Nationalism in Indonesia
1998-2004

In 1998, Indonesia moved towards offering East Timor autonomy within the Indonesian state. Under international pressure, the Indonesian government held a referendum in 1999, which showed that a clear majority of East Timorese (78.5%) favored independence. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government backed paramilitary groups in East Timor to reverse the referendum. Activists in the United Sates, Australia and elsewhere pressured their governments to withdraw IMF loans to Indonesia. As a result, the Indonesian government withdrew its troops and allowed a multinational force to stabilize East Timor. Figure 7 is a recent map of East Timor. How many borders are shared between Indonesia and East Timor?

After two years of rule by multinational forces, East Timor became independent in 2002. The first president elected, Xanana Gusm‹o, was the leader of the East Timor rebel forces. Violence in East Timor has continued after independence, with student groups protesting against the East Timorese government.

Source: Wikipedia, http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_East_Timor

Figure 7: Map of East Timor and Indonesia circa 2002
Source: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tt.html