Special Autonomous Region of East Timor

Last updated

The Special Autonomous Region of East Timor (SARET), (Indonesian : Daerah Otonomi Khusus Timor Timur), was a proposed autonomous administrative division of Indonesia that would have been established if a majority of voters in East Timor had supported remaining part of Indonesia in the 1999 East Timor popular consultation. [1] [2] [3] The proposal was never put into effect as voters rejected the proposed autonomy, [4] resulting in East Timor becoming an independent country in May 2002.

Contents

Background

East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the mid-16th century and administered as Portuguese Timor. Following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, East Timor unilaterally declared independence as the Democratic Republic of East Timor on 28 November 1975, but was invaded by Indonesia 7 December 1975. East Timor was occupied by Indonesia and administered as Timor Timur province. The invasion was not recognized as legal by the United Nations, which continued to regard Portugal as the legal Administering Power of East Timor. The governments of Indonesia and Portugal reached an agreement in May 1999 to allow the people of East Timor to decide in a referendum whether to remain under Indonesian administration or to become independent. 78.50% of voters supported independence resulting in East Timor coming under United Nations administration before gaining independence on 20 May 2002.

Competencies

The agreement between the Indonesian and Portuguese governments included a "Constitutional Framework for a special autonomy for East Timor" as an annexe. [5]

Under the proposed framework, the Indonesian government would have retained control of defence, employment law, economic and fiscal policies and foreign relations, whilst Indonesian laws already in force would have continuity in the territory. The autonomous government would have had competence over all matters not reserved for the Government of Indonesia.

The autonomous region could adopt a coat of arms as a symbol of identity. The flag and national anthem of Indonesia would continue to be used within the region.

The regional government would be able to designate persons as having "East Timorese identity" and could limit rights of franchise and land ownership for persons without this identity. A person who was a legal resident of East Timor prior to December 1975, a person with at least one parent or grandparent being a legal resident of East Timor prior to December 1975 or a person who had resided in East Timor for at least 5 years prior to May 1999 would be deemed to have East Timorese Identity.

The SARET could enter into agreements with local and regional governments and international organisations for economic, cultural and educational purposes.

A team representing the SARET would have been entitled to participate in cultural and sporting events where other non-state entities are able to participate.

Institutions

The Constitutional Framework for a special autonomy for East Timor defined the legislative, executive and judicial organs of the autonomous region.

Legislative branch

The legislature of the SARET would have been a Regional Council of People's Representatives, which would be elected on the basis of universal suffrage by persons with East Timorese identity. [6]

Executive branch

The executive branch would consist of a of a Regional Governor, appointed by the President of Indonesia on the advice of the SARET legislature, who would then nominate an Advisory Board (cabinet).

Judiciary

The SARET would have had an independent judiciary including Courts of First Instance, a Court of Appeal, a Court of Final Appeal and a Public Prosecutor's Office. [7] A traditional civil code could also have been adopted.

Law enforcement

THE SARET would have had its regional police force. Defence would remain the responsibility of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Agreement: East Timor: Peace Agreements: Library and Links: U.S. Institute of Peace". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  2. ↑ https://etan.org/et99/june/6-12/8sahe.htm
  3. ↑ https://georgetown.app.box.com/s/v1ic35fkqk9y3fbkf9jl
  4. ↑ https://search.archives.un.org/uploads/r/united-nations-archives/7/4/7/747f9a3949907b72eb339c5c8ef7ca94d9456052b877434e3389629f907c99df/S-1095-0057-03-00018.pdf
  5. ↑ "Agreement: East Timor: Peace Agreements: Library and Links: U.S. Institute of Peace". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ↑ "Agreement: East Timor: Peace Agreements: Library and Links: U.S. Institute of Peace". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ "Agreement: East Timor: Peace Agreements: Library and Links: U.S. Institute of Peace". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ↑ "Agreement: East Timor: Peace Agreements: Library and Links: U.S. Institute of Peace". Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.