The story
Proclamation of Independence Day Celebrations in Dili/Nationwide
Proclamation of Independence Day, observed nationwide on November 28, commemorates Fretilin's 1975 declaration of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, marked in Dili with a flag-raising ceremony, military parade, and formal reading of the original proclamation text each year, before the Order of Timor-Leste honors are conferred.
On November 28, 1975, the Fretilin party proclaimed the independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, installing Francisco Xavier do Amaral as President and Nicolau Lobato as Prime Minister, an act of self-determination that came after Portugal's abrupt withdrawal from its colonial administration earlier that year left a power vacuum and a brief internal civil conflict between rival Timorese factions.