Timor Leste, having acquired its independence from Indonesia in 2002 is the youngest country in the world. Timor got out from the Portuguese colons in 1975, following the revolution in Lisbon. Indonesia took advantage of the situation to take over the control of the region. The Freitilin (independents group) organised then the rebellion against the power of Jakarta. The Indonesian dictator Soeharto decided to repress the insurrection violently by sending the army persecuting the Timorese population. In 15 years, we can count more than 200 000 victims under a population of one million inhabitants. The conflict became mediatic when the bishop of Dili (Timor’s capital) and one independent leader, José Ramos Horta, were awarded by the Nobel price of peace in 1996. The fall of Soeharto, substituted by HABIBIE in 1998, allows a vote of auto-determination the 30th of august 1999. The results were largely in favour of the independence. Pro-Indonesians armed bands started to spread terror in Timor in complete impunity. The state goes under the provisory UN control, which sends a peace force to stabilise the country. Xanana Gusmao, historical leader of the rebellion, was elected president in 2002. In 2007, José Ramos Horta is elected after a controversial poll. Today, Timor Leste is a hurt state, without infrastructure, which has huge challenges to begin its rebuilding.
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