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| Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Repúblika Demokrátika de Timór-Leste | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Capital and largest city | Dili |
| Official languages | Portuguese Tetum |
| Area | |
• Total | 14,874 km² |
| Population | |
• 2021 estimate | 1,340,513 |
East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It was colonized by Portugal and later occupied by Indonesia until 1999.
History
The Timorese Democratic Union attempted a coup against the Portuguese colonizers in August 1975, leading to a brief civil war. The left-wing Fretilin party was the most successful in the war and declared independence from Portugal in November. Nine days later, Indonesia under Suharto invaded at the behest of Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger. Indonesia occupied East Timor until 1999 with US support, and the United States was one of the only countries that recognized East Timor as Indonesian territory. Indonesian troops killed about a third of the total East Timorese population.[1]
References
- ↑ William Blum (2002). Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower: 'A Concise History of United States Global Interventions, 1945 to the Present' (pp. 124–125). [PDF] Zed Books Ltd. ISBN 9781842772201 [LG]