LYCOS RETRIEVER 
East Timor: East Timor Government
built 141 days ago
In late 1999, about 70% of the economic infrastructure of East Timor was laid waste by Indonesian troops and anti-independence militias, and 260,000 people fled westward. Over the next three years... a massive international program, manned by 5,000 peacekeepers (8,000 at peak) and 1,300 police officers, led to substantial reconstruction in both urban and rural areas. By mid-2002, all but about 50,000 of the refugees had returned. Growth was held back in 2003 by extensive drought and the gradual winding down of the international presence. The country faces great challenges in continuing the rebuilding of infrastructure, strengthening the infant civil administration, and generating jobs for young people entering the workforce. One promising long-term project is the planned development of oil and gas resources in nearby waters, but the government faces a substantial financing gap over the next several years before these revenues start flowing into state coffers.
Source:
East Timor was a Portuguese territory in 1960, when the United Nations placed the colony on its list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Portuguese government in 1974 began to establish a provisional government, and civil war broke out between the pro-independence and anti-independence factions. Portugal was unable to control the situation and withdrew then. Indonesia intervened militarily and claimed East Timor as its 27th province but the integration was never recognized by the UN.
Source:
East Timor and Indonesia have full diplomatic relations. In 2005 Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a successful trip to East Timor, including a visit to the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili where Indonesian troops had massacred hundreds of Timorese in 1991. Yudhoyono prayed and laid a heart-shaped wreath at the cemetery, symbolizing the improving ties between the two nations. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia, the East Timor Government contributed humanitarian assistance to the victims. Likewise, the Indonesian Government sent humanitarian assistance to help those displaced by the unrest in Dili in 2006.
Source:
The East Timorese Government does not have a penal code that comprehensively criminalizes human trafficking. However, the 2003 Immigration and Asylum Act prohibits trafficking in women and children, for prostitution and forced labor.6
Source:
East Timor became a fully independent republic with a parliamentary form of government on May 20, 2002, following approximately two and a half years under the authority of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The country's first parliament was formed from the 88-member Constituent Assembly chosen in free and fair, UN-supervised elections in August 2001. The FRETILIN Party won the majority of Assembly seats. Mari Alkatiri, FRETILIN's Secretary General, became the first Prime Minister, and the country's 29-member cabinet was dominated by FRETILIN. Xanana Gusmao was elected in free and fair elections on April 14, 2002 as President. UNTAET's mandate ended with East Timor’s independence, but a successor organization, the UN Mission for the Support of East Timor (UNMISET), was established to provide additional support to the government.
Source:
Despite these challenges, East Timor has made solid progress since 1999 in establishing a democratic state and revitalizing its economy and export market for coffee. It developed a new constitution, held legislative and presidential elections that met international standards, and established working democratic institutions. East Timor has established a Bank and Payment Authority and is a member of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. The Government of East Timor (GoET) has strong political will to implement economic reforms and increase its public investments in social development. Although the country continues to advance economic and social reforms, high population growth and low economic growth continue to impede achievements in improving livelihoods and reducing poverty.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
East Timor Government