Juan Palop, continues its Asian blog here

East Timor, bittersweet birthday

The streets of Dili, East Timor's capital, usually sleepy, enjoy these days of a peculiar ferment. The country's youngest and poorest in Asia commemorated at this time, swelling with pride, despite the difficulties, the tenth anniversary of its national conception. On August 30, 1999 four of every five residents of this former Portuguese colony voted in favor of independence in a UN-sponsored referendum. Anything they wanted with Indonesia, despite the geographical proximity and broadly-cultural, had invaded and systematically and savagely beaten during a quarter century ending, since the withdrawal in 1974 Lusa.

Now underway in Dili seminars and official events, activists come halfway around the world to support the cause, flower exhibitions here and there ... even a cycling tour is traveling the short Timorese territory to remember their first steps towards the desired freedom. Read the rest of this entry »