The United Nations (UN) ended their final peacekeeping mission in East Timor, 13 years after having arrived to help the former Portuguese colony achieve independence, becoming the first new sovereign state of the 21st century, in May 20, 2002.
A final batch of UN troops and logistics staff left the South-East Asian country, officially known as Timor-Leste, last Monday, and Head of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste Finn Reske-Nielsen announced: “Timor-Leste has now reached a stage in its development, politically and developmentally, where it can in fact stand on its own feet”.
Deputy Prime Minister Fernando La Sama de Araujo said: “In the end we have to say goodbye to the UN with high appreciation for what they have been doing in Timor-Leste.”
