East Timor's joining of the United Nations yesterday as its 191st member is justifiably a moment of pride for the people of the world's newest nation. It must also be an opportunity for the global community to remember its obligations.
Three years after being freed from the yoke of Indonesian oppression, East Timor is reliant on international donors. A quarter of a century under Indonesian occupation erased the tiny state's infrastructure and livelihood.
Now Asia's poorest nation, its future lies in oil reserves beneath the Timor Sea, but there will be no income from them for perhaps five years. Until then, international support is crucial to ensuring East Timor's survival.
When Indonesian troops invaded after the withdrawal of the colonial master, Portugal, in 1975, the world stood by. A campaign of military oppression that included massacres, rapes and beatings, failed to stir action.
Only with the downfall of dictator Suharto in 1998 were East Timorese permitted to decide their destiny. They chose independence, but Indonesian-backed militias tried to change their will by force.
Only then did the UN act - but not before widespread destruction. A UN experiment followed, with the world body administering and putting in place the mechanisms for self-rule. At midnight on May 19, East Timor attained nationhood.
