Word: timorously
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Where in the World is East Timor? East Timor is a nation of some 800,000 inhabitants located on a small island on the southeastern tip of the Indonesian archipelago, 400 miles north of Australia. The western half of the island had been a Dutch colony, and was therefore part of what became independent Indonesia after World War II. But the eastern half, which had been ruled for three centuries by Portugal, was given its independence with the collapse of the Portuguese empire in 1975. Indonesia invaded the country in December of that year and annexed East Timor...
...fully pacified. Timorese such as guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao and 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winners Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos Belo have fought for independence throughout Indonesia's occupation. Indonesia is estimated to have killed as many as 100,000 Timorese in its failed attempts to colonize East Timor...
...January of this year, Indonesia's new president, B. J. Habibie, attempted to boost his international credibility by offering East Timor a referendum on its status. In the August poll, 78 percent of the electorate chose independence, but pro-Indonesia militias ? backed by Indonesian military officers ? then launched a reign of terror against the pro-independence majority...
...that they weren?t going to tolerate his viewpoint.? Conversely, adds Thompson, debates surrounding recent military conflicts clearly demonstrate the disparity of opinions on military involvement within both the Republican and conservative camps. So while the military will probably never present a united front on potential solutions in East Timor, they won?t hesitate to flex their political muscle when it comes to the social issues playing out in their own barracks ? or their own backyards...
...Newsfile: East Timor...