Summary
East Timor is a former Portuguese colony, and is a territory of 800,000 people now controlled by Indonesia. Some factions in East Timor are striving for independence, while Indonesia wishes to remain in control of the area. Violence between Indonesian soldiers and East Timorese rebels has broken out many times. This is an ongoing conflict. Indonesia seeks international recognition of its sovereignty, Portugal seeks toa referendum allowing the East Timorese to decide the territory's fate, and the East Timorese largely seek independence.
Timeline
10/75- Indonesia annexes East Timor from Portugal
8/6/98- Two days of talks between Indonesia and Portugal ended with the two sides agreeing to discuss limited autonomy of East Timor.
9/24/98- The indonesian military has increased its presence in East Timor to attempt to -starwars reference- "squash the rebellion" -/starwars reference-
11/23/98- Indonesia denies a report that 44 people hadd been killed during a military crackdown.
12/19/98- A U.N. Envoy arrives in East Timor to tryp to negotiate a peaceful solution.
Key Words
Indonesia, East Timor, Portugal, independence, U.N. envoy