east timor genocide

[154] Subsequent events within East Timor in the 1990s helped to dramatically raise the international profile of East Timor, which in turn significantly boosted the momentum of the resistance groups. This task was given to me, and I carried it forward with no inconsiderable success.  China (1999)
According to Cribb, Indonesian policies restricted the birth rate by up to 50% or more. [215][216] The fall of Indonesian President Suharto and a shift in Australian policy by the Howard Government in 1998 helped precipitate a proposal for a referendum on the question of independence for East Timor.

[235] Canada abstained from early General Assembly resolutions about East Timor and opposed three. Stahl claims stabbed Officer Lantara had attacked a girl carrying the flag of East Timor, and Fretilin activist, Carey, p. 51; Jardine, p. 16. [155], During a memorial mass on 12 November 1991 for a pro-independence youth shot by Indonesian troops, demonstrators among the 2,500-strong crowd unfurled the Fretilin flag and banners with pro-independence slogans and chanted boisterously but peacefully. [187] Brought up on the "New Order"'s insistence that the East Timorese supported integration, Indonesians were either shocked by or disbelieved that the East Timorese had voted against being part of Indonesia. Australia and Indonesia were the only nations in the world to recognize Timor-Leste as a province of Indonesia, and soon afterward negotiations began to divide the resources found in the surrounding maritime area known as the Timor Gap. Nations allied with Indonesia—including India, Japan, and Malaysia—wrote a resolution blaming Portugal and the Timorese political parties for the bloodshed; it was rejected in favour of a draft prepared by Algeria, Cuba, Senegal, and Guyana, among others. Reborn from the ashes of his black history, East Timor is now an independent country that has not forgotten (even in East Timor flag we can see references to this dark days) but has forgiven for that has happened to it. [254], Accurate numbers of Indonesian casualties are well-documented.

In the meantime, American pilots are flying OV-10 Bronco aircraft for the Indonesian Air Force in bombing raids against the liberated areas under FRETILIN control. [114], Women in areas under Indonesian control were also coerced into accepting sterilisation procedures, and some were pressured or forced outright to take the contraceptive Depo Provera.

Indonesia, in dire economic straits, relented. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in the eastern part of the island of Timor, a coup d’état in Portugal in 1974 led to decolonization among its ex-colonies, creating instability in the territory and leaving its future uncertain.

The central government and military feared that an East Timor governed by leftists could be used as a base for incursions by unfriendly powers into Indonesia, and also that an independent East Timor within the archipelago could inspire secessionist sentiments within Indonesian provinces. Asia Watch, Human Rights in Indonesia and East Timor, Human Rights Watch, New York, 1989, p. 253. [161][163][164], Sharp condemnation of the military came not just from the international community, but from within parts of the Indonesian elite. [26], By the end of 1976, a stalemate existed between the Falintil and the Indonesian army. [199], The bulk of the military forces of INTERFET were Australian—more than 5,500 troops at its peak, including an infantry brigade, with armoured and aviation support—while eventually, 22 nations contributed to the force which at its height numbered over 11,000 troops. 3–5; Dunn (1996), pp. However, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Portuguese government appeared reluctant to push the issue; American Indonesia specialist, Benedict Anderson suggests this stemmed from uncertainty at the time over its application to the European Community. Budiardjo and Liong (1984), p. 49; CIIR, p. 117. However, CAVR speculated that the total number of deaths due to conflict-related hunger and illness could have been as high as 183,000. [78], Indonesia's use of military force in East Timor is cited as a violation of Chapter I of the United Nations Charter, which states: "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state...." Some observers have argued that East Timor was not a state at the time of the invasion, and is thus not protected by the UN Charter.
[4] The 1991 Santa Cruz Massacre caused outrage around the world, and reports of other such killings were numerous. [31], In an attempt to negotiate a settlement to the dispute over East Timor's future, the Portuguese Decolonization Commission convened a conference in June 1975 in Macau. The Bronco was ideal for the East Timor invasion, as it was specially designed for counter-insurgency operations in steep terrain. The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor estimated the number of deaths during the occupation from famine and violence to be between 90,800 and 202,600, including between 17,600 and 19,600 violent deaths or disappearances, out of a 1999 population of approximately 823,386. The Australian-led International Force for East Timor restored order, and following the departure of Indonesian forces from East Timor, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor administered the territory for two years, establishing a Serious Crimes Unit to investigate and prosecute crimes committed in 1999. [2][3], For twenty-four years, the Indonesian government subjected the people of East Timor to routine and systematic torture, sexual slavery, extrajudicial executions, massacres, and deliberate starvation. [19] The power shift in Europe invigorated movements for independence in colonies like Mozambique and Angola, and the new Portuguese government began a decolonisation process for East Timor. [131] Amnesty International confirmed these reports in 1985, and also expressed concern about several extrajudicial killings for which Fretilin had claimed responsibility. Budiardjo and Liong (1984), pp. [61] It is estimated that at least 2,000 Timorese were massacred in the first two days of the invasion in Dili alone. [121], In 1981 the Indonesian military launched Operasi Keamanan (Operation Security), which some have named the "fence of legs" program. 62–63. This time we are going to hit them without mercy. In an interview on 5 April 1977 with the Sydney Morning Herald, Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik said the number of dead was "50,000 people or perhaps 80,000". International Federation for East Timor Observer Project. [54], From the start of the invasion onward, TNI forces engaged in the wholesale massacre of Timorese civilians. “Animals fight, but do not make war. This was adopted as GA Resolution 3485 (XXX) on 12 December, calling on Indonesia to "withdraw without delay". [118] Another describes being chained at the hands and feet, raped repeatedly, and interrogated for weeks.

[142] Denok, a military-controlled firm, monopolised some of East Timor's most lucrative commercial activities, including sandal wood export, hotels, and the import of consumer products. Fernandes, Clinton (2004) Reluctant Saviour: Australia, Indonesia and East Timor. Libya "[111][112], Sexual slavery was institutionally tolerated and supported by the TNI and women could be summoned for sexual abuse by TNI soldiers. [136], East Timor was a particular focus for the Indonesian government's transmigration program, which aimed to resettle Indonesians from densely to less populated regions. Please do something to stop this invasion. [94] In early 1978, the entire civilian population of Arsaibai village, near the Indonesian border, was killed for supporting Fretilin after being bombarded and starved.

[88] Schwarz suggests the fact that the Indonesian military's power base remained barely dented by the mid-1970s intelligence miscalculations and ongoing failures was a measure of the military's dominance of Indonesian affairs. [189] The UN withdrew most of its personnel, but the Dili compound had been flooded with refugees. The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. Timorese people are always with open arms and very big smiles, waiting for you. James Dunn, a senior Foreign Affairs adviser to the Australian Parliament before and during the occupation, condemned the government's position, saying later: "What had been of vital strategic value in 1941 was, in 1974, irrelevant and dispensable. Often, women were targeted and subjected to torture as a form of proxy violence when male relatives who were suspected of being Fretilin were not present. The wanton, wholesale killings by the TNI near the coastal regions during the opening months of the invasion had driven a large portion of the population and most of the remaining Falintil into the central regions. 197–198; Taylor (1991), p. 58.

Jolliffe, pp. Accepting the 1980 count that Cribb regards as at least 10% (55,000) too low, Kiernan concluded that as many as 180,000 might have died in the war. Claiming aid requested by East Timorese leaders, Indonesian military forces invaded the eastern part of the island on December 7, 1975, and destroyed the armed resistance to the occupation. Many of the perpetrators continue to wield authority and influence in East Timor’s nearest neighbour. Ramos-Horta, p. 53–54; Jolliffe confirms Ramos-Horta's protests, p. 116. [117] In 1999 researcher Rebecca Winters released the book Buibere: Voice of East Timorese Women, which chronicles many personal stories of violence and abuse dating to the earliest days of the occupation. [107], Known Indonesian abuses against women in East Timor were numerous and well-documented, though the true scope of the problem is difficult to ascertain, owing to the tight military control imposed during the occupation, compounded by the shame felt by victims. [93] 35,000 ABRI troops surrounded areas of Fretilin support and killed men, women, and children.

[87] Foreign Minister Alatas, described plans for phased autonomy leading to possible independence as "all pain, no gain" for Indonesia. The 1999 UN Security Council resolution authorising UNTAET described the history of "systematic, widespread and flagrant violations of international and human rights law" and demanded "that those responsible for such violence be brought to justice". Initially dedicated to preserving East Timor as a protectorate of Portugal, in September UDT announced its support for independence. [203], In September 1974, Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam met with Suharto and indicated that he would support Indonesia if it annexed East Timor. [70] Later, Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas reiterated this position in his 2006 memoir The Pebble in the Shoe: The Diplomatic Struggle for East Timor. Man is the only primate who plans extermination within his own kind and executes it enthusiastically and in large dimensions”  Malaysia (1999) [220] Throughout the 1990s, Portugal took part in UN-brokered mediations with Indonesia.

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