Liquiçá (district)

Infobox East Timor District
name = Liquiçá
tetum = Likisá
capital = Liquiçá
area = 543
arearank = 12th
population = 54,834
population_as_of = 2004
populationrank = 8th
density = 101.0
densityrank = 3rd
households = 11,063
households_as_of = 2004
householdsrank = 10th
isocode = TL-LI
subdistricts = Bazartete, Liquiçá, Maubara
map

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Liquiçá (Tetum: Likisá) is one of the districts of East Timor. Its capital is also called Liquiçá.

Liquiçá District is situated on the northern coast of East Timor, and borders the distrticts of Dili (containing the national capital) to the east, Aileu to the Southeast, Ermera to the south, and Bobonaro to the southwest. To the northwest lies the Savu Sea. The district has a population of 55,058 (Census 2004) and an area of 543 square kilometers. The district is identical to the district of the same name in Portuguese Timor. Its subdistricts are Bazartete, Liquiçá and Maubara.

Widely known as a beautiful location, it has a breath-taking view of the Ombai Strait, which is most visible as you drive into Liquiçá from Dili, rounding the last mountain curve before descending into the valley. The beaches are rocky, as are most beaches on East Timor, but nonetheless beautiful. The river that flows down to the sea from the mountains is dry, except during the monsoon season. During this time, the main road washes out several times, and is repaired each time by the local population. The only downside to its beauty is the large population of mosquitoes which carry both the deadly diseases malaria and dengue fever.

In addition to the national official languages of Tetum and Portuguese, nearly all of the inhabitants of Liquiçá speak the Malayo-Polynesian language Tocodede.

Buildings

During the Portuguese occupation, there were very few buildings other than the traditional huts used by local East Timorese. Most of the buildings were constructed during the Indonesian occupation, but most of them were destroyed during the militia riots and violent onslaughts following and leading up to the referendum in 1999. Some of the buildings that still remain intact are the Portuguese buildings. Many of the Indonesian buildings were repairable. The construction and design is a traditional Indonesian style, which is both out dated, yet artistic and creative.

History

Stories still linger of a Japanese Army Colonel shot and killed from a distance by an Australian SAS sniper during the second World War, in front of hundreds of East Timorese witnesses. No one is sure of the date, nor is anyone exactly positive that it is folklore, legend, or if it really happened. But it sets the tone for the Liquiçá experience.

Liquiçá has a history steeped in beauty, with an overcast of sorrow and pain.

During the beginning of the Portuguese occupation, the Maubara subdistrict, part of the Liquiçá territory, was taken by the Netherlands. The Maubara Dutch fortification near the beach is well-preserved and still has the original cannon that once overlooked the bay. Later, Portugal negotiated with Holland and exchanged it for Flores Island, which was occupied by the Portuguese at that time. Maubara is also the location where the dreaded militia group Besi Merah Putih was first formed. [http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/timor/death_squads5.htm]

During the Indonesian occupation, the Indonesian government did construct many buildings in Liquiçá, but after the referendum of 1999 and during the militia`s campaign almost everything was destroyed. Most notably, many East Timorese were murdered during the Liquiçá Church Massacre of April 1999. In September 1999 an American police officer serving with the International Police was shot (though not fatally) by pro-Indonesian forces while the UN was evacuating Liquiçá. [http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/timor/death_squads5.htm]

From September through November 1999, life came back to Liquiçá, as UN Peace Keeping Forces from Portugal set up a base in Maubara, and the International Police set up its headquarters in downtown Liquiçá. Originally, there were 14 International Police assigned to Liquiçá, representing Sweden, Canada, Great Britain, Ghana, Malaysia, and the United States. It was in Liquiçá that the first International Police officer for the East Timor mission died, as a result of contracting dengue fever; he was from Ghana. During this period, the International Police occupied the very same church compound location where the Liquiçá Church Massacre had played out. The peacekeeper military element for Liquiçá were Portuguese Marines. Liquica was also the main base of operations for the UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment.

Resources

Liquiçá has beautiful beaches (although no white sands) that are very attractive for tourism. Liquiçá also has coffee plantations and some minerals such as gold.