At midnight on May 19, and during the first moments of Independence Day, 20 May 2002, the United Nations Flag was lowered and the flag of an independent East Timor was raised.

Flag on a boat off Dili

As per the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, the yellow (PMS 123) triangle represents "the traces of colonialism in East Timor's history". The black triangle represents "the obscurantism that needs to be overcome"; the red (PMS 485) base of the flag represents "the struggle for national liberation"; the star, or "the light that guides", is white to represent peace.