Portuguese Timor was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
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".
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.
Balibo is a town in East Timor situated approximately 10 kilometres from the Indonesian border. It is located in the sub-district of Balibo, Bobonaro District.
East Timor's music reflects its history under the control of both Portugal and Indonesia, who have imported music like gamelan and fado. The most widespread form of native folk music was the likurai dance, performed by women to welcome home men after war. They used a small drum and sometimes carried enemy heads in processions through villages; a modern version of the dance is used by women in courtship.
The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian commercial television networks who were murdered in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. The Balibo Five were based in the town of Balibo in East Timor, where they were killed on 16 October 1975 during Indonesian incursions before the invasion. Roger East travelled to Balibo soon after to investigate the likely deaths of the Five and was later executed by members of the Indonesian military on the docks of Dili.
Tour of Duty – Concert for the Troops was a benefit concert held on 21 December 1999 in Dili, East Timor, for the Australian troops serving with the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET).
"Dirty Man" is a song by Australian punk rock band The Living End. It was released on 22 October 2002, as the third single from their second album, Roll On.
Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1982.
Lieutenant General (Ret.) Muhammad Yunus Yosfiah is an Indonesian politician and a decorated member of the Indonesian Army. Yosfiah served as Minister of Information of Indonesia in the Development Reform Cabinet between 1998 and 1999.
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.
The Timorese Popular Democratic Association was a political party in East Timor established in 1974, which advocated for integration into Indonesia. Along with another East Timor party, the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), it signed the Balibo Declaration in 1975 calling for Indonesia to annex the region. The party led the Provisional Government of East Timor that was formed following the Indonesian invasion of East Timor 1975. Since 2000, the party used the suffix Pro-Referendo (Pro-referendum). A renaming to Partido Democrata Liberal was considered. The party no longer exists.
Balibo is a 2009 Australian war film that follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor of 1975. The film is loosely based on the 2001 book Cover-Up by Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed.
The Tour de Timor is an international mountain bike race held in East Timor. It is a stage race with five stages, with US$75,000 in total prizes.
Ego Lemos is a permaculturist and singer-songwriter from East Timor who sings in his native tongue, Tetum. His song "Balibo" was awarded best original song composed for the screen at the 2009 Screen Music Awards and a 2009 APRA Award for best song in a film. His debut solo album, produced by Michael Hohnen, was released in 2009. Lemos also plays with the popular East Timorese band Cinco do Oriente, a band named after a band that existed before the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor.
The ARIA Music Award for Best World Music Album, is an award presented within the Fine Arts Awards at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was inaugurated in 1995 as Best Folk/World/Traditional Release. The ARIA Awards recognise "the many achievements of Aussie artists across all music genres", and have been given by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) since 1987.
This Is the Place for a Song or This Is the Place for a Song: A Melbourne Celebration of World Music is a compilation album by various Australian artists, released in May 2005. It consists of 14 cover versions of Melbourne-associated tracks in different styles, with some in different languages. The album was organised by Paul Stewart and Gil Santos and it was created to raise awareness of Melbourne's Immigration Museum and was sponsored by the Victorian Multicultural Commission with a grant of $10,000. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2005 it received a nomination for Best World Music Album.
East Timor was occupied by Indonesia for 24 years from 1976 to 1999 in a period many consider to be a genocide. 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 human rights violations of the Indonesian government resulted in a home grown resistance movement, FRETILIN, pushing for independence. 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 publicized atrocity, which was recorded on video, US support for Indonesia ended and the US military pulled out of Indonesia. Following civil unrest and protests, long time president Suharto fell from power and was replaced by B. J. Habibie.
The Timorese Labor Party, or Trabalhista for short, is one of the five parties in East Timor founded as early as 1974. The party describes itself as democratic and socialist, comparable to the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It has its headquarters in Dili on Rua de Bé Fonte in Bairo Formosa (Gricenfor).
