Timor Leste Country Facts

 

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs                                      
August 2007                                                                   
                                                                       
  Background Note: Timor-Leste Country Facts                                                
                                           
  Fishermen haul in their net in the                                          
  Dili harbor, Timor-Leste, April 10,                                         
  2007. [© AP Images]                                                         
                                                                       
  Flag of Timor-Leste is red, with a black isosceles triangle (based on the   
  hoist side) superimposed on a slightly longer yellow arrowhead that extends 
  to the center of the flag; there is a white star in the center of the black 
  triangle.                                                                   
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste                                          
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 15,007 sq. km.                                                        
  Cities: Capital--Dili; Baucau.                                              
  Terrain: Mountainous.                                                       
  Climate: Tropical; hot, semi-arid; rainy and dry seasons.                   
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun--Timorese; adjective--Timorese.                           
  Population (2005): 947,000.                                                 
  Religion: Catholic 96.5%.                                                   
  Languages: Portuguese, Tetum (official languages); English, Bahasa Indonesia
  (working languages).                                                        
  Education: Literacy--43%.                                                   
  Health: Life expectancy--47.9/51.8 years (male/female). Child mortality rate
  (under 5)--91/69 (male/female) per 1,000 population.                        
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Parliamentary republic.                                               
  Independence (from Portugal): November 28, 1975.                            
  Restoration of independence: May 20, 2002. (See History section.)           
  Constitution: March 2002.                                                   
  Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of     
  government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral parliament. Judicial--Supreme 
  Court and supporting hierarchy. As the Supreme Court has not yet been formed,
  the Court of Appeal functions, on an interim basis, as the Supreme Court.   
  Major political parties: Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor      
  (FRETILIN), Democratic Party (PD), Social Democratic Party (PSD), Timorese  
  Social Democratic Association (ASDT), Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), and  
  Klibur Oan Timor Asuwain (KOTA).                                            
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2005 est.): $335 million.                                              
  GDP per capita (nominal): $354.                                             
  GDP composition by sector: Services 54%, agriculture 32%, industry 15%.     
  Industry: Types--coffee, oil and natural gas.                               
  Trade: Exports--coffee, oil and natural gas. Major markets--Australia,      
  Europe, Japan, United States. Imports--basic manufactures, commodities. Major
  sources--Australia, Europe, Indonesia, Japan, United States.                
                                                                       
  GEOGRAPHY AND PEOPLE                                                        
  Timor-Leste is located in Southeast Asia, on the southernmost edge of the   
  Indonesian archipelago, northwest of Australia. The country includes the    
  eastern half of Timor island as well as the Oecussi enclave in the northwest
  portion of Indonesian West Timor, and the islands of Atauro and Jaco. The   
  mixed Malay and Pacific Islander culture of the Timorese people reflects the
  geography of the country on the border of those two cultural areas.         
  Portuguese influence during the centuries of colonial rule resulted in a    
  substantial majority of the population identifying itself as Roman Catholic.
  Some of those who consider themselves Catholic practice a mixed form of     
  religion that includes local animist customs. As a result of the colonial   
  education system and the 23-year Indonesian occupation, approximately 13.5% 
  of Timorese speak Portuguese, 43.3% speak Bahasa Indonesia, and 5.8% speak  
  English, according to the 2004 census. Tetum, the most common of the local  
  languages, is spoken by approximately 91% of the population, although only  
  46.2% speak Tetum Prasa, the form of Tetum dominant in the Dili district.   
  Mambae, Kemak, and Fataluku are also widely spoken. This linguistic diversity
  is enshrined in the country's constitution, which designates Portuguese and 
  Tetum as official languages and English and Bahasa Indonesia as working     
  languages.                                                                  
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  Portuguese and Dutch traders made the first western contact with Timor in the
  early 16th century. Sandalwood and spice traders, as well as missionaries,  
  maintained sporadic contact with the island until 1642, when the Portuguese 
  moved into Timor in strength. The Portuguese and the Dutch, based at the    
  western end of the island in Kupang, battled for influence until the        
  present-day borders were agreed to by the colonial powers in 1906. Imperial 
  Japan occupied East Timor from 1942-45. Portugal resumed colonial authority 
  over East Timor in 1945 after the Japanese defeat in World War II.          
                                                                       
  Following a military coup in Lisbon in April 1974, Portugal began a rapid and
  disorganized decolonization process in most of its overseas territories,    
  including East Timor. Political tensions--exacerbated by Indonesian         
  involvement--heated up, and on August 11, 1975, the Timorese Democratic Union
  Party (UDT) launched a coup d'état in Dili. The putsch was followed by a    
  brief but bloody civil war in which the Revolutionary Front for an          
  Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) pushed UDT forces into Indonesian West    
  Timor. Shortly after the FRETILIN victory in late September, Indonesian     
  forces began incursions into East Timor. On October 16, five journalists from
  Australia, Britain, and New Zealand were murdered in the East Timorese town 
  of Balibo shortly after they had filmed regular Indonesian army troops      
  invading East Timorese territory. On November 28, FRETILIN declared East    
  Timor an independent state, and Indonesia responded by launching a full-scale
  military invasion on December 7. On December 22, 1975 the UN Security Council
  called on Indonesia to withdraw its troops from East Timor.                 
                                                                       
  Declaring a provisional government made up of Timorese allies on January 13,
  1976, the Indonesian Government said it was acting to forestall civil strife
  in East Timor and to prevent the consolidation of power by the FRETILIN     
  party. The Indonesians claimed that FRETILIN was communist in nature, while 
  the party's leadership described itself as social democratic. Coming on the 
  heels of the communist victories in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, the        
  Indonesian claims were accepted by many in the West. Major powers also had  
  little incentive to confront Indonesia over a territory seen as peripheral to
  their security interests. Nonetheless, the widespread popular support shown 
  for the guerilla resistance launched by the Timorese made clear that the    
  Indonesian occupation was not welcome. The Timorese were not permitted to   
  determine their own political fate via a free vote, and the Indonesian      
  occupation was never recognized by the United Nations.                      
                                                                       
  The Indonesian occupation of Timor was initially characterized by a program 
  of brutal military repression. Beginning in the late 1980s, however, the    
  occupation was increasingly characterized by programs to win the            
  "hearts-and-minds" of the Timorese through the use of economic development  
  assistance and job creation while maintaining a strict policy of political  
  repression, although serious human rights violations--such as the 1991 Santa
  Cruz massacre--continued. Estimates of the number of Timorese who lost their
  lives to violence and hunger during the Indonesian occupation range from    
  100,000 to 250,000. On January 27, 1999, Indonesian President B.J. Habibie  
  announced his government's desire to hold a referendum in which the people of
  East Timor would chose between autonomy within Indonesia and independence.  
  Under an agreement among the United Nations, Portugal, and Indonesia, the   
  referendum was held on August 30, 1999. When the results were announced on  
  September 4--78% voted for independence with a 98.6% turnout--Timorese      
  militias organized and supported by the Indonesian military (TNI) commenced a
  large-scale, scorched-earth campaign of retribution. While pro-independence 
  FALINTIL guerillas remained cantoned in UN-supervised camps, the militia and
  the TNI killed approximately 1,300 Timorese and forcibly relocated as many as
  300,000 people into West Timor as refugees. The majority of the country's   
  infrastructure, including homes, irrigation systems, water supply systems,  
  and schools, and nearly 100% of the country's electrical grid were destroyed.
  On September 20, 1999 the Australian-led peacekeeping troops of the         
  International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) deployed to the country,      
  bringing the violence to an end.                                            
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                         
  Timor-Leste became a fully independent republic with a parliamentary form of
  government on May 20, 2002, following approximately two and a half years    
  under the authority of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor     
  (UNTAET). The country's first parliament was formed from the 88-member      
  Constituent Assembly chosen in free and fair, UN-supervised elections in    
  August 2001. The FRETILIN Party won the majority of Assembly seats. Mari    
  Alkatiri, FRETILIN's Secretary General, became the first Prime Minister, and
  the country's 29-member cabinet was dominated by FRETILIN. Xanana Gusmao was
  elected in free and fair elections on April 14, 2002 as President. UNTAET's 
  mandate ended with East Timor's independence, but a successor organization, 
  the UN Mission for the Support of East Timor (UNMISET), was established to  
  provide additional support to the government. UNMISET's mandate expired on  
  May 20, 2005 after the UN Security Council unanimously approved the creation
  of a small special political mission in Timor-Leste, the UN Office in       
  Timor-Leste (UNOTIL), to take its place.                                    
                                                                       
  Under the constitution ratified in March 2002, "laws and regulations in force
  continue to be applicable to all matters except to the extent that they are 
  inconsistent with the Constitution." Many Indonesian and UNTAET laws and    
  regulations remain in effect, but are being gradually replaced by Timorese  
  laws. During the period from December 2004 to September 2005, the government
  held local elections in all 13 districts. Timor-Leste witnessed its largest 
  and longest political demonstration in April and May 2005 when several      
  thousand protestors took part in a protest about a broad array of religious 
  and political issues led by the Catholic Church that lasted 20 days. The    
  demonstration ended peacefully with the signing of an agreement between the 
  Catholic Church and Prime Minister Alkatiri that resolved several key issues
  of disagreement.                                                            
                                                                       
  Despite the winding down of the UN presence in the country, the institutions
  comprising Timor-Leste's armed forces (F-FDTL) and police (PNTL) remained   
  fragile and the authority of the state much more tenuous than most observers
  assumed at the time. In February 2006, approximately 400 military personnel 
  (from a total military strength of 1,400) petitioned President Gusmao to    
  address their complaints of discrimination against "westerners" or Loro Monu
  people by "easterners" or Loro Sae people in the military. Shortly after    
  presenting their petition, they left their posts and approximately one month
  later were dismissed by the F-FDTL commander. In late April the petitioners 
  group staged protests in Dili. On April 28, the protests turned violent.    
  Citing ineffective police response, the government called in the armed forces
  (F-FDTL) to respond. The rioting and the police and military response       
  resulted in six confirmed deaths. In response to the events of April 28,    
  large numbers of people began to flee their homes for internally displaced  
  persons (IDP) camps or the outlying districts and several members of the    
  F-FDTL, including the commander of the Military Police, left their posts in 
  protest of the military intervention.                                       
                                                                       
  During a FRETILIN Party Congress in mid-May 2006, Prime Minister Alkatiri was
  re-elected as Secretary General after his supporters successfully amended the
  party constitution to substitute secret ballots with an open vote. Against  
  this political backdrop, a series of deadly clashes between the F-FDTL and  
  forces comprising dissident military, civilians and some police took place on
  May 23-24, followed by deadly conflict between the F-FDTL and the PNTL on May
  25. In the aftermath of these clashes, which effectively caused the         
  dissolution of law and order, mob and gang violence took over the capital,  
  resulting in additional deaths, widespread destruction of property, and the 
  continued displacement of thousands of Dili residents.                      
                                                                       
  At the peak of the crisis, approximately 80,000 IDPs were in the districts  
  and approximately 70,000 were residing in camps within Dili. The U.S. Agency
  for International Development (USAID) and international relief organizations
  provided vital services to the camps that included water and sanitation     
  facilities, camp management support, hygiene kits, and mosquito nets. USAID 
  also supported Timor-Leste's independent public radio and television        
  broadcast services in order to ensure that reliable and timely information  
  about current political events reached Timorese citizens. On May 28, the    
  Government of Timor-Leste requested the Governments of Australia, Malaysia, 
  New Zealand, and Portugal to send security forces to stabilize the country. 
  By July 2006 there were approximately 2,200 international military and police
  officers in Timor-Leste.                                                    
                                                                       
  During June 2006, there was increasing pressure on Prime Minister Alkatiri to
  resign as criticisms of his handling of the crisis mounted. Moreover, serious
  allegations emerged that he had been involved in illegal arms distribution. 
  In June, former Minister of Interior Rogerio Lobato was arrested on the     
  charge of distributing the above-mentioned weapons and placed under house   
  arrest. Following President Gusmao's public request that the prime minister 
  step down, accompanied by a threat to resign himself if Alkatiri remained in
  office, Alkatiri resigned on June 27. Anti-Alkatiri demonstrations, which   
  kicked off on June 28, with most participants coming from the western       
  districts, turned into partial celebrations following the prime minister's  
  resignation and lasted for several days. Similar numbers of demonstrators   
  entered Dili from the eastern districts the following week to voice support 
  for Alkatiri and the ruling FRETILIN party.                                 
                                                                       
  After President Gusmao held consultations with the leadership of the FRETILIN
  Party, Jose Ramos-Horta--the Foreign and Defense Minister in the Alkatiri   
  government--became Prime Minister on July 10. Prime Minister Ramos-Horta's  
  new cabinet was sworn in on July 14, 2006. Ramos-Horta said the "immediate  
  task of his Government is to consolidate security in Dili and in all of     
  Timor-Leste and to put in place the necessary conditions to enable displaced
  Timorese to return home and rebuild their lives."                           
                                                                       
  As requested by the Government of Timor-Leste, the UN Security Council passed
  resolutions to roll over the small UN political mission, UNOTIL, until August
  25, 2006 while its members considered the mandate of a larger follow-on UN  
  mission to help Timor-Leste overcome its crisis. The United States          
  coordinated closely with members of the Core Group on Timor-Leste (Australia,
  Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Portugal, and the United Kingdom) and the EU to 
  obtain approval of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), which  
  provides for a UN-led policing component of up to 1,608 personnel. UNMIT's  
  mandate, set forth in UN Security Council Resolution 1704 approved on August
  25, 2006, calls for the UN mission to assist in restoring stability,        
  rebuilding the institutions comprising the security sector, supporting the  
  Government of Timor-Leste in conducting the 2007 presidential and           
  parliamentary elections, and achieving accountability for the crimes against
  humanity and other atrocities committed in 1999, among other aims. UNMIT's  
  mandate is currently in force through February 2008. (UNMIT's own website   
  provides additional information: http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmit/
  )                                                                           
                                                                       
  Although security in Dili has been significantly improved in comparison to  
  the violence and anarchy that reigned in May and June, neither the          
  establishment of a new government nor the expansion of the UN mission has   
  reduced the levels of violence and criminality to their pre-April 2006      
  levels. Indeed, in October, shortly after the UN Special Commission of      
  Inquiry issued its report on responsibility for the security crisis of      
  April-June, Dili experienced a surge of violence that led to several deaths 
  and the closure of the international airport for a day. While the           
  overwhelming majority of the current violence is Timorese-on-Timorese       
  perpetrated by gangs or martial arts groups, foreign nationals have also been
  targeted. Differences between Loro Sae and Loro Monu have subsided and been 
  overtaken by long-standing conflicts between members of competing groups,   
  including martial arts groups and semi-religious sects. While much of the   
  current fighting reflects a continuing lack of law and order underscored by 
  the absence of judicial accountability, many observers note that communal and
  gang violence has been employed in many cases toward political ends.        
                                                                       
  As of June 2007, over 28,000 displaced persons remained in 29 camps in and  
  around Dili, representing over 4,000 families, 45% of whom have houses that 
  have been destroyed. Over 2,000 houses have been destroyed, and many more   
  damaged. Another 70,000 or so IDPs remain in the outlying districts. Numbers
  of displaced persons remain essentially unchanged from late 2006. November  
  and December 2006 featured public efforts by the Timorese leadership to     
  foster a spirit of reconciliation--particularly among members of the armed  
  forces and the police--but key issues remain outstanding, including the lack
  of resolution of the petitioners' case and the continued presence of armed  
  military dissidents. Police functions in Dili are currently under UN control,
  while members of the PNTL are being gradually reintegrated into city policing
  following vetting for criminal or ethical violations. UN officials and other
  observers expect the reform of the country's security sector to be a        
  long-term challenge.                                                        
                                                                       
  Timor-Leste held presidential elections in the spring of 2007. On April 9,  
  voters chose from a slate of eight candidates. With a voter turnout of almost
  82%, the top two finishers were the FRETILIN candidate Francisco "Lu-olo"   
  Guterrres, who received 28% of the vote, and Jose Ramos-Horta, who stepped  
  down as Prime Minister to run as an independent candidate with the          
  endorsement of former President Xanana Gusmao. Ramos-Horta received 22% of  
  the vote. Because the electoral law requires that a candidate win a majority,
  a second round was held on May 9. Ramos-Horta, who received the backing of  
  all but one of the parties fielding candidates in the first round, won by a 
  landslide, receiving 69% of the vote. The presidential elections experienced
  some procedural glitches, but were largely free of violence and significant 
  irregularity.                                                               
                                                                       
  The presidency is a mostly ceremonial position, and executive power is      
  concentrated in the prime minister. The majority party in parliament normally
  determines the next prime minister. Parliamentary elections were held June  
  30, 2007. FRETILIN won the most seats in parliament, but no single party won
  a majority, and the various parties did not agree to form a national unity  
  government. On August 6, 2007, President Ramos-Horta asked Xanana Gusmao, the
  leader of a coalition with a majority of the seats in the parliament (the   
  Alliance for a Parliamentary Majority), to form a government. Gusmao was    
  sworn in as Prime Minister along with most of the other ministers in the new
  government on August 8, 2007.                                               
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  Head of State (President)--José Ramos-Horta                                 
  Head of Government (Prime Minister)--Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao                 
  Deputy Prime Minister--Jose Luis Guterres                                   
  Minister of Foreign Affairs--Zacarias Albano da Costa                       
  Ambassador to the United Nations--Nelson Santos                             
  Ambassador to the United States--Constancio Pinto, Charge d'Affaires a.i.   
                                                                       
  Timor-Leste maintains an embassy at 4201 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington,
  DC 20008 (telephone: 202-966-3202). Timor-Leste Government website: http:// 
  www.timor-leste.gov.tl/                                                     
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  As the poorest nation in Asia, Timor-Leste must overcome formidable         
  challenges. Basic income, health, and literacy indicators are among the     
  lowest in Asia. Severe shortages of trained and competent personnel to staff
  newly established executive, legislative, and judicial institutions hinder  
  progress. Rural areas, lacking in infrastructure and resources, remain      
  brutally poor, and the relatively few urban areas cannot provide adequate   
  jobs for the country's growing labor force. Many cities, including the      
  country's second largest, Baucau, do not have routine electrical service.   
  Rural families' access to electricity and clean water is very limited.      
  Unemployment and underemployment combined are estimated to be as high as 70%.
  While revenues from offshore oil and gas reserves offer great hope for the  
  country, effective use of those resources will require a major transformation
  of the country's current human and institutional infrastructure. Meanwhile, 
  as those substantial revenues come on line, foreign assistance levels--now  
  standing at among the highest worldwide on a per capita basis--will likely  
  taper off.                                                                  
                                                                       
  Timor-Leste has made significant progress in a number of areas since        
  independence. It has become a full-fledged member of the international      
  community, joining the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the 
  World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Government of         
  Timor-Leste has drafted a National Development Plan, and its Constituent    
  Assembly has transitioned into a national parliament that has commenced     
  reviewing and passing legislation. In July 2005, parliament unanimously     
  passed a law creating a petroleum fund to effectively manage and invest oil 
  revenues to ensure these funds are invested in the country's development    
  after exploitation of these resources ends. While a nascent legal system has
  been put into place, the justice system remains among the weakest performing
  sector of government, still unable to perform its most basic functions      
  without substantial assistance by outside professionals. Efforts are underway
  to put in place the institutions required to protect human rights, rebuild  
  the economy, create employment opportunities, and reestablish essential     
  public services.                                                            
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  Timor-Leste joined the United Nations on September 27, 2002. It is pursuing 
  membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and became a
  member of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in July 2005. Timor-Leste's foreign
  policy has placed a high priority on its relationships with Indonesia;      
  regional friends such as Malaysia and Singapore; and donors such as         
  Australia, the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Portugal.      
                                                                       
  Relations Between Indonesia and Timor-Leste                                 
  Timor-Leste and Indonesia have full diplomatic relations. In 2005 Indonesian
  President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a successful trip to Timor-Leste,   
  including a visit to the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili where Indonesian troops
  had massacred hundreds of Timorese in 1991. Yudhoyono prayed and laid a     
  heart-shaped wreath at the cemetery, symbolizing the improving ties between 
  the two nations. After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami devastated parts of    
  Indonesia, the Government of Timor-Leste contributed humanitarian assistance
  to the victims. Likewise, the Indonesian Government sent humanitarian       
  assistance to help those displaced by the unrest in Dili in 2006.           
                                                                       
  In 2005, both nations created a bilateral Truth and Friendship Commission   
  (TFC) in order "to establish the conclusive truth in regard to the events   
  prior to and immediately after the popular consultation in 1999, with a view
  to promoting reconciliation and friendship, and ensuring the non-recurrence 
  of similar events." The United States has encouraged both Indonesia and     
  Timor-Leste to ensure that the TFC achieves a credible outcome and that the 
  TFC process is transparent, holds public hearings, has international        
  participation, and names the names of those individuals who perpetrated the 
  serious crimes. Respected international human rights groups, however, have  
  criticized the TFC because its limited terms of reference for achieving these
  ends do not provide for prosecutions or similar measures to achieve         
  accountability, and because the TFC has made no clear progress to date.     
                                                                       
  RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND TIMOR-LESTE                         
  Timor-Leste maintains an embassy in Washington, DC, as well as a Permanent  
  Mission in New York at the United Nations. The United States has a large    
  bilateral development assistance program--$23.3 million in fiscal year      
  2005--and also contributes funds as a major member of a number of           
  multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank. The
  U.S. Peace Corps has operated in Timor-Leste since 2002, but it suspended   
  operations in May 2006 due to the unrest and instability.                   
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Officials                                                    
  Ambassador--Hans G. Klemm                                                   
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Henry M. Rector                                    
  USAID Representative--Flynn Fuller                                          
  Political/Economic/Commercial Affairs--Elizabeth Wharton                    
  U.S. Department of Defense Representative--Major Ron Sargent                
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in Timor-Leste is located at Praia de Coquieros, Dili; tel:
  670-332-4684, fax: 670-331-3206.                                            
                                                                       
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