On July 16, 1976, nine days after the Democratic Republic of East Timor was declared an independent nation, Indonesia invaded and annexed it.
Indonesia's invasion was sanctioned by the United States and   more...other western countries//
On May 20, 2002, nationhood was declared.//
April and May 2006, Prime Minister Alkatiri fired some soldiers, who in turn started to fight against the remaining soldiers, leading to chaos.

On June 26 2006, Prime Minister Alkatiri resigned in an effort to stop the country's disintegration.

In July Alkatiri was replaced by José Ramos-Horta, winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize.

President Ramos-Horta survived an assassination attempt in February 2008. He was shot in the back and stomach in a gun battle outside his home between his guards and supporters of renegade general Alfredo Reinado, who was killed in the altercation.

East Timor is often mentioned by Noam Chomsky as the place of one of the most atrocious genocides in recent history.  less