In 2003, East Timor was a newly independent nation in Southeast Asia. It had gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after more than two decades of occupation. With a population of approximately 900,000 people and a GDP of $1 billion, it was one of the poorest countries in the region.
According to computergees, the country had a multiparty democracy with Xanana Gusmão as Prime Minister since 2001. Despite its political stability, the country faced several challenges including widespread poverty, poor infrastructure, and limited access to international markets.
The government had implemented several reforms to promote economic growth and social equality but progress was slow due to limited resources and lack of foreign investment. The political landscape in 2003 was dominated by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão who had been in power since 2001.
Despite its political stability, freedom of speech and press were restricted due to strict censorship laws and surveillance practices. Additionally, access to free education and healthcare services were limited due to lack of resources but some progress had been made towards providing more access for citizens. Economic growth was further hindered by corruption, poor infrastructure, and lack of access to international markets.
Yearbook 2003
Timor. According to Countryaah.com, East Timor Independence Day is May 20. The UN-backed war crimes court has charged several high-ranking representatives of the Indonesian army and administration in East Timor at the time of the 1999 referendum on independence. However, the prospect of getting some extradited was considered small, and President Xanana Gusmão criticized the charges for unnecessarily jeopardizing the now good neighborly relations with Indonesia.
At the Indonesian Special Court for War Crimes in East Timor, Brigadier General Noer Muis was sentenced in March to five years in prison for not attempting to oust the massacres. In August, Major General Adam Damiri was sentenced to three years in prison. However, when the Indonesian court thus ended its operation, it was found that 12 out of 18 defendants had been acquitted and that all convicted persons were living in freedom pending their appeal.
The threat to East Timor from the pro-Indonesian militias was by no means deemed to be over. After several assaults against UN personnel raised the UN force UNMISET alarm that the militia was planning to move to a “terrorist strategy” with the aim of undermining East Timor’s government ahead of the planned withdrawal of the UN force. Although the Security Council decided that the UN troops would be wound up in accordance with the plans on May 20, 2004, but until then it remained in full force and strengthened the surveillance of the border with Indonesian West Timor.
October
Formal WTO negotiations begin
October 2
East Timor begins formal negotiations on membership in the World Trade Organization. The government hopes that WTO membership will accelerate the country’s economic growth and broaden the economy, as well as facilitate entry into the Southeast Asian cooperation organization ASEAN. Formal negotiations on WTO membership usually last for several years.
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Brief Guide
According to AbbreviationFinder, East Timor is also known as Timor-Leste. The state is located in Southeast Asia, in the Pacific Ocean in the eastern part of the island of Timor.
History
After the crisis of the Indonesian regime and the removal of I. Suharto (May 1998), the independence movement regained strength and protests followed in Dili in June. The new president BJ Habibie initiated diplomatic talks with Portugal (August 1998) and announced in January 1999, also following pressure from the United Nations, the willingness to grant independence to TE if the proposal for broad autonomy was rejected by the population. within the Indonesian state. The following month Xanana Gusmâo obtained house arrest. In May 1999 Portugal and Indonesia finally signed an agreement to hold a referendum on autonomy to be held under the aegis of the UN.
The heavy intimidation exerted by pro-Indonesian militias could not prejudice the outcome of the referendum, which took place in August, which marked the victory of the separatists (the autonomy proposal was rejected by 78, 5 % of voters). Despite Habibie declaring that he accepted and respected the result, the pro-Indonesian militias, to which, according to some international observers, the Indonesian army did not deny tacit support, unleashed a bloody reaction by setting fire to the entire territory and deporting thousands of Timorese. in the western part of the island.
Pressured by international public opinion and in particular by the United States, Habibie, who in an attempt to restore order had proclaimed martial law on the island in September and freed Xanana Gusmâo as a gesture of relaxation, had to accept the sending of a UN peacekeeping force incurring strong criticism from the domestic nationalist front. In October the Indonesian Parliament ratified the outcome of the referendum and arranged for the withdrawal of the army; TE came under the interim administration of the United Nations pending the establishment of a local government. Relations with Djakarta improved after the election, in October, of the new Indonesian president A.