The Democratic Republic of Timor Leste is located in the eastern part of the Timor Island with the western
part belonging to the Republic of Indonesia as part of the East Nusa Tengara province. It is bordered by the
Wetar straits to the north and the Timor Sea in the South. From 1511 till 1975 Timor Leste was a colony of
Portugal. This was followed by the Indonesian annexation in which the Timorese continued to fight for
independence through the guerilla resistance movement. It was a period wrought with violence, human
rights abuses and an estimated 200,000 deaths. On 30 August 1999, the East Timorese voted in a historic
referendum for independence.