For Timor-Leste, the anniversary exposes some unpleasant truths
THE NATIONAL flag is flying from every house in the capital, Dili. Sirens wail as shiny black limousines whisk visiting dignitaries to their meetings. The country has been celebrating the 20th anniversary of the act of national heroism that brought it independence after 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation: a referendum held under the auspices of the United Nations on August 30th, 1999.
He wanted to impress on the new generation that independence was a joint international and internal effort. After the occupation, during which over 100,000 people died from starvation or violence, Timor-Leste had a baby boom. The population is now 1.3m, some 400,000 more than in 1999. The median age is just 19.8. Perhaps three-fifths of the population is too young to have any memory of Indonesian rule.
Recently declassified American-government documents also cast Australia—and the rest of the West—in a bad light. They show that America and its allies were well aware of the extent of direct Indonesian military involvement in the Timorese militia, and in the plans for, in effect, the utter devastation of the country. Australia dragged its feet before intervening; and its forces did not cover the whole country.
But for Timor-Leste, too, the anniversary exposes some unpleasant truths. Many Timorese are worried by tensions in the leadership. The president, Francisco Guterres, popularly known as Lú-Olo, and the prime minister, Taur Matan Ruak, a military hero of the resistance, are said not to be on speaking terms. Some members of Fretilin, Lu-Olo’s party, snubbed the festivities. And Mr Gusmão is still pulling the strings; nothing much happens without his say-so.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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