UN Secretary-General António Guterres told parliamentarians in Timor-Leste on Friday the world has much to learn from their inspirational struggle for self-rule, 25 years to the day since the historic referendum which paved the way for independence in 2002.
In a surprise move, legislators made the UN chief an honorary citizen of their southeast Asian island nation during the celebrations in the capital Dili, prompting the UN chief to declare he was proud to now be part of such a "heroic people".
What was then East Timor's struggle to free itself from colonial rule by Portugal and then from violent occupation by Indonesia in 1976, came to a head in 1999 with a UN-organised referendum on 30 August.
The Indonesian Government formally recognized the overwhelming vote for independence in October of that year, following weeks of deadly clashes and destruction, after which UN peacekeepers oversaw the transition to full self-government - the birth of Timor Leste.
Portuguese and Timorese
"It is with pride that I assume this nationality of a heroic people and I will do everything so that when I complete my duties, the Timorese can be proud of what their citizen could have done", Mr. Guterres told the packed stadium in Dili.
The announcement was made by the president of the National Parliament, Maria Fernanda Lay, the first woman to preside over the legislative house in Timor-Leste during the celebration of the 1999 vote, known locally as the "popular consultation".
Parliamentarians honoured the role Mr. Guterres played as a former Prime Minister of Portugal, in supporting the cause of the Timorese people. He said that at the time he called several world leaders "asking them to use their influence to prevent a massacre in Timor-Leste".
The UN electoral mission, UNAMET, was honored several times during the celebration and received special mention from Mr. Guterres.
"The women and men of UNAMET showed great dedication and professionalism by organizing a large-scale referendum, in a short period of time and despite intimidation and threats. After the Popular Consultation, and when violence was spreading, they once again demonstrated enormous courage and a sense of mission".
Seeds of sovereignty sown
The situation only stabilized in September 1999 with the sending of a multinational peacekeeping force approved by the Security Council, INTERFET. Guterres also recalled the other UN missions that contributed to peace in Timor-Leste.
The UN leader praised the "enormous courage and tireless determination of the Timorese people" and said that "the world has a lot to learn from Timor-Leste".
Parliament leader Maria Fernanda Lay said the vote in the referendum represented the weight of 24 years of resistance to the Indonesian occupation and served to "plant the seeds of a free and sovereign nation".
Referendum: A lesson in courage
The 1999 referendum organised by the UN gave the Timorese an historic opportunity to demonstrate their determination to become self-governing - despite an environment of violence and intimidation.
Before dawn on August 30, thousands of East Timorese left their homes in the dark and walked long distances. They were determined to put into practice an ideal enshrined in Articles 1 and 55 of the UN Charter: the right to self-determination.
The UN's presence was critical to the transition which ended 24 years of Indonesian occupation, which began just days after the small island nation ceased to be a Portuguese colony.
UN flag 'inspired us'
In an exclusive interview with UN News's Felipe de Carvalho in the Timorese capital this week, resistance leader and current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão said that the independence movement had military, political and diplomatic fronts.
"The United Nations flag inspired us in terms of international law, the right of all peoples to self-determination and independence. This was a kind of presence of the United Nations in our fighting spirit."
He described the referendum as "decisive for the country's destiny".
Speaking to UN News, President José Ramos Horta said the war against Indonesian occupation was asymmetrical and "militarily impossible." The occupation resulted in more than 200,000 deaths - a staggering 25 percent of the Timorese population at the time and included the use of weapons supplied by the United States, such as Napalm bombs, previously used to devastating effect in the Viet Nam War, President Horta said.
A diplomatic victory
For the president, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, East Timor's victory was an exercise in good diplomacy and politics, involving on the one hand the preservation of cultural identity and on the other, international pressure.
"Therefore, Timor was a success story, especially because the Security Council found consensus. There was consensus in the Security Council. Total consensus. But there was consensus because Indonesia had already accepted, because if Indonesia had not accepted - and Indonesia was very important for some member countries of the Security Council - there would have been no consensus."
The referendum - referred to locally as the popular consultation - played a key role in intensifying multilateral action for East Timor, as it then was, pressuring Indonesia into relinquishing control.
According to the head of the UN electoral mission established in June 1999, UNAMET, that moment was special, as rarely had the organization had such a clear opportunity to "give people what they were looking for".
Ian Martin said that despite the international presence of journalists and 2,300 election observers, acts of intimidation against the public and attacks on UN offices "never stopped". The violence was mainly caused by pro-Indonesian militias, supported by the armed forces of the occupying power.
