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The World's Newest Democracy
| In May 2002, East Timor officially declared itself a sovereign parliamentary democracy, following years of colonization and occupation. A Portuguese colony for 400 years, it gained independence in 1974, but fighting broke out between rival political factions and by early 1975, Indonesia invaded the country and proceeded to occupy it for 24 years. By the time the occupation ended in 1999, approximately 200,000 Timorese and about 20,000 Indonesians were dead. Resistance toward Indonesian rule existed for the entire duration of the occupation, but it wasn't until the 1990s that the opposition movement gained prominence and strength. In 1991, Timorese independence protestors were massacred, an incident that drew international attention. In 1996, independence activists Bishop Carlos Belo and Jose Ramos Horta were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to gain independence for East Timor, and drew worldwide media attention. Three years later after UN-led negotiations with Portugal and Indonesia, a referendum on the status of East Timor was held, and 78.5% of voters chose independence. However, the vote was overshadowed by violent protests of pro-Indonesian militants and a violent campaign began that resulted in the burning of Timorese villages and caused tens of thousands of citizens to flee their homes. Ultimately, in October 1999 the Indonesian parliament voided the occupation of East Timor and began the process of withdrawal. To aid with the country's transition into independence, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor and in August 2001, the first parliamentary elections were held, CNN.com reported. |
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Nation Building in the South Pacifica
| The troubled history of the Solomon Islands has been overlooked in the Western hemisphere, which hasn't devoted much news coverage to the politically unstable and violent region. Even the United Nations has not paid much attention to the situation, instead focusing on the current debate over nation building in Iraq. However, the case of the Solomon Islands is a valuable tool for much of the world today as it struggles with how to create stability and prosperity as quickly as possible in Iraq. Alexander Downer, the Australian foreign minister, wrote in yesterday's Wall Street Journal "nation-building is neither inherently undesirable, nor should it be in the right circumstances; and that it can be conducted on a grand scale, as in Iraq, under the glare of international attention, or on a small scale-as in our case-almost unnoticed even by the U.N." Calling the U.N. system "battered," Mr. Downing praised the PIF mission as "a model" for nation building and an example of "cooperative intervention" that should be supported by the international community. |
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