LYCOS RETRIEVER 
East Timor
built 79 days ago
MODERN HISTORY - WWII TO 2004: From the beginning of the 18th century East Timor had been under Portuguese colonial rule. In 1974 a move towards decolonialization started. In August 1975 a civil war broke out and led to the declaration of independence by the Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste (Fretlin) on 17th Nov 1975. On Dec 7. 1975 Indonesian forces invaded East Timor and the territory was incorporated as Indonesia's 27th Province in July 1976. Indonesia's claim to East Timor was never officially recognized by the UN, which regarded Portugal as the legal administrative power, while Fretlin guerrilla groups continued to wage an insurgent "reign of terror" against the Indonesian-aligned political parties.
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Timor-Leste's (East Timor) President Jose Ramos-Horta was shot on 11 February by rebel soldiers in front of his idyllic home in the outskirts of Dili. It appears that he was attacked by a group of renegade soldiers. The President is in a 'critical but stable' condition, and he has been airlifted to Australia for further treatment. This incident is shocking, but shows how unstable the situation in Timor-Leste still is. The 'crisis' that started in 2006 is far from over, and Timor-Leste's security forces are unable to provide security – even to the President himself. Once again, foreign troops and resources have been pledged to restore stability and development in the country. The turmoil is a result of a complex political reality, and a society fractious and weary after achieving the goal of independence.
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East Timor had an estimated population of 859,700 in 1996, when it was still under Indonesian control. Following the vote for independence in August 1999, violent rampages by Indonesian militia groups forced many East Timorese to flee their homes. UN peacekeeping forces arrived to restore order later that year, and many East Timorese refugees subsequently returned. The estimated population of East Timor in 2007 was 1,084,971. Dili has a population of 48,731 (2003 estimate). Some 92 percent of the population lives in rural areas.
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The difficulties of building a new democracy have always been massive: East Timor has never before been fully independent, and the process of running a country is new to almost all of its politicians. In addition, East Timor is still coping with the legacy of a generation of Indonesian occupation and the vicious violence of 1999 that followed their decision to vote for independence. This legacy is evident on many levels, from the trauma that remains for those who suffered physically and emotionally to the destroyed buildings that still litter the East Timorese countryside.
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East Timor's capital, Dili, descended into chaos in April and May 2006, when the prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, fired almost half the country's soldiers for striking. The fired soldiers, who had protested against low wages and alleged discrimination, then began rioting, and soldiers loyal to the prime minister started battling them. Soon the violence had spread to the police force and the civilian population, causing about 130,000 to flee their homes to avoid the bloodshed. Australian troops were called in to control the unrest. On June 26, Prime Minister Alkatiri resigned in an effort to stop the country's disintegration. Alkatiri has been criticized for doing little to stem East Timor's grinding poverty and social problems, but the former independence fighter has remained immensely popular.
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East Timor inherited no permanent maritime boundaries when it attained independence, repudiating the Timor Gap Treaty as illegal. A provisional agreement (the Timor Sea Treaty, signed when East Timor became independent on 20 May 2002) defined a Joint Petroleum Development Area (JPDA), and awarded 90% of revenues from existing projects in that area to East Timor and 10% to Australia. The first significant new development in the JPDA since Timorese independence is the largest petroleum resource in the Timor Sea, the Greater Sunrise gas field. Its exploitation was the subject of separate agreements in 2003 and 2005. Only 20% of the field lies within the JPDA and the rest in waters not subject to the treaty (though claimed by both countries). The initial, temporary agreement gave 82% of revenues to Australia and only 18% to East Timor.
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East Timor