When was east timor established

Australian-led peacekeeping force arrives, gradually restores order. Many militia members flee to West Timor to avoid arrest. Indonesian parliament recognises outcome of referendum. An Indonesian court jails six men for up to 20 months for the killings, earning international outrage for being too lenient. Indonesia inaugurates human rights court to hold military accountable for atrocities in East Timor after independence vote.

East Timor and Indonesia sign two agreements aimed at easing relations. Only one conviction - that of militia leader Eurico Guterres - is left standing. The body, which has no power to prosecute, will examine the violence that accompanied East Timor's independence in Under the agreement, talks on a disputed maritime boundary are postponed. Report on alleged atrocities during Indonesia's year rule is presented to the UN.

In , the Dutch invaded Kupang in the Western end of the Island of Timor, and took control of half of its territory. Upon Indonesian independence in , Western Timor was integrated into its territory. During the Second World War, the Allies Australians and Dutch , aware of the strategic position of Timor, established positions in the territory and got involved in bitter fighting with the Japanese forces. Some tens of thousands of Timorese lost their lives while fighting side-by-side with the Allies.

In , the Portuguese administration was restored in Timor-Leste. Between and June , the Indonesian Government, in compliance with International Law, affirmed at the United Nations and to the outside world that it had no territorial ambitions towards East Timor. The April Revolution April 25, , which restored democracy in Portugal, consecrated the respect for the right to self-determination of the Portuguese colonies.

In order to promote the exercise of that right, on May 13, a Committee for the Self-determination of East Timor was installed in Dili. In , with the dissolution of the Portuguese colonial empire, local liberation movements increased. In May , the authorities in Lisbon presented a project to the main Timorese parties and, after hearing them, a law was published on July 11 that foresaw the nomination of a Portuguese High Commissioner.

The diploma foresaw a three-year transitional period. He appoints as Prime Minister the candidate designated by parliament. He may also request that the Supreme Court hear a constitutional question and submit matters to the people by referendum. As Commander in Chief, the President may declare war and peace with the consultation and authorization of Parliament, and also maintains the traditional presidential powers of granting pardons and honorary awards.

The President is assisted by a Council of State, which consists of former Presidents, the President of the Parliament, the Prime Minister, five members elected by Parliament, and five members appointed by the President himself. The Council advises the President on the dissolution of Parliament and the Government, as well as the declaration of war and peace. It is the task of the Government to execute the laws and policy of the nation.

The Constitution vests the legislative power in a unicameral Parliament. The Parliament is comprised of 52 to 65 members elected by a direct vote to 5 year terms. It is the duty of the Parliament to pass laws, though the Constitution is silent on the procedural rules for this process.

The Parliament may authorize the Government to regulate civil and criminal procedure, as well as the organization of the judiciary. Also, the Parliament addresses the banking system, political parties, tax and budgetary policy, the environment, communications, military and civil service, and the requisition of lands for public use.

It also has the ability to pass a vote of no confidence in the Government on the proposal of at least a quarter of the members of Parliament. The Supreme Court, whose jurisdiction covers matters of judicial, constitutional, and electoral concern, is at the apex of the court system. Justices of the Supreme Court are, apart from one member chosen by the Parliament, appointed by the Superior Council for the Judiciary. This Council is responsible for overseeing the conduct of the judges of all the courts, with the power to promote, appoint, and transfer judges at their discretion.

There are five members including the President of this Council, each chosen by the President from among the Supreme Court Justices, one member appointed by the President, one member elected by Parliament, one member designated by the Government, and one judge chosen by his peers from the courts of law.

The independence of the judiciary is maintained by the provision which makes judges irremovable. This means that they may not be suspended, retired, or removed from office. The Judicial Branch also has an Ombudsman, an independent body charged with hearing public complaints against the government or its officials. The Ombudsman is appointed by the Parliament to a 4 year term. The judiciary of Timor-Leste has made significant advances in the creation of a Timorese civil and criminal code, as well as the training of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders.

However, it has also been experiencing some difficulties in other areas. Recent cases, most notably one involving the burning of a school in Becora, have been blocked or hindered by government prohibition of investigation, ignoring the constitutionally mandated separation of powers. Some accuse the President of using the power too often and too broadly without considering the advice of the rest of government.

These critics are calling for laws clearly enumerating this power and its limits in order to further guarantee the integrity of the legal system and provide more transparency. The Constitution guarantees every citizen the power to petition the courts directly on constitutional grounds, but this article is being ignored in practice and the courts refuse to accept public complaints. Reasons for the prevalently unfavourable opinions vary widely; increasing membership Snow and Brown ; Ziring et al.

Discussions on cases of self-determination inherently expose the internal clash of the UN Charter between the principles of sovereignty and self-determination. That in itself makes for a troubling starting point in evaluating the role of the UN in such cases as favouring one principle inevitably makes the UN deny the other, almost as if it were a zero-sum game. However, Indonesia was very much a strategic ally, particularly for the West and Australia.

That state of affairs was important enough that the UN as well as the UN SC permanent members turned a blind eye to blatant human rights violations and suffering. Due to media exposure even the US ended up contributing some troops and logistical support Strobel , Notably however, Australian foreign policy shifted from a clear strategic and trade interest with Indonesia to connecting humanitarian and legal norms with concepts of national interest Woodard , The case of East Timor does not provide a clear and definitive answer as to whether the UN has been a friend or foe overall.

The UN definitely counts East Timor as one of its most successful cases and East Timor is a peaceful and stable country today, but one should understand that the UN became successful only after the people of East Timor finally voted for their own independence and due to a member state, whose own people demanded a significant change and military action. That position was also extremely unfortunate for the people of East Timor in the decades of Portuguese violent neglect and Indonesian brutality.

In those years, the UN definitely was not upholding the right to self-determination for East Timorese, nor was it upholding any of the several universal declarations, resolutions and practices which were applied in several other situations, more or less successfully. It would seem that from the standpoint of the UN SC permanent members, East Timor just never quite made it to the top of the priorities list, particularly after the end of the Cold War when so many threats to international peace and security were dealt with.

For example, the military action in Kosovo was taking place at roughly the same time. However, even in with all the lessons of Somalia, Rwanda, former Yugoslavia, and others, the UN went to East Timor practically blind and deaf to all the warning signs.

Once again, even though the referendum indeed took place, the UN failed the people of East Timor. Importantly though in the case of East Timor, it could be argued that the UN was definitely not a friend to the people of East Timor even without the right to self-determination in the equation.

It is in this conclusion that the true incapability of the UN lies and continues to be present around the world. Avgustin , Bailey, Sydney D. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Blokker, Niels. Theory and Reality — A Need for Change? Leiden: Martinues Nijhoff Publishers. Bolton, John R. Calvocoressi, Peter. World Politics — Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Carey, Peter, and Pat Walsh. Chesterman, Simon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Cortright, David, and George A. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. Cronin, Bruce, and Ian Hurd. Oxon: Routledge. De Wet, Erika. Portland: Hart Publishing. Dedring, Juergen.