The 29 protesters, who scaled the embassy fence on Nov. 12 to coincide with a conference of Asia-Pacific leaders to dramatize their demand for independence for East Timor, had earlier refused to leave the embassy and had rejected the asylum offer. It was not clear what prompted the new decision.
Portugal ruled East Timor for nearly four centuries before Indonesia intervened in a civil war there in 1975 and annexed the territory in 1976.
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