Happy Birthday to East Timor!

The Portuguese School of Díli, the capital and largest city of East Timor. *Photo from Wikipedia

May 20 is Independence Day, celebrates the independence of East Timor from Indonesia in 2002.

East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, and was known as Portuguese Timor until November 28, 1975, when the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) declared the territory’s independence. Nine days later, it was invaded and occupied by Indonesia and was declared Indonesia’s 27th province the following year.
The Indonesian occupation of East Timor was characterized by a highly violent decades-long conflict between separatist groups (especially FRETILIN) and the Indonesian military.
In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory. East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on May 20, 2002 and joined the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

East Timor or Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a sovereign state in Maritime Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor.

*Reference: Wikipedia