pacific Ocean. 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 the 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. The island had a number of small chiefdoms in the early 16th century, including the Wehale kingdom in central Timor, with its capital at Laran, West Timor, to which the Tetum, Bunaq and Kemak ethnic groups were aligned.

Map of East Timor with cities

The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in the 16th century. They established outposts in Timor and in some surrounding islands, which were lost to Dutch control by the mid 17th century. The area became a Portuguese colony in 1702. In the 18th century, the Netherlands were formally given West Timor in 1859 through the Treaty of Lisbon. The Hague Treaty of 1916, established what became the international boundary between East Timor and Indonesia.

In late 1941 Portuguese Timor was briefly occupied by Dutch and Australian troops, fighting the Japanese. 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. Portuguese control was reinstated after the end of the war,.

In 1974, Portugal abandoned East Timor, which declared itself independent on November 28, 1975. Indonesian forces invaded nine days later. Indonesia alleged that the East Timorese Fretilin party, which received support from the People's Republic of China, was communist. Fearing a Communist domino effect in Southeast Asia, the U.S. and Australia did not object to the pro-Western Indonesian government's actions. The territory was declared the 27th province of Indonesia in July 1976 as "Timor Timur". The East Timorese guerrilla force, Falintil, fought a campaign against the Indonesian forces from 1975 to 1999.

Indonesian rule was marked by violence, such as the Dili massacre, in which about 250 youngsters were killed at the Santa Cruz Cemetery in on November 12, 1991, and the Liquiçá Church Massacre, in which pro-Indonesian militia killed 200 in April, 1999. 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.

Following a UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia, Portugal and the US, the East Timorese voted for full independence in a referendumon on August 30, 1999. But violent clashes broke out soon afterwards, so a peacekeeping force (INTERFET, led by Australia) intervened. Sporadic armed raids continued from across the border. As these raids were repelled, the militias dispersed and INTERFET was replaced by a UN force.

Portugal recognized independence on May 20, 2002, and Timor-Leste joined the UN on September 27 of that year. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned.

File:Carlosbelo.jpg

Bishop Carlos Belo (left), winner of 1996 Nobel Peace Prize

File:EastTimor.JoseRamosHorta.01.jpg

José Manuel Ramos Horta, winner of 1996 Nobel Peace Prize

In 1996, Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta, two leading East Timorese activists for peace and independence, received the Nobel Peace Prize.

But in April, 2006, a rally in support of 600 dismissed Timor-Leste soldiers turned into rioting. 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. The distribution of oil funds and the poor organization of the Timor-Leste army and police was seen as the cause of the fighting. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri called the violence a "coup" and welcomed offers of foreign military help. Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand,and Portugal sent troops. On June 21, 2006, President Xanana Gusmao asked Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri to step down. Jose Ramos Horta was appointed as his successor on July 8, 2006.

Politics

Government Palace in Dili

The Head of state of the Timor-Leste republic is the president, who is elected for a five-year term. Following elections, the president appoints 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 Timor-Leste parliament is the National Parliament of East Timor|National Parliament]] or Parlamento Nacional, whose members are elected by to a five-year term. The number of seats can vary from a minimum of 52 to a maximum of 65, though it has 88 members in 2006. The Timor-Leste constitution was modelled on that of Portugal. The country is divided into 13 administrative districts.

Economy

Timor was best known for its sandalwood. In late 1999, Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias destroyed about 70 percent of the economic infrastructure, and 260,000 people fled west. Over the next three years the UN led a massive international program, manned by civilian advisers, 5000 peacekeepers and 1300 police officers, to rebuild both urban and rural areas.

Under international guidance, much of the agriculture sector was converted from subsistence crops to cash crops to create an export-oriented economy. This failed due to low global market prices. Meanwhile, consumer prices rose by 4-5 percent in 2003-2004. Lacking its former subsistence crops, East Timor entered 2005 with food shortages. Extensive drought in 2003 and the gradual winding down of the international presence reduced non-petroleum GDP growth. The country faces challenges in rebuilding infrastructure, strengthening the civil administration, and generating jobs for young people.

The development of oil and gas resources in 2006 began to supplement government revenues above expectations - the result of high petroleum prices - but did little to create jobs, because the gas is piped to Australia.

Timor-Leste has the lowest per capita income in the world (US$400 per annum). The unemployment rate was estimated at 50 percent in 2001. About 42 percent live below the poverty line. Between 1999 and 2002, Timor-Leste received $2.2-billion in foreign aid.

Agricultural products include coffee, rice, corn, cassava, sweet potatoes, soybeans, cabbage, mangoes, bananas, and vanilla. Exports in 2005 totalled US$10-million, excluding oil. The sole destination for exports was Indonesia. Imports in 2004 totalled US$202-million and comprised food, gasoline, kerosene, and machinery.

Demographics

The population of Timor-Leste 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 concentrated around Dili.

Most Timorese are of mixed Malayo-Polynesian and Melanesian/Papuan descent. The largest Malayo-Polynesian ethnic groups are the Tetun (100,000), primarily on 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), around Pante Macassar. The main tribes of Papuan origin include the Bunak (50,000), in the central interior; the Fataluku (30,000), in the east near Lospalos; and the Makasae, toward the eastern end of the island.

There is a smaller population of people of mixed Timorese and Portuguese origin, known in Portuguese as Mestiço. The best-known Mestiço's are Xanana Gusmão, the resistance fighter and now president of Timor-Leste, and Prime Minister José Ramos Horta. Mário Viegas Carrascalão, Indonesia's appointed governor between 1987 and 1992, is also Mestiço.

Upon independence, Timor-Leste became one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic Christian countries in Asia (the other being the Philippines). Ninety percent are Roman Catholic, though local animist traditions persist. Five percent are Muslim and three percent are Protestant. Smaller Hindu, Buddhist and traditional animist minorities make up the remainder.

Timor-Leste's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum, a local Austronesian language. Tetum, known as Tetun-Dili, grew out of the dialect favored by the colonizers at Dili. There are also a variety of non-official dialects known as Tetun-Terik. Indonesian and English are defined as working languages. Another fifteen indigenous languages are spoken.

Culture

File:Leia livros timor.jpg

Campaigning for reading in Timor-Leste

The culture of Timor-Leste 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.

Timor-Leste now has public holidays that commemorate historic events in the liberation struggle, as well as those associated with Catholic Christianity, as well as the Feast of the Crocodile on May 3.

Illiteracy is widespread. Easily the most famous Timor-Leste author is the presidentXanana Gusmão, who wrote two books during the struggle for independence. Also a poet and painter, he produced works describing the culture, values, and skills of the Timorese people. There is a strong tradition of poetry.

Timor-Leste's music reflects its history under the control of both Portugal and Indonesia, who have imported music like gamelan and fado. The most widespread form of native folk music was the likurai dance, performed to by women to welcome home men after war. A modern version of the dance is used by women in courtship.

East Timorese popular musicians include the band Dili All Stars and Lahane, both of whom were associated with the independence movement, as well as Teo Batiste Ximenes, who grew up in Australia and uses folk rhythms from his homeland in his music. Refugee camps in Portugal mixed together the music of Timor-Leste with styles from other Portuguese colonies like Angola and Mozambique. The guitar is widely played there, with similar native kinds of string instruments. Foreign influences also include popular styles of music like rock and roll, hip hop and reggae.

Some Portuguese-style buildings can be found, although the traditional totem houses of the eastern region survive. These are known as "uma lulik" (sacred houses) in Tetum, and "lee teinu" (houses with legs) in Fataluku. Craftsmanship is widespread, as is the weaving of traditional scarves or "tais".

An interesting point of culture is that it is duty for adult women (from the age of 15 years) to remove all body hair (except on their head), even the hair on their forearms.

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