East Timor
Categories: Politics & Social Sciences
Following the end of the Salazar dictatorship and the establishment of democracy in Portugal in 1975, East Timor declared its independence from Portugal, but a failure to transfer power in an orderly manner lead to a terrible civil war and military intervention by Indonesia. The United Nations condemned Indonesia's occupation of East Timor and called for an "exercise of the right of self-determination by the East Timorese." Finally, on October 31, 1999, after years of fighting and the deaths of…