Timor is the Malay word for "Orient"; the island of Timor lies in the Malay Archipelago and is one of 13,000 islands that comprise the country of Indonesia
Timor is the largest of the Lesser Sunda Islands and is 450 km (280 miles) long and 105 km (65 miles) wide. The western portion of the island is part of Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara Province but the eastern portion of the island, East Timor (Dili is the capital), has been the source of international strife for decades.
East Timor is located in the eastern part of Timor, the island lies between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. After Indonesia, East Timor's closest neighbor is Australia, 400 miles to the south.
The Portuguese colony of Timor declared itself independent from Portugal on 28 November 1975 just nine days later Timor was invaded and occupied by the Indonesian forces, over the next two decades the Indonesian occupation of East Timor led to widespread repression and the deaths of an estimated 200,000 Timorese, earning Indonesia a global reputation for human rights abuses.