The role played by the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) in East Timor's efforts to achieve independenceIntroductionTimor Leste (also called East Timor in Portuguese) is a Southeast Asian country. It was a Portuguese colony from the 16th century until Portugal's decolonization in 1975. In 1976, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia which sought to expand its territory. This led to the development of a long guerrilla war between the East Timorese who wanted their independence and the Indonesian troops who repressed the East Timorese's attempts at independence. This struggle for independence lasted from 1976 to 1999. This led to the death of a third of East Timor's population from conflict-related causes. After the fall of Indonesian President Suharto, the UN approved an agreement between Indonesia and East Timor. Indonesia agreed, albeit reluctantly, to hold a referendum in East Timor on independence or integration into Indonesia . This referendum was held in August 1999 and was supervised by the United Nations. The votes in favor of independence were in the majority. However, the referendum was followed by a violent reaction from the pro-integrationist population of East Timor, supported by Indonesian elements. The international community was deeply shocked by the violence following the referendum and there was a change in the international climate in terms of humanitarian intervention following NATO's intervention in Kosovo, the failure of the United Nations to act in Rwanda, as well as the inertia of the international community in Bosnia. Changing international climate has led to decisive action for East Timor. Under Australia's aegis, Indonesia reluctantly agreed to international contribution to the Asia-Pacific security architecture, Pacific Review: St Antony's College, Oxford, 2003.2. Taylor, John G. East Timor: The Price of Freedom (Zed Books) 19993. Vincent, R.J. Nonintervention and International Order. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1974. Online sources1. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Country/Economic Fact Sheet on East Timor, Canberra, (website). www.dfat.gov.au.2. Kofi Annan, 'Two concepts of sovereignty', The Economist, 18 September 1999, pp81-2 on p. 82.3. “Operation Astute, Timor-Leste”, Department of Defence, Canberra, (website) www.defence.gov.au.4. Security Council authorizes multinational forces in East Timor http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/1999/19990915.sc6727.doc.html.5. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1272 S-RES-1272(1999) in 1999 (retrieved 2008-04-12)