David Alex

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David Alex (* around 1951 , † June 25, 1997 in Dili , East Timor ), fighting name Daitula , was the nominal number 3 of FALINTIL , the military arm of the resistance movement in East Timor against the Indonesian occupation between 1975 , as deputy chief of staff and commander of the Baucau region and 1999. Alex also became known beyond the national borders through various television reports.

Act

Before joining FALINTIL, David Alex was a trainer in the Portuguese colonial army. He was considered a clever and successful FALINTIL commander who escaped persecution by Indonesian security forces for more than 21 years. Alex also survived the almost complete annihilation of the guerrillas and, together with Xanana Gusmão, organized the rebuilding of FALINTIL. Max Stahl shot a report about the freedom fighter and interviewed him in his mountain shelter. The result was shown on Australian television in January 1992 . In August 1996 Jill Jolliffe first shot a FALINTIL attack. Alex and his men killed two Indonesian soldiers. This film was shown on Australian television under the name "Blockade" on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the Indonesian invasion. In January 1997, the Australian journalist Ivan Smith visited Alex in his hiding place.

During the guerrilla offensive to the Indonesian parliamentary elections on May 29, 1997, Alex led several ambushes. The Indonesian police and military suffered heavy losses, which led to repression against the civilian population.

On June 24, 1997, Alex and four of his men were captured in Caibada by Indonesian soldiers under the command of Colonel Slamet Sidabutar . During the battle, Alex was shot in the arm and leg. He was taken to the Kopassus headquarters in Baucau, known as the Torture Center. Alex was later taken by helicopter to the state capital Dili, where he was further interrogated at the headquarters of the military intelligence service. The next day he was dead, according to the army, he died of high blood loss in a military hospital. Sources of resistance claim Alex died while being interrogated during brutal torture. There were also rumors of poisoning. Alex was buried in a cemetery in Dili by the Indonesian military without his family being allowed to see the body. Autopsies by independent agencies were also rejected.

See also

literature

  • Constâncio Pinto, Matthew Jardine: East Timor's Unfinished Struggle: Inside the Timorese Resistance , 1997, ISBN 9780896085411 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e Matthew Jardine: The Life and Death of David Alex and the Ongoing Struggle for East Timor , Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine, September 1997 , accessed November 3, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c d Filomena da Silva: East Timorese hero David Alex murdered , Green Left, July 2, 1997 , accessed November 3, 2017.
  3. ^ Naldo Rei: Resistance: A Childhood Fighting for East Timor , 2011, ISBN 9781458767615 .
personal data
SURNAME Alex, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Daitula (battle name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION East Timorese freedom fighter
DATE OF BIRTH around 1951
DATE OF DEATH June 25, 1997
Place of death Dili , East Timor