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Asia
On 20 May 2002 a new state was founded in Southeast Asia: Timor-Leste officially gained its independence. A long and difficult journey had gone before.
Timor-Leste comprises the eastern part of the island of Timor, which lies around 500 kilometres north-west of Australia. The remainder of the island belongs to Indonesia, except for the exclave of Oecussi-Ambeno. Until 1974 the state’s present territory was a Portuguese colony.
After Portugal’s withdrawal a civil war broke out, which was won by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent Timor-Leste (FRETILIN). In 1975 FRETILIN declared the territory’s independence. Shortly afterwards, Indonesian troops occupied the country and, despite international protests, took it as an Indonesian province. In the ensuing 24 years, some 200,000 people are reported to have lost their lives as a result of the occupation. It was not until 1996 that the global community took notice of the conflict. On the initiative of the United Nations, a referendum was held in 1999. The vast majority of the population voted in favour of independence for Timor-Leste. Subsequently, pro-Indonesian militia forces devastated the country; once again, many lives were lost and much of the population fled to the western part of the island. The United Nations sent a peace-keeping force and installed a transitional administration (UNTAET) until the country finally became independent in 2002 and was accepted as a member of the United Nations.
Setbacks for the young democracy
The process of state-building and coming to terms with the past is hard work and the young republic has suffered numerous setbacks. Ethnic conflicts between inhabitants of the eastern and western parts of the country, believed to be a thing of the past, have reared up again creating deep rifts in the country. In April 2006 violent conflicts erupted bringing public life to a standstill. Timor-Leste was on the brink of civil war and the president had no choice but to request international support. When the police force received reinforcements through the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) deployed in September 2006, the security situation improved. Nevertheless there are still regular outbreaks of violence.
The decades of violence have traumatised wide swaths of the population. This state of affairs is exacerbated by the difficult economic situation and high unemployment. While revenues from oil and gas production in the Timor Sea, which are shared between Timor-Leste and Australia, mean that there is hope that economic progress will be made, the country will require continued assistance from the United Nations and other donors for some time to come.
Development cooperation with Germany
Timor-Leste and Germany enjoy friendly relations. Germany has been supporting the country in establishing new structures since 1999. In the initial phase, cooperation focused not only on food, emergency and refugee aid, but also on the drinking water supply in the eastern districts. Subsequently, development of the maritime transport sector and promotion of rural development were defined as medium-term priority areas for cooperation. In future, cooperation will concentrate on crisis prevention and conflict management.
German Embassy

German Embassy in Jakarta
The head of the diplomatic mission in Indonesia is accredited at the same time as an Ambassador in Timor Leste with seat in Jakarta.
Jalan M. H. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta 10310
Indonesia
Phone: +62 / 21 / 39 85 50 00
Fax: +62 / 21 / 3 90 17 57






