Population
750,000
Malay
Papuan
Capital City
Dili
Leadership
President
Jose Alexandre (Xanana)
Gusmão
Religion
91.4% Roman Catholic
2.6% Protestant
1.7% Muslim
0.3% Hindu
0.1% Buddhist
East Timor Ambassador
to the
U.S.
No current diplomatic
relations
BIO
Independence from Indonesia has
been a long time coming for the people of
East
Timor. It follows 450 years
of colonization and a
quarter of a century of brutal occupation by
Indonesia.
During those last 25 years, a third of the
population - more than
250,000 people - were
killed or allowed to die through starvation and
disease. In August 1999, 78 percent of the
population
voted in a referendum for
independence. A massive backlash by
supporters of the Indonesian military followed.
Where can I read
a general report
about religious repression in East
Timor?
fourth since the 1999 referendum. Before the referendum, the military warned that if the people voted
for independence ‘blood will run like rivers’. Father Domingos da Silva Soares told CSW that if the
United Nations had not stepped in ‘we would have been finished’.
One tactic used to divide the people was to turn Catholics and
Protestants against one another.
"Indonesia wanted to destroy the unity of East Timor," said Fr
Domingos. An Assemblies of
God pastor
added that churches had been burnt down and 1,000 AoG members had fled to West Timor to escape
the violence.
On
May 20th, 2002 after two and a half years of United Nations
transitional government which followed
24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation
and over 400 years of Portuguese colonial rule, East Timor
finally became an independent, sovereign
nation. However, the transition is not expected to be an
easy one.
Many observers believe East Timor is not
entirely ready for full
self-government. It has been devastated
by years of war and destruction. Its young people have grown up in a culture of
violence and many
political parties are just self-interested clans. Jane Penfold of the British Office told CSW that the UN had
been
slow to prepare the Timorese for independence.
Meanwhile, at least 50,000 refugees remain in
West Timor, in camps controlled by the militia. Intimidation is rife.
A nun, Sister Lourdes, told CSW that she had made many visits to the camps to try to persuade the
refugees to return. But each
time she called a meeting, militia would ride into the room on motorbikes,
rev their engines and intimidate the people.
Eventually, Sister Lourdes and a priest addressed the
militiamen about ‘coming home to the Father’s house’. As she spoke about
returning not only to East
Timor, but to God, repenting, and seeking forgiveness,
several of the gunmen broke down in tears
and some were converted. They then helped Sister Lourdes speak to refugees about returning to
East Timor.
Juvencio de Jesus Martins was sentenced to seven years for calling for independence. He said the
Christian faith of the East
Timorese people was an essential part of their struggle and without God they
could not have survived.
Now
that Independence Has Been Established
CSW therefore makes the following
recommendations to the international community:
-
That the United Nations establish an international tribunal to bring to
justice those outside East Timor
who are responsible for crimes against humanity in East Timor from
1975-1999;
-
That governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals lobby the
United States of America
to support the establishment of a war crimes tribunal;
-
That the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations and
individuals continue to
provide assistance to East Timor in developing its own systems of justice,
human rights and law;
-
That international support for East Timor continue, but be more focused on
capacity building and
creating an environment of independence rather than dependency;
-
That international organizations monitor developments in East Timor
closely, especially political and
religious freedoms;
Source: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Hong Kong/Australia