Viva Timor leste
Congratulations to the nation of East Timor on your independence! God knows you’ve had a rough time of it.
The Sydney Morning Herald has extensive coverage, kicking off, unfortunately, with a less than auspicious paragraph:
Colour us free, cry jubilant Timorese
By Tom Hyland and Lindsay Murdoch, smh.com.auEast Timor became an independent nation early this morning but a row over the unauthorised arrival of Indonesian warships highlighted the potential fragility of its hard-won freedom.
The New York Times eschews topicality with more of an eye on the history of the event in this story by Jane Perlez:
Impoverished East Timor Exults Over Independence
DILI, East Timor, Monday, May 20 — East Timor became the world’s newest nation today, a miniature Pacific Ocean country born of centuries of colonization by the Portuguese, decades of occupation by Indonesia and nearly three years of United Nations governance, which ended at midnight Sunday.
During an emotional ceremony in a dusty field attended by many thousands of people, the new leaders of this nation of 800,000 and an array of international figures, the national flag was carried into the arena by former guerrilla fighters who led the war of resistance against Indonesia.
Acquaintances who have flown helicopters in Timor or smuggled medicine into the country can share even more deeply in the nation’s pride, having played something of a part. Everything I’ve been told about the country and its people makes me want to visit.
Good luck, Timor! Your history is now yours.
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Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2002.05.20 (Mon) • 12:02
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