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| Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Repúblika Demokrátika de Timór-Leste | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Coat of arms
| |
 | |
| Capital and largest city | Dili |
| Official languages | Portuguese Tetum |
| Dominant mode of production | Neocolonial capitalism |
| Government | Unitary semi-presidential republic |
• President | José Ramos-Horta |
• Prime Minister | Taur Matan Ruak |
| 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[edit | edit source]
Indonesian occupation[edit | edit source]
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]
IMF austerity[edit | edit source]
In 1999, following an independence referendum, the UN established a transitional government dominated by the neoliberal IMF and World Bank. East Timor became de jure independent and joined the United Nations in 2002. In 2006, the United States and Australia organized a color revolution to oust anti-IMF prime minister Mari Alkatiri, who had opposed President Xanana Gusmão. Neoliberal technocrat Estanislau da Silva temporarily succeeded him before being replaced by another pro-Western politician, José Ramos-Horta.[2]
Politics[edit | edit source]
The 2008 government of East Timor consisted of a coalition of four right-wing, pro-Western parties: the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, Democratic Party, Social-Democratic Party, and Timorese Social-Democratic Association.[2]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 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]
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fernando A. T. Ximenes (2022-12-30). "Twenty-Two years of austerity in Timor-Leste: The IMF and rebuilding the neoliberal state from scratch" Monthly Review. Archived from the original on 2022-12-31. Retrieved 2023-01-01.