World's newest Democracy celebrates independence

DILI, EAST TIMOR - World leaders and thousands of East Timorese headed Sunday to a dusty field outside Dili for nighttime celebrations marking the declaration of their tiny territory&#39;s independence and the creation of the world&#39;s newest nation. <br> <br> At midnight local time, East Timor was to declare its nationhood after three centuries of Portuguese colonial rule, 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation and 2 1/2 years of U.N. administration. <br> <br> Up to 100,000 people were expected at the independence ceremony held in a field outside the provincial capital, Dili. The festivities include live music, an elaborate fireworks display and the raising of East Timor&#39;s flag, a white star on a background of red, yellow and black. <br> <br> The ceremonies began shortly after dusk with a Mass led by Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo. <br> <br> Families sat on the grass and lighted candles, as they listened to a 30-member choir sing songs of worship. <br> <br> ``We are very happy. We are a proud and simple people who deserve peace, who deserve freedom,&#39;&#39; said Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, who along with Belo won the 1996 Nobel peace prize. <br> <br> Security was tight in the capital and on roads leading to the site of the festivities. U.N. military helicopters flew overhead. <br> <br> East Timor voted for independence in a U.N.-sponsored referendum in 1999. Shortly afterward, anti-independence militias supported by the Indonesian army went on a monthlong rampage that destroyed much of the half-island territory and killed hundreds. <br> <br> International peacekeepers intervened to halt the violence and place East Timor under U.N. rule. East Timor has set up a truth and reconciliation commission to reveal past crimes and help people come to terms with them. <br> <br> World leaders arrived throughout the day for the independence celebrations. <br> <br> East Timor&#39;s President-elect Xanana Gusmao met U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan at Dili&#39;s airport, and presented him with a traditional East Timorese scarf. <br> <br> ``In less than 12 hours East Timor will be an independent nation: a moment of pride and liberation,&#39;&#39; Annan said. ``This moment belongs to the people of East Timor who have so richly deserved their freedom.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Annan praised the achievements of the United Nations&#39; mission in East Timor, and said the world body would continue to work with the nation when it becomes independent. <br> <br> ``This is not the end of the road. We are not saying goodbye,&#39;&#39; he said, stressing that a new, smaller mission would replace the outgoing one. <br> <br> Former President Clinton arrived shortly afterward. <br> <br> Clinton said the territory&#39;s coming independence was ``a tribute to the persistence and the resilience of the people of East Timor and their leaders.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is also scheduled to attend. <br> <br> A longtime opponent of East Timorese independence, she nevertheless agreed to attend the ceremony despite strong opposition from some hardline Indonesian lawmakers. <br> <br> In an apparent attempt to deflect that criticism, she will visit the graves of some of the 10,000 Indonesian soldiers who died battling pro-independence guerrillas. The 24-year war claimed the lives of up to 200,000 Timorese, mostly civilians. <br> <br> Indonesia&#39;s 1975 invasion of the territory was carried out with the tacit support of then-President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger - who visited Jakarta on the eve of the attack. Successive U.S. administrations backed Indonesian dictator Suharto in his crackdown against the rebels.

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