"Athletes come to the Olympic Games respecting the same rules, all being equal, without any discrimination. Sport contributes to peace by unifying people."

Twenty years ago, at the Sydney 2000 Games, the flag proved a symbol of hope for four athletes from East Timor who were allowed to take part under the Olympic banner as Individual Olympic Athletes.

At a spectacular Opening Ceremony, they made their entry immediately before host nation Australia. The four members of the team literally danced their way around the track.

A year earlier, their participation in the Olympics would have been unthinkable.

East Timor {now known officially as Timor Leste} had been a long time Portuguese colony but when the Europeans moved out in the seventies, the land had been seized by the forces of Indonesian President Suharto.

It had been a time of hardship for the indigenous population.

In 1999 there had been a referendum in the territory. The population voted for independence after almost 25 years of occupation. Tragically the vote was only the prelude to more violence. Many died in attacks by pro Jakarta militia groups. Thousands of others fled in terror including many sportsmen and women.

Australian forces joined the peacekeeping effort and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan made a visit to the capital Dili.

He wrote to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

"The people of East Timor have suffered immense hardship over the years - for the East Timorese to participate in the millennium Olympics, in however small a way, would serve as an immense boost to their morale."

Technically it was not possible for them to do so under the terms of the Olympic Charter. They did not have a National Olympic Committee, a precondition of participation, but behind the scenes, attempts were made to open the pathway for independent participants.

It was an idea which the IOC leadership had briefly examined in 1980, as a means of enabling athletes from boycotting countries to take part in the Moscow Games.

At the height of the Balkan conflict in 1992, Serbian, Montenegrin and Macedonian athletes were allowed to compete as Individual Olympic Participants (IOP) at the Barcelona Games.

In May 2000, the Association of National Olympic Committees gathered for their Congress in Rio de Janeiro.

At the same time, the IOC Executive Board meeting was also held in the city.

At the conclusion of their discussions, it was announced that: "Upon invitation by the IOC Executive Board, certain athletes from East Timor may take part in the Games of the XXVII Olympiad as individuals - the abbreviation for Individual Olympic Athletes shall be the IOA."

The invitation carried certain conditions: "In accordance with Rule 9.1 of the Olympic Charter, the athletes shall refrain from any form of political activity."

Each athlete was required to sign an undertaking to comply with this regulation.

Timorese Independence leader Jose Ramos-Horta spoke of a "tremendous joy and psychological boost. Finally we are walking with the community of nations," he said.

By June, the IOC had sent a group led by vice-president Kevan Gosper to East Timor.

Back in the sixties, Gosper had coached athletes in Papua New Guinea to the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth.

Gosper told reporters he was hoping to "identify individuals who might have the capacity to compete in the Sydney 2000 Games."

He discovered that marathon runner Aguida Amaral was training barefoot because she had lost her athletic shoes during the militia raids.

Gosper traced the outline of her feet on a piece of paper. New shoes were soon on their way.

This was part of an IOC initiative to provide "provisions and assistance to assist any identified athletes to compete in Sydney and to develop sport at the grass-roots level here."

Equipment was sent through the Olympic Solidarity programme and Olympic aid.

At the Robertson Barracks in Darwin, Corporal Soloman Holmes was chosen as a Torchbearer on behalf of all Australian soldiers who had taken part in the peace keeping force in East Timor.

Across the city, ten promising Timorese athletes were chosen to train at the Institute of Sport and from these, four were eventually selected for the Games.

In September, they arrived in Sydney to find themselves in the media spotlight.

IOC President Samaranch spoke of his satisfaction that a quartet from East Timor "will be present to experience the Olympic competition and spirit."

The respected Olympic journalist Phil Hersh, writing for the Chicago Tribune, wrote that "the presence of East Timor is one of those Olympic moments that defies even the cynicism provoked by the recent corruption scandal involving members of the IOC."

Kofi Annan sent a good luck message to boxer Victor Ramos, chosen as flag bearer.

"I share in the pride the people of East Timor and your colleagues from the United Nations have in you.

"The congruence of East Timor, the United Nations and the Olympics in your person underscores the potential for peace in the world."

The letter was handed over at the Olympic Village by UN representative Iqbal Riza.

Ramos, speaking through an interpreter, insisted: "We are proud and happy to be here in Australia and thankful for the people who allowed us to come here and participate."

He had received death threats in the preceding months as a result of his support for the independence movement.

"They were terrible times and we can never forget them, but we can start to make a normal life and coming to the Olympics was the start of it," he said.

The four had been careful not to make any politically sensitive statements during their time in Sydney.

As many back home watched on television sets in school rooms and church halls, Ramos was stopped in the second round of his opening lightweight contest by Ghana’s 1998 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Ray Narh.

"I'm very upset that the fight was stopped in the second round," Ramos said through an interpreter.

"I expected the Ghanaian to be strong. I feel well, but I'm not happy that the fight finished in the second round.

"I was very disappointed by the decision to stop the fight. Of course I wanted to go on.

"In the first round I took a lot of punishment but I was beginning to adjust to the speed of the fight. I planned to take the fight to him in the next three rounds.

"I lost the fight but I represented my people at the Olympics and I think they are like me. They carry their flag and their nation in their hearts."

It was later reported that his boxing gloves were auctioned to raise funds for "Olympic Aid", now known as "Right to Play."

Four time Olympic speed skating gold medallist Johann Olav Koss, had spearheaded the aid initiative and was present to greet the Timorese athletes in Sydney.

"Four are participating and they are going to be fantastic role models for all the young boys and girls in East Timor," said Koss.

During the fighting, weightlifter Martinho de Araujo had seen his house burned down and his weights had been destroyed.

He built improvised weights from paint cans filled with concrete and hung from a steel bar.

He admitted: "I never really knew what weight I was lifting, only that it was heavy."

In Sydney he took part in the 56 kilo class and finished 20th.

In the women’s marathon, Amaral finished in 43rd position.

"I was so happy and excited when I entered the stadium. I kept running and then reached the finish line and fell right away, but one of my colleagues nearby shouted to me and told me to get up because I had another lap to go."

Amaral returned to compete again at Athens 2004 under her country’s new flag.

On the final evening, the men’s marathon brought the Games to a close.

"I am not sure whether I will be able to perform well but at least I know I will try to finish the race," said Calisto de Costa, at 22, the youngest of the Timorese athletes.

He achieved his aim in 71st position, ahead of ten runners who included 2004 bronze medallist Vanderlei de Lima.

The four returned home without medals but as Olympians. Dr Frank Fowlie, the Canadian who had acted as team coordinator insisted "they will go home the richest athletes in what they gained and accomplished."