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From East Timor's perspective, this was the re-establishment of national independence, following the proclamation of independence from Portugal on November 28, 1975, and the Indonesian occupation nine days later. May 20 is a national holiday in East Timor as Independence Day or "Day of Restoration of Independence". [13]
The last two decades of the century saw continuous clashes between Indonesian and East Timorese groups over the status of East Timor, [11] until 1999, when a majority of East Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence (the alternative option being "special autonomy" while remaining part of Indonesia).
Australia, a close neighbour of both Indonesia and East Timor, was the only country to recognise Indonesia's annexation of East Timor. [1] Some members of the Australian public supported self-determination for East Timor, [2] and also actively supported the independence movement within Australia. [2]
St. John Paul II came in 1989, when Timor was still an occupied part of Indonesia and fighting for its freedom. After Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence a decade later, Indonesia’s military responded with a scorched-earth campaign that destroyed 80% of the country’s infrastructure and shocked the world.
(Reuters) -East Timor's independence was a gift to the world because it showed conflict could be resolved through negotiation, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday, the ...
East Timor on Friday celebrated the 25th anniversary of a U.N.-backed referendum that secured its independence from its major neighbor Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.
East Timor, or Timor-Leste, lost at least 102,800 people in the 1975-99 conflict with Indonesia, according to the U.N. It now has a median age of 20, according to official estimates.
Independence for East Timor, or even limited regional autonomy, was never going to be allowed under Suharto's New Order. Notwithstanding Indonesian public opinion in the 1990s occasionally showing begrudging appreciation of the Timorese position, it was widely feared that an independent East Timor would destabilise Indonesian unity. [181]