East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum

The East Timor special autonomy referendum was a referendum (officially termed a “popular consultation”) was held throughout East Timor on the 30^th of August 1999. The referendum was the result of the “Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and the Portuguese Republic on the Question of East Timor” and was held to determine whether East Timor would remain part of Indonesia, as a Special Autonomous Region, or separate from Indonesia. [http://www.usip.org/library/pa/et/east_timor_05051999_toc.html] . The referendum was organized and monitored by the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) and 450,000 people were registered to vote including 13,000 outside East Timor.

The question

The two options in the referendum were:

*"Do you accept the proposed special autonomy for East Timor within the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia?" or
*"Do you reject the proposed special autonomy for East Timor, leading to East Timor's separation from Indonesia?" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/05/99/east_timor/429053.stm]

Result and reaction

Of the 451,792 registered voters 94,388 (21)% voted to accept the proposed autonomy and 344,580 (78.5%) voted to reject the proposed autonomy, turnout was estimated to be 95%. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/438145.stm]

The Indonesian government accepted the result on 19 October 1999 by repealing the laws that formally annexed East Timor to Indonesia. The United Nations passed a resolution establishing a transitional administration (UNTAET) in East Timor starting a transition process that would lead to independence in May 2002.

Ballot paper and logos

The Special Autonomy Proposal

The agreement between the Indonesian and Portuguese governments included a “Constitutional Framework for a special autonomy for East Timor” as an annex. The framework would establish a “Special Autonomous Region of East Timor” (SARET) within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia.

Institutions of the SARET

*An executive branch consisting of a Governor (elected by the SARET legislature) and an Advisory Board
*A legislative branch, the Regional Council of People's Representatives
*An independent judiciary including Courts of First Instance, a Court of Appeal, a Court of Final Appeal and a Public Prosecutor's Office.
*A regional Police Force

Division of Powers

Indonesian Government

The following competencies would have been reserved for the Government of Indonesia:
*Foreign Relations
*Defense
*Economic and Fiscal Policies
*Continuity of Indonesian Laws
*Employment laws

ARET

The autonomous government would have had competence over all matters not reserved for the Government of Indonesia. The SARET would have the right to adopt a Coat of Arms as a symbol of identity. It would be able to designate persons as having "East Timorese Identity" and could limit rights of land ownership for persons without this identity. A traditional civil code could also have been adopted. The SARET could enter into agreements with city and regional governments for economic, cultural and educational purposes. The SARET would have been entitled to participate in cultural and sporting organisations where other non-state entities participate.

External links

* [http://www.usip.org/library/pa/et/east_timor_05051999ques.html#Annex Full text of Agreement and Constitutional Framework]
* [http://www.un.org/peace/etimor99/etimor.htm UNAMET public information site]