What is the condition of Timor Leste after 21 years of choosing to leave Indonesia? All pages

KOMPAS.com – Today, 21 years ago, August 30, 1999 to be precise, Timor Leste (used to be known East Timor) hold a poll or referendum to choose to resign or stay with Indonesia.

East Timor was previously part of Indonesia as the 27th province.

On 30 August 1999 a vote was held for East Timorese to choose whether to remain with Indonesia or become their own state.

The referendum which was supported by the United Nations (UN) ended the previous conflict and provided a way for them to gain independence from Indonesia.

Timor Leste was only officially recognized as a country internationally 3 years after voting, namely in 2002.

Also read: Jeremy Teti Stories of Holding Guns While Covering the Conflict in Timor Leste

What is the story of the release of East Timor (Timtim) from Indonesia?

Referendum

Reported AFP via Kompas.com, (30/8/2019), for 24 years, the people of East Timor have lived in conflict, hunger and disease. More than 250,000 victims died as a result of this condition.

The resolution of the problem in East Timor was nearing its end at the popular consultation on 30 August 1999.

Reported Kompas Daily, Tuesday, August 31, 1999, the opinion determination to determine the future of East Timor on Monday (30/8) went smoothly and successfully.

At that time the number of voters who participated reached 90 percent, so the opinion determination did not need to be extended.

The voting was colored by incidents in several places. One of them was an elementary school teacher who was persecuted by a group of people.

He shouted that the poll was dishonest because those employed at Unamet were CNRT people. After that his back was stabbed to death.

Even so, the results of the opinion polls continued and the results were eventually brought to the UN.

Also read: Today in History: Indonesia Recognizes the Results of the East Timor Referendum

Poll results

Reported Kompas Daily, Sunday (5/9/1999), the UN finally announced the results of the opinion determination (opinion poll). UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York announced it on Saturday (4/9) at 08.00 WIB.

As a result, from approximately 450,000 voters, 78.5 percent (344,580) of East Timorese voted to reject autonomy, and around 21 percent (94,388) voted for autonomy, while 7,985 votes (1.8 percent) were declared invalid.

According to Kofi Annan, these results indicated that the East Timorese people wanted independence.

At the same time, the Head of Unamet Ian Martin, in Dili, read the announcement, which was translated into Indonesian, Portuguese and Tetum.

In his speech, Annan asked all parties to stop all acts of violence that for 24 years caused suffering in East Timor.

Although the overall atmosphere in East Timor was tense, in several places, a small proportion of the population expressed their joy by running into the streets and cheering. They hugged each other and cried.

Besides that, even if that meant it East Timor is separated from Indonesia, however, they still went through a long process until they were recognized by the world and changed their name to Timor Leste.

Also read: How is the Economy of Timor Leste After 18 Years of Independence from Indonesia?

So how is Timor Leste (East Timor) now?

Timor Leste Economy

Reported page Heritage, Timor-Leste economic freedom score is 45.9. This makes Timor Leste ranked 171st in the world in the 2020 index.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Timor Leste is ranked 40th among 42 countries and its overall score is well below the regional average as well as the world.

Timor Leste’s economy has seen little sign of economic independence since being included in the Index in 2009. Growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is weak.

The country’s economy depends on government spending that is financed by withdrawals from the Petroleum Fund.

As reported Kompas.com, Sunday (5/7/2020), the official report of the World Bank for 2020, mentions growth economist Timor Leste still slow compared to Southeast Asian countries.

The country, officially known as Republica Democratica de Timor Leste, is still one of the poorest countries in the world.

Also read: Timor Leste, the Former State of Indonesia

Income per capita

Quoting the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) report, Timor Leste is ranked 152 countries as the poorest country in the world out of 162 countries.

The GDP per capita figure for Timor Leste is estimated to reach US $ 2,356 or around IDR 34.23 million (exchange rate IDR 14,532) by December 2020.

This achievement was still below Indonesia’s per capita income in 2019 amounting to 4,174.9 US dollars or around Rp. 60 million.

A number of sectors of the Timor Leste economy are actually still very dependent on Australia and Indonesia, especially imported goods.

Timor Leste itself still relies on income from oil products. In 2019, Timor Leste’s oil production reached 38 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), which was widely collaborated with Australia.

Meanwhile, citing data from the Timor Leste Economic Report released by the World Bank in April 2020, Timor Leste’s economy will worsen in 2020 due to the corona virus pandemic (Covid-19) and unstable political conditions.

The Timor Leste government has disbursed 250 million from the Petroleum Fund, of which 60 percent was used for handling Covid-19.

Other obstacles to its economic freedom are rampant corruption and the ineffectiveness of the judiciary, which weakens the integrity of the government.

On the other hand, the independent Anti-Corruption Commission does not have the authority to arrest or prosecute. For the most part the public procurement process is still opaque.

Also read: Today in History: 19 People Died in Santa Cruz Incident, Timor Leste

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