José Manuel Ramos-Horta is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2006 and Prime Minister from 2006 to 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor".
José Alexandre "Xanana" GusmãoGColIH GCL GCMG is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from 2007 to 2015. Gusmão holds the office of Minister of Planning and Strategic Investment since stepping down as PM.
John Richard Pilger is an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. He has been mainly based in Britain since 1962. He was also once Visiting Professor at Cornell University in New York.
East Timor is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania known as Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The country comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor and the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco. The first inhabitants are thought to be descendant of Australoid and Melanesian peoples. The Portuguese began to trade with Timor by the early 16th century and colonised it throughout the mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty for which Portugal ceded the western half of the island. Imperial Japan occupied East Timor during World War II, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese surrender.
Mari bin Amude Alkatiri, GCIH 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 as well as President of the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse.
Besi Merah Putih, meaning 'red and white iron' in Indonesian, is the official name of an East Timor pro-Indonesia militia operating in the district of Liquiçá, and originating in the village of Maubara.
The diplomatic history of Australia refers to the historical events surrounding Australian foreign relations. Following the global change in the dynamics of international state of affairs in the 20th century, this saw a transition within Australia's diplomatic situation to broaden outside of exclusively commonwealth and western European nations. Its core relationship was with Great Britain until 1941, and with the United States and New Zealand since then as represented by ANZUS. In the 21st century trade has soared with China. However relations have cycled back and forth from friendly to strained. For recent relations see also Foreign relations of Australia.
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 briefly Fretilin-led government sparked a violent quarter-century occupation in which between 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 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.
Australia was one of the founding members of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and has been actively engaged in the organisation since its formation. The UN is seen by the Australian Government as a means to influence events which directly affect Australia's interests but over which they have little unilateral control.
The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to the decolonisation of its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain. After a small-scale civil war, the pro-independence Fretilin declared victory in the capital city of Dili and declared an independent East Timor on 28 November 1975.
The 1999 East Timorese crisis began with attacks by pro-Indonesia militia groups on civilians, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The violence intensified after a majority of eligible East Timorese voters chose independence from Indonesia. Some 1,400 civilians are believed to have died. A UN-authorized force (INTERFET) consisting mainly of Australian Defence Force personnel was deployed to East Timor to establish and maintain peace.
East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. Australia is the country's southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is 15,007 square kilometres (5,794 sq mi). Dili is its capital.
Bilateral relations exist between Australia and East Timor. Both countries are near neighbors with close political and trade ties. East Timor, the youngest and one of the poorest countries in Asia, lies about 610 kilometres northwest of the Australian city of Darwin and Australia has played a prominent role in the young republic's history.
Australia, a close neighbour of both Indonesia and East Timor, was the only country to recognise Indonesia's annexation of East Timor. Some members of the Australian public supported self-determination for East Timor, and also actively supported the independence movement within Australia. The Australian Government saw the need for both stability and good relations with their neighbour, Indonesia. However, it was criticised in some quarters, including by Xanana Gusmão for putting those issues above human rights. In 1998, the Howard Government changed its stance and supported East Timor self-determination, prompting a referendum that saw East Timor gain its independence.
Mário Viegas Carrascalão was an East Timorese politician and diplomat. Carrascalão, a founder of the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) in 1974 and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 2000, served as the governor of East Timor from 1983 to 1992 during the Indonesian occupation of the country. However, he re-joined the East Timorese government following the 1999 independence referendum and the transition to independence. He later served as a deputy prime minister within the IV Constitutional Government of then-Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão from 2009 to 2010.
Vicky Fun Ha Tchong is an East Timorese diplomat.
Australia–Indonesia Security Agreements are any official treaties signed by both the Australian and Indonesian Governments that concern such issues as security cooperation, defense and military involving both nations. Since 1995, five official agreements have been signed: the 1995 Agreements, the 2006 Lombok Treaty, two Defence Cooperation Agreements relating to the Lombok Treaty, and the 2014 Joint Understanding on Security.
Hermenegildo Augusto "Ágio" Cabral Pereira Alves is an East Timorese politician. He is a member of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT).
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.
East Timor had long been ruled by Indonesia in a harsh way. The human rights violations of the Indonesian Government resulted in a home grown resistance movement, FRETILIN pushing for independence. It was estimated by one report that Indonesia was responsible for 180,000 deaths in the 24-year period that it ruled East Timor. The 1991 Dili Massacre was a turning point for the independence cause and an East Timor solidarity movement grew in Portugal, the Philippines, Australia, and other Western countries. It was widely reported that between 180 and 200 people had been killed in the massacre. After the widely publicised atrocity, which was recorded on video, US military pulled out of Indonesia, no longer supporting them. Following civil unrest and protests, Long time president Suharto fell from power resignation of Indonesian President Suharto to be replaced by the new President BJ Habibie.
