Timeline Timor-Leste
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Action Network: http://www.etan.org
Timor is an island about twice the size of
Massachusetts. East Timorese
are Roman Catholic and speak Tetum and Portuguese because of the 400
year colonial rule by Portugal. The islanders are a mix of Asian and
Melanesian with ties to Polynesia and the Malaysian archipelago. The
capital of East Timor is Dili. East Timor is 13,500 sq. km (5,600 sq.
mls).
(SFC, 10/12/96, p.A13)(SFC, 3/3/98, p.A6)
1512 The
Portuguese took over control of East Timor.
(SFC, 3/3/98, p.A6)
1695 Portugal established colonial
rule in the eastern half of Timor Island. The western side was
incorporated into the Dutch East Indies.
(SFC, 5/18/02, p.A15)
1789 Jun 14, Captain William Bligh
of the HMS Bounty arrived in Timor in a small boat.
(HN, 6/14/98)
1791 Aug 29, The Pandora under
Capt. Edward Edwards sank in Endeavour Strait (later Torres Strait)
between Australia and New Guinea. 33 crewmen and 4 prisoners died. They
managed to use small boats and arrived in Timor on Sep 16.
(ON, 3/04, p.9)
1941 Dec 17, Australian and Dutch
troops landed in Dili, East Timor.
(/www.defence.gov.au/army/asnce/history.htm)
1942 Feb 19, Japanese troops
landed on Timor. Australian commandos battled the Japanese with support
from local people. Japanese reprisals killed 60,000 civilians, 13% of
the population.
(SFC, 5/17/02, p.A15)(MC, 2/19/02)
1942 May 18, Allied forces bombed
the harbor city of Kupang (Koepang), Timor.
(www.kensmen.com/may42.html)
1945 Aug 17, Indonesian
nationalists declared independence from the Netherlands.
(SFC, 10/12/96, p.A13)(AP, 8/17/99)
1945 Indonesia, formed from the
former Dutch East Indies, claimed West Timor. East Timor remained under
Portuguese control.
(SFC, 3/3/98, p.A6)(SFEC, 8/29/99, p.A19)
1949 Dec 27, Queen Juliana of the
Netherlands granted sovereignty to the United States Indonesia after
more than 300 years of Dutch rule. The Netherlands retained control of
Irian Jaya, inhabited by Melanesians, until 1963.
(EWH, 1968, p.1168)(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A17)(AP, 12/27/99)
1949 The Dutch East Indies gained
independence. The western half of Timor island was incorporated into
the new nation of Indonesia when Holland transferred sovereignty.
Aceh's leaders agreed to join the new nation.
(SFC, 10/12/96, p.A13)(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A17)(SFC,
5/18/02, p.A15)(SFCM, 11/2/03, p.8)
1974 The process of decolonization
in Portuguese Timor began, following the change of government in
Portugal in the wake of the Carnation Revolution. Owing to political
instability (SFC, 3/3/98,
p.A6)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Timor)
1974 The Revolutionary Front for
an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) was established. In 2002 Helen M.
Hill authored “Stirrings of Nationalism in East Timor: Fretilin
1974-1978.”
(SFC, 9/6/01, p.E4)(www.yale.edu/gsp/east_timor/)
1975 Oct 16, In East Timor five
Australian journalists were killed when Indonesian troops overran the
border town of Balibo. A 6th died weeks later when Jakarta launched a
full-scale assault on Dili. In 2009 the film “Balibo,” by Australian
director Rob Connolly, depicted the killings.
(AP,
7/22/09)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balibo_Five)
1975 Oct, US National Security
Advisor Henry Kissinger told his staff: "I'm assuming you're really
going to keep your mouth shut on the subject," in response to
reports that Indonesia had begun its attack on East Timor. This
statement was only made public in 2005.
(AFP, 12/02/05)
1975 Nov 28, The Portuguese
colonial rule collapsed and East Timor proclaimed independence, but 10
days later it was invaded by Indonesia.
(G&M, 1/31/96, p.A-9)(SFC, 7/21/96, Z1,
p.8)(SFC, 10/16/96, p.A18)
1975 Dec 4, Ramos Horta helped
form an independent East Timor government but was forced to flee 3 days
before Indonesia invaded.
(SFEC, 6/27/99, p.A22)
1975 Dec 6, US President Ford and
Secretary of State Kissinger met with Indonesian President Suharto and
explicitly approved Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor. This
information was only made public in 2005.
(AFP,
12/02/05)(www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62/)
1975 Dec 7, Indonesia invaded East
Timor nine days after the Timorese political party Fretilin claimed
independence. Some 600,000 were left dead after a prolonged war.
(SFC, 7/21/96, Z1, p.8)(SFEC, 8/29/99, p.A19)(HNQ,
11/9/00)
1975-1999 A 2005 Australian report prepared for the
UN said Indonesia killed up to 180,000 East Timorese through massacres,
torture and starvation during its 24-year occupation.
(AP, 1/19/06)
1976 Jul 15, Indonesia passed a
law providing for annexation of East Timor, which the President of
Indonesia signed on 17 July. East Timor became the 27th province of the
Republic of Indonesia. The act was not recognized by the UN.
(G&M, 1/31/96,
p.A-9)(www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/timor-bkg.htm)
1978 Dec, Nicolao Lobato, East
Timor guerrilla commander, was killed and Jose Alexandre Gusmao was
made the de facto Falintil leader.
(www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/09/08/MN25926.DTL)
1978-2002 The Indonesian military systematically
forced dozens of East Timorese women to become sex slaves for officers
during its 24-year occupation of the half-island.
(AP, 4/29/03)
1981 In East Timor Jose Alexandre
Gusmao was made the official Falintil leader.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A14)
1991 Nov 12, Indonesian troops
under Lt. Gen’l. Sintong Panjaitan killed numerous people in the Santa
Cruz Cemetery of Dili, East Timor. The massacre of over 270 civilians,
gathered at the funeral of a young man killed 2 weeks earlier, by
Indonesian troops was witnessed by reporter Allan Nairn. Nairn was
arrested, beaten and banned from the country.
(SFC,11/26/97, p.C2)(SFC, 3/17/98, p.B10)(SFC,
6/19/98, p.B7)
1992 Nov, Xanana Gusmao, East
Timor rebel leader, was arrested at a "safe house" outside Dili for
fighting Indonesian forces. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1993
following a trial in which he was represented by a member of the
Indonesian security service. The sentence was later commuted to 20
years and he was moved to house arrest in 1999.
(SFC, 2/10/99, p.C2)(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A14)
1993 Konis Santana (d.1998) took
over leadership of the guerrilla Fretilin Party after the arrest and
jailing of Xanana Gusmao.
(SFC, 3/31/98, p.B3)
1995 Indonesian military
commanders controlled the local coffee industry until this time.
(SFEC, 8/29/99, p.A19)
1996 Oct 11, The Nobel Peace Prize
was awarded to Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo of East
Timor and Jose Ramos-Horta, in exile in Australia, for their work to
end oppression and violence in East Timor.
(SFC, 10/12/96, p.A1)(AP, 10/11/97)
1996 Oct 16, The Australian Senate
called for self-determination in East Timor and supported independence
from Jakarta. The government had earlier recognized the incorporation
of East Timor into Indonesia.
(SFC, 10/17/96, A11)
1996 The island of Timor numbered
some 900,000 residents.
(SFC, 10/12/96, p.A13)(SFC, 3/3/98, p.A6)
1998 May, With Indonesian
president Suharto‘s departure, various independence movements gained
momentum around Indonesia including East Timor.
(HN, 11/9/00)
1998 Jun 20, In East Timor a young
Timorese was shot dead by a soldier as he gathered wood. Officers
apologized and the soldier was charged.
(SFEC, 6/28/98, p.A20)
1998 Jun 27, In East Timor Manuel
Soares (21) was shot dead in Manatuto when troops opened fire to quell
a clash between Pro-Indonesia and pro-independence supporters. Three EU
envoys arrived on a fact-finding mission.
(SFEC, 6/28/98, p.A20)
1998 Aug 14, Indonesia and the UN
signed an agreement to allow human rights observers access to East
Timor.
(SFC, 8/15/98, p.A16)
1998 Sep 14, Hundreds looted a
government-owned rice warehouse on East Timor.
(WSJ, 9/16/98, p.A19)
1998 Nov 20, UN sponsored autonomy
negotiations on East Timor were suspended after 44 people were reported
killed under a military crackdown by the Indonesian government. The Red
Cross later denied the reports of a massacre.
(WSJ, 11/23/98, p.A1)(WSJ, 11/27/98, p.A1)
1998 Matthew Jardine (pseudonym
for Joe Nevins) authored the book: "East Timor: Genocide in Paradise.”
(SFC, 3/3/98, p.A6)
1999 Jan 3, In Ainaro, East Timor,
3 men died from an assault by militiamen.
(SFC, 2/8/99, p.A12)
1999 Jan 27, In Indonesia
legislators announced that independence for East Timor would be
considered. Also Chief Xanana Gusmao was to be released from prison but
kept in confinement.
(SFC, 1/28/99, p.C3)
1999 Jan, Militiamen in East Timor
killed 3 people including a pregnant woman and a teenage student. Some
5,500 people fled their homes following the murders.
(SFC, 2/8/99, p.A12)
1999 Apr 5, Two people were killed
during clashes in Liquisa, East Timor. Jose Alexandre Gusmao, under
house arrest in Jakarta, called for guerrilla attacks against
Indonesian forces.
(SFC, 4/6/99, p.A10)
1999 Apr 6, In East Timor gunmen
fired shots and lobbed grenades into a church where 1500 residents had
taken refuge. Some 40 people were reported killed in Liquica and 5
people were shot to death at the home of a parish priest. Military
officials denied the massacre and a bishop later said the number killed
might be less than 40. At least 25 people were killed by members of the
Red and White Iron (Besi Merah Putih) militia group. In Dec. victims
from the massacre at Liquica were brought up from Lake Maubara.
(SFC, 4/7/99, p.C12)(WSJ, 4/8/99, p.A1)(SFC, 4/9/99,
p.D2)(WSJ, 8/24/99, p.A10)(SFC, 12/21/99, p.A17)
1999 Apr 12, In East Timor 4
people were killed in fighting between factions for and against
independence from Indonesia.
(WSJ, 4/13/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 18, In East Timor weekend
violence left as many as 30 people dead, as pro-Indonesia militia
rampaged through Dili.
(WSJ, 4/19/99, p.A1)
1999 Apr 21, In East Timor the
warring factions signed an agreement to end violence.
(SFC, 4/22/99, p.D3)
1999 Apr 23, The foreign ministers
of Indonesia and Portugal completed an agreement for the people of East
Timor to vote on their future.
(SFC, 4/24/99, p.A14)
1999 Apr 25, Pro-Indonesian
militias were reported to have killed over 150 people in East Timor.
(WSJ, 4/26/99, p.A1)
1999 May 3, In Indonesia the
cabinet approved an autonomy package for East Timor to be voted on in
August.
(WSJ, 5/4/99, p.A1)
1999 May 5, Indonesia and Portugal
signed accords to enable the people of East Timor to vote on
independence Aug 8.
(SFC, 5/6/99, p.A15)
1999 May 9, Violence in Dili, East
Timor, between separatists and anti-independence militia began and left
4 people dead over the next 2 days.
(SFC, 5/11/99, p.A12)
1999 Jun 17, In East Timor rival
factions agreed to cease intimidation and violence prior to the August
referendum between independence and autonomy.
(WSJ, 6/18/99, p.A1)
1999 Jun 22, UN Sec. Gen'l. Kofi
Annan announced a 2 week delay on the Aug 8 vote in East Timor due to
security and logistics.
(SFC, 6/23/99, p.A14)
1999 Jul 4, In East Timor
anti-independence fighters fired for the first time on a convoy of
foreign workers and wounded as many as 3.
(SFC, 7/5/99, p.A12)
1999 Jul 21, It was reported that
40 to 60 thousand people had been driven from their homes in East Timor
by some 13 anti-independence militia groups such as the Red and White
Iron.
(SFC, 7/21/99, p.A11)
1999 Jul 28, East Timor elections
scheduled for Aug 8, and delayed to Aug 21, were again delayed to
August 30.
(SFC, 7/29/99, p.A16)
1999 Aug 18, Ramos Horta of
Indonesia, 1996 Nobel Prize winner, warned the government that computer
hackers would wreak electronic mayhem on the country if voting in the
East Timor referendum is hampered.
(SFC, 8/19/99, p.D10)
1999 Aug 26, In East Timor
anti-independence militiamen left 6 people dead in Dili.
(SFC, 8/27/99, p.A1)
1999 Aug 27, In East Timor some
800 militiamen attacked the village of Mimo and 3 people were killed.
(SFC, 8/28/99, p.A10)
1999 Aug 28, It was reported that
the Indonesian army had lost over 10,000 soldiers in East Timor over 24
years of sporadic warfare. An estimated 2,000 Indonesian troops died
fighting guerrillas since 1975.
(SFEC, 8/29/99, p.A19)(SFC, 8/31/99, p.A12)
1999 Aug 30, In East Timor
UN-sponsored elections were held on autonomy vs. independence. 98.6% of
the 451,000 registered voters cast their ballots. Roughly 78% of the
electorate voted to sever links to Indonesia and establish an
independent state. Pro-Indonesia militiamen reacted by going on a
violent rampage that ended when international forces were sent in. U.N.
peacekeeping forces arrived in the following weeks.
(SFC, 8/30/99, p.A1)(SFC, 8/31/99, p.A12)(AP,
8/30/00)(HN, 11/9/00)
1999 Sep 1, In East Timor
pro-Indonesia militia shot and hacked to death Jorges Francisco
Bonaparte (19), a pro-independence activist, a few yards from the gate
of the UN compound in Dili.
(SFC, 9/2/99, p.A14)
1999 Sep 1, In East Timor
pro-independence campaigner Guido Alves Correia in Dili was murdered.
In 2004 Beny Ludji, an Indonesian citizen who was formerly a commander
of the pro-Jakarta Aitarak militia, was sentenced to eight years in
prison for the murder. Jose Gusmao, one of Ludji's men, was sentenced
to 30 months.
(AFP, 5/19/04)
1999 Sep 2, In East Timor
pro-Indonesia militiamen killed 2 UN workers as the Indonesian
government dispatched 500 riot police to maintain peace.
(SFC, 9/3/99, p.A8)
1999 Sep 3, The East Timor
election results were reported with 78.5% in favor of independence.
(SFC, 9/4/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 4, In East Timor
pro-Indonesia militia took control of much of the country in defiance
of the election results and a dozen people were reported killed in Dili.
(SFEC, 9/5/99, p.A11)
1999 Sep 5, In East Timor
anti-independence militias went on a rampage and 100 people were
reported slaughtered in a church and hundreds of other beheaded as tens
of thousands tried to flee. 18 suspects were indicted for the slaughter
in 2001. In Indonesia 7 senior officials were charged in 2002 including
former East Timor Gov. Abilio Soares.
(SFC, 9/6/99, p.A1)(SFC, 2/22/02, p.A14)
1999 Sep 6, In East Timor martial
law was declared by Indonesia as militias began executing independence
leaders. A UN peace-keeping force was being formed to cope with the
violence. A mass slaying of up to 200 civilians took place in Suai. 3
Roman Catholic priests were among the dead. In 2004 Martenus Bere,
Indonesian former militia leader, was indicted for his role in the Suai
Church massacre.
(SFC, 9/7/99, p.A1)(SFC, 11/27/99, p.A14)(AFP,
9/7/09)
1999 Sep 7, The US threatened the
withdrawal of financial aid to Indonesia if violence in East Timor was
not curtailed.
(SFC, 9/8/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 8, In East Timor the UN
delayed a pull out over concern for some 2,000 people gathered in its
compound in Dili. Officials estimated that some 200,000 people had fled
East Timor.
(SFC, 9/9/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 9/9/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 8, A pro-independence
activist was killed in Maliana, East Timor. In 2001 Joao Fernandes, a
member of the Merah Putih (Red and White) militia, was found guilty and
sentenced to 12 years in prison. This was the 1st successful
prosecution for the numerous East Timor slayings.
(SFC, 1/26/01, p.A16)
1999 Sep 9, Pres. Clinton moved to
cut military ties with Indonesia and the IMF suspended its lending
program due to the violence in East Timor.
(SFC, 9/10/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 11, Pres. Clinton backed
by the UN General Assembly demanded that Indonesia invite an int'l.
force to restore order in East Timor.
(SFEC, 9/12/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 12, In Indonesia Pres.
Habibie said he will allow armed foreign peacekeepers into East Timor.
Reports had reached Jakarta that troops had attacked 30,000 people in
the seminary town of Dare.
(SFC, 9/13/99, p.A1,10)
1999 Sep 13, Indonesia agreed to
an int'l. commission to investigate possible atrocities in East Timor
and to create no obstacles to the deployment of a foreign peacekeeping
force.
(SFC, 9/14/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 14, In East Timor
Indonesian soldiers looted the abandoned UN compound in Dili.
(SFC, 9/15/99, p.A14)
1999 Sep 15, The UN authorized an
int'l. peacekeeping force in East Timor led by Australia with some
8,000 troops from a number of nations.
(SFC, 9/15/99, p.A15)(WSJ, 9/16/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 18, Indonesian troops
prepared to leave East Timor as a multinational force steamed in.
(SFEC, 9/19/99, p.A17)
1999 Sep 20, In East Timor the
first wave of int'l. peacekeepers, known as Interfet, landed and
established control over Dili.
(SFC, 9/20/99, p.A1)(SFC, 9/21/99, p.A10)(SFEC,
9/26/99, p.A12)
1999 Sep 22, In East Timor armed
men killed a Dutch journalist and assaulted 2 others as Australian
peacekeepers fanned out from Dili and collected weapons from
pro-Jakarta militia.
(WSJ, 9/23/99, p.A1)
1999 Sep 25, In East Timor 9 to 16
people were reported killed in rural areas while on a mission to aid
refugees. Militia members killed 8 people in a van near Baucau City. 11
men were indicted for the murders.
(SFC, 9/28/99, p.A12)(SFC, 11/17/01, p.A15)
1999 Sep 29, The 1st evidence of
atrocities in East Timor was discovered in the charred remains of 9
bodies in the back of a burned out pickup truck.
(SFC, 9/30/99, p.A18)
1999 Sep 30, Some 30 Falintil
guerrillas under Cornelio Goma came down from the mountains to Dili,
East Timor, and turned over weapons left by Indonesian troops, but not
their own weapons. Goma offered his 500 troops for joint patrols with
the int'l. peacekeepers.
(SFC, 10/1/99, p.D4)
1999 Oct 1, Joao da Silva Tavares,
a militia leader in West Timor, said he planned to lead 12,000 fighters
back to 6 western districts of East Timor.
(SFC, 10/2/99, p.C1)
1999 Oct 5, Kofi Annan presented a
UN plan to take full control of East Timor and guide the territory to
nationhood over 2-3 years.
(SFC, 10/6/99, p.A10)
1999 Oct 6, In East Timor
Australian peacekeepers killed 2 anti-independence militia-men near the
West Timor border.
(SFC, 10/7/99, p.C2)
1999 Oct 19, In East Timor
refugees were returning at the rate of 500 per hour and 17,000 were
expected by the end of the day.
(SFC, 10/20/99, p.A10)
1999 Oct 19, In Indonesia the
People's Consultative Assembly relinquished the national claim to East
Timor.
(SFC, 10/20/99, p.A1)
1999 Oct 21, In East Timor Jose
Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, the exiled guerrilla leader, returned to
Dili.
(SFC, 10/22/99, p.B2)
1999 Oct 25, The UN Security
Council voted to send 8,950 peacekeepers, 1,640 police officers and 200
military observers to oversee the East Timor transition to independence.
(SFC, 10/26/99, p.A10)
1999 Oct 31, In East Timor the
last 900 Indonesian soldiers departed. Indonesian forces had burned
about 80% of East Timor’s government buildings and infrastructure
following the vote for independence.
(SFEC, 10/31/99, p.A1)(WSJ, 6/10/04, p.A1)
1999 Dec 13, In West Timor,
Indonesia, Joao Tavarres, supreme militia commander, ordered his forces
to immediately dissolve and surrender their weapons.
(SFC, 1/11/00, p.A12)
1999 Australia started pumping
from the Laminaria-Corallina oil field in the Timor Sea.
(Econ, 6/5/04, p.40)
1999 Australia withdrew from the
Int’l. Court of Justice’s jurisdiction on maritime boundary questions
shortly before East Timor’s independence.
(Econ, 6/5/04, p.40)
1999 A 2006 report by East Timor's
Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that Australia actively
lobbied to delay East Timor's independence vote in 1999 and prevent its
separation from Indonesia.
(AFP, 2/2/06)
2000 Jan 22, UN investigators
found the bodies of 8 people in a mass grave in East Timor. This
brought the total number of bodies recovered since Sep to about 200.
(SFC, 1/12/00, p.A11)
2000 Jan 31, In Indonesia a
government commission issued a report that accused the military and
militia surrogates of mass killing, torture, deportation and rape in
East Timor.
(SFC, 2/1/00, p.A10)
2000 Feb 19, It was reported that
some 200 people had died in East Timor, mostly women and children, in
the last week due to illnesses attributed to sanitation problems caused
by recent flooding.
(SFC, 2/19/00, p.C1)
2000 Feb 24, In East Timor
Australian peacekeepers handed control of the region over to a UN force.
(WSJ, 2/24/00, p.A1)
2000 May 18, In East Timor
floodwaters from monsoon rains drowned at least 50 people in refugee
camps.
(SFC, 5/19/00, p.D4)
2000 Jul 24, A New Zealand soldier
was killed during a clash with opponents for independence, the 1st UN
peacekeeper killed in East Timor.
(SFC, 7/25/00, p.A14)
2000 Aug 22, In West Timor
pro-Indonesia militiamen severely beat 3 UN relief workers. UN relief
work in West Timor was suspended the next day.
(SFC, 8/24/00, p.A13)
2000 Sep 1, In Indonesia
prosecutors named 19 people, including 3 generals as possible suspects
in the killings and destruction in East Timor in Sept. 1999.
(SFC, 9/2/00, p.A12)
2000 Sep 6, In West Timor
thousands of armed militia rampaged through a UN office in Atambua and
killed at least 3 UN workers and burned their bodies. UN relief workers
were flown out the next day and 90,000 refugees faced shortages of food
and medicine. The militia attack followed the death of Olivio Mendosa
Moruk, an East Timorese militia leader.
(SFC, 9/7/00, p.A1)(SFC, 9/8/00, p.A12)(SFC,
9/13/00, p.A14)
2000 Sep 15, In Australia 4
athletes from East Timor took part in the 2000 Olympics.
(WSJ, 9/18/00, p.A1)
2000 Sep 19, The UN granted its
peacekeepers in East Timor the right to shoot at armed attackers
without warning.
(SFC, 9/20/00, p.A14)
2000 Oct 19, Jose Ramos-Horta,
Nobel Peace laureate, was sworn in as the East Timor foreign minister.
(SFC, 10/20/00, p.D8)
2001 Feb 1, In East Timor the
former guerrilla force was transformed into the core of a new national
army.
(SFC, 2/2/01, p.D4)
2001 Mar 29, In East Timor Xanana
Gusmao said he would not compete in the nation’s 1st presidential
election. Gusmao quit the interim legislature yesterday.
(SFC, 3/30/01, p.A18)
2001 Jul 4, Australia’s interim
cabinet approved East Timor’s demands for 90% of the revenues from oil
and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.
(SFC, 7/5/01, p.A8)
2001 Aug 30, In East Timor
elections were held for an 88-member assembly to write a constitution.
Voter turnout was estimated at 93% and the Revolutionary Front for an
Independent East Timor was expected to win. Fretilin secured 55 0f 88
seats.
(WSJ, 8/31/01, p.A1)(WSJ, 8/31/01, p.A5)(SFC,
8/31/01, p.A18)(SFC, 9/6/01, p.E4)
2002 Feb 9, East Timor approved a
draft for a new constitution. Full independence was scheduled for May
20.
(SSFC, 2/10/02, p.A14)
2002 Mar 14, In Jakarta the
human-rights trial to probe the 1999 violence in East Timor began with
3 generals among the 18 suspects accused of crimes against humanity.
(SFC, 3/14/02, p.A8)
2002 Apr 14, In East Timor
elections former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao led over Francisco
Xavier do Amaral by a large margin. Xanana Gusmão was elected
the first president of East Timor and he served from May 2002 until May
2007.
(SFC, 4/16/02,
p.A7)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanana_Gusm%C3%A3o)
2002 Apr 17, The UN officially
declared former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao as winner in East
Timor’s 1st presidential elections.
(SFC, 5/18/02, p.A15)
2002 May 20, East Timor, with a
population at about 800,000, celebrated independence. A legal battle
loomed with Australia over the disputed Greater Sunrise natural gas
field in the Timor Sea. The filed lay 95 miles south of East Timor and
250 miles north of Australia.
(SFC, 5/20/02, p.A6)(WSJ, 5/20/02, p.A19)(WSJ,
6/10/04, p.A1)
2002 May 20, East Timor was
renamed Timor-Leste upon independence.
(www.mindef.gov.sg/armynews/display0.asp?articleId=57)
2002 Jul 2, East Timor President
Xanana Gusmao and his Indonesian counterpart Megawati Sukarnoputri
opened a new chapter in ties between the world's newest nation and its
former foe, establishing formal diplomatic links and pledging to work
together.
(Reuters, 7/2/02)
2002 Aug 14, An Indonesian court
sentenced a former East Timor governor to three years in jail over
violence linked to the territory's 1999 independence vote.
(Reuters, 8/14/02)
2002 Aug 15, An Indonesian court
acquitted a former East Timor police chief and five other security
officers of crimes against humanity over East Timor's bloody
independence vote in 1999.
(AP, 8/15/02)
2002 Sep 27, East Timor, the first
country to be born in the 21st century, gained a seat at the United
Nations, swelling the membership roll to 191.
(Reuters, 9/27/02)
2002 Dec 4, Security forces fired
on student protesters in the East Timorese capital, killing two people
and prompting angry mobs to loot shops and set fire to several
buildings, including the prime minister's house.
(AP, 12/4/02)
2003 Jan 31, A Russian cargo plane
crashed while landing in fog near an airport on East Timor's north
coast, killing all six people aboard.
(AP, 1/31/03)
2003 Feb 4, The UN indicted 32
people, including 15 Indonesian soldiers, on allegations they tortured
and killed East Timorese during the country's bloody split from
Indonesia in 1999.
(AP, 2/4/03)
2003 Apr 5, In East Timor Jose
Cardosa Fereira, senior militia leader, was found guilty of murder,
rape and torture of civilians in East Timor who supported the
territory's 1999 independence from Indonesia. He was sentenced to 12
years.
(AP, 4/5/03)
2003 Sep 16, The UN turned over
responsibility for security in East Timor's second largest city to the
country's fledgling police force.
(AP, 9/16/03)
2004 Apr 19, The annual
environmental Goldman Prizes were awarded in SF. Winners included
Demetrio De Carvalho of East Timor for his environmental efforts.
(SFC, 4/19/04, p.B5)
2004 Jul 29, Four Indonesian
security officers convicted over atrocities during East Timor's 1999
violence-marred independence vote were acquitted.
(AFP, 8/6/04)
2004 Nov 5, Abilio Jose Soares,
the only Indonesian official to be punished for violence that killed up
to 2,000 East Timorese in 1999, has been released from jail, following
a court decision that overturned his conviction. Soares was the former
governor of East Timor.
(CP, 11/6/04)
2004 Nov 25, Eight former
pro-Jakarta militiamen were convicted in East Timor for crimes against
humanity committed in the mayhem surrounding a 1999 UN-backed vote that
led to the country's separation from Indonesia.
(AFP, 11/29/04)
2004 Oil production at the Bayu
Undan oil field in the Timor Sea was expected to begin. Australia
claimed a 50% stake due to an arrangement made with Indonesia prior to
East Timor’s independence.
(SFC, 10/20/00, p.D3)
2005 Mar 9, Indonesia and East
Timor agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities surrounding
East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, despite criticism led by the
UN.
(AP, 3/9/05)
2005 Apr 8, Indonesia's Pres.
Yudhoyono was greeted in East Timor on a visit to bolster
reconciliation between Jakarta and the territory it once occupied with
brutal force.
(AP, 4/8/05)
2005 May 13, East Timor finished
talks in Sydney, Australia, that managed to overcome 2 main sticking
points on their maritime border and revenue from the Greater Sunrise
gasfield. They agreed to defer the boundary issue for 50 years along
with a 50% revenue split.
(Econ, 5/21/05, p.46)
2005 Jun 13, Australia handed East
Timor the base at Moleana, a tiny town near the border with Indonesia,
signaling the end of a six-year mission that heralded a controversial
new era of regional intervention in East Timor.
(AP, 6/12/05)
2005 Jun 29, A UN team of experts
called for an international tribunal to prosecute Indonesia’s security
forces and militia during its bloodstained exit from East Timor in 1999.
(AP, 6/29/05)
2005 Aug 4, In Bali a truth
commission set up by Indonesia and East Timor began work, seeking to
deflect growing calls for an international tribunal to probe the tiny
territory's bloody independence vote in 1999.
(AP, 8/4/05)
2005 Oct 31, A UN-sanctioned panel
investigating human rights violations during Indonesia's bloody 24-year
occupation of East Timor presented its findings to the country's
president.
(AP, 10/31/05)
2005 Dec 1, Australia and East
Timor finalized a revenue-sharing pact covering the $5 billion Sunrise
natural-gas project.
(WSJ, 12/2/05, p.A8)
2005 Dec 27, East Timor's
president formally opened a consulate in Indonesia's neighbouring West
Timor province in an effort to strengthen relations between the two
nations.
(AFP, 12/28/05)
2006 Jan 12, Australia and East
Timor agreed to equally share revenue from the Greater Sunrise natural
gas project in the Timor Sea.
(WSJ, 1/13/06, p.A8)
2006 Feb 21, Portugal's President
Jorge Sampaio was granted honorary citizenship of East Timor as he
began a three-day official trip to the former Portuguese colony.
(AFP, 2/21/06)
2006 Feb, About 500 East Timorese
soldiers deserted in protest against alleged discrimination and
over-zealous surveillance. The fledgling East Timorese army has about
1500 regular soldiers and 1500 reservists.
(http://tinyurl.com/egj85)
2006 Mar 16, Timor-Leste’s PM Mari
Alkatiri sacked almost half the country’s 1,400-strong army for going
on strike effective as of March 1.
(Econ, 6/3/06, p.38)(http://tinyurl.com/egj85)
2006 Apr 28, In East Timor
hundreds of former soldiers burned cars and shops in Dili, sparking
violent clashes with police that left at least two people dead and 27
injured. The soldiers, who were dismissed last month for striking
against "discriminatory" working conditions, have held near-daily
rallies in Dili this week demanding that their grievances be heard.
(AP, 4/28/06)
2006 May 23, Fighting between
disgruntled former soldiers and the military left at least two people
dead in East Timor, as Australia and New Zealand offered to provide
troops to the tiny nation to help restore calm.
(AP, 5/23/06)
2006 May 24, International
peacekeepers and troops from Australia and New Zealand were headed to
East Timor to help restore order after gunbattles between disgruntled
ex-soldiers and the military killed two people and wounded nine.
(AP, 5/24/06)
2006 May 25, In East Timor fierce
gunbattles raged in Dili as international troops started arriving in
the tiny nation to help quell a rebellion by disgruntled ex-soldiers.
Soldiers fired on unarmed police killing 10 and wounding 27. At least
10 people died in other attacks.
(AP, 5/25/06)(SFC, 5/26/06, p.A15)(Econ, 6/3/06,
p.38)
2006 May 25, PM John Howard
increased Australia’s contingent to Timor-Leste to some 1,300 troops.
500 Malaysians and troops from New Zealand and Portugal were also
deployed.
(Econ, 6/3/06, p.15)
2006 May 26, Hundreds of foreign
troops struggled to keep East Timor from tipping into civil war amid
widening violence, including a mob attack that killed six relatives of
a government minister and set his house ablaze.
(AP, 5/26/06)
2006 May 27, East Timor's capital
descended into chaos as rival gangs set houses on fire and attacked
each other with machetes and spears, defying international peacekeepers
patrolling in armed vehicles and combat helicopters. The prime minister
said a coup attempt was underway.
(AP, 5/27/06)
2006 May 28, In East Timor rival
gangs torched homes and battled each other with machetes in Dili,
scattering and regrouping as Australian troops in armored vehicles
rumbled toward the sound of gunfire.
(AP, 5/28/06)
2006 May 30, In East Timor
machete-wielding mobs torched homes and ransacked buildings in Dili as
desperate residents scuffled over scarce food and the president said he
was taking over "sole responsibility" for the country's national
security.
(AP, 5/30/06)
2006 Jun 1, East Timor President
Xanana Gusmao made an emotional plea for peace after weeks of violence,
as the rebel leader pressed him to oust the unpopular prime minister.
(AFP, 6/1/06)
2006 Jun 2, In Timor-Leste
lawlessness raged in parts Dili as mobs looted government warehouses,
stealing computers, office chairs and file cabinets. Foreign troops
deployed to restore order were nowhere to be seen.
(AP, 6/2/06)
2006 Jun 4, In East Timor gangs
burned half a dozen buildings near the airport in Dili as residents
pleaded for a permanent police presence in their neighborhoods to stop
the violence.
(AP, 6/4/06)
2006 Jun 6, Some 2,000 protesters
calling for the ouster of East Timor's PM Mari Alkatiri cruised around
Parliament in a convoy of horn-blaring trucks and motorcycles, hours
after mobs set fire to buildings and looted a warehouse filled with
farm supplies.
(AP, 6/6/06)
2006 Jun 11, Foreign Minister Jose
Ramos-Horta said the East Timorese government has asked the UN to form
an "independent special inquiry commission" into violence that has left
21 dead.
(AFP, 6/11/06)
2006 Jun 13, UN chief Kofi Annan
asked UN human rights chief Louise Arbour to help set up an independent
enquiry commission to probe a recent wave of ethnic violence in East
Timor.
(AP, 6/13/06)
2006 Jun 16, East Timor rebel
soldiers surrendered the first of their weapons to Australian
peacekeepers, beginning a process deemed vital to ending months of
bloody unrest.
(AP, 6/16/06)
2006 Jun 20, East Timor
prosecutors ordered the arrest of Rogerio Lobato, the former interior
minister, for supplying weapons to a hit squad tasked with eliminating
the prime minister's political opponents. International troops
tightened security across the capital as hundreds of protesters
gathered to demand PM Mari Alkatiri's ouster.
(AP, 6/20/06)
2006 Jun 21, East Timorese PM Mari
Alkatiri likely will resign, his spokesman said, as the country's
president and members of the beleaguered leader's own party joined a
chorus of people saying he no longer had their trust.
(AP, 6/21/06)
2006 Jun 22, East Timor's
president threatened to resign after the ruling party defied his orders
to oust the prime minister.
(AP, 6/22/06)
2006 Jun 23, East Timor's
president backed off a threat to resign, telling thousands of
flag-waving supporters he would not abandon them as the country
searched for a solution to weeks of political turmoil and bloody street
battles.
(AP, 6/23/06)
2006 Jun 24, In Timor-Leste
thousands of protesters demanded the ouster of PM Mari Alkatiri,
blaming him for provoking violence and political chaos.
(AP, 6/24/06)
2006 Jun 26, East Timor's
embattled PM Alkatiri resigned, setting off celebrations in the
violence-scarred capital and raising hopes for an end to weeks of
political turmoil and unrest.
(AP, 6/26/06)
2006 Jun 28, Stone-throwing youths
attacked refugee camps and torched homes in East Timor, raising
tensions as thousands of supporters of ex-premier Mari Alkatiri waited
outside the capital Dili.
(AFP, 6/28/06)
2006 Jul 1, Sources said East
Timor's outgoing foreign minister Jose Ramos-Horta will head the
government until a new premier is appointed in coming days.
(AFP, 7/1/06)
2006 Jul 8, Jose Ramos-Horta,
Nobel peace laureate, was named East Timor's new prime minister.
(AP, 7/8/06)
2006 Jul 10, Nobel laureate Jose
Ramos-Horta was sworn in as PM of East Timor in a move aimed at ending
months of political uncertainty and street violence.
(AP, 7/10/06)
2006 Jul 14, East Timor's
President Xanana Gusmao swore in a new government as his tiny nation
looked for a return to political order after several weeks of unrest.
(AFP, 7/14/06)
2006 Jul 22, East Timor's newly
installed PM Jose Ramos-Horta offered a weapons amnesty to prevent a
repeat of communal clashes which left 21 dead two months ago.
(AFP, 7/22/06)
2006 Aug 2, The Australian
government said it had started reducing troop numbers in East Timor as
security in the tiny nation was steadily improving.
(AP, 8/3/06)
2006 Aug 19, In East Timor
rampaging youths set houses on fire in Dili, a reminder that stability
has not yet returned to Asia's newest nation following months of
violence.
(CP, 8/19/06)
2006 Aug 25, The UN established a
new mission in East Timor but left Australian-led troops in place
following a dispute over whether they should remain independent or be
part of a UN force.
(Reuters, 8/25/06)
2006 Aug 30, Nearly 60 inmates
escaped from an East Timor jail, including scores of people arrested in
recent violence that wracked the tiny nation and militiamen who opposed
the country's break from Indonesian rule.
(AP, 8/30/06)
2006 Sep 13, International police
deployed to East Timor in the wake of unrest in May formally handed
over their authority to the UN at a ceremony in the capital. A battle
between rival gangs armed with machetes killed one fighter and injured
five others in Dili.
(AFP, 9/13/06)(AP, 9/14/06)
2006 Oct 17, A UN report
recommended that recommended that East Timor’s former interior minister
Rogerio Lobato, military chief Taur Matan Ruak, and several others be
prosecuted for illegal distribution of weapons and be held accountable
for unrest that gripped capital Dili this year. The 79-page report also
called for a further investigation into former PM Mari Alkatiri to
determine whether he should face criminal charges.
(Reuters, 10/18/06)
2006 Oct 26, In East Timor
witnesses and residents said 2 men were shot to death in overnight gang
battles in Dili.
(AP, 10/26/06)
2006 Dec 3, In East Timor a man
was hacked to death and 17 others were injured in overnight gang
fighting in Dili.
(AP, 12/3/06)
2007 Jan 12, East Timor and France
signed non-aggression treaties with ASEAN member countries on the
sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit in the Philippine resort city of
Cebu. Both countries looked to strengthen ties with a bloc
representing a sixth of the world's people.
(AP, 1/13/07)
2007 Jan 18, East Timor and the UN
launched an appeal for $16.6 million to help resettle and reintegrate
about 100,000 people displaced by violence which wracked the country
last year.
(AFP, 1/18/07)
2007 Feb 17, About 40 prisoners
escaped from a jail in East Timor, adding to security concerns as it
prepares for elections following political turmoil and violence last
year.
(AP, 2/17/07)
2007 Feb 22, The UN Security
Council voted unanimously to extend the UN mission in East Timor for a
year and beef up the international police force ahead of upcoming
elections.
(AP, 2/22/07)
2007 Feb 23, An Australian soldier
opened fire on a group of East Timorese attacking him with steel
arrows, killing one of the youths and critically wounding two.
(AP, 2/23/07)
2007 Feb 25, PM Jose Ramos-Horta
of East Timor told a cheering crowd in his hometown that he will run in
April's presidential elections, vowing to help return peace and
stability to the troubled nation.
(AP, 2/25/07)
2007 Mar 4, In East Timor
International security forces backed by helicopters raided a rebel
hide-out and killed four suspected insurgents, though their leader
Alfredo Reinado escaped.
(AP, 3/4/07)
2007 Mar 7, In Timor-Leste a
three-judge panel found Rogerio Lobato, a former interior minister,
guilty of fueling violence a year ago that ultimately led to the
downfall of the government and sentenced him to 7 1/2 years in prison.
(AP, 3/7/07)
2007 Mar 29, Indonesia reopened
its border with East Timor because the fugitive rebel who caused its
closure is no longer considered a threat.
(AP, 3/29/07)
2007 Apr 9, East Timor held
elections. A Nobel laureate squared off with two rivals in presidential
elections that could test East Timor's fragile calm a year after one of
the world's youngest and poorest nations reached the brink of civil war.
(AP, 4/9/07)
2007 Apr 11, Three candidates
battled for a spot in East Timor's presidential runoff after none got
enough votes to win outright.
(AP, 4/11/07)
2007 May 9, East Timor voted for a
new president, choosing between a Nobel Prize winner and an ex-freedom
fighter in polls critical to maintaining peace a year after the nation
was pushed to the brink of civil war.
(AP, 5/9/07)
2007 May 10, Nobel Peace Prize
winner Jose Ramos-Horta pledged to unite troubled East Timor after the
former resistance leader was elected president of one of the world's
poorest nations.
(AFP, 5/10/07)
2007 May 14, Gangs torched houses
and fought in East Timor, injuring around 14 people, as violence broke
out following the nation's presidential elections.
(AP, 5/15/07)
2007 May 20, Jose Ramos-Horta was
sworn in as East Timor's president as violence erupted in the capital
between rival groups, leaving one person dead.
(AFP, 5/20/07)
2007 Jun 30, East Timor
parliamentary elections got under way. The ruling Fretilin party
narrowly defeated its rivals in elections, prompting the President Jose
Ramos-Horta to call for a national unity coalition to avoid a collapse
of the government.
(AP, 6/30/07)(AP, 7/5/07)
2007 Jul 17, It was reported that
the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization and WFP estimated that the
cereal deficit for East Timor this year and next will reach 86,364
tons. With commercial imports anticipated at 71,000 tons, the shortfall
needs to be filled through food assistance.
(AFP, 7/17/07)
2007 Jul 26, East Timor's
President Jose Ramos-Horta asked visiting Australian PM John Howard to
keep Australian peacekeepers in the young nation until the end of 2008.
(AFP, 7/26/07)
2007 Aug 6, Independence hero
Xanana Gusmao was named East Timor's new prime minister, triggering
fresh violence in the capital.
(AP, 8/6/07)
2007 Aug 7, Mobs torched
government buildings and foreign aid offices, as street violence
triggered by the appointment of East Timor's new PM spread to Baucau,
the 2nd-largest city. The former ruling Fretilin party won 21 seats in
the 65-member Parliament, well short of a majority, but insisted it had
the right to form the next government. Gusmao's party won 18, but
formed a coalition that now comprises 37 seats.
(AP, 8/7/07)
2007 Aug 10, In East Timor dozens
of attackers raided the Salesian Don Bosco convent and raped several
female students, including one around 8 years old.
(AP, 8/11/07)
2007 Aug 23, Hundreds of rampaging
youths torched dozens of houses and clashed across East Timor, leaving
at least two people dead, in violence sparked by the appointment of
independence hero Xanana Gusmao as prime minister.
(AP, 8/23/07)
2007 Oct 3, Police in East Timor
arrested Vicente "Railos" da Conciecao, the suspected head of a hit
squad. He was linked with Rogerio Lobato, a former interior minister
convicted of giving weapons to civilians during a wave of violence last
year.
(Reuters, 10/3/07)
2007 Dec 14, Australian PM Kevin
Rudd and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon jetted into East Timor to
lend support to the nation's efforts to stabilize and rebuild after
violence last year. Rudd pledged to support the nation's ongoing
security needs during the five-hour stop.
(AP, 12/14/07)(AFP, 12/14/07)
2008 Feb 11, Rebel soldiers shot
and critically wounded East Timor's Pres. Jose Ramos-Horta, and opened
fire on PM Xanana Gusmao, in a failed coup attempt in the recently
independent nation. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado and one of his men
were killed in the attack on the home of Ramos-Horta, while one of the
president's guards also died.
(AP, 2/11/08)
2008 Feb 12, East Timor declared a
state of emergency. Australian troops and a warship arrived to boost
security after rebel attacks on the country's two top leaders left the
president in "extremely serious" condition with gunshot wounds.
(AP, 2/12/08)
2008 Mar 2, Amaro da Costa, a
senior East Timorese rebel soldier, surrendered. He was accused of
being involved in last month's attacks on the country's president and
prime minister.
(Reuters, 3/2/08)
2008 Apr 4, Indonesia's Supreme
Court overturned the conviction of a notorious militia leader accused
in attacks that left about 1,000 people dead following East Timor's
1999 independence vote. With Eurico Guterres' upcoming release, all 18
suspects originally indicted will have been acquitted or set free.
(AP, 4/5/08)
2008 Apr 29, Gastao Salsinha, the
leader of a group of East Timor rebels accused of trying to assassinate
President Jose Ramos-Horta, surrendered with 12 of his men, raising
hopes that the troubled young nation can find some rare stability.
(Reuters, 4/29/08)
2008 Jul 7, Police in East Timor's
capital fired tear gas to disperse students protesting a plan by
lawmakers to buy themselves new cars with state funds.
(AP, 7/7/08)
2008 Jul 11, Brazilian President
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva promised to support East Timor during talks
in Dili with Timorese leaders including President Jose Ramos-Horta.
(AFP, 7/11/08)
2008 Jul 15, Indonesia's president
acknowledged that his country carried out gross human rights abuses
during East Timor's 1999 break for independence, but stopped short of
offering a full apology and said no one would be prosecuted.
(AP, 7/15/08)
2008 Oct 22, Defense Minister Joel
Fitzgibbon said Australia will reduce its troop deployment to East
Timor because of the improved security situation.
(AFP, 10/22/08)
2009 May 15, In Indonesia 6
Asia-Pacific countries, meeting at the World Oceans Conference, agreed
on a management plan to protect one of the world's largest networks of
coral reefs, promising to reduce pollution, eliminate overfishing and
improve the livelihoods of impoverished coastal communities. The Coral
Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security covered
an area defined as the Coral Triangle, which spans Indonesia, the
Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and East
Timor.
(AP, 5/15/09)
2009 Jun 25, The government of
East Timor said it plans to establish a national park to protect a
bounty of dolphins and whales, some of them endangered species,
recently discovered mingling and feeding off its coast.
(AP, 6/25/09)
2009 Sep 9, Australia announced
that it has launched a war crimes investigation into the 1975 killing
of five Australian-based journalists during an attack by Indonesian
forces in East Timor.
(AP, 9/9/09)
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Subject = Timor-Leste
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