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Use | National flag and ensign |
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Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | November 28, 1975 ( de facto ) May 19, 2002 ( de jure ) |
Design | A red field with the black isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side bearing a white five-pointed star in the center superimposed on the larger yellow triangle, also based on the hoist-side, that extends to the center of the flag. |
Designed by | Natalino Leitão |
The national flag of East Timor (Portuguese: Bandeira de Timor-Leste) is one of the official symbols of East Timor. It consists of a red field with the black isosceles triangle based on the hoist-side bearing a white five-pointed star in the center superimposed on the larger yellow triangle, also based on the hoist-side, that extends to the center of the flag.
According to the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Part I, Section 15:
With the constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on November 28, 1975, the flag was officially adopted for the first time. The symbolism of this flag was given the following meaning:
Today, both the colours and their meanings are specified in the new Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste of 2002 (Part I, Section 15): [1]
Flags are powerful symbols in East Timorese culture and have a high cultural significance. They play a significant role in East Timorese identification as a community. Flags are automatically attributed a symbolic power, making them a sacred object. [2]
The tones of the individual colours are not precisely defined in the Constitution. The Independence Day Celebrations Committee of the United Nations Transitional Administration for East Timor (UNTAET) indicated light orange (PMS 123) as the correct shade of yellow, which is usually found on official flags. In flag illustrations in books or on the internet, but also in flags commonly used in East Timor, a light yellow is also widely used. According to the UNTAET source, the red corresponds to the tone PMS 485. Here, too, there are versions with a light red in East Timor. Even darker versions only appear as flag images, but not as flags. Although UNTAET gives the size of the black triangle as a quarter of the flag's length, the existing flags and illustrations all have a triangle with a size of one third.
There is disagreement about the correct proportions of the flag. While the 1975 flag always had the 2:3 ratio common in most of Europe, flags with a ratio of 1:2 also appeared in official use with the independence of East Timor. The reason for this is presumably that these flags are manufactured in Australia, where the proportions of 1:2 are customary. A clear uniform regulation was initially pending, [3] but Law 02/2007 on the national symbols shows a picture of a flag with a 1:2 ratio in the appendix. [3] Furthermore, the law lists in Article 4 the different formats of the flag in which the cloth flag should hang in public offices, barracks, private and state schools. Type 1 consists of a cloth 45 centimetres wide, Type 2 consists of a cloth 90 centimetres wide, Type 3 135 centimetres wide and so on up to Type 7 315 centimetres wide. However, in paragraph 2, the article explicitly allows smaller and larger flags, as well as those with sizes in between, as long as the proportions are respected. [3]
Flags are often seen with the top of the star pointing straight up. This was often the case with the 1975 flag. But today's constitution clearly states that the star should point with a tip to the upper left corner. This is also followed by the illustration in Law 02/2007.
The flag of East Timor used for the independence celebration on 20 May 2002 had a straight star despite the clear specifications. [4] [5] It also had an aspect ratio of 1:2 and used the bright yellow in combination with the bright red.
Until independence from Portugal, the colony of Portuguese Timor used only the flag of Portugal. The Liurais, the traditional rulers of Timor, drew part of their claim to rule from sacred objects (lulik) owned by the ruling families. When the invaders subjugated the Liurais as vassals, they gave them Portuguese flags, which, along with the flagpoles, became sacred objects themselves, thus legitimising the rule of the Portuguese and the Liurais loyal to them. Especially in the culture of the Mambai, the flag cult took on a central significance. According to their myth of origin, the world order is created by two brothers. The elder brother, from whom the Timorese descend, holds the ritual power over the cosmos. The younger brother has the power over the social order. The non-Timorese peoples, in this case the Portuguese, are descended from this brother. The myth tells of the loss, search and recovery of a lost, sacred object, namely the Portuguese flag. This sacred meaning of the blue and white flag led to some problems when the flag of Portugal was changed in 1910 when the country changed from a monarchy to a republic. [6] [7]
On 15 February 1946, the Angola arrived at the Portuguese naval base of Alcântara from Portuguese Timor. She brought home Portuguese who had lived in the colony during the Battle of Timor in the Second World War. A white flag with the Portuguese Timorese coat of arms on a green and red cross appears in the crowd. [8]
In 1961, a small, left-oriented Timorese resistance movement - the Bureau de Luta pela Libertação de Timor (BLLT) - used a flag that already had some elements of today's national flag. It consisted of a yellow-bordered black disc with a five-pointed white star on red cloth. Later, the BLLT established a short-lived government-in-exile in Jakarta called the United Republic of Timor, which used the same flag.
In 1967, there were proposals for separate flags for the individual Portuguese colonies, with the coat of arms of the colony added to the lower right of the flag of Portugal. However, the proposals were never implemented. [9]
After the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, parties were also allowed in Portuguese Timor. East Timor's dominant leftist party, the Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente (Fretilin) used the same colours as the BLLT in its party flag and also the white star on a black background. Apart from their political orientation, there are no links between the two organisations. To what extent the flag served as a model or simply common socialist symbols, such as the five-pointed star and the colour red, were used on the party flag is not clear. According to legend, the resistance fighter Natalino Leitão designed the current national flag based on the Fretilin flag the night before the proclamation of independence from Portugal on 28 November 1975. The incipient occupation of the country by Indonesia had put the Fretilin on the spot. Today, 28 November is East Timor's bank holidays, when official buildings are flagged. Only nine days after the declaration of independence, Indonesia openly started to invade East Timor. Natalino Leitão was killed in the process.
The declaration of independence was only recognised by a few countries. Politically, Indonesia was supported by the United States and Australia, as they feared a second Cuba due to the leftist orientation of Fretilin. The extent to which the red basic colour and the certain similarity of the flag design to Cuba's flag supported this assumption is debatable. That the flag of Cuba or the flag of Mozambique were models for Leitão's triangular design can only be assumed. At least there were and still are sympathies for Cuba and especially for Ernesto Che Guevara in East Timor. Fretilin already had close relations with Mozambique and its ruling party FRELIMO.
Beyond party political affiliation, the flag of the Fretilin became more and more a symbol of the organisation of resistance for the people during the occupation, and the national flag of 1975 a symbol of the people and their urge for independence. The occupation forces reacted to the use of the flags with severe repression. The use of flags other than the flag of Indonesia was forbidden. [2] Until 1999, East Timor was governed by Indonesia as a province, while internationally it was considered a "dependent territory under Portuguese administration". As an Indonesian province, it was also given a provincial flag, but this was only used in the governor's office, as was customary with all provincial flags. The flag of Timor Timur, as East Timor was officially called at the time, displayed the provincial coat of arms on an orange background. [10] When a Portuguese parliamentary delegation was due to visit East Timor in 1989, the Indonesian government distributed 30,000 Indonesian flags to be placed on the homes of Dili. This was intended to demonstrate the integration of East Timor into Indonesia. [2]
The armed resistance against the Indonesians was led by Falintil, which was originally the military arm of Fretilin. In 1987, its leader Xanana Gusmão transformed Falintil into a national army of East Timorese resistance. He designed a new blue-white-green-black flag of the Falintil. [11] The Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense (CNRT), the umbrella organisation of East Timorese resistance founded in 1998, adopted the Falintil flag as a politically neutral symbol. They replaced the lettering "FALINTIL" with "CNRT" and changed the symbols in the shield. The Falintil used a yellow five-pointed star, two traditional swords (suriks) and three feathers. The CNRT used a spear and two arrows instead of the feathers, and the star was now white. The Falintil adopted this version of the coat of arms for its flag relatively soon. The shield in the flag of the CNRT is also found in slightly modified form with the same elements in the later first coat of arms of East Timor (2002-2006) after the restoration of independence. In the Falintil camps, it was strictly forbidden to walk through the shadow of the flag. Allegedly, this rule dates back to colonial times, when Timorese were beaten up if they walked through the shadow of the flag of Portugal. [12]
In the 1999 independence referendum in East Timor, the population could choose between full independence and remaining part of Indonesia as the Special Autonomous Region of East Timor (SARET). Article 20 of SARET's draft constitution provided for the possibility of adopting its own coat of arms, but not its own flag. Instead, the flag of Indonesia was to continue to be used. [13]
When the United Nations took control in East Timor after the referendum, they used the United Nations flag. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000, four East Timorese athletes participated as Independent Olympic Athletes under the flag of the Olympic Games, as East Timor was not yet independent and there was no National Olympic Committee.
The flag of East Timor was adopted in 2002. It is the same as the flag that was originally adopted when the country declared its independence from Portugal in 1975, nine days before being invaded by Indonesia. [14] At midnight on 19 May 2002, and during the first moments of Independence Day the next day, the United Nations flag was lowered and the flag of an independent East Timor was raised. The flag was officially reinstated on 20 May 2002, when the United Nations flag was taken down at midnight and the East Timorese flag was hoisted. According to the various local accounts, people were in tears for days and produced a special hand woven textile (Tais) in which to wrap the downed UN flag, [15] as if it was a death shroud, but also to protect it and to preserve its mystical ‘sacred’ power (luli). [16] This flag became a symbol of liberation and protection for the Timorese. [16]
After independence, every village in the country received a copy of the new national flag, which was handed over to them in a solemn ceremony. Consciously or unconsciously, this follows the Portuguese tradition of handing over the Portuguese flag to the vassals. [17]
During the celebrations of the seventh anniversary of independence on 20 May 2009, the national flag fell to the ground. Many Timorese saw this as a bad omen. At the flag-raising ceremony in 2002, the flag did not flutter in the wind and violent riots broke out a few months later. The opposition party Fretilin saw the renewed incident as a sign that the government was in trouble, and one of the country's biggest newspapers, the Timor Post, reported the event on its front page. [18]
Since 1 August 2011, the national flag has been placed in front of public institutions on the first Monday of every month. Likewise on 2 February (East Timor Defence Forces Day FDTL), 27 March (East Timor National Police Day PNTL) and 20 August (FALINTIL Day). The flag is always raised at 8 am, with employees and officials of the institution all present and singing the national anthem. [19]
In 2016, MPs Manuel Castro, Manuel Guterres, and Natalino dos Santos Nascimento criticised the fact that more people were writing on the flag, for example with signatures. In the view of the politicians, this is a "crime" against which the police should take action. The flag, which had been bought "with bones and blood", was thereby desecrated. [20]
A different flag had been suggested by the representatives of the Timorese political parties and organisations during the first East Timorese National Convention held in April 1998 in Portugal. This flag was originally the flag of CNRT (Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense, National Council of Timorese Resistance). Because of CNRT's popularity, there was a consensus of the participants of the convention to adopt their flag as a temporary flag for East Timor. It was replaced by the former design of 1975 in 2002.
A discussion began about which flag a future, independent East Timor should use. There were voices calling for the national flag to be changed, as the 1975 flag was a symbol of Fretilin. Already at the first East Timorese National Convention in Peniche (Portugal) from 23 to 27 April 1998, the delegates of the Timorese parties decided in favour of the flag of the CNRT as the provisional flag of East Timor. In the 1999 referendum on independence, the UN had accordingly depicted on the ballot papers the Indonesian flag for remaining with Indonesia and the flag of the CNRT for independence as a decision-making aid. [21] [22] The veterans' organisation CPD-RDTL accused Fretilin of monopolising the current national flag. The group Colimau 2000 demanded that a Christian cross be included in the national flag to symbolise the importance of Catholicism in East Timor. However, most parties and the majority of the population do not support a change. They saw the national flag as a symbol of suffering in the struggle for independence, regardless of its authorship. [2]
At demonstrations in and outside East Timor, almost only the old 1975 flag and the Fretilin flag were displayed. The very similarity of the two flags was recognised in respect for the merits of Fretilin in the struggle for independence. [2] So in the end, the flag of 1975 was used. Another reason was probably the overwhelming majority of Fretilin in the new parliament. The Socialist Party of Timor (PST) had also demanded the red-yellow-black flag. The flag of the CNRT, as a symbol of the unity of the East Timorese, did not have the same popular support in the end. [2] The Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL), which absorbed the FALINTIL, now use the FALINTIL flag and coat of arms in the spear-and-arrows version.
Over the last few years, more and more flags of authorities, schools and other institutions have appeared. Usually they are single-coloured flags with the logo or coat of arms of the organisations. The country's football clubs also adorn themselves with logos and flags.
The flags of East Timor's political parties are diverse. They serve as advertising media at political events and were also depicted for illiterate people as an identifying sign on the ballot papers for the parliamentary elections on 30 June 2007. The importance of party flags for supporters was made clear by three incidents that took place during the unrest following the 2007 general election. At that time, Fretilin supporters had hung their flags in their eastern strongholds as a sign of protest against the new government. Australian troops then allegedly denigrated and stole three Fretilin flags as souvenirs. [23] The Australian commander, Brigadier John Hutcheson, personally returned one of the flags and expressed regret over the incident. The other two flags were returned through other authorities. Fretilin Secretary General Alkatiri nevertheless called for the withdrawal of the Australians, saying they were no longer neutral. [24] [25] [26]
In Catholic processions and celebrations, one sees blue-white and yellow-white flags, the latter sometimes with red crosses. Blue and white (as also found on the former flag of Portugal) are the traditional colours of Our Lady of the Conception (Nossa Senhora da Conceição). Mary is considered the patron saint of the country. Yellow and white are the colours of the Catholic Church (see also: Flag of Vatican City).
The veterans' organisation CPD-RDTL originally displayed the national flag of East Timor at its demonstrations. [27] However, at the end of 2012, flags were used whose design was reminiscent of the flag of the Bureau de Luta pela Libertação de Timor in 1961. [28]
Some of the Municipalities of East Timor have adopted their own flags. Originally, East Timor's municipalities did not have their own flags. However, during the colonial period between 1962 and 1975, Dili was the only place in Portuguese Timor to have a municipal flag that corresponded in design to the Portuguese municipal flags. It was green and white with eight stripes and showed the town's coat of arms in the centre: Red, a sandalwood tree in silver between two bundles of arrows with halberds and hunting spears. Above the escutcheon, a brick crown with five towers representing Dili's status as the capital of an overseas province. In addition, a banner with the words "O Sol logo em nascendo vê primeiro" (Where the sun was first born). [31] [32] As a sign of solidarity, Dili's flag was hung in Lisbon's city hall in 1991. [33]
Since 2015, the municipalities have adopted logos and coats of arms as symbols, which are then also presented on flags with a single-colour background. For example, the Oe-Cusse Ambeno Special Administrative Region has a green flag with a logo and the municipality of Manufahi has an orange flag with its coat of arms. Baucau displays its coat of arms on a white background.
José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as East Timor's first president since its re-establishment of independence, from 2002 to 2007.
The political system in East Timor is a unitary semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of East Timor is the head of government and the President of East Timor functions as head of state. East Timor has a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that of Portugal, with lesser power given to the president. The country is still in the process of building its administration and governmental institutions. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated East Timor a "flawed democracy" in 2022.
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor is a centre-left political party in East Timor. It presently holds 23 of 65 seats in the National Parliament. Fretilin formed the government in East Timor until its independence in 2002. It obtained the presidency in 2017 under Francisco Guterres but lost in the 2022 East Timorese presidential election.
Mari bin Amude Alkatiri is a Timorese politician. He was Prime Minister of East Timor from May 2002 until his resignation on 26 June 2006 following weeks of political unrest in the country, and again from September 2017 until May 2018. He is the Secretary-General of the Fretilin party and was the former President of the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse.
Francisco Xavier do Amaral was an East Timorese politician. A founder of the Frente Revolucionária de Timor Leste Independente (Fretilin), Amaral was sworn in as the first President of East Timor when the country, then a Portuguese colony, made a unilateral declaration of independence on 28 November 1975. He was a member of the National Parliament for the Timorese Social Democratic Association from 2001 until his death in 2012. Amaral was also known as "Abo (Grandfather) Xavier", a term of endearment, by East Timorese.
The Social Democratic Party is an East Timorese party founded on 20 September 2000. Despite its name, the party, like its Portuguese model, is usually categorised as centre-right in the political spectrum. It describes itself as being in the middle between left and right (centrist). The aim of the party's founders was to offer voters a moderate alternative to Fretilin and UDT. In 2002, the party had 8,000 members. Since then, the PSD has lost its importance. The PSD did not contest the 2023 parliamentary elections in East Timor.
The Timorese Democratic Union is a conservative political party in East Timor. It was the first party to be established in the country on May 11, 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
The People's Party of Timor is a conservative political party in East Timor. Its predecessor was the Movimento do Povo de Timor-Leste MPTL. The PPT is described as a conservative, backward-looking traditional party with utopian ideas and monarchist and religious tendencies.
The national emblem of East Timor is one of the national symbols of East Timor.
The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor originally began as the military wing of the Fretilin party of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to Fretilin's political conflict with the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT).
The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus, began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to overthrow the Fretilin regime that had emerged in 1974. The overthrow of the popular and short-lived Fretilin-led government sparked a violent quarter-century occupation in which approximately 100,000–180,000 soldiers and civilians are estimated to have been killed or starved to death. The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor documented a minimum estimate of 102,000 conflict-related deaths in East Timor throughout the entire period from 1974 to 1999, including 18,600 violent killings and 84,200 deaths from disease and starvation; Indonesian forces and their auxiliaries combined were responsible for 70% of the killings.
José Maria de Vasconcelos, popularly known as Taur Matan Ruak, is an East Timorese politician who served as 8th prime minister of East Timor from 2018 to 2023. He also served as 5th president of East Timor from 2012 to 2017.
The National Council of Maubere Resistance was an umbrella organisation of East Timorese individuals and organisations dedicated to resisting the Indonesian occupation of 1975–1999.
The Constitution of East Timor entered into force on 20 May 2002, and was the country's first constitution after it gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and from Indonesia, which invaded East Timor on 7 December 1975 and left in 1999 following a UN-sponsored referendum.
Parliamentary elections were held in East Timor on 7 July 2012. The United Nations stated that it would withdraw its 1,300 troops if the elections passed off peacefully. The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, won the election with 30 seats, three seats short of a majority in National Parliament.
Parliamentary elections were held in East Timor on 22 July 2017. Fretilin narrowly emerged as the largest party in the National Parliament, winning 23 seats to the 22 won by the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, which had been the largest party in the outgoing Parliament.
Hernâni Filomena Maria Coelho da Silva, also known by his nom de guerreNatan, is an East Timorese politician and diplomat, and a member of the Fretilin political party. He has been the East Timorese Ambassador to both Australia and South Korea. Between February 2015 and September 2017, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, and from October 2017 to June 2018 he was Minister of Petroleum.
Proclamation of Independence Day is a national holiday and a celebration to commemorate East Timor Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the Portuguese rule in 1975. The event is annually celebrated on 28th November and marked by official and unofficial ceremonies and observances. The event is defined by East Timor parliament in the Law No. 10/2005 Of 10 August as part of its national holiday.
The 1975 Council of Ministers was the Council of Ministers formed by the Fretilin political party in 1975 as the inaugural administration or cabinet of the Democratic Republic of East Timor proclaimed in November 1975.
The Democratic Republic of East Timor, was a state that was unilaterally proclaimed on the territory of present-day East Timor on 28 November 1975 prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor nine days later on 7 December 1975.
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