Há vinte anos o Quebec decidiu manter-se no Canadá

Le référendum de 1995 au Québec, tenu le 30 octobre 1995, invitait les Québécois à se prononcer pour une seconde fois, sur la souveraineté au Québec. Le projet fut rejeté par 50,58 % des votants.

Formulée par le parti majoritaire à l'Assemblée nationale, le Parti québécois, la question référendaire de 1995 était :

"Acceptez-vous que le Québec devienne souverain, après avoir offert formellement au Canada un nouveau partenariat économique et politique, dans le cadre du projet de loi sur l'avenir du Québec et de l'entente signée le 12 juin 1995?"

L'entente du 12 juin 1995 sur la tenue du référendum avait été discutée et acceptée par le Parti québécois, le Bloc québécois et l'Action démocratique du Québec. Le texte de l'entente avait été envoyé aux électeurs par la poste durant la campagne référendaire. La loi référendaire indiquait que les négociations avec le Canada et les autres provinces ne devaient pas durer au-delà du 30 octobre 1996, sauf décision de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec.

À 50,58 % des 4,7 millions de votes exprimés (sur un peu plus de 5 millions d'électeurs, soit 93,5 % des électeurs, un taux de participation record au Québec), le résultat a été «non». L'écart entre le «oui» et le «non» a été de 54.288 voix.

Résultats par circonscription provinciale - le rouge indique le vote pour le Non, le bleu indique le vote pour le Oui, les couleurs plus foncées indiquent les pourcentages

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Timor-Leste decidiu, há 15 anos, que queria ser independente

Invasão

Em 7 de Dezembro de 1975 Timor-Leste foi invadido pela Indonésia que a ocupou durante os 24 anos seguintes. Timor mergulhou na violência fratricida e o governador Mário Lemos Pires, destituído de orientações precisas de Lisboa e sem forças militares suficientes para reimpor a autoridade portuguesa, abandonou a capital e refugiou-se na ilha de Ataúro, que fica de frente para a cidade de Díli (atual capital de Timor-Leste).

A Indonésia justificou a invasão alegando a defesa contra o comunismo, discurso que lhe garantiu apoio do governo dos Estados Unidos e da Austrália, entre outros, mas que não impediu a sua condenação pela comunidade internacional.

A invasão indonésia seguiu-se uma das maiores tragédias do pós II Guerra Mundial. A Indonésia recorreu a todos os meios para dominar a resistência: calculam-se em duzentas mil as vítimas de combates e chacinas; as forças policiais e militares usavam de forma sistemática e sem controlo meios brutais de tortura, a população rural, nas áreas de mais acesa disputa com a guerrilha, era encerrada em "aldeias de recolonização", procedeu-se à esterilização forçada de mulheres timorenses.

Simultaneamente, a fim de dar ao facto consumado da ocupação um carácter irreversível, desenvolveu-se uma política de descaracterização do território, quer no plano cultural (proibição do ensino do português e a islamização), quer no plano demográfico (javanização), quer ainda no plano político (integração de Timor na Indonésia como sua 27ª província). A esta descaracterização há que acrescentar a exploração das riquezas naturais através de um acordo com a Austrália para a exploração do petróleo no Mar de Timor.

Independência

No terreno, a guerrilha não se rendeu, embora com escassos recursos materiais, humanos e financeiros e apesar de ter sofrido pesados desaires, como a deserção de dirigentes e a perda de outros, pela morte em combate de Nicolau Lobato ou por detenção de Xanana Gusmão. Embora reduzida a umas escassas centenas de homens mal armados e isolados do mundo, conseguiu, nos tempos mais recentes, alargar a sua luta ao meio urbano com manifestações de massas e manter no exterior uma permanente luta diplomática, para o que contou, em muitas circunstâncias, com a compreensão e o apoio da Igreja Católica local, liderada por D. Carlos Ximenes Belo, bispo de Díli.

Para atingir a almejada independência, Timor-Leste contou antes do mais com as suas próprias forças e capacidade de resistência, mas também com apoios externos de ativistas em todo o mundo, bem como da diplomacia de países amigos, em particular os de língua portuguesa. Em Portugal, nomeadamente, além da ação do governo, muitos núcleos de ativistas pró-Timor foram formados, culminando em 1999 com um buzinão permanente em frente à embaixada dos Estados Unidos, e um cordão humano gigante cercando as embaixadas de potências influentes.

Em 30 de agosto de 1999, os timorenses votaram por esmagadora maioria pela independência, pondo fim a 24 anos de ocupação indonésia, na sequência de um referendo promovido pelas Nações Unidas. O resultado do referendo gerou confrontos por parte de grupos pró-Indonésia. O conflito, que destruiu boa parte da infraestrutura do país e matou cerca de duzentas mil pessoas (1/4 da população), só foi resolvido com a mobilização da Missão das Nações Unidas de Apoio no Timor-Leste (UNMISET). Em 20 de maio de 2002 a independência de Timor-Leste foi restaurada e as Nações Unidas entregaram o poder ao primeiro Governo Constitucional de Timor-Leste.

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Há 14 anos os habitantes de Timor-Leste mostraram, democraticamente, que queriam ser independentes

(imagem daqui)

Em 1999, o governo indonésio decidiu, sob forte pressão internacional, realizar um referendo sobre o futuro de Timor-Leste. Portugal, que desde a invasão do território lutava pela sua independência, obteve alguns aliados políticos, em primeiro lugar na UE, e depois de vários países do mundo, para pressionar a Indonésia. O referendo, realizado a 30 de agosto de 1999, deu uma clara maioria (78,5%) a favor da independência, rejeitando a proposta alternativa de Timor-Leste ser uma província autónoma no seio da Indonésia, conhecida como a Região Autónoma Especial de Timor-Leste (RAETL).

Imediatamente após a publicitação dos resultados da votação, forças paramilitares pró-indonésias de Timor-Leste, apoiadas, financiadas e armadas pelos militares e soldados indonésios, realizaram uma campanha de violência e terrorismo de retaliação pelo resultado. Cerca de 1.400 timorenses foram mortos e 300 000 timorenses foram forçados a deslocar-se para Timor Ocidental, a parte indonésia da ilha de Timor, como refugiados. A maioria das infra-estruturas do país, incluindo casas, escolas, igrejas, bancos, sistemas de irrigação, sistemas de abastecimento de água e quase 100% da rede elétrica do país foram destruídos. Segundo Noam Chomsky: "Em um mês, a grande operação militar assassinou cerca de 2.000 pessoas, violou centenas de mulheres e meninas, deslocou três quartos da população e destruiu 75 por cento das infra-estruturas do país."

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Há 13 anos Timor-Leste decidiu o seu futuro

An independence referendum was held in East Timor on 30 August 1999. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 27 January 1999, for the United Nations to hold a referendum, whereby the Indonesian province will be given choice of greater autonomy within Indonesia or independence.

Background

In the preceding months, President Habibie had made various public statements whereby he mentioned that the costs of maintaining monetary subsidies to support the province were not balanced by any measurable benefit to Indonesia. Due to this unfavourable cost-benefit analysis, the most rational decision would be for the province, which was not part of original 1945 boundaries of Indonesia, to be given democratic choice on whether they want to remain within Indonesia or not. This choice was also in line with Habibie's general democratisation program in the immediate post-Suharto period.

As the follow-up step to Habibie's request, the United Nations organised meeting between Indonesian government and the Portuguese government (as the previous colonial authority over East Timor). On 5 May 1999, these talks resulted in the “Agreement between the Republic of Indonesia and the Portuguese Republic on the Question of East Timor” which spell-out the details of the requested referendum. The referendum was to be held to determine whether East Timor would remain part of Indonesia, as a Special Autonomous Region, or separate from Indonesia. The referendum was organized and monitored by the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) and 450,000 people were registered to vote including 13,000 outside East Timor.

Special Autonomy Proposal

The agreement between the Indonesian and Portuguese governments included a “Constitutional Framework for a special autonomy for East Timor” as an annex. The framework would establish a "Special Autonomous Region of East Timor" (SARET) within the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia.

The institutions of the SARET would include an executive branch consisting of a Governor (elected by the SARET legislature) and an Advisory Board, a legislative branch, the Regional Council of People's Representatives, an independent judiciary including Courts of First Instance, a Court of Appeal, a Court of Final Appeal and a Public Prosecutor's Office, and a regional police force.

The Indonesian government would retained control of defence, employment law, economic and fiscal policies and foreign relations, whilst Indonesian laws would have continuity in the territory. The autonomous government would have had competence over all matters not reserved for the Government of Indonesia, including the right to adopt a Coat of Arms as a symbol of identity. It would be able to designate persons as having "East Timorese Identity" and could limit rights of land ownership for persons without this identity. A traditional civil code could also have been adopted. The SARET could enter into agreements with city and regional governments for economic, cultural and educational purposes. The SARET would have been entitled to participate in cultural and sporting organisations where other non-state entities participate.

Results
Voters were presented with the questions:

1. Do you accept the proposed special autonomy for East Timor within the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia?
2. Do you reject the proposed special autonomy for East Timor, leading to East Timor's separation from Indonesia?

Choice	Votes	%
Accept	94,388	21.50
Reject	344,580	78.50
Invalid/blank votes		–
Total	438,968	100
Registered voters/turnout	451,792	98.60

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Há vinte anos os sul-africanos brancos decidiram acabar com o apartheid

South African Apartheid Referendum (17 March 1992)
Do you support continuation of the reform process which the State President began on February 2, 1990, and which is aimed at a new constitution through negotiation?

Election results
Yes or no	Votes	Percentage
Yes	1,924,186	68.73%
No	875,619	31.27%
Valid votes	2,799,805	99.82%
Invalid or blank votes	5,142	0.18%
Total votes	2,804,947	100.00%
Voter turnout	85.08%
Electorate	3,296,800

The 1992 referendum was held in South Africa on 17 March of that year. In it, white South Africans were asked to vote in the country's last whites-only referendum to determine whether or not they supported the negotiated reforms begun by State President F.W. de Klerk two years earlier, in which he proposed to end the apartheid that had been started in 1948. The result of the election was a large victory for the "yes" side, which ultimately resulted in apartheid being lifted.

Background

On February 2, 1990, in his opening address to parliament, State President F.W. de Klerk announced that the ban on different political parties such as the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party would be lifted and that Nelson Mandela would be released after 27 years in prison. F.W. de Klerk announced that capital punishment would be suspended and that the state of emergency would be lifted. The State President said in his speech to parliament that "the time to negotiate has arrived".

Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990 from Victor Verster Prison in Paarl near Cape Town. On March 21, 1990, South West Africa became independent under the name of Namibia. In May the government began talks with the ANC. In June the state of emergency was lifted and the ANC had agreed to a ceasefire. In 1991, the Acts which restricted land ownership, specified separate living areas and classified people by race were abolished.

Before the referendum

Prior to the referendum, the governing National Party had lost three by-elections since announcing negotiations to end apartheid two years earlier, and its position was opposed by the Conservative Party which opposed the negotiations and boycotted the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA). On 24 January 1992, President F.W. de Klerk opened parliament and suggested that a referendum would be held, in which the vote of each race group would be counted separately. When the National Party was defeated in the Potchefstroom by-election on 19 February, after calling it a test vote, its credibility was placed in doubt.

In the meantime, negotiations between the government and the African National Congress were making slow progress. Violence was increasing in the South African townships, different right wing groups were becoming more prominent, and there was growing dissatisfaction within the white community. Conditions and the mood in the black townships was worsening as well. The government was thus under domestic and international pressure to make progress in the negotiations.

While the Conservative Party claimed that the government did not have the mandate to negotiate with the ANC after its defeat in Potchefstroom, State President F.W. de Klerk announced 20 February, that a national referendum for the white electorate would be held to test the government's — and his own — support: if the referendum's outcome had been negative, de Klerk would have resigned and general elections held.

The campaign

The National Party and Democratic Party campaigned for a "Yes" vote, while the conservative right wing led by the Conservative Party campaigned for a "No" vote. Much of de Klerk's efforts in 1992 were directed toward appeasing and weakening his right-wing opponents, the conservative defenders of apartheid who had broken away from the National Party during the 1980s. De Klerk attempted to show white South Africans that the government was not giving up power to the ANC, but negotiating on the basis of "power sharing". It warned the white voters that a "No" vote would mean continuation of international sanctions, the danger of civil war and worsening chaos in South Africa.

The National Party "Yes" vote campaign was of a kind that had never before been seen in South Africa. The National Party held large political gatherings through the country and published advertisements in many national newspapers and bought commercial time in television. It produced massive election "Yes" posters with the message "Yes! Ja! SA" and a poster showing a picture of an AWB member with a gun and with the text "You can stop this man! Vote YES".

The Democratic Party had more traditional posters with the message "Ja vir vrede (Yes for peace)".

The "No" campaign, led by Dr Andries Treurnicht, played on racial prejudices and warned of "black majority rule" and "ANC communist rule". The Conservative Party also advocated white self-determination and argued that white South Africans had the right to rule themselves. During the campaign, the "No" side also started to advocate an independent homeland, or volkstaat, for the white minority.

When de Klerk initially announced the referendum, many were critical of the fact that only whites had the right to vote in the referendum.

Result

The question asked was "Do you support continuation of the reform process which the State President began on February 2, 1990, and which is aimed at a new constitution through negotiation?"

The results, on a turnout of 85.1%, were:

Result	Number of votes	Percentage
Yes	1,924,186	68.73%
No	875,619	31.27%

Total number of votes: 2,804,947 out of 3,296,800

In Cape Town and Durban over 85% voted "yes" and in Pretoria over 57% voted "yes". Only Pietersburg in the Northern Transvaal, a rural right wing stronghold, voted "no" with 57%. Even in the conservative stronghold, where five out of the seven parliamentary seats were held by "No" campaigners, Kroonstad, the "yes" side won with 52%. Next day, President de Klerk said "Today we have closed the book on apartheid" as he celebrated his 56th birthday. Nelson Mandela said that he was "very happy indeed".

Aftermath

The day after the referendum, the Cape Times news bill was dominated by the large text "YES, IT'S YES!".

The alliance between the Conservative Party and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging may have harmed the CP and in some cases even scared away voters to the "Yes" side. Some conservative and militant defenders of apartheid boycotted the referendum, although turnout was at record levels, reaching above 96% in some areas.

De Klerk and his government could now claim that the whites were in favour of universal suffrage and that they had a clear mandate to negotiate with the African National Congress. The ANC had disliked the referendum, mainly because whites were the only one allowed to vote. But the ANC realised that a "No" vote would not only risk the negotiations but also increase the political chaos in the country, and had no real reason to advocate that the whites oppose the negotiations. The ANC therefore advocated a "Yes" vote.

The right wing criticized the referendum and accused the government of electoral fraud. They had lost where they had been the strongest, in the Afrikaner heartland and in the big cities. Dr. Treurnicht claimed that media propaganda, foreign intervention, threats by businesspeople against employees and electoral fraud had resulted in a "Yes" vote. No evidence has yet been put forward regarding electoral irregularities. However a cursory examination of the SABC TV output at the time revealed a heavy bias in favour of a YES vote. Almost all newspapers were hostile to a NO vote.

On the 27 April 1994, South Africa held its first multi-racial elections, that resulted in a huge victory for the African National Congress and made Nelson Mandela the first black President of South Africa.

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O referendo que ditou a independência de Timor-Leste foi há 12 anos

Timor-Leste (oficialmente República Democrática de Timor-Leste) é um dos países mais jovens do mundo, e ocupa a parte oriental da ilha de Timor no Sudeste Asiático, além do exclave de Oecusse, na costa norte da parte ocidental de Timor, da ilha de Ataúro, a norte, e do ilhéu de Jaco ao largo da ponta leste da ilha. As únicas fronteiras terrestres que o país tem ligam-no à Indonésia, a oeste da porção principal do território, e a leste, sul e oeste de Oecusse, mas tem também fronteira marítima com a Austrália, no Mar de Timor, a sul. A sua capital é Díli, situada na costa norte.

Conhecido no passado como Timor Português, foi uma colónia portuguesa até 1975, altura em que se tornou independente, tendo sido invadido pela Indonésia três dias depois. Permaneceu considerado oficialmente pelas Nações Unidas como território português por descolonizar até 1999. Foi, porém, considerado pela Indonésia como a sua 27.ª província com o nome de "Timor Timur". Em 30 de Agosto de 1999, cerca de 80% do povo timorense optou pela independência em referendo organizado pela Organização das Nações Unidas.

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O referendo que deu a independência a Timor-Leste foi há onze anos

 (imagem daqui)

Timor-Leste (oficialmente República Democrática de Timor-Leste) é um dos países mais jovens do mundo, e ocupa a parte oriental da ilha de Timor na Ásia, além do exclave de Oecussi, na costa norte da banda ocidental de Timor, da ilha de Ataúro, a norte, e do ilhéu de Jaco ao largo da ponta leste da ilha. As únicas fronteiras terrestres que o país tem ligam-no à Indonésia, a oeste da porção principal do território, e a leste, sul e oeste de Oecusse, mas tem também fronteira marítima com a Austrália, no Mar de Timor, a sul. Sua capital é Díli, situada na costa norte.

Conhecido no passado como Timor Português, foi uma colónia portuguesa até 1975, altura em que se tornou independente, tendo sido invadido pela Indonésia três dias depois. Permaneceu considerado oficialmente pelas Nações Unidas como território português por descolonizar até 1999. Foi, porém, considerado pela Indonésia como a sua 27.ª província com o nome de "Timor Timur".

Em 30 de Agosto de 1999, cerca de 80% do povo timorense optou pela independência em referendo organizado pela Organização das Nações Unidas.

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Democracia, Monarquia e República

No ano em que a Republica faz 100 anos, uma notícia interessante, até porque aqui no blogue há bastantes monárquicos:

PPM promove recolha de assinaturas online para referendo à República