Indonesian occupation of East Timor

Timor-Leste, 1975–1999. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. Indonesian military forces invaded East Timor on 7 December 1975, and by 1979 they had all but destroyed the armed resistance to the occupation. On 17 July 1976, Indonesia formally annexed East Timor as its 27th province and declared the province of Timor Timur (East Timor). A 1999 vote to determine East Timor's future resulted in an overwhelming majority in favour of independence, and in 2002 East Timor became an independent nation.

Seat of power: Dili

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• Immediately after the invasion, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council passed resolutions condemning Indonesia's actions in East Timor and calling for its immediate withdrawal from the territory.
• The 1991 Santa Cruz massacre caused outrage around the world and reports of other such killings were numerous. On 12 November 1991, after the memorial service for Gomes, a demonstration started in front of the church and led to the Santa Cruz massacre, in which at least 271 people were killed by Indonesian security forces.
• 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 truth commission held Indonesian forces responsible for initiating the conflict, and about 70% of the violent killings.
• Resistance to Indonesian rule remained strong, and in 1996 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two men from East Timor, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta, for their ongoing efforts to peacefully end the occupation.

Picture

The Cristo Rei of Dili is a 27.0-metre-high colossal statue of Jesus Christ situated atop a globe at Cape Fatucama in Dili.

Image: Kok Leng, Yeo from Singapore, Singapore, CC BY 2.0, file

Sources

• Indonesian occupation of East Timor (Wikipedia)
• Indonesian occupation of East Timor (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.