EAST TIMOR

LOCATION OF EAST TIMOR

 island country in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands, at the

southern extreme of the Malay Archipelago.
 occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, the small
nearby islands of Atauro (Kambing) and Jaco, and the
enclave of Ambeno, on the northwestern coast of Indonesian
West Timor.
 Dili is the capital and largest city. Australia is the country's
southern neighbour, separated by the Timor Sea. The
country's size is about 15,007 km2 (5,794 sq mi)
 GEOGRAPHY OF EAST TIMOR

 It is the only Asian nation to lie entirely within the Southern

Hemisphere.
 The eastern part of Timor island is rugged, with the mountains rising to
9,721 feet (2,963 metres) at Mount Tatamailau (Tata Mailau) in the
centre of a high plateau. The area has a dry tropical climate and
moderate rainfall.
 Hilly areas are covered with sandalwood. Scrub and grass grow in the
lowlands, together with coconut palms and eucalyptus trees. There
are hot springs and numerous mountain streams. Wildlife includes the
cuscus (a species of marsupial), monkeys, deer, civet cats, snakes,
and crocodiles.
 NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF EAST
TIMOR

 National day is celebrated on

20th May of every year as
their independence day
 Pàtria is the national anthem
 The new East Timor flag was
officially adopted on May 20th,
2002
 The coat of arms of East
Timor is one of its national
symbols of East Timor
 The national language is
Tetum, which is quite similar to
Portuguese.
NATIONAL SYMBOLS OF EAST TIMOR

 The national currency is

the US Dollars.
The currency before the
dollar was the Indonesian
rupiah, which was changed
in the year 2000, as the
economy was not stabilized.
 National dress is Tias.
 Black is the national color
of the country as it is the
darkest color, which
shows prosperity.
 HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR

Before European colonialism,

 Timor was included in Indonesian/Malaysian, Chinese
and Indian trading networks,
 14th century - exporter of aromatic sandalwood,
slaves, honey, and wax.
 1500s - the Timorese people had military ties with
northern Philippines.
 Early 16th century - abundance of sandalwood in Timor
attracted European explorers to the island. It had a
number of small chiefdoms or princedoms.
 HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR

Colonial Era
Portuguese period (1769–1975)
• They established outposts in Timor and Maluku. 0ccupied a small part of
the territory began 1769, city of Dili was founded and the colony of
Portuguese Timor declared.
• A definitive border between the Dutch-colonised western half and the
Portuguese-colonised eastern half of the island was established by the
Permanent Court of Arbitration of 1914, and it remains the international
boundary between the successor states East Timor and Indonesia.
• For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected
trading post until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in
infrastructure, health, and education. Sandalwood remained the main
export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth
century. As was often the case, Portuguese rule was generally neglectful but
exploitative where it existed.
 HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR

• During World War II, first the Allies and later the Japanese occupied Dili, and
the mountainous interior became the scene of a guerrilla campaign, known as the
Battle of Timor. Waged by East Timorese volunteers and Allied forces against the
Japanese, the struggle resulted in the deaths of between 40,000 and 70,000 East
Timorese.
• End of World War II - Japanese surrender, Portuguese control was reinstated.
• 1974 Portuguese revolution -Portugal effectively abandoned its colony on Timor
• 1975 - civil war between East Timorese political parties broke out .The
Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) resisted a Timorese
Democratic Union (UDT) coup attempt in August 1975, and unilaterally declared
independence on 28 November 1975.
• Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, the Indonesian
military launched an invasion of East Timor in December 1975. Indonesia
declared East Timor its 27th province on 17 July 1976.The UN Security Council
opposed the invasion and the territory's nominal status in the UN remained as "non-
self-governing territory under Portuguese administration".
 HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR

Indonesian occupation (1975–1999)

- marked by violence and brutality. A detailed statistical report prepared for the Commission
for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor cited a minimum bound of 102,800
conflict-related deaths in the period 1974–1999, namely, approximately 18,600 killings
and 84,200 "excess" deaths from hunger and illness, with an estimated figure based on
Portuguese, Indonesian and Catholic Church data of approximately 200,000 deaths. The East
Timorese guerrilla force (Forças Armadas da Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste, Falintil)
fought a campaign against the Indonesian forces from 1975 to 1998.
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.
Following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, a UN-sponsored agreement
between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for a UN-supervised popular referendum in August
1999. A clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East
Timorese pro-integration militia with the support of elements of the Indonesian military.
With Indonesian permission, an Australian-led multi-national peacekeeping force (INTERFET)
was deployed until order was restored. On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor
was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East
Timor (UNTAET). The INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of
military command to the UN.
 HISTORY OF EAST TIMOR

Contemporary Era
August 30, 2001 - the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect
members of the Constituent Assembly. March 22, 2002 - the Constituent Assembly approved
the Constitution. By May 2002, over 205,000 refugees had returned. May 20 2002 -the
Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor came into force and East Timor was
recognised as independent by the UN. The Constituent Assembly was renamed the National
Parliament and Xanana Gusmão was sworn in as the country's first President after Indonesian
occupation. September 27, 2002 - East Timor was renamed to Timor-Leste, using the
Portuguese language, and was admitted as a member state by the UN.
The following year, Gusmão declined another presidential term, and in the build-up to the April
2007 presidential elections there were renewed outbreaks of violence. José Ramos-Horta was
elected President in the May 2007 election,while Gusmão ran in the parliamentary elections
and became Prime Minister. Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an attempted assassination
in February 2008. Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed.
Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order. In 2006, the United Nations
sent in security forces to restore order when unrest and factional fighting forced 15 percent of the
population (155,000 people) to flee their homes. In March 2011, the UN handed over operational
control of the police force to the East Timor authorities. The United Nations ended its
peacekeeping mission on December 31, 2012.
East Timor became a state party to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention on 31 January 2017.
 GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE OF EAST TIMOR

 unitary semi-presidential representative democratic

republic
Prime Minister of East Timor - head of government
President of East Timor - exercises the functions of head
of state.
The East Timorese constitution was modelled on that
of Portugal, though the president is less powerful than
the Portuguese counterpart. 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 2019.
 EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF EAST TIMOR

The head of state is the President,

 directly elected by popular vote for a
five-year term,
 executive powers are somewhat
limited by the constitution,
 able to veto legislation, which action
can be overridden by the parliament.
 Following elections, the president Main office holders

usually appoints as the prime

minister, the leader of the majority Office Name Party Since

party or majority coalition. As head President Francisco G FRETILIN 20 May 2017

of government the prime minister uterres

presides over the cabinet. Prime Minist Taur Matan PLP

22 June
er Ruak 2018
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF EAST TIMOR

Parliament of East Timor

The unicameral Timorese National Parliament (Parlamento
Nacional) has 65 members elected by proportional
representation (d'Hondt method) for a five-year term.
The number of seats can vary from a minimum of 52 to a
maximum of 65, though it exceptionally had 88 members
during its first term which also exceptionally lasted six
years – from 2001 to 2007 – this was because the
constitution provided that the 88-member Constitutional
Assembly would become the first parliament after the
constitution entered into force in 2002.
 JUDICIAL BRANCH OF EAST TIMOR

The Supreme Court of Justice has one judge appointed

by the National Parliament and the rest appointed by the
Superior Council for the Judiciary. As mentioned in a
2010 source, the country was in the process of
developing a legal system that includes private practice
attorneys.
 LEGAL SYSTEM OF EAST TIMOR

The law of East Timor is based on the laws of Indonesia, as was

determined by the United Nations. While laws were originally
published only in English, the government began enacting law solely
in Portuguese in 2002.
For this reason, East Timorese laws are now written in English,
Portuguese, and Indonesian. The law of East Timor is enforced by
the National Police, established in 2002.
One of the most important events in the history of the law of East
Timor was the creation of the Special Panels of the Dili District
Court, which attempted to deal with crimes such as murder, rape,
and torture which took place in 1999. The panels sat from 2000 to
2006.
 HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST TIMOR

During the 24 years of Indonesian occupation (from 1975,) and after the 1999 independence
referendum, pro Indonesian militias committed many human rights violations . The country
gained independence in 2002, and free and fair elections were held in 2007. The  United Nations
Integrated Mission in East Timor (UNMIT) and the International Stabilization Force remain in the
country while it develops its own security forces, the National Police (PNTL) and Defence Forces (F-
FDTL).
There are a number of issues concerning civil and political rights including breaches of the right to a
fair trial and freedom from arbitrary arrest. The delivery of economic, social and cultural rights is
also a concern, such as the right to education, and the right to family life; there is little respect for the
rights of women and children and domestic violence and sexual abuse are major problems.
East Timor joined the United Nations (UN) in 2002 and is a party to seven of the nine core human
rights treaties: the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(ICERD), on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT))
and on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
(ICRMW)). – International Treaties
* Constitutional protections, Failures of justice, Freedom of expression, Political participation, Land
rights, Women;s rights, Children’s rights, National Human Rights Institutions…
 REFERENCES

https://www.britannica.com/place/East-Timor
https://nationalpedia.org/east-timor/national-symbols-of-east-timor/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_East_Timor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_East_Timor
https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Timor_Leste.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_East_Timor

GROUP # 5
ADALLA, MARY ROSE
HABAN, DANG
LATIZA, CYREL MALLIE

BY: ESTIOCO, JENIEL