Timorese bloggers have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum which led to the territory's formal independence. Alf@ Montenegro wrote [Tet]

Ohin loron , loron ALEGRIA nian ba timor oan hotu. iha loron ida ne'e ita sei hanoin fila fali tinan sanulu liuba (30 de Agosto de 1999) nebe ita hotu decidi atu liberta ita nia nação husi ocupação indonésio. ALEGRIA nebe ita hetan iha tinan 10 liu ba ne ALEGRIA ida BOOT tebes ba ita timor oan hotu(mas iha 21,5%triste). Ita hotu expressa ita nia alegria ida ne liu husi haklalak, hakilar, hananu e tanis. Mesmo too agora ALEGRIA ida ne ita sei sente nafatin maibe, durante tinan 10 nia laran ne susar no terus sedauk sés husi ita (caso boot liu mak iha tinan 2006). Ema barak (balun husi rai leur) hare ba caso 2006 ho 2008 (11 de fevereiro) dehan katak “ESTADO FALHADO” maibe sira nia teoria ida ne sala boot.

photo by Rusty Stewart

Aquarius Vinte Três wrote that for him things started the moment Indonesian President B. J. Habibie suggested the popular referendum [Tet]

Lia fuan ” MATE ka MORIS DUNI BAPA SAI” mosu ho Espontánia iha tinan 1999 baihira Prezidente Indonésia B.J.Habibie hasai opsaun rua maka hanesan: Simu autonomia no Rejeita Autonomia (dua opsi:Menerima Otonomi dan menolak otonomi) iha loron 27 Janeiru 1999. Durante manifestasaun pro-independénsia ruma iha Dili laran, joven sira uza liafuan ida-ne’e ” MATE ka MORIS DUNI BAPA SAI”, hodi hamánas liutan ita-nia espíritu nasionalizmu to'o didi'ak ‘Konsulta Popular’ iha fulan agostu '99.

photo by Rusty Stewart

Others used the opportunity to lament the lack of unity and vision of Timorese people, like Abel Pires da Silva, who wrote on the RENETIL blog [Tet]

Fulan Agostu iha tinan 10 liu ba, povu Timor maioria fiar metin katak Timor-Leste ukun rasik an sei diak liu fali Timor Leste ne’ebé hamutuk ho Indonezia. Iha tempu rezisténsia, ita iha inimigu KOMUN, ne’ebé halo ita hamutuk kumu liman kontra inimigu ne’e. Iha tempu ukun rasik an, ita lakon inimigu komun ne’ebé halo ita hamutuk nu’udar forsa nasaun. Hanesan konsekuensia husi situasaun ne’e, entidade barak iha nasaun Timor-Leste ida-idak hakarak buka atu hetan sira nia interese rasik. Grupu barak mak komesa reklama sira nia “kontribuisaun” no ezizi estadu atu “tau matan”. Moras ezizi estadu atu “tau matan” ne’e mos kontinua akontese

On a lighter note, the band Outravez, made up of Timorese students based in Indonesia, proudly announced the release of their new album, with a song dedicated to the referendum day [Tet], and shared they would play at today's concert in front of the government palace in Dili.

The best window into the concert and the mood in front of the Palace today was from the tweet of the CJITL – Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor Leste (Investigative Journalist Center of Timor Leste). The main attraction was clearly Indonesian pop star Krisdayanti. Quoting a selection of Twitter posts from Gil @CJITL:

9:11 AM Aug 30th: populasaun kuaze nain rihun sanulu halibur an ohin kalan iha palacio governu, iha konsertu bo'ot n'e

9:16 AM Aug 30th: Bonoite dili, ida ne'e mak liafuan primeiru husi krisdayanti nia ibun bainhira kanta muzika Rai dili rai cidade

9:54 AM Aug 30th: tuir mai distritu 13 sei hato'o nia mensajen ho dialeitu idak idak nian..kris deskanca oitoann

10:06 AM Aug 30th: Ramos Horta hateten”loron ohin ne'e importante tebes, ita tenki halo reflesaun ba sira ne'ebe mate hodi fo liberdade ba ita”

This post is the third of a series to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum in East Timor, which led to the territory's internationally recognized independence. In the first post we highlighted the support of the international community for the freedom of East Timor. In the second, we interviewed Abe Barreto Soares who is one of the organizers of the celebration events for solidarity taking place in East Timor in August and September 2009.