Crisis and Nation-building in Timor-Leste

In 1999, the United Nations, under UNAMET, supervised a popular consultation in which 78.5% of the population of Timor-Leste voted for independence from Indonesia. Following this, the Indonesian army withdrew from East Timor, ending a twenty-four year long occupation, but leaving behind it militias trained to destroy and intimidate the population. The militias carried out a devastating scorched-earth campaign decimating 70 per cent of the country’s infrastructure, and displaced three quarters..