Timor Leste

Timor-Leste, also known as 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 coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and the outer islands of Atauro and Jaco. Timor-Leste shares a land border with Indonesia to the west, and Australia is the country's southern neighbour, across the Timor Sea. The country's size is . Dili, on the north coast of Timor, is its capital and largest city.

Timor was settled over time by various Papuan and Austronesian peoples, which created a diverse mix of cultures and languages linked to both Southeast Asia and Melanesia. East Timor came under Portuguese influence in the sixteenth century, remaining a Portuguese colony until 1975. Internal conflict preceded a unilateral declaration of independence and an Indonesian invasion and annexation. The subsequent Indonesian occupation was characterised by extreme abuses of human rights, including torture and massacres, a series of events named the East Timor genocide. Resistance continued throughout Indonesian rule and in 1999, a United Nations–sponsored act of self-determination led to Indonesia relinquishing control of the territory. On 20 May 2002, as ''Timor-Leste'', it became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. That same year, relations with Indonesia were established and normalized, with Indonesia also supporting Timor-Leste's accession into ASEAN.

The national government runs on a semi-presidential system, with the popularly elected president sharing power with a prime minister appointed by the National Parliament. Power is centralised under the national government, although many local leaders have informal influence. The country maintains a policy of international cooperation and is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, an observer of the Pacific Islands Forum, and will join the ASEAN in October 2025. The country remains relatively poor, with an economy that relies heavily on natural resources, especially oil, and foreign aid.

The total population is over 1.34 million at the 2022 census, and is heavily skewed towards young people due to a high fertility rate. Education has led to increasing literacy over the past half-century, especially in the two official languages of Portuguese and Tetum. High ethnic and linguistic diversity is reflected by the 30 indigenous languages spoken in the country. The majority of the population is Catholic, which coexists alongside strong local traditions and beliefs, especially in rural areas.

Name

"Timor" is derived from , meaning in Malay, thus resulting in a tautological place name meaning . In Indonesian, this results in the name (the name of the former ''de facto'' Indonesian province; is used instead to refer to the country). In Portuguese, the country is called ( meaning ). In Tetum, it is ( can be literally translated as ).

The official names under its constitution are "Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" in English, "" in Portuguese, and "" in Tetum. The official short form of the name is "Timor-Leste", and it uses the ISO codes TLS & TL.

History

Prehistory and Classical era

Cultural remains at Jerimalai on the eastern tip of Timor-Leste have been dated to 42,000 years ago. The first known inhabitants are those who arrived during the Australo-Melanesian migration through the region, likely bringing the precursors to today's Papuan languages. A later migration of Austroasiatic-speakers is suspected, although no such languages remain. The arrival of Austronesian peoples brought new languages, and merged with existing cultures on the island. Timorese origin myths recount settlers sailing around the eastern end of the island before landing in the south. These people are sometimes noted as being from the Malay Peninsula or the Minangkabau highlands of Sumatra. Austronesian migration to Timor may be associated with the development of agriculture on the island.

While information is limited about the political system of Timor during this period, the island had developed an interconnected series of polities governed by customary law. Small communities, centred around a particular sacred house, were part of wider ''sucos'' (or principalities), which were themselves part of larger kingdoms led by a ''liurai''. Authority within these kingdoms was held by two individuals, with the worldly power of the ''liurai'' balanced by the spiritual power of a ''rai nain'', who was generally associated with the primary sacred house of the kingdom. These polities were numerous and saw shifting alliances and relations, but many were stable enough that they survived from initial European documentation in the 16th century until the end of Portuguese rule.

From perhaps the thirteenth century, the island exported sandalwood, which was valued both for its use in crafting and as a source of perfume. Timor was included in Southeast Asian, Chinese, and Indian trading networks by the fourteenth century, exporting sandalwood, honey, and wax. The island was recorded by the Majapahit Empire as a source of tribute. It was sandalwood that attracted European explorers to the island in the early sixteenth century. Early European presence was limited to trade, with the first Portuguese settlement being on the nearby island of Solor.

Portuguese era (1769–1975)

Early Portuguese presence on Timor was very limited; trade was directed through Portuguese settlements on nearby islands. Only in the 17th century did they establish a more direct presence on the island, a consequence of being driven out of other islands by the Dutch. After Solor was lost in 1613, the Portuguese moved to Flores. In 1646, the capital moved to Kupang on Timor's west, before Kupang too was lost to the Dutch in 1652. The Portuguese then moved to Lifau, in what is now Timor-Leste's Oecusse exclave. Effective European occupation in the east of the island only began in 1769, when the city of Dili was founded, although actual control remained highly limited. A definitive border between the Dutch and Portuguese parts of the island was established by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 1914 and remains the international boundary between the successor states Indonesia and Timor-Leste, respectively.

For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post, with minimal investment in infrastructure and education, until the late nineteenth century. Even when Portugal established actual control over the interior of its colony, investment remained minimal. Sandalwood continued to be the main export crop and coffee exports became significant in the mid-nineteenth century.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering domestic economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with East Timorese resistance. The colony was seen as an economic burden during the Great Depression and received little support or management from Portugal.

During World War II, Dili was occupied by the Allies in 1941, and later by the Japanese beginning in 1942. The mountainous interior of the colony became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the Battle of Timor. Waged by East Timorese volunteers and Allied forces against the Japanese, the struggle killed between 40,000 and 70,000 East Timorese civilians. The Japanese eventually drove the last of the Australian and Allied forces out in early 1943. Portuguese control resumed, however, after Japanese surrender at the end of World War II.

Portugal began investment in the colony in the 1950s, funding education and promoting coffee exports, but the economy did not improve substantially and infrastructure improvements were limited. Yearly growth rates remained low, near 2%. Following the 1974 Portuguese revolution, Portugal effectively abandoned its colony in Timor, and civil war between East Timorese political parties broke out in 1975.

The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) resisted a Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) coup attempt in August 1975, and unilaterally declared independence on 28 November 1975. Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian Archipelago, the Indonesian military launched an invasion of East Timor on 7 December 1975. Indonesia declared East Timor its 27th province on 17 July 1976. The United Nations Security Council opposed the invasion, and the territory's nominal status in the UN remained as "non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration".

Indonesian occupation (1975–1999)

Fretilin resisted the invasion, initially as an army, holding territory until November 1978, and then as a guerrilla resistance. The Indonesian occupation of Timor was marked by violence and brutality. A detailed statistical report prepared for the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor cited a minimum of 102,800 conflict-related deaths in the period between 1974 and 1999, including approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 excess deaths from hunger and illness. The total number of conflict-related deaths during this period is difficult to determine due to a lack of data. One estimate based on Portuguese, Indonesian, and Catholic Church data suggests it may have been as high as 200,000. Repression and restrictions counteracted improvements in health and education infrastructure and services, meaning there was little overall improvement in living standards; economic growth mostly benefited immigrants from elsewhere in Indonesia. A huge expansion of education was intended to increase Indonesian language use and internal security as much as it was for development.

The 1991 massacre of more than 200 demonstrators by the Indonesian military was a turning point for the independence cause, and brought increased international pressure on Indonesia. Following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, the new President BJ Habibie, prompted by a letter from Australian Prime Minister John Howard, decided to hold a referendum on independence. A UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for a UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999. A clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East Timorese pro-integration militias supported by elements of the Indonesian military. In response, the Indonesian government allowed a multinational peacekeeping force, INTERFET, to restore order and aid East Timorese refugees and internally displaced persons. On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN.

Contemporary era

On 30 August 2001, the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect members of the Constituent Assembly. On 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution. By May 2002, more than 205,000 refugees had returned. On 20 May 2002, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste came into force and Timor-Leste was recognised as independent by the UN. The Constituent Assembly was renamed the National Parliament, and Xanana Gusmão was elected as the country's first president. On 27 September 2002 the country became a UN member state.

In 2006, a crisis of unrest and factional fighting forced 155,000 people to flee their homes; the United Nations sent in security forces to restore order. The following year, Gusmão declined to run for another term. While there were minor incidents in the build-up to the mid-year presidential elections, the process was peaceful overall and José Ramos-Horta was elected president. In June 2007, Gusmão ran in the parliamentary elections and became prime minister at the head of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) party. In February 2008, Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an attempted assassination; Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed. Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order. In March 2011, the UN handed over operational control of the police force to the Timor-Leste authorities. The United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission on 31 December 2012.

Francisco Guterres of the centre-left Fretilin party became president in May 2017. The leader of Fretilin, Mari Alkatiri, formed a coalition government after the July 2017 parliamentary election. This government soon fell, leading to a second general election in May 2018. In June 2018, former president and independence fighter, Taur Matan Ruak, became the new prime minister. José Ramos-Horta again became president on 20 May 2022 after winning the April 2022 presidential election runoff against Francisco Guterres.

Politics and government

The political system of Timor-Leste is semi-presidential, based upon the Portuguese system. The constitution establishes both this separation of executive powers between the president and the prime minister; and the separation of powers between the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Individuals are not allowed to participate in both the legislature and the executive branch. The legislature is intended to provide a check on the executive; in practice the executive has maintained control of the legislature under all political parties, reflecting the dominance of individual leaders within political parties and coalitions. The executive, through the council of ministers, also holds some formal legislative powers. The judiciary operates independently, although there are instances of executive interference. Some courts shift between locations, to improve access for those in more isolated areas. Despite political rhetoric, the constitution and democratic institutions have been followed by politicians, and changes of government are peaceful. Elections are run by an independent body, and turnout is high, ranging from around 70% to 85%. The political system has wide public acceptance.

The head of state of Timor-Leste is the president of the republic, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term, and can serve a maximum of two terms. Formally, the directly elected president holds relatively limited powers compared to those in similar systems, with no power over the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and the council of ministers. However, as they are directly elected, past presidents have wielded great informal power and influence. The president does have the power to veto government legislation, initiate referendums, and to dissolve parliament in the event that it is unable to form a government or pass a budget. If the president vetoes a legislative action, the parliament can overturn the veto with a two-thirds majority. The prime minister is chosen by the parliament, with the president appointing the leader of the majority party or coalition as prime minister of Timor-Leste and the cabinet on the proposal of the latter. As head of government, the prime minister presides over the cabinet.

Representatives in the unicameral National Parliament 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. Parties must achieve 3% of the vote to enter parliament, with seats for qualifying parties allocated using the D'Hondt method. Elections occur within the framework of a competitive multi-party system. Upon independence, power was held by the Fretilin political party, which was formed shortly before the Indonesian invasion and led its resistance. Given its history, Fretilin viewed itself as the natural party of government and supported a multi-party system, expecting the development of a dominant-party system. Support from the United Nations and the international community, both before and after independence, allowed the nascent political system to survive shocks such as the 2006 crisis.

Candidates in parliamentary elections run in a single national district in a party-list system. One in three of all candidates presented by political parties must be women. This system promotes a diversity of political parties, but gives voters little influence over the individual candidates selected by each party. Women hold more than a third of parliamentary seats, with parties required by law to run female candidates, but they are less prominent at other levels and within party leadership.

Political divisions exist along class lines and along geographical lines. There is broadly a divide between eastern and western areas of the country, stemming from differences that arose under Indonesian rule. Fretilin in particular is strongly linked to the Eastern areas. Political parties are more closely associated with prominent personalities more than with ideology. The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction became the main opposition to Fretilin, following its establishment to allow Xanana Gusmão to run for Prime Minister in the 2007 parliamentary elections. While both major parties have been relatively stable, they remain led by an "old guard" of individuals who came to prominence during the resistance against Indonesia.

Politics and administration is centred in the capital Dili, with the national government responsible for most civil services. Oecusse, separated from the rest of the country by Indonesian territory, is a special administrative region with some autonomy. The National Police of Timor-Leste and Timor Leste Defence Force have held a monopoly on violence since 2008 and very few guns are present outside of these organisations. While there are allegations of abuse of power, there is some judicial oversight of police and public trust in the institution has grown. An active civil society

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