East Timor Integration

With the advent of World War II the Japanese ousted both the Dutch and Portuguese from Timor, as well as from the rest of Indonesia. When Japan surrendered to the allied forces in 1945, Indonesians proclaimed the independence of their country which covers the areas of the former Netherlands East Indies. In the mean time, East Timor was returned to the Portuguese by the Allied Forces after the war and the people stayed colonized. They had made several attempts to fight the Portuguese and join Indonesia, but they were suppressed by the colonial regime. Not until 1974 did the Portuguese give them a chance to decide their own political future.

In a statement on May 28, 1974, the Governor of Portuguese Timor, Colonel Fernando Alves Aldela, granted the people permission to form political parties. The response was the emergence of five political parties - UDT (Uniao Democratica Timorese), FRETILIN (Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independent), APODETI (Associacao Popular Democratica de Timor), KOTA (Klibur Oan Timur Aswain) and TRABALHISTA (Labor Party).

Through lack of popular support, FRETILIN resorted to terror tactics, threats and blackmail in an attempt to intimidate members of the other parties. This caused growing tension throughout the colony and sparked an inevitable civil war.

On August 27, 1975, the Governor and other Portuguese officials abandoned the capital of Dili, fled to Atauro Island and left FRETILIN free to continue its reign of terror. FRETILIN was even supplied with arms from the Portuguese army arsenal.

On November 28 of the same year, FRETILIN unilaterally "declared the independence" of East Timor and announced the formation of "the Democratic Republic of East Timor".

In the light of these developments, on November 30, 1975, at Balibo, UDT, APODETI, KOTA and TRABALHISTA proclaimed the independence of the territory and its simultaneous integration with Indonesia. On December 17, 1975, the four parties announced the establishment of the Provisional Government of East Timor in Dili.

On May 31, 1976, the duly elected People's Assembly of East Timor decided in an open session to formally integrate the territory with the Republic of Indonesia. A bill on this integration was approved by the Indonesian House of Representatives on July 15, 1976 and, with the promulgation by the President, became Law on July 17. East Timor has since been the 27^th province of Indonesia with all the rights and duties under the 1945 Constitution of the Republic.