The

Abstract

The island of Timor lies some 400 miles off the northwest coast of Australia, at the tip of the chain of islands forming the Republic of Indonesia. Before World War II, the western half of the island was administered by the Netherlands, the eastern half by Portugal. When Indonesia gained its independence from the Netherlands in 1949, the western half became Indonesian Timor, a part of Indonesia. Portugal continued to administer the eastern half of the island, East Timor, until 1975. East Timor was evacuated by the Portuguese authorities in August, 1975 during civil disorders condoned, if not fomented by the Indonesians. Within a few months, Indonesia invaded and annexed East Timor.