Timor-Leste: Land of the sleeping crocodile awakens to Asean’s promise

[SINGAPORE] Folklore tells of a boy who saved a stranded crocodile. In return, the creature carried him towards the rising sun, fulfilling his dream of seeing the world. It later promised the boy a forever home, transforming into an island named Timor.

History tells a bleaker origin story.

Fierce contestation between colonial powers in the 17th century split the isle into two: A western half ruled by the Dutch before becoming part of Indonesia; and the eastern half controlled by the Portuguese, until their sudden exit left a vacuum swiftly filled by Indonesia’s annexation. After a brutal quarter-century of occupation, the east won independence.