East Timor - country.

« members are designated by the Superior Council for the Judiciary.

This council is the organ of management and discipline of judges and is responsible for judiciaryappointments, transfers, and promotions. VI HISTORY Timor was a destination on ancient Chinese trade routes and was particularly known for its sandalwood.

The Portuguese began colonizing Timor in the early 16thcentury as European trade and influence expanded in the region.

They exploited Timor for its forest products and spices, and made slaves of Timorese people. A Colonial East Timor In the 17th century the Dutch also began establishing bases on Timor, and this led to conflicts between the two European powers.

The island was formally divided in aseries of agreements beginning in 1859.

The Portuguese kept control over the eastern section, and the Dutch government eventually controlled West Timor.

Over theyears, Portugal showed little interest in East Timor, making life in the neglected colony very difficult.

Little money was invested in infrastructure, and illiteracy levelswere high.

The area became a penal colony for political prisoners who had resisted the government in Portugal.

The colonial police force and the use of forced laborinstigated a culture of fear in the colony. During World War II (1939-1945) Japanese forces planned to capture Timor to use as a base for an attack on Australia.

In 1942 a major Japanese force invaded Timor.The East Timorese played a significant role in assisting a small number of Australian soldiers fighting the Japanese in 13 months of guerrilla warfare.

However, theAustralians evacuated in 1943, and the Japanese controlled East Timor until their surrender in 1945.

Up to 60,000 East Timorese were killed during the war as a resultof fighting, Japanese raids on villages, and Allied bombing aimed at the Japanese invasion forces. Indonesia declared independence after the end of the war and took over West Timor from the Dutch, but East Timor remained under Portuguese domination.

However,in 1974 the government of Portugal was overthrown and the incoming regime began liberating Portugal’s colonies around the world.

The following year Indonesia andPortugal held talks regarding the decolonization of East Timor, and a referendum was scheduled to allow the East Timorese to decide their future. In this period a number of independence movements gained strength.

The major protagonists were the Timorese Democratic Union ( Uniao Democratica Timorense, or UDT), which supported a conservative move toward independence that included retaining close ties to Portugal, and the Revolutionary Front for an Independent EastTimor ( Frente Revolucionária do Timor Leste Independente, or Fretilin), which supported outright independence.

Intense negotiations to settle the status of East Timor followed, but in August 1975 talks between Indonesia and Portugal failed.

Civil war broke out between UDT and Fretilin, and many refugees fled into Indonesian WestTimor.

In November Fretilin declared unilateral independence.

Despite this declaration and continuing negotiations between all parties, Indonesian forces invaded EastTimor in December.

In 1976 East Timor was declared an Indonesian province, a designation never recognized by the United Nations (UN). B Resistance to Indonesian Rule Organized resistance to Indonesia’s administration in East Timor grew out of existing anticolonial nationalist organizations, particularly Fretilin.

Under the leadership ofJosé Alexandre (“Xanana”) Gusmão, Fretilin mounted guerrilla attacks against the Indonesian forces, inflicting serious damage.

Between 1977 and 1979 the Indonesiangovernment resettled villagers in hamlets that were easier to control than the previous disparate rural communities.

The resettlement program, which removed peoplefrom their land, caused widespread famine.

As many as 100,000 Timorese died between 1975 and 1979 as a result of the civil war, the Indonesian invasion andoccupation, and famine.

Fretilin activist José Ramos-Horta, who fled the island after the Indonesian invasion, spent more than two decades traveling the world as aspokesman for East Timorese autonomy, representing Fretilin at the UN from 1975 to the mid-1980s.

Catholic bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo used the power of theCatholic Church to defend East Timorese interests and to remain a visible proindependence figure in East Timor.

In 1983 Gusmão initiated talks with the Indonesianmilitary designed to plan the peaceful liberation of East Timor.

However, violence flared, a state of emergency was declared, and resistance increased.

East Timoresepeople were resisting not only Indonesian rule, but also the “Indonesianization” of East Timor, as the government resettled thousands of Indonesians from the crowdedwestern areas of the archipelago in Timor. In November 1991 a huge crowd attending the funeral of a proindependence activist marched through Dili, demonstrating in favor of independence.

The Indonesianmilitary fired on the marchers, killing between 100 and 180 mourners and arresting hundreds more.

Timorese groups claimed that as many as 100 of the arresteddemonstrators and other witnesses of the massacre were subsequently executed.

The Dili massacre was a critical turning point in the resistance against theIndonesians, and it attracted widespread international condemnation. Gusmão was captured by the Indonesian armed forces in 1992 and imprisoned in Jakarta.

Bishop Belo and Ramos-Horta continued to push for a peaceful settlementbetween the Indonesian government and the East Timorese.

For their nonviolent efforts at bringing peace to East Timor, Belo and Ramos-Horta were awarded the NobelPeace Prize in 1996. C Independence Indonesian president Suharto resigned in 1998.

His successor, Buharuddin Jusuf (“B.

J.”) Habibie, sought to resolve the East Timor issue.

A UN-sponsored referendumwas planned, allowing the East Timorese to decide if they would become an autonomous region of Indonesia or an independent nation.

Prior to the vote, armed clashesoccurred between proindependence guerrillas and militia forces.

The militia claimed simply to be patriots fighting for Indonesia but actually had roots going back prior tothe 1975 Indonesian invasion.

Many of the militia leaders had been members of civilian guards often linked to procolonial, and later pro-Indonesian, forces.

Thesegroups had a long history of antagonism against Fretilin and were believed to be afraid of retribution if independence was achieved. The vote was successfully held in August 1999, and autonomy within Indonesia was overwhelmingly rejected in favor of complete independence.

Violence betweenindependence supporters and the militia, allegedly backed by Indonesian military, increased significantly immediately after the vote.

The international community calledfor Indonesia to uphold the vote, end its support for the militia, and withdraw its troops.

Weeks of violence passed before a UN force under Australian leadership wasable to enter East Timor and restore a degree of calm.

During this period thousands of East Timorese disappeared.

Many fled to refugee camps throughout West Timor,but unknown numbers were killed by the militia and Indonesian troops.

Dili and other towns were razed, the infrastructure of East Timor was almost totally destroyed,and thousands of people hid in the mountains with only very basic supplies, if any. In October 1999 the Indonesian government ratified the results of the August referendum and repealed the 1976 legislation that had annexed East Timor.

TheIndonesian forces eventually withdrew, and a UN mission was established to help rebuild East Timor and to administer its transition to independence. In August 2001 East Timor held its first democratic elections, with 16 political parties participating.

The elections established an 88-member constituent assembly thatwas responsible for drafting and adopting East Timor’s first constitution.

Fretilin, the party most directly associated with East Timor’s independence struggle, won 55seats in the assembly, giving it a simple majority.

In March 2002 the assembly approved East Timor’s constitution, which provided for a republic with a president ashead of state and a prime minister as head of government.

In another preparatory step toward full independence, East Timor held its first, direct presidential elections. »