East Timor celebrates 25th anniversary of UN-backed vote for independence

DILI, East Timor (AP) — East Timor on Friday celebrated the 25th anniversary of a U.N.-backed referendum that secured its independence from its major neighbor Indonesia, which invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975.

Crowds cheered as their leaders and state guests, including U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, traveled by motorcades to a stadium in the country’s capital for a ceremony kicking off festivities across the impoverished nation of 1.3 million people.

Commemorative banners and posters filled the streets of the capital, Dili, where thousands gathered for the celebration that included speeches, musical performances and fireworks.

Dili residents recalled the harrowing moments during the country's darkest days when Indonesia's military responded to the 1999 referendum results with a scorched-earth campaign before departing.

“It was a traumatic experience that haunts me to this day,” said Gabriel Araujo, a food vendor who was 12 years old at the time, “I'm always happy every time I celebrate our freedom together with others.”

On the second day of his official visit to Asia’s newest country, Guterres met with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, paying an emotional tribute to the former guerilla leader.

Gusmão was imprisoned for six years in Indonesia and only released when the occupation ended in 1999, becoming the first president of the newly-independent nation between 2002 and 2007. He returned to power as prime minister in 2023 after his party won the parliamentary election last May.

“I guarantee that the U.N. will remain with the Timorese people who are now struggling for the country’s development,” Guterres told the crowd in his speech during Friday's celebration.

Guterres on Friday also visited the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum in Dili, where he saw himself featured on some of the displayed archives as former prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, during which time he was heavily involved in the international effort to resolve the crisis in East Timor.

“Prepare yourselves to work and serve this country for the benefit of the people,” Gusmão said in a speech during the ceremony, which was also attended by Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense, Richard Marles, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Hamidi and other dignitaries from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.

East Timor’s transition to a democracy has been rocky, with leaders battling massive poverty, unemployment and corruption as the country continues to struggle with the legacy of its bloody independence battle and bitter factional politics that have occasionally erupted into violence. Its economy is reliant on dwindling offshore oil revenues.