East Timor

East Timor

East Timor was colonised by Portugal in 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 later that year was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia'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 1st new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002. After independence, East Timor became a member of the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. It is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being the Philippines.
East Timor has a lower-middle-income economy. About 37.4% of the country's population lives below the international poverty line which means living on less than U.S. $1.25 per day and about half or 50% of the population is illiterate. It continues to suffer the aftereffects of a decades-long struggle for independence against Indonesian occupation, which severely damaged the country's infrastructure and killed at least one hundred thousand people. The country is placed 134th on the Human Development Index. Nonetheless it is expected to have the 6th largest percentage growth in GDP in the world for 2013.
Timor" derives from timur, the word for "east" in Indonesian and Malay, which became Timor in Portuguese and entered English as Portuguese Timor. Leste is the Portuguese word for "east", resulting in "Timor-Leste". Lorosa'e (lit "rising sun") is the word for "east" in Tetum, for Timxr Lorosa'e.
The official names under the Constitution are Repxblica Democrxtica de Timor-Leste in Portuguese and Repxblika Demokrxtika Timor-Leste in Tetum.
The International Organization for Standardization official short form in English and all other languages is Timor-Leste (codes: TLS & TL), which has been adopted by the United Nations, the European Union, and the national standards organisations of France (AFNOR), the United States of America (ANSI), United Kingdom (BSI), Germany (DIN) and Sweden (SIS).
The Portuguese established outposts in Timor and Maluku. Effective European occupation of a small part of the territory began in 1769, when the city of Dili was founded and the colony of Portuguese Timor declared. A definitive border between the Dutch colonised western half of the island and the Portuguese colonised eastern half of the island was established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration of 1914, and it remains the international boundary between the successor states East Timor and Indonesia. For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in infrastructure, health, and education. Sandalwood remained the main export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth century. In places where Portuguese rule was asserted, it tended to be brutal and exploitative.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering home economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with East Timorese resistance. During World War II, the Japanese occupied Dili, and the mountainous interior became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the Battle of Timor. Waged by Allied forces and East Timorese volunteers against the Japanese, the struggle resulted in the deaths of between 40,000 and 70,000 East Timorese. Following the end of the war, Portuguese control was reinstated.
The decolonisation process instigated by the 1974 Portuguese revolution saw Portugal effectively abandon the colony of East Timor. A civil war between supporters of East Timorese political parties, the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor and the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), broke out in 1975 as the UDT attempted a coup that Fretilin resisted with the help of local Portuguese military. Independence was unilaterally declared on November 28, 1975. The Indonesian government was fearful of an independent communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, and at the height of the Cold War, Western governments were supportive of Indonesia's position. The Indonesian military launched a full-scale invasion of East Timor in December 1975. Indonesia declared East Timor its 27th province on July 17, 1976 (Timor Timur). The UN Security Council opposed the invasion, and the territory's nominal status in the UN remained "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration".
Following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, a UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for a UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999. The resulting clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East Timorese pro-integration militia with the support of elements of the Indonesian military. An Australian-led, international peacekeeping force for East Timor, was sent (with Indonesian permission) until order was restored. The administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) in October 1999. The INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN. By May 2002, over 205,000 refugees had returned, and East Timorese independence was formalised on 20 May 2002 with Xanana Gusmxo sworn in as the country's 1st President. East Timor became a member of the UN on 27 September 2002.
The following year, Gusmxo declined another presidential term and in the build-up to the April 2007 presidential elections there were renewed outbreaks of violence. Josx Ramos-Horta was elected President in the May 2007 election. Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an attempted assassination in February 2008. Prime Minister Gusmxo also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed. Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order.
In 2006, the United Nations sent in security forces to restore order when unrest and factional fighting forced 15 percent of the population to flee their homes. In March 2011, the UN handed-off operational control of the police force to the East Timor authorities. The United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission on December 31, 2012.
Located in Southeast Asia, the island of Timor is part of the Maritime Southeast Asia, and is the largest and easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. To the north of the island are the Ombai Strait, Wetar Strait and the greater Banda Sea. The Timor Sea separates the island from Australia to the south, and the Indonesian Province of East Nusa Tenggara lies to East Timor's west.
The easternmost area of East Timor consists of the Paitchau Range and the Lake Ira Lalaro area, which contains the county's 1st conservation area, the Nino Konis Santana National Park. It contains the last remaining tropical dry forested area within the country. It hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated. The northern coast is characterised by a number of coral reef systems that have been determined to be at risk.
The head of state of East Timor is the President of East Timor, 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 of East Timor. As head of government, the prime minister presides over the Council of State or cabinet.
The unicameral East 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. The East Timorese constitution was modeled on that of Portugal. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions. Government departments include the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste, East Timor Ministry for State and Internal Administration, Civil Aviation Division of Timor Leste and Immigration Department of Timor Leste.
East Timor is divided into thirteen administrative districts. The districts are subdivided into 65 subdistricts, 442 sucos and 2,225 aldeias (hamlets).
East Timor sought membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2007, and a formal application was submitted in March 2011. Indonesia supports East Timor's bid to join ASEAN.
The Timor Leste Defence Force is the military body responsible for the defence of East Timor. The F-FDTL was established in February 2001 and comprised two small infantry battalions, a small naval component and several supporting units.
The F-FDTL's primary role is to protect East Timor from external threats. It also has an internal security role, which overlaps with that of the National Police of East Timor. This overlap has led to tensions between the services, which have been exacerbated by poor morale and lack of discipline within the F-FDTL.
The F-FDTL's problems came to a head in 2006 when almost half the force was dismissed following protests over discrimination and poor conditions. The dismissal contributed to a general collapse of both the F-FDTL and PNTL in May and forced the government to request foreign peacekeepers to restore security. The F-FDTL is being rebuilt with foreign assistance and has drawn up a long-term force development plan.
East Timor has a market economy that used to depend upon exports of a few commodities such as coffee, marble, oil and sandalwood. East Timor's economy grew by about 10% in 2011, and at a similar rate in 2012.
Timor now has revenue from offshore oil and gas reserves, but little of it has gone to develop villages, which still rely on subsistence farming. Nearly half the population lives in extreme poverty. Widespread corruption, unchecked by a weak judicial system, is a considerable drag on the economy.
The Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund was established in 2005, and by 2011 it had reached a worth of US$8.7 billion. East Timor is labelled by the International Monetary Fund as the "most oil-dependent economy in the world". The Petroleum Fund pays for nearly all of the government's annual budget, which has increased from $70 million in 2004 to $1.3 billion in 2011, with a $1.8 billion proposal for 2012.
The economy is dependent on government spending and, to a lesser extent, assistance from international donors. Private sector development has lagged due to human capital shortages, infrastructure weakness, an incomplete legal system, and an inefficient regulatory environment. After petroleum, the 2nd largest export is coffee, which generates about $10 million a year. Starbucks is a major purchaser of East Timorese coffee.

Related Sites for East Timor

• East Timor Government read East Timor
• SouthTravels.com - Hotel Reservations | Hotel Booking | Trusted by ... read East Timor
• East Timor: Maps, History, Geography, Government, Culture, Facts ... read East Timor
• East Timor - Travel Guide, Info & Bookings â€" Lonely Planet read East Timor