East Timor, the only Portuguese colony located in Asia, targeted because of sandalwood, a noble wood used in the manufacture of luxury furniture and perfumery, it remained under colonial rule until 1975. With the new Portuguese policy after the Carnation Revolution, the Portuguese government decided to leave the island in August 1975, handing over the sovereignty of the island to FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front of East Timor), which proclaimed the independence of the republic on 28 November 1975.
After a very short period of time, Indonesia, under the command of General Suharto, ordered its troops to invade the island and annex it to its territory. Thus, the 27th Indonesian province was formed, called "Timor Timur", the UN completely repudiated the invasion.
From then on, the Indonesian army began a bloody massacre of the Timorese. Hundreds of villages were destroyed, and a good part of the country's forests were completely destroyed, to limit the refuge of the guerrillas, it was also during this period that the leader of the Timorese independence movement, Xanana Gusmão, was stuck.
Indonesia's economic situation, which was no longer the best, underwent serious complications with the 1997 Asian crisis. With increased pressure from East Timorese and Western countries (which would be support for the Indonesian financial crisis), it was negotiated the holding of a referendum on the independence of the territory, under the supervision of a mission of the Organization of Nations United.
Once again, the Indonesian army spread terror among the population, threatening everyone who voted for independence. After the final result of the referendum, 78.5% of Timorese wanted independence. Once again, Indonesia carried out another wave of violence: armed men killed all those suspected of having voted for independence, thus, the population began to flee and the UN realized the need for military action in the region.
On September 22, 1999, UN troops entered Timor and found themselves in a devastated country, with much of its infrastructure destroyed. Currently under the command of Brazil, the UN mission has military support from Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand, relatively stabilizing the situation in Timor. The situation, combined with political and economic pressure from Portugal and Western countries, provoked an ideological wave of anti-Western hatred in Indonesia.
20th century - wars - Brazil School
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/guerra-independencia-timor.htm
