The murder of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres
| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - picture 1 |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - picture 2 |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - picture 3 |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - picture 4 |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - Picture 5 |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - Picture 6 (the murdered Guterres) |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - Picture 7 (the murdered Guterres) |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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| The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres - Picture 8 (Funeral of Guterres) |
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| John Stanmeyer |
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The murder of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres ( English The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres ) was documented in eight photos by the photographer John Stanmeyer of Time Magazine . It shows how the East Timorese Joaquim Bernardino Guterres is harassed by Indonesian police officers and finally lies on the ground, shot dead. The murder occurred on August 26, 1999, four days before the independence referendum in East Timor . The photos became a symbol of the Indonesian occupation forces' actions to intimidate the civilian population.
prehistory
Indonesia occupied East Timor in 1975 and declared it annexed in 1976. Only after the fall of the Suharto dictatorship and under increasing international pressure did Indonesia agree to hold an independence referendum. Indonesia refused to send international security forces to protect the vote. His police and military took responsibility themselves. In the run - up to the event, pro-Indonesian militias began to hunt down independence supporters and create a threatening backdrop in the event that the East Timorese opt for independence. In April 1999 there was already the church massacre in Liquiçá and the massacre in the house of Manuel Carrascalão with a total of over 200 dead. The planned voting date of August 8th had to be postponed to August 30th due to the security situation.
Stanmeyer calls Guterres a student. But the East Timorese Press Council posthumously awarded Guterres the title of "Jornalista de Mérito" ( German Honored Journalist ) on November 23, 2017 . Accordingly, he worked for Rádiu Matebian and Jornál Vox Populi . The ten other winners include Roger East , the Balibo Five and Sander Thoenes .
Happen
On August 26, 1999, the Aitarak militia rioted in the state capital Dili . The militia officers in the Becora district took action against independence supporters with assault rifles and homemade grenades and pistols. The Indonesian police showed up late, even though their headquarters were on the same street. They were members of the Brimob , the special unit for unrest. The threatened pleaded with the police for protection, but were told to leave the premises. Guterres was one of those who sought help. He was barefoot and had two stones in hand to protect himself against the militia. He didn't stop pleading with the police, and they started beating and kicking him.
In the first two pictures you can see Guterres trying to run away from the policemen, while someone follows him. In the third picture you can see another policeman who lowers his rifle in the direction of Guterres, which the officer held up before. In the fourth picture, the policeman starts to run after Guterres while he turns back to the policemen. In the fifth picture, Guterres looks directly at the policeman who is walking towards him. Ten seconds later, Guterres was shot dead on the ground. The sixth picture shows Guterres lying dead in his blood while three civilians stand around him and seem to ask why. The seventh photo shows Guterres lying alone on the ground while his blood flows down the street. The last picture is from the funeral of Guterres. He was buried by relatives in the front yard of the house. According to Stanmeyer, the family was too poor to have a proper burial and too feared the militia to take the body to the cemetery.
epilogue
August 26, 1999 was the last day of the official election campaign time that the pro-Indonesian autonomy movement used for its major event in Dili. The militias generally led to chaos. In addition to Guterres, seven other people were killed that day.
The police hadn't noticed Stanmeyer, but after the pictures appeared on CNN and Time , the photographer had to leave East Timor for security reasons.
The referendum took place on August 30th and 78.5% of East Timorese opted for independence from Indonesia. The answer was Operation Donner , in which Indonesian police, soldiers and militias devastated the country in a final wave of violence, killing 1,200 to 1,500 people and driving the population from their homes. The country was only pacified again with the arrival of the International Armed Forces East Timor (INTERFET). After three years of UN administration , East Timor was given independence .
In the “News” category of the World Press Photo Contest 2000 Stanmeyer was awarded third place for the pictures by Joaquim Bernardino Guterres. Stanmeyer took first place with pictures he took of violent clashes in Jakarta in November 1999. After the Indonesians withdrew, Stanmeyer returned to East Timor and reported, among other things, on the unrest in East Timor in 2006 . The pictures were also printed in books.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d Don Morrison: To Our Readers , Time Magazine, February 28, 2000 , accessed June 19, 2021.
- ↑ a b c d “Part 3: The History of the Conflict” (PDF; 1.4 MB) from the “Chega!” Report of the CAVR (English). Note: Guterres is incorrectly called "Bernardino Agusto Guterres" here.
- ↑ John Braithwaite, Hilary Charlesworth, Adérito Soares : Networked Governance of Freedom and Tyranny: Peace in Timor-Leste , pp. 91–110 , ANU press 2012.
- ↑ Jornal da República: DELIBERAÇÃO N.º 02/2017 , accessed on June 21, 2021.
- ↑ a b c Time Magazine: The Killing of Joaquim Bernardino Guterres , accessed June 19, 2021.
- ↑ CNN: Guterres is buried in the front yard of his relative's home in Dili. The family was too poor for a proper burial and too frightened of the militia to take his body to a cemetery , accessed on June 20, 2021.
- ^ Walter Kälin, Lars Müller, Judith Wyttenbach (eds.): Das Bild der Menschenrechte , pp. 52–53, Lars Müller Publishers, Wettingen, 2004.
- ↑ Samantha Power: Chasing the Flame: One Man's Fight to Save the World , Penguin 2008.