History and Human Rights Suppression in East Timor, East Indonesia

 East Timor, the official Portuguese language of the capital Dili, became a Portuguese colony in the 16th century with a national income of $530 (2003), and West Timor became a Dutch colony and became known as the Dutch East Indies. West Timor became part of the territory when Indonesia gained independence in the 1950s, but East Timor was ruled by Portugal until 1975. Although 90 percent of Indonesia's population is Muslim, East Timor is overwhelmingly Catholic due to Portuguese influence. East Timor was annexed by Indonesia in 1975 after the Portuguese army withdrew. Residents soon began their independence movement, but have been brutally suppressed by Indonesian troops over the past 25 years. More than 200,000 East Timorese are known to have died from starvation, disease, and combat since they were merged into Indonesia. A series of reports of human rights abuses drew global attention to East Timor. In 1996, Bishop Carlos Filippe Simenez Bello and José Ramos-Orta, who worked for East Timor, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to resolve the situation peacefully. Also, internationally well-known rebel leader Jose Alessandre Gusmau has been released from prison in Indonesia. B.J. Habibie, who became president after Suharto's long dictatorship in 1999, announced that he was willing to put East Timor's independence to a referendum. Then there was bloodshed between guerrillas who supported Indonesia's independence and militias who opposed the withdrawal of Indonesian troops. After two delays due to these disturbances, a referendum was held on August 20, 1999 under the supervision of the United Nations (UN) to determine whether East Timor would become independent. East Timor overwhelmingly supported independence, and when the results were announced, East Timor went into anarchy. After the referendum, Indonesian-backed militias began to kidnap or kill residents, forcing them to flee. According to a UN report, one-third of all residents have taken refuge. Rescue workers, UN agency workers and diplomats were also targeted by the militia, while the Australian consulate, UN agency offices, and even the Australian ambassador to Indonesia were attacked by the militia. President Habibier repeatedly vowed to restore order in East Timor and declared martial law, but did not mobilize Indonesian troops. On September 12, 1999, he said he would accept the dispatch of UN peacekeepers to East Timor. The UN force consisted of troops from Australia and other countries, and on 20 September 1999, an advance party arrived there. South Korea also dispatched peacekeeping forces, but received no resistance from militias or Indonesian troops. The gradual withdrawal of Indonesian troops began on October 20, 1999, breaking away from 25 years of Indonesian rule. Gusmao was elected as the first president in the April 2002 presidential election, making him the first independent nation in the 21st century.