It was Indonesia.
East Timor was former colony of Portugal until Portugal abandoned it due
to the 1974 Revolution. The
Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor declared independence in
November 28, 1975 but Indonesia invaded East Timor and made it its 27th
province on July 17, 1976. The
Indonesian government ruled East Timor brutally. After President Suharto stepped down from
power, a referendum backed by the U.N. was called in August 1999 and the people
voted for independence. This was met with
violence from East Timorese
pro-integration militia who were aided by elements of the Indonesian
military. This resulted in
Australian-led international peacekeeping force being sent to the area. The U.N. took over the government and later
independence in East Timor was formalized in May 20, 2002.
