Assembly Picks Date for Full Independence
East Timor’s newly elected assembly asked the United Nations to grant the territory full independence on May 20, 2002.
The 88-member body voted overwhelmingly for the date, which is the anniversary of the formation of the territory’s largest party, Fretilin. Assembly President Francisco Guterres said he hopes the recommendation will be endorsed by the U.N. Security Council this month.
East Timor was occupied by Indonesia in 1975 after almost 400 years of colonization by Portugal. In 1999, it voted overwhelmingly for independence in a U.N.-sponsored referendum.
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