History of East Timor
The history of East Timor encompasses developments in the area of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste from prehistory to the present. It is characterized by a long period of foreign rule. The Portuguese ruled the east of the island for 450 years , constantly harassed by the Dutch and the Topasse . Indonesia occupied the country nine days after East Timor was proclaimed independence in 1975 . Almost 200,000 people were killed as a result of the Indonesian occupation , which lasted 24 years. After three years of administration by the United NationsEast Timor was given independence in 2002. This made East Timor the first state to become independent in the 21st century. While internal conflicts caused new crises in the first few years, the country has stabilized since the collapse of the rebel movement in 2008. On December 31, 2012, the mission of the United Nations security forces and the International Stabilization Force ( ISF) ended. International troops and police officers were withdrawn. Since then, the country has experienced a significant upswing, which has been clouded by political disputes between the parties.
Mythical origin of Timor
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According to legend, a young boy helped a baby crocodile find its way into the sea. In return, the crocodile took the boy on long journeys across the sea. When the crocodile died, his body became the island of Timor , which was colonized by the boy's descendants. Even today the crocodile has great symbolic importance in East Timor. It is traditionally referred to as “grandfather” and there is a custom of shouting “crocodile, I am your grandson - don't eat me” when crossing rivers.
Before the colonial era
background
The coastline of the Southeast Asian island world changed considerably over the millennia, which had an impact on possible settlements by immigrants. If the sea level rose sharply about 70,000 years ago, it fell about 30,000 years ago during the last glacial maximum . About 18,000 years ago the sea level rose again and land masses such as Sundaland and Sahul were again divided by the water. Further major changes in the coastline took place 14,500, 11,500 and 7,500 years ago, creating today's island world and the continent Australia, which is separated from Asia . Despite this erratic change in geography, Timor has remained an island all along with no land connection to the rest of the world. Only the distances to be overcome shrank considerably at times.
The people of Timor came to the island as part of the general settlement of the region. Anthropologists assume that the descendants of at least three waves of immigration live here, which also explains the ethnic and cultural diversity of Timor. Interestingly, all ethnic groups in Timor refer to themselves as immigrants who originally moved to the island from elsewhere. According to myth, the earlier the immigration took place, the higher the status in the traditional power structures on Timor.
The Timorese peoples originally knew no script. Hence, there are no written records of history before European colonization . There is a rich tradition of oral traditions, such as that of the Bunak people in the center of the island. The stories were recited in repetitive rhymes and alliterations . In every village, the elders taught the young people the legends of the clan, but there are also the Lian Nain (roughly lord of words ), bards, and ceremonial dignitaries who can recite verses for hours. Most often, two-line verses are used, with each line made up of two sentences. The first sentence of the second line repeats the content of the last sentence of the first line in other words. The languages are rich in metaphors and symbols from the animistic culture of Timor. Legends such as the creation myth of the crocodile were also depicted and used decoratively.
It is sometimes not easy to collect local knowledge about history. In Oe-Cusse Ambeno there are traditional restrictions on the transmission of historical knowledge. This is usually only allowed for two or three people in each village. However, they are only allowed to report on the history of their own village, you are not allowed to tell anything about the history of other villages, if this is known at all. Even today, many of the inhabitants of Oe-Cusse Ambenos do not leave their village for almost all of their lives and at best only know the neighboring villages. The consequence is that the information often contradicts each other from village to village. No information about the past may be given about two specific villages in the municipality . There is a taboo about this. If you want to find out information about the history of the local empire, there are only a few who are allowed to provide information.
The first settlers
The oldest traces of human settlement on Timor are between 43,000 and 44,000 years old as of 2017. They were discovered in the Laili cave near Laleia ( Manatuto municipality ). In 2006, traces of 42,000 years old were found in the Jerimalai limestone cave near Tutuala in the far east of Timor. In addition to stone tools and mussel shells, which were used as jewelry, the remains of turtles, tuna and giant rats were found that had served as food for the cave dwellers. These findings support the theory that Australia was settled via the Lesser Sunda Islands . There seem to be no more traces of this wave of settlement in the present-day population of Timor. Half of the remains of the fish come from species that only live in the high seas. This proves for the first time that people were able to fish far away from the coast 42,000 years ago. In addition, a fish hook about four centimeters long was found , which was made from the shell of a sea snail . It is estimated to be between 16,000 and 23,000 years old, making it the oldest known fish hook in the world. The hook was used to catch fish in the coastal waters, which at that time became richer in fish due to the formation of the coral reefs. Small plates with holes drilled from the shell of the common pearl boat (Nautilus pompilius) , the oldest known pieces of jewelery in East Asia and the Pacific region, are 38,000 to 42,000 years old .
A 35,000-year-old piece of bone was found in Matja Kuru , which was used to attach harpoon tips to the wooden shaft. It is the oldest evidence of this complex binding technique, which is known throughout Australia and Melanesia, but the oldest evidence of which was only a few hundred years old.
Archaeologists have also struck gold in other caves near Tutuala. Settlement remains were found in the Lene Hara cave , which have been dated to between 41,000 and 43,000 years ago. The multicolored murals depicting boats, animals, and geometric structures are only 2000 years old. The paintings in the O Hi and Ile Kére Kére caves are estimated to be 5000 years old, the stone engravings showing faces are even estimated to be 10,000 years old. Further rock paintings can be found on the cliffs of Tutuala and Tunu Taraleu , in Lene Kici , Lene Cécé and Vérulu (all near Tutuala), in Uai Bobo (in Venilale , Baucau municipality ), Lie Siri , Lie Kere , Lie Kere 2 and Lie Baai (on the high plateau of Baucau ) and in the region of Baguia (also municipality of Baucau).
There are basically two zones in the rock paintings: those on the Baucau plateau and those in the vicinity of Tutuala . Pigments in black, red, yellow and green are used for a variety of motifs: lines and geometrical figures, circles surrounded by rays (referred to as suns or stars), lifelike and X-ray-style images of animals, people, anthropomorphs and boats. Most of the pictures are but the Neolithic " Austronesian attributed painting tradition" (Austronesian painting tradition APT). On the northeastern Kisar there are wall paintings, some of which show striking similarities to paintings on the eastern tip of Timor. They are more than 2500 years old and suggest that there was already close contact between the two islands at that time.
In addition, some hand outlines are known, in which the artist pressed his hand onto the rock as a template and blew pigments over it. Such handprints are less common here than in neighboring regions, which is a special feature of the rock paintings on Timor compared to the other islands in Southeast Asia. O'Connor grouped hand stencils next to simple red-figurative, filled-in motifs in a series of portraits, which differ from the APT due to their location in deeper but accessible cave parts. Until 2020, however, there were no indications that these images came from a different era. Then hand outlines of the Lene Hara cave were described for the first time, probably from the Pleistocene . They resemble portraits in Australia and also support the theory of the settlement route of Australia via Timor in terms of their estimated age.
What is striking is the extensive lack of motifs of large animals, as often occurs in rock art from the Pleistocene. This can be explained by the fact that large animals are largely absent from Timor’s fauna . The resident dwarf form of a stegodon died out well before the first humans arrived on the island.
The Australo-Melanesian immigration
It is believed that Australo-Melanesian peoples (also called Vedo-Austronesian ) were around 40,000 to 20,000 BC. Reached Timor from the north and west during the last ice age. At that time, the Great Sunda Islands were connected to the Asian continent by land bridges and the way across the sea to Timor was significantly shorter. Their descendants, the Atoin Meto (Atoni) , probably represent the original population of Timor and are characterized by very dark skin and straight, black hair. They make up the majority of the population in the west of the island, also in the East Timorese exclave Oe-Cusse Ambeno .
Genetic studies published in 2015 suggest a wave of immigration from the east. According to these results, the first settlers moved from the west to New Guinea 40,000 to 60,000 years ago, and 28,000 years ago people returned to Timor from New Guinea (see map A on the right). Further genetic evidence suggests the immigration of other groups who moved from Taiwan to Timor 4,000 to 8,000 years ago (Map B). A third proven group probably came from today's island of Borneo and reached Timor 10,000 years ago (Map C).
If one assumes that the pirogue was not used until 7000 BC. Was invented, one can assume that the stretches across the sea were made with rafts . The people lived together in small clans or tribes who moved around as hunters and gatherers without permanent settlements. Already 9000 years ago people brought the Gray Couscous from New Guinea to Timor, which became the main prey of the local hunters.
The Melanesians
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Around 3000 BC Melanesians came from the west with a second wave of immigration and brought the oval-ax culture to Timor. Pottery, hatchets and shell pearls appeared for the first time on Timor during this time, and traces of agriculture can be identified. Were introduced millet , Gourd , coconuts and other fruits. The remains of domestic dogs and pigs can also be found on the eastern tip of Timor for the first time from the same period. After the arrival of the Melanesians, the Vedo Austronesians withdrew into the mountainous interior of the country without any major intermingling.
The direction of immigration from the west is surprising, as the descendants of these immigrants are related to the ethnic groups in Papua New Guinea , Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands in the east. These regions were settled by the Melanesians 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. The Melanesians in Timor include the Fataluku , Makasae , Makalero and Bunak. Their languages belong to the Papuan languages .
However, recent linguistic studies suggest that at least the Fataluku settled on the eastern tip of Timor only after the Austronesian immigration from the east. There they have almost completely assimilated the local Malayo-Polynesian Makuva over the past few decades . Such a scenario is also speculated among the Makasae.
The Austronesians
There are different statements as to the number of waves in which the Austronesians reached Timor.
Austronesian groups from southern China and northern Indochina probably reached Timor around 2500 BC. They spread across the Malay Archipelago under the pressure of the expansion of today's East Asian ethnic groups . About 1000 to 2000 years ago, metal processing began on Timor. At the same time, the local giant rats, such as the Musser Timor rat ( Coryphomys musseri ) , probably died out. It is assumed that with the introduced metal tools, large areas of the island were deforested for the first time, which led to the extinction of the giant rats, which are popular as prey. Australian and Portuguese researchers were able to prove the existence of a prehistoric copper industry on Timor. Pits and simple tunnels were discovered in which copper ore was mined, and artifacts confirmed the smelting and manufacture of copper tools on the island.
Some scientists assume that around 500 AD more Austronesians, who were more clearly influenced by East Asian influences and who became the dominant population group in the entire archipelago, also reached Timor. This ethnic group is unmistakable on the main islands of Indonesia, but there is still no agreement on the original population on Timor, but it has a much more Asian appearance than the original Austronesian immigrants.
It was not until the 14th century that the Malayo-Polynesian Tetum immigrated to Timor. Today, with 100,000 members, they form the largest ethnic group in East Timor. According to their stories, they come from Malacca , from where they came to Timor. First the Tetum settled in the center of the island and displaced the Atoin Meto in the western part of Timor. Later they also advanced into the eastern part and founded a total of four empires, of which Wehale was the most powerful.
Merchants and kings
In 2015, when a house was being built on the Raumoco River in Suco Daudere (Lautém municipality), a bronze drum from the Dong Son culture (around 800 BC to 200 AD) from what is now Vietnam was discovered . The 80 kg heavy and approximately 2000 year old artifact is one of the best preserved of only about 20 bronze drums that were found along the ancient shipping lanes in Southeast Asia. The top piece of such a drum was found in East Timor before 1999. A spout hatchet from the Dong Son culture was discovered near the town of Baucau .
Hinduism came to Timor in the 1st century AD and Buddhism from the 5th century. Neither of them left much of a mark.
Although some Indonesian publications of the 1970s state that Timor belonged to the Srivijaya Empire (7th century to 13th century), there are no sources to prove this. Even Bali and the east of Java did not belong to this empire, although they were west of Timor and were Hindu and Buddhist. Presumably, Javanese kingdoms prevented the Srivijaya Empire from expanding eastward. Possibly, however, merchants reached Srivijayas Timor. Dutch historians report that Timorese sandalwood was transported through the Malacca Strait to China and India as early as the 10th century .
In East Timor there are several hills with the remains of stone fortifications that once protected settlements. It is believed that these fortifications were built during times of climatic changes. Some emerged around AD 1000 when rains became less frequent and the environment changed dramatically. Other remains of the wall are dated to the time after 1300 AD, when the change to the Little Ice Age began. In both periods there was probably a scarcity of resources due to climate change and increased conflicts between different groups, although other reasons for the new need for fortified settlements may also have existed, for example the emerging trade in sandalwood.
The Chinese overseas trade official Zhao Rukuo named Timor a place rich in sandalwood in 1225. The sandalwood tree (Santalum album) is not only found on Timor, but also on various Pacific islands , Madagascar , Australia and India, but only Timor, Sumba and Solor provided the highest quality of white sandalwood .
In addition to Malay and Chinese traders, Arab traders later traveled to Timor to buy sandalwood, slaves and honey , which they exported via Java and Sulawesi to China and India. Beeswax for batik dyeing in Java and later for the local Catholic Church as candle wax was another valuable commodity. As local trade flourished, local royal families emerged. The traders did not settle on Timor, which is far from the trade routes between China, India and the large islands, but only stayed as long as they had to to do their business.
In 1292 the Mongols failed with an invasion of Java. Out of the successful defensive struggle, the Hindu-influenced Majapahit Empire emerged, which reached its peak in the middle of the 14th century. In the Nagarakertagama , the heroic epic of that time, a long list of tributary vassal states of Majapahit is given. Timor is one of them. However, the Portuguese scribe Tomé Pires noted in the 16th century that all the islands east of Java were named Timor, as the local language uses the word "Timor" to denote the east. Even today, "East" in Bahasa Indonesia means timur . Be that as it may, after a century, Majapahit's power fell apart due to disputes between the Hindu princes and the spread of Islam in Malaya , north-east Sumatra and north Java. In 1409 the king of Malacca converted to Islam. Other rulers on Sumatra, Kalimantan , Java, the Moluccas and the Philippines followed. This change did not reach Timor. Muslim Malacca gained power, so that the Javanese ports also lost importance. The Chinese traders disappeared almost simultaneously between 1368 and 1405. The reason was China's self-chosen isolation from the outside world . When China banned its traders from foreign trade for a second time between 1550 and 1567, the Portuguese initially took over the trade routes between the Middle Kingdom and Timor.
The earliest European explorers reported a number of small tribal areas and empires in Timor, created through trade and ruled by Liurais , the traditional rulers. The population lived primarily from slash-and-burn farming . The relationships between these domains were extremely complex through rituals, marriage, and trade. According to legend, all peoples descend from an ancestor who divided the island between his three descendants into a west, an east and a central area. In the center of the island stood the empire of Wehale with its allies among the tribes of the Tetum, Bunak and Kemak tribes . The Tetum formed the core of the empire. The capital, Laran, in what is now West Timor , formed the spiritual center of the entire island. The west was dominated by Sonba'i , the east by Likusaen (today: Liquiçá ) or Luca . This ritual hierarchy of the individual empires and the placing in front of Wehale, Sonba'i and Likusaen did not mean any real power, but the prestige of the three rulers could support the formation of alliances.
Antonio Pigafetta , a member of the Magellan Expedition , visited Timor briefly in 1522. He reports that there were four main Timorese kings who were brothers: Oibich, Lichisana, Suai and Canabaza. Oibich was the chief of the four. Oibich could be assigned to Wewiku , which is referred to in later sources as the Wehales base. Suai is the capital of today's East Timorese community of Cova Lima and probably formed a double empire with Camenaça (Kamenasa, Canabaza, also Camenaça or Camenasse). Lichisana is equated with Liquiçá. Since Lichisana and Suai-Canabaza Wehale had to pay tribute and all these empires were in the center and east of Timor, they were later summarized by the Portuguese as the province of Belu (also: Belos or Behale ). Iron was known, but no script was in use. The population practiced traditional, animistic practices .
Western Timor was named Servião after the dominant Sonba'i ( Dutch : Zerviaen or Sorbian ). In 1563 Servião first appeared as Cerviaguo in the reports of the Portuguese as an important trading point for sandalwood on the north coast of Timor. However, since there is no place there to which this name can be assigned, it is assumed that this was an outpost of Sonba'i, which first appeared on the Portuguese map of Manuel Godinho de Erédia in 1613 as the Kingdom of Servião . Servião consisted of most of the Atoin-Meto area in West Timor. Luca can also be found on the map in the far east, especially highlighted.
The tribes on the western edge of the area of influence of Wehale simultaneously maintained alliances with Sonba'i and Oecussi , the tribes in the east with eastern Timor and its centers Atsabe and Lospalos . In this way, from the point of view of many Timorese, the island formed a unit that was only destroyed by the colonial split between the Dutch and the Portuguese (see Mandala (political model) ). From this arose the concept of " Greater Timor " in the 20th century , which propagated the unification of the island in one state. Despite the many ethnic and linguistic differences between the people of Timor, their social structures were very similar, which made contact between the peoples easier. But this should not hide the fragmentation of the island. A Portuguese list from 1811 lists a total of 62 kingdoms in Timor (16 in Servião and 46 in Belu). Ultimately, the number cannot be precisely fixed, as it was constantly changing due to wars, mergers and splits, and some empires were subordinate to others.
The population of Timor was divided into different social classes, the lowest of which were the slaves. Some of these were also traded, so that in the 17th century Timorese slaves also got to Makassar and from there to Palembang , Jambi and Aceh as well as to the pepper plantations on southern Borneo . At this time, however, Batavia , today's Jakarta , became the main customer . Almost every ship that reached the port from Timor had slaves on board. The Dutch and Portuguese operated a slave trade well into the 19th century, which also affected the neighboring islands. So the topasse also caught people as a commodity on Roti .
The introduction of maize as a food crop in the middle of the 17th century had a major impact on the Timorese population, because the otherwise common, labor-intensive cultivation of rice field terraces (sawah) was only possible to a limited extent. The population growth also depended on the availability of valuable resources such as sandalwood or honey. Trading with them boosted local wealth. Paradoxically, before foreign trade began, sandalwood had no use or significance for the Timorese.
Island of the headhunters
Oral traditions from the Atsabe Kemak from the Ermera community tell of feuds , wars, conquests and headhunters . Such outbreaks of violence arose for a variety of reasons, such as the dispute over fertile land, borders, wedding agreements or just perceived disregard. Every year battles broke out over areas with bees in order to secure the valuable commodity beeswax. Sandalwood was also coveted and contested for trade. Even between the individual village communities ( sucos ) that were ruled by a dato , there were fights over arable land, because no Timorese were allowed to cultivate land in the neighboring territory, because then on the one hand the tribute to the dato and on the other hand the jurisdiction could not be assigned in the event of a dispute. This meant that especially sucos with high population pressure always tried to enlarge their areas. The constant conflicts gave rise to a culture of ritual warfare, which in Timor is called Funu . Around Tutuala there are still remains of several old fortifications ( Portuguese : Tranqueira , fataluku : lata irinu ), with which the Fataluku protected their settlements.
One could not go to war without the consent of the ancestral spirits . For this purpose the priest ( Dato-lulik ) sacrificed a buffalo and questioned the spirits. One could only go to war if the spirits regarded the cause of war as justified. If the spirits did not accept him, one had to change the reasoning until the spirits agreed. Then each man had to slaughter a chicken in front of the priest . If the chicken stretched its right leg up, the man would have to go into battle; if the chicken stretched its left leg, it was meant to protect women and children at home. The latter could consult the oracle a second time if they wanted. If you were then allowed to fight, but there was a high probability of being wounded or killed, while the elect from the first round were, according to the faith, invulnerable to all weapons.
Before a battle, the magnificently decorated so-called Meos stood in front of the warriors and began to stir up the atmosphere with war dances, to extol the courage of their tribe and to insult their opponents. Then they withdrew and the opposing parties began shooting at each other from a great distance - initially with a bow and arrow, later with firearms. As soon as a man was killed in the process, the fight ended. This type of warfare seemed strange to European observers of the time, but field battle was not the main objective. The actual war consisted more of ambushes and raids, in which the attempt was made to capture as many heads as possible of opposing warriors, women and children as slaves and cattle, and sometimes also to devastate the opponent's land. Women were only beheaded when they tried to flee from villages that had already been conquered, as this was contrary to morals.
The returning warriors were greeted by the women with the traditional Likurai dance, in which the captured heads were displayed. Those who captured a head were honored, with those heads captured in battle bringing more honor than those caught in an ambush. The successful headhunters received the title Assuai (the brave) . The head trophies were cleaned, dried and then hung in the hut of the Assuai. The head had to be offered something to eat at every meal. Eventually the head was given to the Liurai or Dato who kicked him during a victory ceremony. As a sign of victory, the Assuai was given a bracelet or a metal, round breastplate ( belak ), which he wore around his neck.
The captured heads were carefully kept so that if a peace agreement was made, they could be returned to the dead man's family with great weeping and lamentation. If a head was missing, substantial compensation had to be paid. After a peace agreement, neither side harbored grudges against the other. The peace was usually strengthened with a wedding or with blood brotherhood. This then required armed support in the event of war.
Headhunting and internal battles did not end until the Portuguese finally had unrestricted rule over the country after the suppression of the last rebellion in 1912 and were able to prevent hostilities between and against the Timorese.
Scientists, based on research in New Guinea , where similar traditions existed, see a form of population control in the strongly ritualized wars - not primarily through the victims of the war, but through the devastation of the cultivated areas. Slash and burn zones had to be abandoned by the losers before the soil was depleted, and the victors could not use them immediately for fear of the revenge of the ghosts and taboos. The now fallow areas had the opportunity to regenerate. In addition, the form of war increased the child mortality rate among girls, which is why - also due to the low number of victims among the warriors - the balance between the sexes was kept regionally. The more warriors an empire had, the better it could protect its population and expand its territory. Male offspring were therefore of great importance.
Portuguese colonial times
Arrival of the Portuguese
The Portuguese Afonso de Albuquerque conquered the Sultanate of Malacca on August 15, 1511 . This made Portugal an important base for trade with the Lesser Sunda Islands and especially the Moluccas, the main goal of Portuguese expansion in Southeast Asia. In order to find the islands known as the Spice Islands, an expedition of three ships was sent in the following November under António de Abreu , who had already distinguished himself during the conquest of Malacca. After reaching the Moluccas, the ships turned to the southwest and in 1512 were the first Europeans to reach Timor, Solor and Alor (Ombai) . It is not certain whether the Portuguese entered Timor at that time. Documents from the beginning of colonization were lost in a fire in the Dili archive in 1779. Some historians believe that the discovered Timor was only noted on a map and a landing only occurred on the island of Solor, northwest of Timor. A Portuguese settlement is said to have been founded here, the nucleus of the Portuguese colonies on the Lesser Sunda Islands. Timor appears for the first time in a Portuguese document dated January 2, 1514. In a letter to King Manuel I , Rui de Brito Patalim mentioned the island. It is certain that the Portuguese first landed on Timor by 1515. A plaque on a replica Padrão dos Descobrimentos marks the place in Oe-Cusse Ambeno , where Portuguese Dominicans entered Timor as missionaries on August 18, 1515 . For the 500th anniversary, the Lifau Monument was inaugurated, with a replica of a caravel and life-size, bronze figures that recreate the encounter between the Portuguese and the Timorese. It is unusual that there are no reports of any occupation of the island by the setting up of a padrão. More detailed descriptions of the island are also missing until Pigafetta landed on January 26, 1522 on board the Spanish ship Victoria near Batugade and stayed for 18 days.
In 1556, the Portuguese settled on Timor for the first time in the area of today's East Timorese exclave Oe-Cusse Ambeno. Here, as on the neighboring island of Solor, the Dominicans founded a settlement to secure the sandalwood trade. In Timor it was the place Lifau (Lifao) , 6 km west of today's Pante Macassar . At the same time, the Dominican António Taveira began proselytizing Timor. The focus was on the kingdoms on the north and south coast in the late 16th century. In 1566 a fortress was built on Solor, which became the center of the surrounding trade. Solor had the advantage that, unlike Timor, there was no malaria here. Apart from the missionaries, most of the Portuguese did not yet settle in Timor, but instead called at various points on the island, such as Kupang , Lifau or Mena (east of today's Oe-Cusse Ambeno). Sandalwood was exported annually from Timor via Solor, mainly to Macau . Macau was the link to Portugal, even if Goa was officially the competent administrative center for Timor during most of the colonial period .
In the 16th century, the trade routes were heavily dependent on the season. The caravels left Goa in September with the monsoons blowing southwards . From Malacca Indian goods were then exchanged for Chinese copper coins in Java. For this, further east on Sumbawa rice and simple cotton fabrics were obtained, which in turn were exchanged for spices on the Banda Islands and Ternate . Some of these commercial travelers also came to Solor and Timor to purchase sandalwood. Between May and September one returned to Malacca with the southwest monsoon. The fact that the ships had to wait a long time at Solor and Timor due to the wind conditions favored the establishment of permanent settlements. At the end of the 16th century there were Portuguese bases in Lifau, Mena and Kupang. The first church on the island was built in Mena in 1590. The profit was evident. For a picul (62.5 kg) of sandalwood, the equivalent of five réis was paid in Timor in 1613 . In China you could get 40 Réis for a picul.
Initially, the Portuguese had no administration, military garrisons or trading posts on Timor. These were built up gradually in response to the threat posed by the Dutch, who continued to expand their influence in the region. In the first years some soldiers were hired under a captain for Solor. From 1575 an armed ship with 20 soldiers was stationed here and from 1595 Goa officially assigned the post of captain, who took over the duties of governor for the region - much to the displeasure of the Dominicans, who saw their rights restricted. The first Capitão Goa was Antonio Viegas.
In 1586 large parts of Timor were declared a colony of Portuguese Timor . Portugal now also used the colony as a place of exile for political prisoners and ordinary criminals. This practice continued into the 20th century.
Race for Timor
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On April 20, 1613, the Dutch under Apollonius Schotte conquered the fortress on Solor. The Portuguese evaded to Larantuka in the east of Flores . Solor changed hands several times over the next few decades, while Larantuka became the new Portuguese center of the region. From Larantuka, the Topasse controlled the trade network in the region, especially the lucrative sandalwood trade. The topasse, also called Bidau, Larantuqueiros or black Portuguese , were descendants of Portuguese soldiers, sailors and traders who married women from Solor and Flores. According to Dutch reports, the Topasse ruled the ports on the north coast of Timor from Larantuka as early as 1623.
On June 4, 1613, the Scots landed in Mena. The rulers of Mena and Asson were moved to form an alliance with the Dutch and guarantee supplies of sandalwood. After that, Schotte drove further along the coast and concluded several treaties with local rulers, which later formed the basis of all Dutch claims in West Timor. Finally he also conquered the Portuguese fort near Kupang and left behind a small occupying force, just as in Mena. But in 1615 the Dutch gave up Solor, and in 1616 their bases on Timor and Flores.
With the restoration of independence from the Spanish crown in 1640, Portugal was able to become more involved in Southeast Asia again. However, a revolt of the Macassars against the Portuguese broke out and Karrilikio (also called Camiliquio or Karaeng Makkio ), the Muslim sultan of Tallo (Tolo) on Sulawesi , attacked the north and south coast of Timor with a total of 150 ships and 7,000 men. After three months of raids, he withdrew. When António de São Jacinto , Dominican and Vicar General of Solor, reached Mena with a force, he found the place destroyed. The Muslim occupation fled inland. The dead king had been replaced by his wife. With their support, the Portuguese regained control of Mena in 1641. The queen and her people converted to Christianity . The Liurai of Amanuban (Amanubang) , a brother-in-law of the Queen of Mena and ruler of the area around Lifau, also converted to Christianity and had several churches built. On May 26, 1641 Francisco Fernandes defeated a force of the Liurais von Wehale on the border with Mena. The Portuguese then began a large-scale military operation under Fernandes to extend their control to the interior of the island. This procedure was justified with the protection of the Christianized rulers of the coastal region. The previous Christianization supported the Portuguese in their quick and brutal victory, as their influence on the Timorese had already weakened the resistance. Fernandes carried out the campaign with only 90 Portuguese musketeers. But he was supported by numerous Timorese warriors. Fernandes first moved through the area of Sonba'i and by 1642 conquered the kingdom of Wehale, which was considered the religious and political center of the island. Members of the Wehales royal family fled to the east and married into ruling families there. Many noble families therefore still claim their descent from Wehale today, even if this is in part very questionable. Several rulers in West Timor subsequently converted to Christianity and swore an oath of loyalty to the Portuguese crown, for example the ruler of Kupang. Timor was then given the name Ilha de Santa Cruz (Island of the Holy Cross), which the island kept for a long time. By 1640 a handful of priests had already founded ten missions and 22 churches in Timor. In 1644 the Liurais of Luca and Açao were also Christianized. In 1647 António de São Jacinto was also Vicar General for Timor. In 1698 the Dominican Manuel de Santo António came to Timor. Through his successful missionary attempts around 1700, Luca and his neighboring empires in the southeast of the island also came under Portuguese influence. 1701 he was by Pope Clement XI. appointed Bishop of Malacca and resided in Lifau until 1722. Manuel de Santo António is therefore considered to be the first bishop in Timor. Missionary work and economic interests went hand in hand. The Dutch, on the other hand, had no problems working with rulers who also used violence against the Christianization of Timor.
Supremacy of the topasse
After the victory against Wehale, the immigration of the Topasse increased further. By 1642 a large number of Topasse were already living in Timor, the center of which became Lifau, the main Portuguese base on the island. Their leader, who later carried the title of captain general (Capitão-mor) , also resided in Lifau, at least for a time. Originally the area belonged to the empire of Ambeno , but the empire of Oecussi, which was ruled by Topasse, arose here under the toleration of the Timorese on the northeast coast of today's exclave. The mountainous west and south of the East Timorese Oe-Cusse Ambeno remained until the 20th century as the Empire of Ambeno under the leadership of local rulers, hence the common double name of the exclave. From Oecussi the Topasse made alliances with the former vassals Wehales by oaths of blood. The blood of the oath partners was mixed and drunk. As a token of the covenant, the Timorese rulers were given a flag of Portugal , a sword and pieces of armor, which, according to traditional beliefs, represented sacred symbols of Portugal's strength. By handing over to the Liurais, part of this strength should also pass to the local rulers. The sovereignty of the Portuguese crown was recognized, but this did not go hand in hand with the transfer of political or economic power. The Liurais remained the real rulers of their empires. But even if these empires were now nominally allies of the Portuguese, in reality the Topasse held all the strings of power together. In the 17th century there were never more than 50 Europeans in the Portuguese sphere of influence of Timor. The expansion and rule came from the black Portuguese .
In 1640 the Dutch built their first fortress on Timor near Kupang and the political division of the island began. The bay of Kupang was considered the best natural harbor of the island. From 1642 a simple fort again protected the Portuguese post. Two Dutch attacks failed because of him in 1644. For better defense, the Dominicans under António de São Jacinto built a new fortress in 1647. In 1653 the Dutch destroyed the Portuguese post, which was then re-established. In 1655 the ruler of Sonba'i, who had been allied with Portugal, rose up against the Portuguese. He killed all the Portuguese in his area and set fire to their houses and churches. Then Sonba'i allied itself with the Dutch, a loss for the Portuguese, because the empire was one of the most prestigious in the west of the island. The background to the rebellion seems to be the personal aversions of the Liurai von Sonba'i, described as aggressive, towards the Portuguese. In addition, the attack turned against the proselytizing of the animist residents. On January 27, 1656, the Dutch finally captured the Portuguese post in Kupang with a strong force under General Arnold de Vlamigh van Outshoorn. However, due to heavy losses, they had to withdraw from the fortress immediately after they had followed the Topasse outside Kupang. The Dutch suffered a bitter defeat in 1658 when the Portuguese and Topasse completely destroyed the kingdom of Sonba'i. Some residents of Sonba'i then settled with the Dutch in Kupang. When Liurais fell from the Portuguese, they sent allied Timorese warriors, such as those from Amarasi . Here the colonial power used the Timorese tradition of headhunting, which meant a constant state of war between different empires; a measure that was used until the 20th century. Like Sonba'i, other empires who rebelled against the Portuguese and Topasse, such as Taebenu , were particularly affected in 1658, 1683 and 1688 . Its inhabitants had to flee their homeland and moved to Kupang. The Dutch recruited new allies from them without much effort. By 1688 the Dutch East India Company (VOC) concluded treaties with the five small rulers in the area of Kupang, the "five loyal allies" in Sonbai Kecil , Kupang- Helong , Amabi (1665), Amfo'an (1683) and Taebenu (1688). In 1661 the VOC first signed an agreement with Portugal in which - in return for the Dutch post at Kupang - the company recognized Portuguese sovereignty over most of Timor. The Dutch sphere of influence was temporarily limited to this region of Timor, apart from Maubara , which allied itself with the Dutch in 1667. In 1688 the Dutch finally succeeded in conquering Kupang. The Atoni empires of Amanuban and Amarasi, which were allied with Portugal by the Topasse and were at constant war with the five loyal allies, initially stood in the way of further expansion.
In 1650, the Portuguese warned Christian Timorese not to trade with anyone other than themselves. Between 1665 and 1669, several empires were attacked by the Portuguese who had political or economic ties with the Dutch or Makassar merchants. In 1665 Wehale tried to win the Makassar traders as allies and further east they had a great influence in Ade (today Vemasse ) and Manatuto , which also set the Dutch flag, until 1668/69 . A fleet of the Topasse ended this alliance and conquered Ade and Manatuto, whereby they again belonged to Portuguese sovereignty. With the loss of Malacca in 1641 and Makassar in 1665, Macau became more and more important for the Portuguese on Timor as a connection to the outside world. Around 20 junks called the island annually and brought rice and barter goods. Chinese traders established trade relations with the Timorese in the pacified areas and also began to settle in Timor - first in Kupang and Lifau, and later also in Dili. They controlled much of the trade with Macau, including heavy smuggling. From the 1740s on, they traded directly with the Timorese, breaking the Topasse's trading power. For Macau, trade with Timor became the main source of income, especially since the lucrative trade with Japan had been lost in 1639. Until 1695, the Macau Senate issued trading licenses, known as pautas do navio . Then the hold of the ships was divided. One third was available to the shipowner, while two thirds were loaded for the benefit of various Macau citizens, from the captain general to widows and orphans. This system was seen as an advantage by shipowners and lasted for almost a hundred years.
In the late 17th century, several attempts by the Portuguese crown to gain control of all of Timor were foiled. In 1665 (1664?) The Portuguese commander Simão Luis was appointed the first Capitão-Mor of Solor and Timor, but the Larantuka-born died before the official inauguration. He was followed by António da Hornay , a captain of the Topasse, with which the title holder was practically equated with the ruler and commander-in-chief of the Topasse. The Topasse family clans of the Hornays (also Ornai , Horney ) and the Costas became the real rulers in the colony. The Portuguese took advantage of the rivalry between the two clans. The Portuguese viceroy in Goa had also sent the same letter to António da Hornay and Mateus da Costa in 1666, declaring them Capitão-Mor and his representative, provided that they were in power. At the time, this was with António, but Mateus did not accept this and relied on an earlier appointment. Between 1668 and 1670 Mateus da Costa subjugated several kingdoms of the Tetum in the coastal area of Belus for Portugal. From 1671 Mateus was also able to claim the title of Capitão-Mor for himself, but he died in 1673. After a brief interlude by Manuel da Costa Vieira, António da Hornay regained the title in the same year and ruled de facto as prince over Larantuka, Solor and parts of Timor. He is described by the Dutch as so ruthless that they hoped the Timorese would turn against him and the Portuguese because of it. Instead, the Dutch faced one of the few rebellions in their field at the time. In 1678, Raja Ama Besi of Kupang allied with the pro-Portuguese Amarasi to attack the successor to his throne. After the death of António da Hornay in 1693, he was replaced by Father António de Madre de Deus and finally by his brother Francisco da Hornay . Finally, the Hornays and the Costas were united through the marriage of Francisco da Hornay to a daughter of Domingos da Costa , the son of Mateus.
The Topasse were threatened from several quarters, once by Portuguese traders, who were given permission by the Crown to take control of the sandalwood trade, then by the Dominicans, who tried to build their own independent power base in Timor, and finally by local people Rulers who regularly rebelled against both the Topasse and the Portuguese. However, all were united by the struggle against the expansion of the Dutch. Most of the time, the Topasse succeeded in defeating rebellious rulers through repeated alliances. A VOC report from 1689 states:
“The Capitão-mor […] sometimes distributes some clothes and other things to important kings. If a rebellion breaks out here and there, he uses the soldiers in the war, together with other Timorese, because there are many kings on this island, each of whom has his own district. So he [the Capitão-mor] can use them more easily when these or others stand up to bring them back to their senses, without having to raise excessive costs. In addition, he shares the small and large booty with the above-mentioned warriors, so that all those who have followed his call to arms and taken against the rebels have a use. In this way they [the topasse] (if they are not attacked by an outside enemy) can keep the districts around here, and especially on the island of Timor, in strict loyalty without needing any help from the white Portuguese . "
Even if one called oneself “subject to the Portuguese king”, the Topasse ruled over the property, not Portugal. Portuguese officers in Timor received only a license from the Capitão-Mor to extract sandalwood and a small tribute that the local population had to pay. These tuthais consisted of rice, pigs and other natural products. European Portuguese made up a tiny minority in Timor anyway. The English traveler William Dampier observed in 1699:
“... although they value being called Portuguese and respect their religion, most of the men and all women who live here are Indians [Southeast Asians]; and there are very few real Portuguese on the whole island. But of those who call themselves Portuguese there are thousands; and I believe that they owe their strength more to their numbers than to good weapons or discipline. "
In 1695, the viceroy in Goa tried to regain control and was the first governor of Solor and Timor António de Mesquita Pimentel (1696-1697). But it quickly drew the anger of the locals. Pimentel shamelessly plundered them and murdered two of Francisco da Hornay's children. In 1697 Domingos da Costa became the new Capitão-Mor. He finally had Pimentel chained and sent back to Goa. Pimentel's successor André Coelho Vieira was captured by Domingos da Costa in Larantuka in 1698 and had to drive back to Macau. Only António Coelho Guerreiro (1702–1705), sent by the Viceroy in Goa in 1701 , was able to establish himself in Lifau with the support of Bishop Manuel de Santo António, even if the majority of the Topasse were hostile to him. Although Guerreiro ensured peace and order within Lifau, during his three-year tenure he was practically constantly besieged by the Costas. But Domingos da Costa was repeatedly threatened by various rivals.
.svg){kind=small} Governors of Portuguese Timor 
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On February 20, 1702, Guerreiro began his service in Lifau. The Dominicans were officially released from the administration of the property. Guerreiro built up a colonial administration and gave the Liurais the military rank of Coronel (colonel) - a tradition that was continued in Timor until the end of the Portuguese colonial era in 1975. Guerreiro held out until 1705 before he had to leave. After Manuel de Santo António (1705) Lourenço Lopes (1705-1706) took over the administration of the colony. He was followed by Manuel Ferreira de Almeida (1706-1708 and 1714-1715), who does not appear in the official list of governors and was probably a rival of Domingos da Costas. The Portuguese returned to Lifau, but their power remained limited. Manuel de Santo António ensured at Domingos da Costa that the new Portuguese governor Jácome de Morais Sarmento (1708-1710) was recognized again. But there was a dispute between Morais Sarmento and Manuel de Santo António. Morais Sarmento had Dom Mateus da Costa, the Liurai of Viqueque , arrested against all rights in 1708 and humiliated him. Manuel de Santo António himself had converted the ruler to Christianity, but Morais Sarmento felt that he was “too independent” and wanted to replace him. Domingos da Costa then besieged Lifau until 1709. Manuel de Santo António saved the situation by going to the camp of Domingos da Costa and persuading the Topasse ruler to put himself back under the Portuguese crown. The subsequent governor Manuel de Souto-Maior (1710-1714) rehabilitated Dom Mateus, but the alliance between the clergy and the civil administration was destroyed. The topasse continued to dominate the sandalwood trade in the interior of the island. Sometimes the Portuguese and the Dutch worked together to bring Topasse and Timorese back under control.
Topasse rule collapses and the Portuguese are driven to Dili
After another interlude by Manuel Ferreira de Almeida, which ended fatally, Domingos da Costa (1715-1718) had control of the colony himself until it was again taken over by the new governor from Portugal Francisco de Melo e Castro (1718-1719) has been. In 1719 the Liurais of a dozen or so rich met in Camenaça to make a blood pact. The aim of the federal government was to expel the Portuguese and Christianity as a whole. The Camenaça Pact (Camnace Pact) is considered to be the beginning of the Cailaco Rebellion (1719–1769). Governor Melo e Castro had to flee and Bishop Manuel de Santo António took over the official duties (1719-1722). But there was also an open conflict between Manuel de Santo António and the Topasse. In 1722 the bishop sent Arraias , as Timorese auxiliary troops were called, from Amakono (Groß-Sonba'i) against the Topasse. The amakono were slaughtered. At the same time, other Arrais fought against rebels in Belu. Luca warriors attacked a squad of Moradores who were collecting the Fintas and were on their way from Lifau to Cailaco . Fintas were tribute payments from the kingdoms allied with Portugal in the form of natural produce, as was common between the Timorese rulers. The trigger was less the obligation to pay, which was introduced between 1710 and 1714, than the violence with which the taxes were collected. Only Governor António Moniz de Macedo (1725–1728 and 1734–1741) was supposed to set a regulation in writing for the first time on July 10, 1737 about the collection of Fintas. Until then, the levies were levied quite arbitrarily and in some cases the income did not even cover the costs of collection. The idea of a poll tax was initially abandoned and only taken up and implemented again at the beginning of the 20th century.
1722 met the new Portuguese governor António de Albuquerque Coelho (1722-1725) in Lifau. This exiled bishop Manuel de Santo António, who was considered a difficult character, from Timor. He was not to return to the island until his death in 1733. The banishment of Manuel de Santo António created problems because many Timorese allies had little interest in fighting for a governor who had sent their venerable bishop away. Albuquerque Coelho was besieged for three years by the Topasse under Francisco da Hornay II in Lifau, as was his successor Macedo for a long time. Even later, the bishops of Malacca repeatedly resided in Lifau. In 1739, Bishop António de Castro came to Timor and founded the first seminary here in 1742. In 1743 he died at the age of 36 due to the climate. His remains were interred in Lifau. In 1749 Bishop Geraldo de São José came to Lifau. He is said to have died under mysterious circumstances in 1760.
Long decision-making processes were a major problem for the administration of the colony. In 1723 traders from Macau complained to the Viceroy in Goa that taxes that Albuquerque Coelho had introduced on the sandalwood trade would make the trip to the islands unprofitable. The complaint was forwarded to the king in Portugal, who only referred it to the Council of Ministers in the Overseas Ministry for examination in August 1725, through his State Secretary. After the latter assessed the taxes as excessive, the viceroy in Goa was finally instructed on March 23, 1726 to abolish the taxes.
In 1725 the rebellion broke out with all its might when the Liurai of Lolotoe refused to pay his fintas and the Portuguese collectors found it difficult to flee to Batugade. Under the leadership of Camenaça, churches were destroyed and missionaries and converted Timorese were murdered. The newly arrived Macedo first tried to negotiate with the rebels, but then sent troops to Cailaco, which was considered the rebel headquarters. The Pedras de Cailaco (Rock of Cailaco), the steep cliffs of Mount Leolaco ( 1929 m ), offered the empire a natural fortress and were considered impregnable. The Portuguese besieged Cailaco for over 40 days from October 23 to December 8, 1726, but then had to give up, also due to heavy rainfall. On January 13, 1727, some rebel leaders gave in and signed a new alliance with the Portuguese. In 1730, Governor Pedro de Melo (1728–1731) moved to Manatuto and had to repel an attack by 15,000 warriors there. After 85 days he managed to break the siege. Although he was unable to drive the rebels out of this region, he made alliances with the Liurai of Manatuto and other local rulers - a circumstance that should facilitate the later relocation of the colonial capital from Lifau to Dili. On his return Melo found that Topasse and Timorese were again besieging Lifau. Only the timely arrival of Melo's successor Pedro de Rego Barreto da Gama e Castro (1731-1734) prevented the Portuguese from having to give up Lifau. Gama e Castro managed to make peace with Camenaça and others by 1732, but new rebellions kept breaking out. When António Moniz de Macedo took up his second term in 1734, he was greeted surprisingly friendly by the Topasse leader and Capitão-Mor Gaspar da Costa . Another alliance between the Portuguese and Topasse came about in 1737.
The Topasse tried three times to drive the Dutch from Timor: 1735, 1745, 1749. In 1748 Amfo'an attacked the Topasse, whereupon they devastated Amanuban and Amakono. Both then moved to the VOC warehouse. Amakonos ruler fled with his men to Kupang, which is considered to be one of the triggers for the joint attack by the Portuguese and Topasse on October 18, 1749 on Kupang. This ended in disaster despite the overwhelming power. The Dutch had called on their Timorese allies and Marjdikers of Solor, Roti and Semau for help. The Marjdikers were a mixed population of different "Indian peoples" who, unlike the Topasse, did not admit to the Catholic faith . They established themselves in inter-island trade and supported the Dutch. At the battle of Penfui (now where Kupang's airport is located ) on November 9, 1749, a last attempt to drive the Dutch out of Kupang failed. A force of 50,000 men led by Gaspar da Costa did not succeed in defeating the 23 European soldiers and several hundred local defenders. Gaspar da Costa and many other Topasse leaders were killed. A total of 40,000 warriors of the Topasse and their allies are said to have perished. Other literature sources speak of only 2,000 deaths. As a result of the defeat, the rule of the Portuguese and Topasse in West Timor collapsed. Even Amarasi, one of the Portuguese 'most loyal allies, switched sides. In April 1751 Liurais rose again from Servião ; According to a source, Gaspar is said to have died here.
In the years that followed, the Dutch's new allies wavered again. Topasse and Portuguese were able to move the empires of Amarasi and Amakono back to an alliance with great promises. According to Dutch sources, Catholic priests worked with "the most beautiful promises" and "the darkest threats".
In March 1752, the Dutch commander of Kupang, the German Hans Albrecht von Plüskow , attacked the empire of Amakono and shortly afterwards also Amarasi and the Topasse empire of Noimuti . The Emperor of Amakono was exiled to Batavia. The Liurai of Amarasi, surrounded by enemies, had themselves and all women and children killed by their own people. Over a hundred people died. In Noimuti Plüskow took 400 prisoners and captured 14 cannons.
At the instigation of the VOC diplomat Johannes Andreas Paravicini , 48 rulers of Solors, Rotis, Sawus , Sumbas and a large part of West Timor concluded alliances with the Dutch East India Company in 1756. This was the beginning of Dutch rule in what is now Indonesian West Timor. Among the signatories was a certain Jacinto Correa (Hiacijinto Corea) , "King of Wewiku-Wehale" and "Grand Duke of Belu", who also signed the dubious Treaty of Paravicini on behalf of 27 empires under his control in central Timor . Fortunately for the Portuguese, Wehale was no longer powerful enough to pull all local rulers to the side of the Dutch. So 16 of the 27 former vassals of Wehales in the east remained under the flag of Portugal, while Wehale itself fell under Dutch rule. However, the Dutch did not really enjoy their land gain, as they still had little access to the lucrative sandalwood. They never succeeded in making profits comparable to those of the Portuguese or Chinese in the sandalwood trade.
When Francisco da Hornay III. took over the management of the Topasse from his late father João da Hornay in 1757, there was a dispute with the Costas over the claim. The dispute ended with the marriage of Francisco with the sister of Domingos da Costa II and the appointment of Domingo as lieutenant general. António da Costa, Domingos' younger brother, became ruler of Noimuti. Larantuka was controlled by Dona Maria, João's sister. The Dutch took the opportunity. They persuaded Maria to marry an attractive Dutch official and thus brought Larantuka into the sphere of influence of the VOC.
In 1759, the governor Vicento Ferreira de Carvalho (1756-1759) decided to give up and sell Lifau to the Dutch. When the Dutch wanted to take possession of the place under Hans Albrecht von Plüskow in 1760, they were faced with a Topasse force. From Plüskow was from Francisco da Hornay III. and António da Costa murdered. The extent to which the new Portuguese governor Sebastião de Azevedo e Brito (1759–1760) was involved in the defense is contradictory in the sources. The relationship between the governor and Dominicans had deteriorated significantly by this time. Finally, the Dominican Jacinto da Conceição had the governor Azevedo e Brito arrested and deported him to Goa. Brother Jacinto da Conceição took over the administration of the colony (1760–1761) together with a councilor (Conselho Governativo) with Vicente Ferreira de Carvalho and Dom José, the Liurai of Alas . But Jacinto da Conceição was murdered by a co-conspirator. From 1762 the government council of brother Francisco de Purificação and Francisco da Hornay III. guided. 1763 the new governor Dionísio Gonçalves Rebelo Galvão arrived on Timor, but he died on November 28, 1765. He was by Francisco da Hornay III. poisoned. Again the Dominicans took over the administration of the colony , this time under António de São Boaventura with José Rodrigues Pereira. Since Francisco da Hornay III. was excluded from power, he besieged Lifau from 1766. With his relative António da Hornay II, Francisco made an alliance and ended the temporary division of the Topasse with the aim of driving the Portuguese from Timor for good.
In 1768, the new Portuguese governor António José Teles de Meneses (1768–1776) landed in Lifau with a battalion that was recruited in Sikka. But even this reinforcement did not bring about a turning point. In view of the ongoing siege, Teles de Meneses finally gave up Lifau on August 11, 1769 and left Lifau on ships with 1,200 people heading east. On October 10th, the governor began expanding Dilis into the new administrative center. Shortly afterwards, 42 Liurais swore allegiance to Portugal, including the influential Dom Felipe de Freitas Soares, ruler of Vemasse , and Dom Alexandre, ruler of Motael , who contractually transferred the entire plain from Dili to the surrounding mountains to Portugal. Due to the previous contacts of the Dominicans with the Timorese rulers, with missions in Manatuto and Viqueque already being founded, Portugal was able to rely on a relatively large amount of support from the Liurais at this time. This was later no longer the case. Francisco da Hornay offered Lifau to the Dutch, but they refused after careful consideration.
The struggle for the ultimate limit
When Dilis was founded, there was a balance of strength between the Portuguese, Dutch and Topasse in Timor. Portugal ruled the north coast of Timor from Batugade to Lautém , with the exception of Maubara, where the Dutch had built a fort in 1756 . Portuguese rule relied on native allies. South of Dili there were Motael, Dailor , Atsabe and Maubisse . To the west, the kingdoms of Ermera , Liquiçá and Leamean supported the Portuguese. In the east they found allies in Hera and Vemasse. The border with West Timor was secured by the empires of Servião , Cowa and Balibo, and in the southeast, across the mountain range, the empires of Samoro , Lacluta and Viqueque were allies of Portugal at that time . However, there were gaps in the alliance system on the south coast and in the east. Basically Timor was now divided into a sphere of influence of the Dutch in the west, with the exception of the Topasse area, and a Portuguese sphere of influence in the east.
The sandalwood deposits on the island had already decreased significantly by 1710 due to excessive deforestation. The Cailaco rebellion and the entry of Chinese traders from Canton into trade between China, Timor and Batavia in 1723 made trade from Macau unprofitable. And the Dutch East India Company also decided in 1752, faced with significant losses, to give up its monopoly on the sandalwood trade and to allow anyone against a commission to cut sandalwood. The result was that the sandalwood trade finally fell under the control of Chinese traders. Only one or two schooners a year came to Kupang from Batavia and brought various materials which they exchanged for wax, turtle shells, some sandalwood and beans. According to a French report from 1782, the profit was just enough to cover the costs. Governor João Baptista Vieira Godinho (1785-1788) tried to break the Chinese monopoly by advocating free trade between Timor and Goa. In 1785 Dili had, at least nominally, sovereignty over the trade tariffs in Portuguese Timor. This was important because the salaries of the governor and officials were paid for by them - a circumstance that would later lead to payment difficulties. Several customs stations were built on the north coast, which also documented the Portuguese claim to ownership. As a result of the trade facilitation, more Portuguese and Armenian families also settled here .
In 1779, Governor Caetano de Lemos Telo de Meneses (1776 to 1779) was exiled to Mozambique . He was accused of causing the fire in the Dili archives through criminal negligence, which destroyed much of the colony's records. In addition, there were massive complaints about the administration, for example by the Bishop of Macau, who complained in a letter in 1777 about the scandalous behavior of the governor. In 1777 (according to other sources 1776, 1779 or 1781) the empire of Luca rose up due to repression against the animistic religion in a revolt against the Portuguese colonial rulers that lasted until 1785, the " war of the mad " ( Portuguese guerra de loucos , also called guerra dos doidos ). A "prophetess" had announced to the warriors that the ancestors would support them to shake off the yoke of the strangers. The warriors considered themselves invulnerable. Viqueque supported the Portuguese in suppressing the rebellion. Similar groups who try to protect themselves with magical rituals in battle can still be found in East Timor today. The rebellion was successfully put down by Governor Godinho. Lifau was also able to persuade Godinho to return to Portuguese rule in 1785. On Solor he guaranteed the Topasse leader Pedro da Hornay his title and status as lieutenant general ( tenente general ), as did his nephew Dom Constantino do Rosario , the king of Solor. Dom Constantino then guaranteed his loyalty to Portugal and offered assistance in the defense of Dilis. Pedro da Hornay took military action against the Dutch due to the alliance with Godinho, but this was not approved by the Viceroy of Goa at the time. Godinho, widely regarded as a capable governor, was dismissed early. A step that Goa later regretted. His successor, Governor Feliciano António Nogueira Lisboa (1788 to 1790) soon got into a dispute with the representative of the Catholic Church in Manatuto, the monk Francisco Luis da Cunha . Both accused each other of robbery and the theft of customs revenue, among other things. To get rid of the governor, the monk incited the people of Manatuto to rebellion. Christianized Timorese threatened to spread the revolt to all of Belu. Finally, the Viceroy of Goa took action, had both men arrested and deported from Timor. The new governor Joaquim Xavier de Morais Sarmento (1790 to 1794) brought the situation back under control. In the meantime, the Topasse ruler Pedro da Hornay attacked Maubara unsuccessfully on behalf of Portugal in 1790, with which he only managed to get the empire west of Dili to renew its alliance with the Netherlands and to set the flag of the Netherlands as a symbol . The Dutch also struggled with rebellions in the 1750s and 1780s. Worst of all was the renewed loss of Great Sonba'i, which now moved as an independent empire between the Dutch and the Portuguese.
By 1800 Portugal had about 40 military posts along the coast and a military camp with 2,000 local soldiers, who were commanded by Portuguese officers. Some of these were also Indian sepoys . Most of the 50 to 60 officers lived in Dili, but some were also stationed in the outposts. First and foremost, they were intended to prevent Dutch ambitions in East Timor, but for a long time the fortifications of Dilis were inadequate and the cannons were mostly in poor condition. A company of Moradores was stationed in Manatuto to secure Portugal's influence in the important center of the domain. Due to the chronic staff shortage, even deportees from Goa were used for the lower ranks in the administration . But Timorese came to Goa unintentionally during this time. Dom Felipe de Freitas , the illegitimate son of the Liurais of Vemasse, was exiled to Goa in 1803 by Governor João Vicente Soares da Veiga (1803 to 1807) as the first Timorese rebel . Until then, this punishment had not been common. A revolt broke out in Venilale in 1807 when the Liurai Cristóvão Guterres was unjustly arrested. Only in Goa was he acquitted by a court. After the death of Governor António Botelho Homem Bernardes Pessoa , in his first year in office, the post of governor was vacant from 1810 to 1812 and a Conselho Governativo led the fortunes of the colony. Power was in the hands of Dom Gregório Rodrigues Pereira , the Liurai of Motael , Lieutenant Colonel ( tenente-coronel ) Joaquim António Veloso and José de Anunciação , the bishop who was residing in Manatuto at the time . The new governor Vitorino Freire da Cunha Gusmão (1812 to 1815) first had to assert himself against these parties . In the meantime Lacluta, Maubara and Cailaco rebelled against the tribute payments in 1811.
Great Britain occupied the Dutch possessions on Timor between 1811 and 1816 in order to prevent French attempts to establish themselves here during the Napoleonic Wars . Indeed, at the end of the 18th century there were already considerations in France to acquire territories in the region, but in the end these efforts were never pushed beyond a few research expeditions. After the return of the Orange to the Dutch throne, the Dutch received their Timorese possessions back on October 7, 1816. Portugal, allied with the British, took the opportunity to renew its claims to the river port of Atapupu , between Oe-Cusse Ambeno and Batugade, and took control in 1812. Atapupu became a major source of customs revenue for the Portuguese colony.
In 1814, several Portuguese possessions on the Lesser Sunda Islands were administered from Dili. In addition to Portuguese Timor, these were the realms of Sikka , Larantuka and Noumba on Flores, Solor, the two realms of Alor, Lembata (Lomblen) , Pantar , Adonara and a few other smaller possessions. Governor José Pinto Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa (1815 to 1820) had to put down a rebellion in Batugade. He was just as unable to prevent the Dutch from occupying the island of Pantar as the occupation of Atapupus on April 20, 1818 by 30 Dutch soldiers who, on behalf of Hazaert , their commander in West Timor, took possession of the river port and the Portuguese flag replaced by the flag of the Netherlands . Behind the occupation were the ambitions of Chinese traders from Kupang who wanted to save the tariffs demanded by Portugal in this way. Atapupu was an important port for smaller ships and a major source of customs revenue for the Portuguese. Governor Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa complained in Batavia about Hazaert's arbitrary occupation, his efforts to conquer Batugade and to stir up the local rulers and the Chinese traders against the Portuguese. Alcoforado de Azevedo e Sousa threatened to take troops against the Dutch in Timor and demanded financial compensation. However, the commission found that the Portuguese had incorrectly stated the facts and rehabilitated Hazaert, who returned to his office in Kupang in 1820. It is believed that Portugal retaliated for the loss by providing men and arms to the rebellious ruler of Amanuban in West Timor.
In 1832 the long-time governor Manuel Joaquim de Matos Góis (1821 to 1832) died in Dili. A Conselho Governativo took over the administration, to which Francisco Inácio de Seabra , brother Vicente Ferreira Varela and José Pereira de Azevedo belonged. In the same year the new governor Miguel da Silveira Lorena arrived in the colony, but he too died shortly after his arrival. Again the Conselho Governativo took over , but a dispute broke out. Vicente Ferreira Varela had the other two members of the council arrested and now ran the business alone until the new governor José Maria Marques (1834 to 1839) arrived in Dili.
In 1838 the British founded the settlement of Port Essington in what is now the Australian Northern Territory . The settlers faced many difficulties. After they had previously supplied themselves with food from the Dutch colony on Kisar , in early 1839 they brought water buffalo, Timor ponies and some English newspapers from Dili to Port Essington. On February 13, the British commander Sir James J. Gordon Bremer visited Dili and secured further help from the local governor Frederico Leão Cabreira (1839 to 1844) for the new settlement due to the old alliance between the two colonial powers. Even if Port Essington was given up again by the British in 1849, the renewal of the alliance with the British meant additional support for Portugal against the expansion pressure from the Dutch in this region.
On September 20, 1844, Macau, along with Portuguese Timor and Solor, was separated from Goa as a separate general government. In the same year, the Portuguese ports of Timor were declared free ports, which means that ships from other nations were now allowed to dock in the ports to trade. Dili benefited from the import and export duties. In 1846 the Netherlands began talks with Portugal about taking over Portuguese territories, but Portugal initially turned down any offer. In 1847 there was a dispute over the belonging of the islands of Pantar and Alor. The Liurai von Oecussi from the Hornay clan claimed it as part of his dominion, which thus fell under Portuguese suzerainty. The Dutch from Kupang, in turn, claimed the two islands. Governor Julião José da Silva Vieira (1844 to 1848) rejected this and supported the Liurai in his claim. Both sides strengthened their troops on Timor, but it was clear that Portugal was losing out here, both financially and in terms of strength. In 1850 the Netherlands proposed again negotiations on the demarcation of the boundary on the Lesser Sunda Islands.
But the military weakness of the Portuguese was also evident in protecting the colony from external threats. In 1847, for example, Buginese pirates or slave hunters probably attacked a place in what is now Lautém , which was not unusual at that time. Governor Silva Vieira sent a military expedition, but it was defeated by the pirates. Three soldiers were killed in the process. For another four and a half months, the 70 Buginese managed to defend themselves against a siege by 3000 warriors who had drawn the local rulers together.
The subsequent governor António Olavo Monteiro Tôrres (1848 to 1851) faced an uprising by an apostate Moradores in Ermera with only 120 (mostly Timorese) soldiers. 6000 warriors devastated Ermera and killed the local Liurai and 60 of his followers. Governor Tôrres was forced to seek help from the Liurai of Oecussi, who then attacked the rebel empire of Balibo. On this occasion, they raised the Portuguese flag in Janilo ( Djenilo ), which in turn attracted the Dutch, who feared that the port of Atapupu would lose its connection with the interior. Negotiations to settle the border disputes led by José Joaquim Lopes de Lima on the Portuguese side were unsuccessful. At the same time rulers of Pantar and Alor complained that Oecussi's rulers would intervene in internal conflicts on the neighboring islands and claim them for Portugal. Tôrres revoked the claims.
On October 30, 1850, the Portuguese possessions on the Lesser Sunda Islands received the status of an autonomous province that was directly subordinate to Lisbon. The reason for this is said to have been the appointment of José Joaquim Lopes de Lima (1851 to 1852) as governor of the colony, who arrived in Dili on June 23, 1851. He was previously the provisional governor general of Goa (Governador Geral Interino) , an appointment as simple district governor (Governador Subalterno) would have been equivalent to demotion. Another reason was the distance to Macau, which made quick decisions impossible. The colony was placed under the direct control of the central government, a government and finance council was founded in Dili and two Timorese were accepted into the colonial government.
Lopes de Lima sent a punitive expedition against the empire of Sarau , which was suspected of collaborating with the Buginese pirates. The retaliatory action over eight months, in which the gunboat Mondego was also used, ultimately brought in compensation of 2,000 rupees. The heads of the fallen opponents were brought back to Dili and displayed at the Likurai dance. The Timorese practice was repeatedly used by the Portuguese to deter rebellions in the following years.
In 1851 the Dutch and Portuguese sent a commission to clarify the property disputes. In July Lopes de Lima reached an agreement with Baron von Lynden , the Dutch governor of Kupang, in Dili on the colonial borders in the region, but without authorization from Lisbon. In it, the Portuguese claims to most of West Timor were finally given up in favor of the Dutch, for which the Dutch exclave Maubara in the east should go to Portugal. Solor, Pantar, Alor and the eastern part of Flores that remained in Portugal were sold to the Dutch. The reason for Lopes de Lima's arbitrary decision was the bankruptcy of the Portuguese colony. The officials had not received a wage for two years, the warship Mondego was in need of repair and Lopes de Lima wanted to buy some schooners to get the trade going again. Therefore, he also requested an immediate payment of a first installment of 80,000 florins of the 200,000 florins total. Lopes de Lima must also be credited with the fact that the properties on Flores were more of a losing proposition and that economic relations with the other islands only existed vaguely.
As might be expected, the Portuguese governor fell out of favor when Lisbon learned of the treaty, even if the territories sold were more of a burden than a gain for the Portuguese colonial empire. On September 8, 1852 Lopes de Lima's successor Manuel de Saldanha da Gama (1852 to 1856) arrived on board the Mondego in Dili, had his predecessor arrested and sent him back to Lisbon. Lopes de Lima died of a fever on the return journey in Batavia.
On September 15, 1851, the colony was returned to Macau's sovereignty, but the agreements with the Dutch could not be reversed, even if the treaty on the borders was renegotiated from 1854 and only finally signed as the Treaty of Lisbon in 1859 . The various small kingdoms of Timor were divided under Dutch and Portuguese authority. The Dutch ceded Maubara to the Portuguese (April 1861) and recognized their claims to Oecussi and Noimuti. In return, the Portuguese accepted the Dutch sovereignty over Maucatar and Lamaknen . This meant that the treaty had some weak points. With Maucatar and Noimuti, an enclave without sea access each remained in the territory of the other side. In addition, the imprecise borders of the Timorese empires and their traditional claims formed the basis for the colonial demarcation.
Between 1889 and 1892, it was alleged that Portuguese officials mistreated Timorese people in Dutch territory, creating further tension between the colonial powers . With the Lisbon Convention , which was signed on June 10th, 1893, and a declaration of July 1st, an expert commission “for the development of civilization and trade” and for the dissolution of the still existing enclaves was set up. If there were any difficulties, a mediator should be called in. The allegations against the Portuguese officials have been withdrawn. The commission visited Timor and between 1898 and 1899 came to an agreement on most of the border line. Above all, the problem with the enclaves Noimuti and Maucatar, separated from the sea, remained unsolved. To this end, it was agreed to jointly reject claims by third nations in favor of the contract partner. The desire for a right of first refusal for East Timor was also the original reason why the Netherlands now entered into negotiations with Portugal again. There were rumors that Russia and Germany wanted to set up a coal station in Portuguese Timor, or that the colony could be exchanged with Germany, France or Great Britain for the recognition of Portuguese claims in Africa. In fact, on August 30, 1898, Germany and Great Britain agreed in the Angola Treaty on a joint loan for heavily indebted Portugal, for which the Portuguese colonies were provided as pledge. In the event of insolvency, Portuguese Timor would have fallen to Germany. As early as 1899, however, the treaty was undermined by the extension of the British guarantee of protection for Portugal and all of its possessions.
In 1897 there was fighting for llama between Lamaquitos , which was under Portuguese sovereignty, and the Dutch-dominated Lakmaras . In Lakmaras itself there were skirmishes between the two colonial troops, which resulted in deaths. Between June 23 and July 3, 1902, conferences were held again in The Hague . It was argued whether Oe-Cusse Ambeno was part of the Lisbon Convention on the exchange of enclaves or not. Portugal disagreed, as the area has a coastline and therefore does not fall under the definition of an enclave. The claim of the Dutch to Maucatar was justified so far with the suzerainty over Lakmaras, which created a connection to Maucatar. In the meantime, however, Lakmaras had become subject to the kingdom of Lamaquitos in the Portuguese sphere of influence and, according to the previous agreements, Maucatar would have to fall as an enclave to Portugal. On the other hand, the realm of Tahakay (Tahakai, Tafakay, Takay) had meanwhile fallen to the realm of Lamaknen. But Tahakay belonged to the Portuguese sphere of influence, Lamaknen to the Dutch. Portugal fought against this loss in the negotiations and therefore now demanded the entire Dutch area in central Timor. A compromise was reached with the The Hague Convention of October 1, 1904. Portugal was to receive the Dutch enclave of Maucatar in exchange for the Portuguese enclave of Noimuti and the border areas of Tahakay, Tamira Ailala (Tamiru Ailala) and Lamaknen. The disputed areas in the east of Oe-Cusse Ambeno were awarded to the Dutch. Portugal ratified the treaty until 1909, but then there was a dispute over the demarcation of the border on the eastern border of Oe-Cusse Ambeno. In 1910, the Netherlands took advantage of the confusing situation after the fall of the Portuguese monarchy to re-appropriate Lakmaras with European and Javanese troops.
In February 1911, Portugal tried to occupy Maucatar following the 1904 Convention. However, in June it was faced with a superior Dutch force made up of Ambrose infantry, supported by European soldiers. On June 11th, the Portuguese occupied Lakmaras, but on July 18th, Dutch and Javanese troops also invaded the area. Three Mozambicans died, and Lieutenant Francisco da Costa and his men were taken prisoner. After the victory of the Dutch, the Portuguese now sought a peaceful settlement. They soon got into trouble because of the Manufahi rebellion , which made them ready to negotiate. After a lengthy exchange of letters between the cabinets of the Länder, an agreement was reached in the 1913 Convention to leave the decision on the disputes to an arbitrator. On June 25, 1914, the Swiss judge Charles Édouard Lardy from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague made an arbitral award (Sentenca Arbitral) . Both colonial and local representatives were asked about the demarcation of borders, but since the inner Timorese disputes were viewed as too conflictual, the court of arbitration orientated itself on the existing colonial circumstances. As a result, a later military administrator reported that the border was of no great concern to the local population, as friends and relatives of the Oe-Cusse Ambenos people often lived in the areas ceded to the Netherlands. The land survey work was completed in April 1915. On August 17, 1916, the treaty was signed in The Hague, which defined the largely still existing border between East and West Timor. On November 21st, the territories were exchanged. Noimuti, Maubesi , Tahakay and Taffliroe fell to the Netherlands. Maucatar went to Portugal, which caused panic in the Timorese Empire. Before it was handed over to the Portuguese, 5,000 locals destroyed their fields and moved to West Timor. In Tamira Ailala, they would have preferred to stay with Portugal while the rulers of Tahakay welcomed the move to the Dutch. The mood in Noimuti was divided. The island of Atauro off Dili had already been left to the Portuguese in the treaty of 1859, but it was not until 1884 that the Portuguese flag was raised in a ceremony on the small island, and it was not until 1905 that the residents paid taxes to Portugal.
It borders on irony that only a few years earlier both colonial powers had gained some control over the areas over which they had argued for centuries. Portugal achieved this with the victory over Boaventura in 1912, the Dutch even had to send military expeditions inland almost every year until 1915, mostly against the empire of Amanuban. In 1862, Portugal's governor Afonso de Castro (1859 to 1863) scoffed : "Our empire on this island is nothing but fiction."
The scramble over the border between Portugal and the Netherlands and the fact that the local population belongs to the west or east has had far-reaching consequences to this day. Different ethnic groups that were part of the Wehale Kingdom or its close allies were divided by the border. Today parts of the northern Tetum, Bunak and Kemak live in both Indonesian West Timor and independent East Timor. Traditionally, parts of these peoples are still concerned about a united Timor. If the Indonesians used this tendency in the past to promote the connection of East Timor to Indonesia, later in Indonesia warned against the independence of East Timor out of concern about secessionist tendencies in West Timor and the idea of a united and independent " Greater Timor " (Timor Raya) . However, these tendencies are not very pronounced in the Timorese population and the major parties in East Timor do not support this idea either.
Colonial administration and church
Until the end of the 19th century, the colonial powers did not have real governmental power, but rather spheres of influence in which the indigenous Liurais had absolute power over their empires and consolidated them through domestic, economic and ritual alliances between the kingdoms and tribal areas. Such alliances were usually forged through weddings, whereby the colonial powers were fundamentally disadvantaged in the search for alliances, a circumstance in which the Portuguese saw the greatest obstacle to their control over East Timor. In 1878, the Netherlands actually ruled only a narrow stretch of coast on the Bay of Kupang, in which mainly immigrants from Roti and Sawu lived. It looked similar in the Portuguese Timor. Even after the Portuguese had extended their influence into the interior of the island, control of the area was only indirectly held by the Liurais. Portugal used the principle of “ divide and rule ” , whereby the colonial power could maintain its rule with a small force. Resistance and rebellions from the Liurais were always to be expected, which is why military expeditions were repeatedly necessary. Between 1847 and 1913, the Portuguese had to send more than 60 armed expeditions to finally subjugate the Timorese in the interior of the island and in the south. The Portuguese could not stop wars between the Timorese, headhunting, slave trade or cattle theft during this time. In return, the Timorese understood how to play the two colonial powers on the island against each other. Threatened a punitive action, especially in the border area, the Liurais simply changed their ally and placed themselves under the protection of the other side. In general, the Timorese were not very fond of the Portuguese presence and its military rigor, which is why there were repeated revolts. The Kemak rulers from Atsabe (in today's Ermera municipality) repeatedly resisted the Europeans, with local power struggles also playing a role. Interestingly, many of the revolts against the Portuguese originated in the west of East Timor, on the border with the Dutch possessions. Only in the course of the 19th century did Portugal increasingly manage to expand its colonial control.
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Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Portuguese developed a new political system for the colony. In 1860, Governor Afonso de Castro first divided the colony with its 150,000 inhabitants into ten districts, to which Oecussi was the eleventh in 1863 . Each district was assigned a commander with military and civil authority, whose duties and responsibilities were laid down in 39 articles by Castro. The commanders were the extended arm of the governor responsible for peace in their districts and had to make an inspection tour of all empires in their district at least every two months. They had to find out about all incidents and could also punish the residents for offenses. The governor could only impose punishments on the Liurais. The commanders were also responsible for collecting taxes and setting up the coffee plantations . Each empire had to cede five men for the district guard to the district commander. These soldiers received European training, were clothed and armed. In addition, each empire provided a man as a servant for the commandant and horses and men for the inspection trip. The commanders of the Liurais were not allowed to accept gifts. In 1894 its own currency was introduced for the first time, the pataca , which was equivalent to the pataca Macaus .
A regular Portuguese military unit was only stationed in the colony from 1818 after a series of uprisings. The battalion "Defensor de Timor" ( Defender of Timor , Batalhão Defensor for short ) set up in Goa shrank to the size of a company by 1850 as a result of constant losses and difficulties with new recruits. Governor Luís Augusto de Almeida Macedo (1856 to 1859) rebuilt the unit to its old strength of around 300 men. The colony's constant lack of money tormented him. When the Manumera Empire rebelled, Macedo was forced to use money to pay officers and employees to buy weapons, ammunition and equipment to fight Manumera. He repeatedly asked the government in Lisbon to settle the bill for the repair of the Brigg Mondega for 13,060 rupees and the promised subsidies of 6,000 patacas a year did not materialize. Governor Afonso de Castro increased the armed forces. In addition to the warriors ceded by the Timorese empires, Castro planned to bring 300 to 400 African soldiers from Angola and Mozambique to Timor. They tolerated the climate better than Europeans and were considered more obedient than the locals, even if Governor Rafael Jácome de Andrade (1888 to 1889) later stated:
“The Africans who are sent here are generally incorrigible, disobedient, averse to discipline, and vicious. The Europeans, if they do not come as incorrigible ones, are volunteers of the army of the metropolis [of European Portugal] or police forces of Macau, who prefer the term volunteer to that of the incorrigible. "
The European soldiers were mostly deportees , those who had been transferred to prison and those who wanted to escape political and other problems at home or in the other colonies (the so-called volunteers). The African soldiers were mostly criminals, deserters and other problem cases from the African colonies of Portugal. Once in Timor, they became more obedient because there was no longer any possibility of desertion and flight. The Timorese were afraid of the dark Africans and developed a particular hatred for them. In 1872 there were 138 European and 33 African soldiers in Portuguese Timor (counts indicate that 101 Africans lived in the colony in 1927, 157 in 1936 and 54 in 1950). At that time, a European soldier received 120 Réis, an African 88 Réis and a Timorese 58 Réis. However, there were always delays in paying the wages. With consequences: Governor José Manuel Pereira de Almeida (1863 to 1864) was driven out by the troops because they had not received any money for a year. His successor José Eduardo da Costa Meneses (1864 to 1865) had no choice but to take out a loan from the Dutch neighbors. When Costa Meneses returned to Lisbon in 1865 due to illness, he was brought to justice because he had exceeded his competencies by borrowing. Costa Meneses died during the trial. Francisco Teixeira da Silva (1865 to 1869), as governor, now had to eliminate the unpleasant consequences of the mutiny. Promotions and pay increases by his predecessor have been withdrawn. The climate, the separation from families and the lack of diversification led to a further demoralization of the colonial troops.
Without the Arraias, Portugal would never have been able to maintain its ownership claims. There were no other Portuguese troops in the colony until 1818. From 1860 on, local troops were expanded into a permanent unit. Only a lieutenant colonel and the three commanders of the companies received pay. The rest of the soldiers retained their irregular status. Governor Afonso de Castro saw an advantage in the Timorese mountains in the fact that the Timorese were not hindered by uniforms and European equipment. The Timorese troops of the Portuguese divided into three companies (Companhias) : the Moradores , the Bidau and the Sica . The Sica were voluntary recruits from the Kingdom of Sikka in the east of the island of Flores, the Bidau to Topasse and the Moradores to Timorese. All three groups lived in their own neighborhoods in Dili. In 1895, due to the difficulties in recruiting for Timor, there were only 28 European soldiers in the colony, who led 12,350 Timorese against the rebellious empires. Under Governor José Celestino da Silva (1894 to 1908) the Moradores received a uniform for the first time.
The administrative laws in force in the motherland since 1842 were also applied in the colony from 1869. But it was precisely the unchecked transfer of laws that led to problems. Governor Afonso de Castro criticized the fact that "savage, ignorant and quasi barbaric peoples were given an administration whose political, economic, civil and criminal laws would not be understood, appreciated, or preferred by these peoples." In addition, Castro denounced that the abundance of power in the military and civil areas could lead to the arbitrariness of the governor. In 1834 Portugal had separated military and administrative powers, but revised this a year later. As early as 1822, the office of governor could only be occupied by military personnel. From 1869, the selection was limited to active officers with experience in administrative service in order to avoid favoritism. The period of service was limited to a maximum of five years, in real terms it was usually only one or two years in the following years. The instability of the Portuguese government rubbed off on the colonies. Every time there was a change of government, the governors were also replaced, which repeatedly led to a change in management style. Another reason for the frequent exchange was that governors repeatedly died on duty (six in total between 1751 and 1887) or asked for early recall due to poor health. The cause was mostly dili fever , or malaria. Violent deaths occurred less often. Governor Alfredo de Lacerda Maia (1885 to 1887) was slain in the revolt of the Moradores . Another problem was that there was often no doctor in Dili. Governor António Olavo Monteiro Tôrres asked in a letter on March 7, 1851 again for an early posting of a successor. He did not want to do the remaining five months in the service because he felt his health was serious for lack of a doctor. Tôrres died on March 24th. He has not received a single written instruction from Macau in his entire tenure.
It was no different for many Portuguese soldiers. The number one cause of death for them was not combat, but diseases that were rampant among them. For a long time they didn't even have proper accommodation. On August 24, 1866, most of Dili's public buildings were burned down, including the military barracks. Even six years later there were only open barracks that were only sparsely covered during the rainy season. Governor Clímaco de Carvalho brought 24 soldiers with him from Macau, nine of whom died in the first eight months. In the 19th century there was also a shortage of trained craftsmen and capable colonial officials, as hardly anyone wanted to take over the offices in view of the poor pay. The result was that Portuguese Timor was repeatedly used as a target for criminal transfers of unwelcome officials. Otherwise, the posts were assigned to officers and non-commissioned officers of the armed forces or even to local, indigenous Liuais. Sometimes individuals held several offices.
The incorporation of Portuguese Timor into the Portuguese colonial empire was subject to constant change during this period. The subordination of the colony to Macau and Goa had financial reasons, as one could streamline the colonial administration. The disadvantage was the limited decision-making power for the governors in Dili. Inquiries to Macau and Goa were time consuming. After the renewed subordination to Macau in 1851, Goa was again responsible for the colony from September 25, 1856. On September 17, 1863, another period followed as an independent province. The governor was assigned a secretary, a judge, a representative of the public prosecutor and a notary and 400 soldiers were permanently stationed in the colony. Timor was only subject to Goa in legal matters. In 1864 Dili received city rights. On November 26, 1866, Portuguese Timor came back under the rule of Macau. After all, the Timorese governor was now given decision-making powers for emergencies and an advisory body at his side, which included the commanding officer of the military, the head of the mission, a judge and a chamberlain. Large parts of Dilis had been destroyed by fire three months earlier. The governor of Macau raised his population to build the city. From March 18, 1869, Macau and Timor were allowed to send a member of the Portuguese parliament, the Cortes, together . De facto, however, this meant only one MP for Macau, while Timor received nothing. After violent protests by the Portuguese administration in Timor, the colony was granted its own seat. Participation in the election of the representative was severely restricted. In 1871 Tomás de Carvalho , a professor at the Lisbon Medical School, was elected with 687 of the 695 votes. The 29 votes from the Batugade district could not be recorded for lack of a literate person. It was not until October 15, 1896 that Portuguese Timor finally became an autonomous district as an independent colony. Financially and with administrative staff, it was still dependent on the colonial centers in Macau and Goa. Macau had to provide a grant of 60,000 patacas annually.
In Macau, Timor was perceived as an expensive appendage, even as a "parasite" . There was a lack of independently generated financial resources, as most of the income consisted almost entirely of natural produce, which came from the tribute payments of the Liurais. Customs duties were also levied on merchandise, but the military posts that had been set up on the north coast in the first half of the 19th century had declined, which is why smuggling flourished in the second half. Of the 50 to 60 ships that called at Timor's ports annually during the reign of Governor Afonso de Castro, not a single one was Portuguese. Mostly it was Australian or American whalers who hunted sperm whales between the Spice Islands and Timor and in the Pacific to Australia . The trade ran through Chinese junks, Dutch schooners or Malay ships from Makassar. It is not surprising that in 1888 the Portuguese MP José Bento Ferreira de Almeida demanded the sale of the expensive colony. In 1889 new posts were finally set up west of Dili in Aipelo , Liquiçá, Maubara, Batugade and Oe-Cusse Ambeno and east of Dili in Manatuto, Baucau and Laga . Customs offices were still missing on the south coast. In 1868 the budget was 9,786 Réis, by 1881 it had increased to 43,722 rice. In 1866, 53% of the budget went to the military alone, and another 25% to administration. After all, they also financed four study grants. Two in Goa, two in Lisbon. Sixty sons of Liurais were educated in a school in Dili and 20 in a mission in Manatuto. In addition, the commandant of the Batugade Fortress taught 15 students. Compared to other colonies, Timor was even exemplary in terms of education.
Governor António Joaquim Garcia (1869 to 1870) reports that in 1870 only 23 liurais paid taxes of an insignificant 2000 florins to Portugal, compared with 44 rulers in 1776. In an 1872 report, Governor João Clímaco de Carvalho (1870 to 1871) divided the Timorese empires into four groups: areas such as Dili, Batugade, Manatuto, Vemasse, Laga and Maubara were under direct Portuguese control. The empires in close proximity to Dili, especially west of the capital, had practically recognized Portuguese suzerainty. The empires in the interior of the island, such as Cailaco, did not recognize this, and there was hardly any contact with the rulers. And finally there were the empires on the border with Dutch West Timor, such as Cowa and Sanirin , who openly rebelled against Portugal or with whom, such as Suai, had not had any connections for years. The Portuguese influence had declined as the missionaries had withdrawn their work to the more comfortable Dili or entirely from Timor since the capital was relocated from Lifau to Dili. Since then there have never been more than eleven missionaries on the island and in 1812 there were only two, including the bishop in Manatuto. In 1831 only five or six priests were still serving on the island. In 1834 the last missionaries were banished from Timor for 20 years. The decree of King Pedro IV was a consequence of the Liberal Revolution in Portugal . On December 26, 1854, the measure was withdrawn by royal decree and priests were sent from Goa to Timor and Mozambique. But even after the clergy returned to Timor, proselytizing the interior of the island seemed to have been given up. In 1861 there were only two missionaries in the colony and they rarely left Dili. In 1874 attempts were made to promote the proselytization of Timor again. On November 12, 1877, missionary work in the interior of the island was ordered by decree and the church was also given the right to found schools in the colony. In the same year nine new missionaries arrived in Timor and were distributed to Batugade, Oe-Cusse Ambeno, Manatuto and Lacluta. Another four missionaries were sent to Bidau and Hera, and one took over the management of the elementary school in Motael. A Chinese-born missionary was entrusted with the care of Chinese school children in Dili. Jacob dos Reis e Cunha , the son of a Liurai, had been ordained a priest in Macau and was missionary on the south coast between Luca and Alas. Before that he had been teaching the sons of Liurais in the mission school in Lahane since 1864. Father António Joaquim de Medeiros was appointed Superior of the Church - appointed Vicar General in 1877 - now stationed in Dili. Medeiros estimated the number of Christians on the island at that time at just 40,000. Other schools were opened by the Canossians in Bidau and Manatuto. In Manatuto the number of students rose to 180. The mission school in Lahane was modernized in 1879 for 16,000 rupees. It now had residential buildings, a mission archive and the first library on Timor. In addition, a college for boys and one for girls was opened in Dili, even if the Liurais were reluctant to send their daughters to school, unlike their sons. In Dili (including Bidau, Lahane and Motael) there were eight schools with 320 students in 1881. In 1890 two more primary schools were opened in Baucau and Manatuto, which also offered lessons for girls. In 1881 Medeiros complained about the quality of the teaching in schools. Teachers neglect the simplest rules of pedagogy and the simplest things like ink and paper are lacking. Medeiros also complained about a lack of support from the Portuguese government. In 1904, a Jesuit school for boys was opened in the Soibada Mission .
In 1910 the missionaries were expelled from the colony by the new republican government, which meant a setback in proselytizing. In 1916 there were only a dozen clergy in Portuguese Timor. From 1920 the church increased its commitment again. In 1928 the number of converted Timorese was just 19,000. With the new Portuguese constitution of 1933 and the laws of 1935, the 1910 decree was repealed and in 1938 20 missions were again operated. Together with Macau, Portuguese Timor formed a common diocese. On September 4, 1940 with the papal bull Solemnibus Conventionubus , the diocese of Dili was separated. Jaime Garcia Goulart was appointed Apostolic Administrator on January 18, 1941, and ordained Bishop Dilis in 1945. He had already been sent to Dili from 1933 to 1937 as commissioner for the diocese of Macau and Timor.
Clube Chum Fuk Tong Su , the first Chinese school in the colony, offered classes in Chinese as well as English, zoology and botany in 1912. Governor Filomeno da Câmara de Melo Cabral (1911-1913 and 1914-1917) set new rules for primary schools in 1916. There were now 16 state schools and nine mission schools in Portuguese Timor. In the rural areas, the focus of training has now shifted to agriculture. From 1940, the Catholic Church had a monopoly on education in the colony through a concordat . The church was associated with the local Portuguese administration and financed the education system from 1941. It conveyed both Catholic and Portuguese cultural values.
Development of the colonial economy
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Slavery was officially banned from 1854, but it took a long time to enforce this among local rulers. In fact, slavery in its Timorese form remained with them well into the 20th century, albeit in the form of economic ties and servants.
Coffee had already been introduced in Maubara, then Dutch, in the middle of the 18th century, but it was not until Governor Vitorino Freire da Cunha Gusmão that it was first planted in the coastal regions west of Dili and in Liquiçá in 1815. Cunha Gusmão also imported sugar cane and started producing rum . In 1858 coffee had finally achieved a considerable share of the export from the colony, alongside the old trade goods, wax, honey, leather, wheat, turtles and horses. In the years that followed, coffee production boomed and prices rose on the world market. While coffee made up 7% of the colony's exports between 1858 and 1860, between 1863 and 1865 it was already 54%. The other export goods quickly lost their importance. For example, while 942 horses were exported in 1859, only three were exported in 1865. The sandalwood trade had previously become unprofitable. Here breeders on Sumba and Roti competed. Instead, more water buffalo were traded. In September 1867 alone, five Dutch and one English ships loaded 661 tons of coffee in Dili. The seeds for the coffee plants were collected in state plantations and grown in breeding stations in different parts of the island. In 1877 the Australian traveler GR McMinn reported that the coffee plantations were created on the northwest slopes of the hills. The irrigation took place from springs above the plantations with bamboo pipes. Banana trees were planted between the coffee bushes, shielding the young plants and additionally watering the coffee with the dew they captured. 1300 tons of coffee are exported annually. However, McMinn criticized that if the plantations were not in the hands of private individuals, they would produce ten times as much coffee. Portugal did not initially follow the example of the large plantations on Java, but it was able to demonstrate the high quality of Timorese coffee. Coffee exports peaked between 1879 and 1892 and remained stable until the 1930s when they temporarily fell by half. The reasons were plant diseases (Hemilea vastarix) and the flooding of the coffee market by Brazil . Even today, coffee is the country's most important export. However, the income was still just enough for the pay of the regular soldiers. Timor remained dependent on Macau subsidies. In 1870, Governor António Joaquim Garcia recommended combating the proven loss in the customs house.
Garcia also hoped for the use of mineral resources: copper in Vemasse, sulfur in Viqueque and gold, salt and coal in Laga. A hope that the Portuguese had had before. At the end of the 17th century, António de São Jacinto reported to King João I in a letter about the discovery of large copper mines on Timor - a statement that is repeated in the sources. Governor Azevedo e Sousa searched for oil, his successor Manuel Joaquim de Matos Góis for gold, copper, saltpeter and other mineral resources. Several copper nuggets were found near Dili, but an English mining engineer was unable to find any significant copper deposits in East Timor in 1861, while in the correspondence of the Dutch Colonial Ministry there were references to copper mines in the west of the island as early as 1849/50. From 1884 onwards, the lamps and street lighting Dilis were supplied with oil from Laclubar . In 1891 another geological expedition went in search of gold, copper and oil. She was able to prove natural gas deposits. The idea of an oil pipeline from Laclubar to Dili and a targeted exploitation of the deposit was not pursued any further. From 1901 onwards, various British, Australian and other companies looked for oil in Timor. An Australian expedition found gold, silver, copper, manganese and chromium in 1936, albeit in such small quantities that mining it would not be worthwhile. Just before the outbreak of World War II , a British consul reported that a small, government-owned refinery was producing eight cans of kerosene a day. In 1940, a Japanese source of chromium, manganese, copper and petroleum spoke in Portuguese Timor. Gold should therefore be available in abundance as nuggets on the southern slopes of the central mountains. In fact, manganese ore was exported to Japan during this period. The small mine was to the east on the south coast. Between 1936 and 1941 the Dutchman Hofman mined manganese ore in Nova Benfica (today: Uatucarbau ) and near Baucau. Shortly before the start of the war, the colonial government agreed to deliver manganese to Australia.
It was only Governor José Celestino da Silva who finally laid the foundations for a functioning plantation system based on the Dutch model. Rubber plantations were established in Hatulia , Uato-Lari and Luca. Coffee cultivation extended to the Ermera region (today the main growing area in East Timor). Instead of small private plantations, Silva relied on large, state-owned plantations. This went hand in hand with colonial capitalism, land expropriation in favor of European settlers and military coercive measures. Silva carried out more than 20 military actions in Timor during his tenure. The Timorese were pressured into forced labor (from the 1890s in road construction and in plantations, for example on coffee plantations in Ermera from 1899 and copra between 1911 and 1917). Nevertheless, the export figures did not increase any further, as the Portuguese administration was still under-developed. In 1906 the poll tax was introduced between the ages of 18 and 60. The administration was later expanded. The local kingdoms were finally abolished in 1908 and the Liurais deposed as regents. The political and administrative restructuring did not change the local ideology or everyday life. Traditional hierarchies remained, supported by local traditions and worldviews. This created a system on two levels - one colonial and one indigenous traditional. Silva's unusually long reign of 14 years as governor can be explained by his personal friendship with the Portuguese King Carlos I. During his tenure, Silva even learned Tetum , the lingua franca of Timor. However, contemporary critics mockingly called him the “King of Timor” because of his style of government and his undisguised self-enrichment . Silva was only recalled after the death of Carlos I. Silva's record is rated very differently. Some criticize the fact that he ruled the colony like his private property and managed it in his own pocket. He is said to have taken the bare essentials for life from the locals. Other historians believe that without Silva's reforms, Portugal would have lost its colony earlier. Silva had finally spread the rule of Portugal over the entire east of the island. A network of military posts, which were even connected by telephone, covered the area (in 1912 the network was 1148 km in size).
The first cocoa trees were planted in 1901, and in 1908 cocoa was exported for the first time (6.2 t to Australia). Between 1911 and 1930 an average of 15 tons of cocoa was exported per year, and from 1931 to 1940 an average of 8 tons per year. From 1910, a total of six companies were involved in setting up coffee, cocoa and cotton plantations. In the young Portuguese Republic, however, preference was given to small, privately owned plantations. 6000 hectares were given to Portuguese individuals. With a decree of December 5, 1910, the governor was given the sole right to assign areas of up to 2500 hectares, district administrators under certain circumstances up to 100 hectares.
Since 1860 a ship belonging to the Dutch Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij (KPM) has been providing the colony's postal service. Portugal paid 500 rupees a month for this plus the freight costs. Before that, all mail, including the official ones, had to be given to traders from Makassar who brought them to Kupang. Passengers and even the new governors of the colony had to travel from Europe on Dutch, British and French shipping lines to reach Portuguese Timor. In the 1940s, this took between 45 and 56 days, including waiting times for the next connection. Since the foreign lines also demanded discounts at customs for the regular connections, Timor became unattractive for Portuguese traders. Sources write that after the drop in tea prices in 1870, no Portuguese merchant ships sailed into Asian waters, which led to the connection between Lisbon on the one hand and Macau and Timor on the other being cut. The seven-year-old steamer Dilly was bought in 1891 , but the ship, with a displacement of 100 tons, had to be scrapped again in 1905 because it had since become unusable.
The telegraph connection was a long time coming. All other Portuguese colonies were connected to the network between 1870 and 1886 by English companies on behalf of the Portuguese government. A telegram to Dili had to be sent to the Portuguese consul in Makassar. It stayed there until another ship left for Timor. In times of crisis in particular, a request for help to the Dutch neighbors was quicker than to Macau, which is far away.
In 1912 the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) opened a branch in Dili. She took over the financial affairs and the money issue in the colonies. She also granted loans to plantation owners. In 1894 the colony's own currency was introduced for the first time, the pataca , which was equivalent to the pataca of Macaus. Mexican silver pataca coins had been in use in Timor since the 1880s. Parallel was to the 20th century Dutch guilder (Florin) used. One pataca was about two guilders. With the opening of the BNU in Dili, Pataca banknotes were issued for the first time, but only Macanese banknotes with the additional imprint "Pagavel em Timor". It was not until 1915 that the government council decided that only the pataca should be valid in Portuguese Timor. The resolution was implemented from May 4, 1918. The colony's own banknotes were issued from January 2, 1920.
In 1914 a syndicate from Hong Kong approached the colonial government with a request for permission to produce opium in Portuguese Timor. After a long period of refusal, the Leong Kwong syndicate finally received permission in 1916, but the first delivery of raw opium from India was confiscated by the British authorities in Singapore because the license to export it from British India was missing. Felling of sandalwood trees was banned in 1926 due to the overgrowth. A state-imposed control that Governor Câmara de Melo Cabral had introduced in 1911 had simply been ignored. The second most important commodity after coffee was copra , which made up around 10% of exports until the Second World War. In order to prevent foreign influence, at least half of the capital of a company operating in the colonies had to come from Portugal. Timor played a special role here because of the Chinese traders. In the 1930s, for example, only 15% of imported goods came from Portugal and Mozambique, mostly wine and sugar. Cotton fabrics, for example, mostly came from Japanese productions. In addition to ship connections with the KPM to Surabaya and Makassar and a short-term line between Macau and Dili, a Japanese line via Surabaya to Palau was set up in 1934 , which was then under Japanese administration. Japan became the third largest buyer of East Timorese coffee after the Dutch East Indies (for further exports) and Portugal. Corn, manganese ore, copra, rubber, cotton and wax were also exported to Japan. Trade with Japan was organized by the Sociedade Agrícola Pátria e Trabalho (SAPT), from which in 1940 the Japanese Nanyo Kohatsu KK bought 48% of the shares. The Nanyo Kohatsu KK was a company that should secure the economic and political interests of Japan in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The SAPT was originally founded by Governor José Celestino da Silva, whose family still belonged to the owners. From 1941 it was the only large plantation and trading company in the colony. It also controlled trade with Portugal, thus controlling 20% of all Portuguese Timor trade. In addition, the SAPT had a monopoly on the purchase of Arabica coffee, the most important and noble variety in Timor.
In 1934 there were reports that Japan wanted to buy their colony from the Portuguese for five million US dollars. Almost simultaneously there were reports that the British would offer the Netherlands and Portugal $ 25 to 50 million for the island of Timor in order to expand the air route from Europe to Australia. The Portuguese government denied these offers a short time later.
In 1929, the Portuguese eased the ban on the sandalwood trade for the Oe-Cusse Ambeno exclave. It had simply been impossible to monitor compliance there. The trees were illegally felled and simply smuggled overland into West Timor, the Netherlands. Therefore, locals were allowed to fell mature trees, only young trees and their roots remained under protection. The stocks continued to decline. In 1939 the sandalwood tree was only called a "botanical relic". The last stocks in Oe-Cusse Ambeno only disappeared during the Indonesian occupation. In the heartland of East Timor it is under strict protection.
In 1860 the Lahane Hospital (Antigo Hospital Português) was built in the south of Dili. In 1906 it was renewed and in 1918 hospitals in Baucau, Same and Bobonaro were added. Mobile medical units were formed in the colony. In the 1930s, other hospitals followed, such as in Liquiçá . There are also three private hospitals, a maternity hospital and about 20 medical wards. In the 1960s, the health network was expanded again.
Securing colonial power
The effect of the measures was very different. The plantations with their cultivation of commercial goods instead of food for daily needs did not change much, but the forced work in road construction was one of the reasons for several rebellions between 1860 and 1912. The assassination of Governor Alfredo de Lacerda Maia in the so-called revolt of the Moradores shook the Portuguese rule difficult. Between December 1893 and February 1894, cholera raged again in the colony, killing at least 1,000 people. After the revolt of Maubara , which was put down with the help of the gunboat Diu , the bodies of the fallen were left lying around, which led to the outbreak of the disease, especially in Maubara, but also in Tibar , Atapupu on Alor and even in Dili . At the turn of the century Boaventura , the Liurai of Manufahi, repeatedly led several Timorese empires against the colonial rulers over the course of 16 years . It was not finally defeated until the Manufahi rebellion in 1911/12 with Portuguese troops from Mozambique and sometimes even from Angola. East Timorese sources estimate that between 15,000 and 25,000 people were killed in the crackdown and many thousands were captured and incarcerated. During the siege on Mount Leolaco alone (not to be confused with the mountain of the same name in Cailaco ), more than 3000 Timorese fighters and civilians are said to have been slaughtered, one of the first colonial massacres of the young Portuguese Republic. Portugal no longer tolerated widespread disobedience. Boaventura disappeared as a prisoner on the island of Atauro. Timorese, like the “traitor Liurai” Nai-Cau and his nephew Aleixo Corte-Real , had also fought on the side of the Portuguese. Up until the Second World War, there was a phase without major, violent confrontations, a phase of peace that had never been seen before in Timor. This was due more to the stricter colonial control than to the general sympathy of the Timorese for the Portuguese.
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The news of the overthrow of the Portuguese monarchy arrived in Dili on October 7, 1910 through a telegram from the Portuguese naval ministry the day before. Governor General Alfredo Cardoso de Soveral Martins (February 5 to October 30, 1910) officially announced the proclamation of the republic on October 30, the blue and white flag of the royal Portugal was lowered and the new green and red flag of Portugal was fired from 21 rounds of salute set. Martins left Dili in early November. The office was continued by Martin's secretary, Captain Anselmo Augusto Coelho de Carvalho . He was replaced on December 22, also by protocol, by Captain José Carrazeda de Sousa Caldas Vianna e Andrade . The move to the republic in Portuguese Timor led to confusion among the Timorese, who were alien to the concept of a republic. Sometimes there was a longing for the monarchy, which the Dutch tried to exploit with propaganda campaigns in the border area. They distributed pictures of their Queen Wilhelmina .
When the First World War broke out , Portugal was initially neutral. In August 1914, the German cruiser Emden appeared off the eastern tip of Timor . Governor Filomeno da Câmara de Melo Cabral reacted quite aggressively and let the head of the Tutuala post board the Emden . This instructed the Emden that they should leave the Portuguese waters immediately. In 1916 Portugal entered the war on the side of the Entente . At that time Portugal feared that the Netherlands might join the war on the side of the Central Powers . In April 1916 it was learned that German warships were in the Dutch East Indies. Then the gunboat Pátria was sent from Macau to Timor. When relations between the Netherlands and Britain fell to a low point, the Dutch gathered troops on the Timorese border in 1917. Ultimately, the Dutch did not enter the war. The period between World War I and World War II was a noticeably quiet phase in Portuguese Timor, with no revolts against Portuguese colonial rule.
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The Indonesian nationalists (Perserikatan Nasional Indonesia) emerging in the Dutch East Indies showed no interest in the Portuguese colony at this time. In any case, the dictatorship of the Estado Novo in Portuguese Timor , which took power in the republic in 1926, prevented any formation of local, political associations, as they emerged in the Dutch West Timor in the 1920s and 1930s ( Timorsch Verbond, Timor Evolutie and others) . Portuguese Timor was politically disinterested even in comparison to other Portuguese colonies. In Goa and Portuguese Guinea (today: Guinea-Bissau ) there was resistance to the Salazar dictatorship , in Mozambique, until it was suppressed, organizations that campaigned for the rights of European-educated Africans. Since the Boaventura rebellion, the assimilated Timorese have shown little political. Political opposition was only to be expected from the approximately 100 Portuguese deportees in Portuguese Timor .
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In addition to the deportees, European emigrants also came to Portuguese Timor in the years after 1927 to settle here. This was sponsored by Teófilo Duarte (1926 to 1928), the first governor of the Estado Novo. One source describes him as a dangerous megalomaniac who suspected plots everywhere. Above all, he is accused of the forced labor of locals for road construction, in which thousands fell ill with tuberculosis. Since the Timorese settlements, which were widely scattered and difficult to access, could hardly be brought under military control or under colonial administration, Duarte had them resettled in new, so-called "native villages". Álvaro Eugénio Neves de Fontoura (1937 to 1940) continued this measure, as did the Indonesians 50 years later. The Timorese often resisted the forced relocations. They neither wanted to leave their holy places nor to new settlements, some of which were located in the malaria-infested lowlands.
From the early 20th century, some East Timorese were hired for the first time in the colonial administration. The Colonial Law of 1930 placed all colonies under direct control of Lisbon. Legislative councils were drawn up from among the colonial elites: administration, church, Portuguese plantation owners and the army. The family clans of the Liurais were integrated into the colonial civil administration as administrators, teachers and in the military. Their children were sent to the Catholic school from 1939, creating a new social class in the colony. Secondary school and further education should only be possible for Timorese from 1952. During this time of the Portuguese dictatorship, the population was divided into "natives" and "non-natives". The latter group also included the Mestiços and "assimilated natives" ( Assimilados ) . Portuguese citizenship was open to non-natives , they also had the right to vote in the Portuguese National Assembly and the local legislative councils. They spoke Portuguese and mostly had a reasonable income. They dominated trade, formed the administration and formed the local political elite. In 1936 a new tax system was introduced. Every adult man had to pay an annual poll tax. Europeans, assimilated people, plantation owners and liurais could be exempted from it. In 1937 further taxes were introduced that affected the whole of everyday life, such as house renovations, bicycles, celebrations (except weddings), alcohol, cockfighting or setting foreign flags. Those of the locals who could not pay their taxes had to do forced labor under the supervision of Moradores. The conditions are described by contemporary Australian sources as brutal. Those who fled were punished as criminals with 100 to 200 blows with a bamboo stick. In 1940 the Dili Police Corps was established.
The Second World War and the last years of the colony
| Military commanders of Timor during World War II | ||
|---|---|---|
 Netherlands:
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Nico Leonard Willem van Straten | December 17, 1941 to May 24, 1942 |
 Australia:
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William Watt Leggatt | December 17, 1941 to February 12, 1942 |
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Australia:
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William Veale | February 12, 1942 to May 24, 1942 |
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Australia:
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Alexander Spence | May 24, 1942 to November 11, 1942 |
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Australia:
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Bernard Callinan | November 11, 1942–1942 or 1943 |
 Japan:
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Sadashichi Doi | February 1942 - August 1942 |
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Japan:
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Yuichi Tsuchihashi | August 1942–1945 (?) |
Although Portugal was neutral, 400 Dutch and Australian soldiers occupied East Timor during World War II in 1941 to forestall a Japanese invasion. Timor was to serve as a buffer for Australia. Portugal protested against the occupation without success. From the night of February 19-20, 1942, the Japanese landed in East Timor with 20,000 men. The small Australian contingent was quickly expelled from Dili. In the mountains they fought together with Timorese volunteers in guerrilla actions against the Japanese. Aleixo Corte-Real, who fought on the side of the Allies and was executed by the Japanese, was transfigured as a Timorese folk hero. In total, between 40,000 and 70,000 Timorese lost their lives in the Second World War, including as a result of bombing from both sides. For example, Lautém was bombed by the Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1944 . The East Timorese still remember the brutality with which Japanese soldiers attacked supporters of the Australians. Torture, executions, systematic rape and flogging by the Japanese are reported. The first roads and airfields were built on Timor through forced labor, some of which are still important today. The Portuguese civilian population was interned. Pro-Japanese groups of Timorese, the black pillars ( Portuguese Colunas Negras ), attacked priests and other civilians. A total of 75 Portuguese died as a result of the Japanese occupation, including Artur do Canto Resende , the administrator of the Dili district. With the surrender of the Japanese in 1945, Portugal regained control of its colony. While West Timor became part of Indonesia, which became independent from the Netherlands in 1949, East Timor only received the status of a Portuguese overseas province in 1951 . The population of Arab origin (146 were counted in 1949) felt sympathy for the new, predominantly Muslim neighboring state and the cry of "merdeka bersama Indonesia" (independence with Indonesia) was loud among them. In 1957, many Arabs applied for Indonesian citizenship at the Indonesian consulate in Dili, to which Portugal responded by offering them Portuguese citizenship.
The bombing of Darwin during World War II made Australia aware of the strategic location of Timor that was so important to them. On January 26, 1946, Charles Eaton, the first Australian consul, reached Dili. On April 24, 1946 , the Australians started an airline service between Dili and Darwin with Catalinas of the RAAF. However, the route was never profitable and became even less so when Portugal opened a flight service to Kupang, from where there was a Dutch flight connection to Darwin. In 1950 the Australian connection was stopped. In 1954, the Transportes Aéreos de Timor (TAT), the colony's first airline, started operations and connected various points in the colony and the neighboring regions. In 1960 a TAT plane crashed on a flight from Darwin to Baucau. All nine occupants of the twin-engine aircraft were killed.
In the post-war period, forced labor was pushed forward again by the Portuguese in order to repair the war damage. Each suco had to provide workers for a month at a time, and the leaders of the sucos were given extended rights to evacuate enough forced laborers. Human rights violations by officials and landowners were common. Undersecretary of State for Overseas Affairs Carlos Abecassis left in 1956 after his visit to the colony Governor César Maria de Serpa Rosa (1950-1958) appalled orders to improve the situation on 17 pages. This included calling for corporal punishment to be abolished, but few changes were made. The grievances led to resistance and finally a rebellion broke out in Uato-Lari in 1959, which quickly spread to the neighboring areas in the Viqueque district . The Portuguese put down the revolt with the help of Timorese militias from neighboring regions and with extreme brutality. Data on the death toll from the Viqueque Rebellion vary between 50 and (unlikely) 40,000. The ringleaders were sent into exile. The priest and future Bishop of East Timor, Martinho da Costa Lopes , was the envoy of the Portuguese government and eyewitnesses to numerous public executions. The rebellion did not break out spontaneously, but was planned by some Indonesians who were living as asylum seekers in Uato-Lari and Baucau. Plans for a coup attempt in Dili and Aileu, in which the group was also involved, had previously been uncovered. The first arrests of the conspirators urged the rebels to strike in Viqueque. There are conflicting views as to whether the Indonesian rebels were Jakarta's agents or opponents of the regime who wanted to use Timor as a base for separatist movements in the east of the archipelago. However, during Serpa Rosa's tenure, Indonesia began looking for collaborators among the colony's Arab population in order to increase anti-Portuguese sentiment there. In addition, militarily important installations were photographed and there were rumors of landings by Indonesian soldiers in the east of Portuguese Timor.
| Population groups according to the 1970 census | ||
| Ethnic group | number | proportion of |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | 1,463 | 0.2% |
| Chinese | 6,120 | 1.0% |
| Mestiços | 1.939 | 0.3% |
| Goans | 42 | - |
| Negroes | 22nd | - |
| Timorese | 599.891 | 98.4% |
| total | 609,477 | 100.0% |
In the 1960s, the Portuguese urged the locals to abandon traditional corn cultivation in favor of growing wet rice. This made ecological sense, as the longstanding maize cultivation depleted the land. However, villages should relocate from the highlands to the lowlands on the south coast. It was difficult to get the Timorese away from their ancestral lands and burial sites. The traditional rules of Lulik stood against it. When many resettled people in the plains fell ill with malaria, they saw this as a sign that they were not welcome to the local spirits. Therefore, the settlers quickly returned to their homeland in the highlands.
In early 1961, the left-wing Office for the Liberation of Timor (Bureau de Luta pela Libertação de Timor) under Maoclao attempted an uprising with financial support from Indonesia. On April 9, they proclaimed a republic in the border town of Batugade and set up a Timorese government with twelve ministers. The Portuguese quickly put down the uprising and the fighters fled to Indonesia. In Jakarta, Maoclao formed a government-in-exile, the United Republic of Timor , in 1963 , but under pressure from the Indonesian government, Maoclao eventually retired to London and the government-in-exile dissolved. In December 1966 there were clashes between Indonesian and Portuguese armed forces. The Indonesians burned down some villages in Oe-Cusse Ambeno and shot at the Portuguese territory with mortars. Only the quick reaction of the Portuguese army seems to have deterred the Indonesian troops from further attacks. During this time, the Indonesian desires for the Portuguese colony became more and more evident. In 1969, voices were raised in the Indonesian military that the integration of East Timor in Indonesia would be crucial for national security should Portuguese power become unstable. The possibility of annexation became an important issue in the work of the intelligence services of Indonesia, Australia, and the United States in the early 1970s. In 1972 the Indonesian Foreign Minister Adam Malik stated in an Australian interview that Indonesia would like to see a liberation movement against the colonial rulers in Dili and would also support it financially. At the same time, a group called "Unirepublic of Timor Dili" in Jakarta distributed leaflets about the situation in East Timor.
The Australians' interest in Portuguese Timor increased again when Trans Australia Airlines (TAA) started a regular flight connection to Baucau . The colonial rule in the 1960s was described by Australian journalists as a mixture of civilization and brutality. The Timorese would have to do forced labor from morning to night under the whip. The persistent poverty of the population and the repressive administration were also criticized. Among other things, the Portuguese tried increasingly to settle Timorese in the southeast of the island, which, however, was not suitable for intensive rice cultivation.
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Compared to the colonial war in Africa , service in Portuguese Timor was much more pleasant for Portuguese conscripts. While the sons of simple rural residents and workers fought in Africa, members of the middle class and influential families sometimes even took their wives and children with them to the tropical paradise . Among these Portuguese were also intellectuals who did not speak well about the Portuguese dictatorship. They ensured an upswing in urban centers, especially Dilis. The infrastructure was expanded and the first social housing was built. Between 1953 and 1974 the number of elementary school students rose from 8,000 to 95,000, 77% of the children in the colony. The number of those who received further training was, of course, lower, and primary education was mostly inadequate. In 1975, 90 to 95% of the local population was still illiterate, but many Timorese could speak at least rudimentary Portuguese . The armed forces' news magazine, Revista do Comando Autonómo Provincial , became the medium for the first national Timorese ideas, also for local authors. The armed forces thus inadvertently became a promoter of Timorese society.
On December 22, 1972, a legislative assembly for Portuguese Timor was created. It was subordinate to the governor and had 20 MPs, ten of whom were elected by direct vote, while the others were appointed. Portuguese Timor became an autonomous region of the Republic of Portugal, which meant that the inhabitants were granted limited Portuguese citizenship and were no longer considered indigenous . This measure by Portugal with the aim of influencing Timorese society was, unlike the others, successful. Some Timorese from the assimilated urban population, Mestiços and sons of the Liurai families were also given the opportunity to study at the University of Lisbon . The offspring of the local ruling families were trained to become political leaders with solid values who advocated education, national pride and also equality. These privileged people met in secret to discuss their ideas on topics ranging from education to agriculture to traditional weddings. In January 1970 a group of such young East Timorese began to forge plans for the colony's independence. They included Marí Alkatiri , Nicolau Lobato , Justino Mota and José Ramos-Horta . The Catholic newspapers, such as SEARA , were also a mouthpiece for such ideas. Politically, however, the young activists were inexperienced and therefore very naive despite their ambition. In 1973 some asked the Indonesian government for support against the Portuguese.
The founders of the first political parties later came from the well-educated, young Timorese elite, when independence became a possibility in Portugal with the Carnation Revolution in April 1974. The new government of Portugal returned to democracy and promised the decolonization of all overseas territories.
On August 23, 1973, the Australian journalist Bill Nicol reported for the first time about an underground political movement called the "Timor Liberation Front". According to a “young radical” from Dili, this movement is “insignificant, disorganized and unarmed”, but is ready to take action against the Portuguese. Nicol was certain that the “young radical” was José Ramos-Horta. A few months later, Ramos-Horta first appeared by name in the Australian press when he attacked Portuguese colonialism and the policy of the Australian Labor government in an interview. Instead of Australia's abstaining from colonial issues in the United Nations, Ramos-Horta called for support for Timor in the form of development aid and training. In his homeland, Ramos-Horta got into difficulties because of the interview, which is why he tried to distance himself a little from the interview with articles in the A Voz de Timor .
Presumably on April 30, 1973, the merchant ship Arbiru sank in a storm in the Flores Sea , which in previous years had sailed Dili with the other coastal towns of the colony and sporadically to neighboring countries and was led by Portuguese naval personnel. Especially the death of the five passengers was felt by the Portuguese population as a great tragedy. Only one of the 19 crew members survived the sinking.
Decolonization
The new parties
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After the Carnation Revolution ended the dictatorship in Portugal, three major parties were formed in East Timor in May 1974.
The first party in East Timor, the União Democrática Timorense (UDT) ( German Democratic Union Timor ) was supported by the traditional elites (Liurai and Datos) . The party, founded on May 11, 1974, initially advocated close ties to the former colonial power Portugal or, as it said in Tetum : "mate bandera hum" - in the shadow of the Portuguese flag . Founding President Mário Viegas Carrascalão was behind this policy, but he was unable to assert himself in the long term. Under its new President Francisco Xavier Lopes da Cruz , the UDT supported a gradual approach to independence. Within ten to fifteen years, Portugal was to develop the former colony to the point where it could survive as a sovereign state. However, Portugal showed little interest in this idea.
The Associação Social Democrática Timorense ASDT ( Timorese Social Democratic Association , not identical with the Associação Social-Democrata de Timor, founded in 2001 ) supported rapid independence. On September 11th she changed her name to Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front for the Independence of East Timor) . Many of the party founders were the sons of Liurai and worked as teachers or in administration. FRETILIN found its supporters not only among many prominent Liurai, but also in the villages.
The FRETILIN was accused by Australia and Indonesia of being Marxist or Communist, which also served as the reason for the later invasion by Indonesia. In fact, some members of FRETILIN were communists, but the majority of the party was center-left, with a broad spectrum from conservative to left-wing extremists. In the later armed conflict, their rhetoric became radical with communist elements and the party-internal language used socialist-revolutionary terms, starting with the party name. Many slogans had models in the Marxist liberation movements in the African colonies, such as FRELIMO or MPLA . The FRETILIN was influenced more by African nationalists like Amílcar Cabral in Portuguese Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands . Timorese students had met him, like Samora Machel from Mozambique and others, in the Casa dos Timores in Lisbon. When they returned to Portuguese Timor around the turn of the year 1974/75, their Marxist orientation contributed a lot to the radicalization of FRETILIN.
The Associação Popular Democrática Timorense (APODETI, German Timorese Social Democratic Association ), a front organization financed by Jakarta, sought to join Indonesia as an autonomous province. Your chief strategist was José Fernando Osório Soares . APODETI, which was founded on May 27, 1974, only found support from a few Liurais in the border region. Some of them had collaborated with the Japanese during World War II. The small Muslim minority also supported the APODETI. Not so Marí Alkatiri , a Muslim member of the FRETILIN leadership and later Prime Minister of East Timor .
Other smaller parties were the Associacão Popular Monarquia de Timor APMT, the later Klibur Oan Timor Asuwain KOTA, which sought a monarchy under a local Liurai, and the Partido Trabalhista (Workers' Party) . But they did not find any support worth mentioning. The Associação Democratica para a Integração de Timor-Leste na Austrália ADITLA proposed joining Australia, but collapsed when the Australian government emphatically rejected the idea.
Among the young (mostly between 27 and 37 years old) enthusiastic party founders of these early parties were many who later held and still have political leadership positions in the independent state of East Timor. Little involved in the political upheaval was the traditionally living rural population, who viewed decolonization more as an action by the Europeanized elites or, as the Mambai in Aileu called it, "put on their pants" ( tam kalsa ) by the Timorese . One did not necessarily see oneself represented in one's own interests by those who appeared as spokesmen for the East Timorese people.
On November 18, 1974, the new democratic government in Lisbon sent Mário Lemos Pires (1974 to officially 1976) to East Timor as the new governor - he was to be the last governor of Portuguese Timor and to prepare the country for independence and democracy as quickly as possible. One of his first orders was for the legalization of political parties in preparation for free elections to a constituent assembly. Pires encouraged the three big parties to form a coalition. While the APODETI boycotted cooperation meeting, FRETILIN and UDT took up this suggestion, especially since FRETILIN had already offered this to the UDT. On January 21, 1975 the coalition was formed and in mid-March UDT, FRETILIN and the Portuguese government formed a joint transitional government for East Timor. All three parties represented should be equally involved. This transitional government was to remain in office for three years until a constituent assembly was to be elected. The integration should be ended and various social programs were planned, mainly from FRETILIN programs with the support of the UDT. In rural areas, the coalition had great support and it looked like the road to independence had been paved. The dispute developed primarily with the APODETI. A conference in Macau, which was organized by the Portuguese decolonization commission in June 1974 to settle the conflict, was boycotted by FRETILIN with reference to the participation of APODETI. Ramos-Horta later called this in retrospect one of the greatest tactical, political mistakes.
The parties followed different strategies in the fight for the vote. The UDT reached out to local leaders. From administrators of the districts and sub-districts to the Liurais. FRETILIN addressed the common people directly and tried to win over the leaders for themselves. Francisco Xavier do Amaral (FRETILIN) later explained that sometimes the parties would have met in the middle. It was noticeable that often entire village communities decided on a party together. Maubisse supported the UDT, while all of Uato-Lari was for FRETILIN and in Uatucarbau the population was behind APODETI.
In direct competition, the tone between UDT and FRETILIN intensified. At the local level, there was great intolerance towards supporters of other political parties. It often happened that party members were beaten up if they wanted to advertise in the “wrong” village. The UDT called the FRETILIN communist, for which the UDT called them fascists. One of the reasons for this were seven Timorese students who returned from Lisbon in September 1974 and quickly achieved leading positions in FRETILIN. In Portugal they had been clearly radicalized, which was reflected in the harsh criticism of the conservative UDT and anti-UDT graffiti with "Death to the Fascists". The radical left movements in FRETILIN are often assigned to them. It can be assumed that this charged atmosphere promoted the later violence between UDT and FRETILIN. In addition, some UDT leaders became radical anti-communists after their trips to Jakarta and Australia in 1975. The statement made in the Manifest “Manual e Programa Politicos da FRETILIN” of September 11th that FRETILIN was the only “legitimate representative of the East Timorese people “Caused further resentment and distrust. In addition, FRETILIN fueled Timorese nationalism, for example by creating the term “ Maupe ” as a collective term for all Timorese, in contrast to Portuguese settlers and Mestiços . The UDT rejected this separation as racist. The UDT was concerned about the information from the Portuguese secret police Polícia de Informações Militares that FRETILIN would operate two military camps. The instructors come from communist Vietnam. In addition, Portuguese representatives of the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA), which had been the main movement behind the Carnation Revolution, signaled in Timor that they wanted to make Portuguese Timor a communist state.
The APODETI was the first party to set up paramilitary forces. In August 1974 she started training camps in West Timor, Indonesia. Instructors and weapons came from the Indonesian military. Tomás Gonçalves , son of Atsabe Guilherme Gonçalves' Liurai and APODETI representative in West Timor, met the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, General Maraden Panggabean , in Jakarta in September . APODETI presented itself as a suitable means of integrating East Timor into Indonesia. UDT and FRETILIN, on the other hand, recruited members of the Portuguese colonial army. Governor Pires soon discovered that there was a split within his native forces.
Reactions from abroad
Indonesia and Australia observed developments in Portuguese Timor in 1974/1975 extremely closely. The government of General Suharto feared that the left-wing FRETILIN might take over the government and that a small state in the middle of the Malay Archipelago could become a model for the provinces striving for independence, such as Aceh, western New Guinea and the southern Moluccas . Initially, Portugal only wanted a guarantee that East Timor would not pose a threat to the security of Indonesia, but soon came to the conclusion that this goal could only be achieved if East Timor does not become an independent state. The left-wing FRETILIN, founded in May, and the case of the conservative Portuguese President António de Spínola in September had already caused concern in Indonesia. Indonesia sent a delegation led by General Ali Murtopo to Lisbon, which was received by the Portuguese government on October 14-15, 1974. After the visit, the Indonesian delegation announced that the Portuguese leadership agreed that the integration of East Timor into Indonesia was the best option. Portugal's President Francisco da Costa Gomes disagreed. Although it was of the opinion that East Timor either continued to have a close relationship with Portugal or had to be integrated into Indonesia, priority was given to the will of the Timorese people. It is believed that the Indonesian side ignored this last point and saw the outcome of the Lisbon talks encouraged to take further steps.
In mid-1974, the Indonesian military intelligence service Bakin began Operation Komodo ( Indonesian Operasi Komodo , after the Komodo dragon ) to destabilize Portuguese Timor and gain a connection to Indonesia. One also worked with East Timorese, who favored the connection to Indonesia. Mostly with APODETI, but from mid-March 1975 also with some UDT members whose fear of communist elements was stoked in FRETILIN. Since the UDT-FRETILIN coalition was announced in January 1975, Indonesia has been working more and more openly on its interests in East Timor, which is why Portugal arranged a further meeting with Indonesia on March 9 in London . Again General Murtopo led the Indonesian delegation. This stuck to the position that the integration of East Timor was the only solution and called for an advisory role in the colonial government. They rejected any further internationalization of the question about the future of East Timor. Portugal insisted on the East Timorese right to self-determination. Nonetheless, Portugal made concessions by allowing Indonesia the role of an “interested observer” and the right to actively support APODETI. The Indonesian side interpreted this again as approval for their position.
Australia's Prime Minister Gough Whitlam worked closely with Suharto and also followed events with concern. During a meeting on September 6, 1974 on the Dieng Plateau , near Wonosobo , Java, Whitlam stated that East Timor would be "a void state and a potential threat to stability in the region ." Although he recognized the desire for self-determination, he considered an association with Indonesia to be best in the interests of East Timor. Whitlam explicitly stated that Australia and Indonesia had the same strategic interests over Portuguese Timor. An independent East Timor is easy prey for China or the Soviet Union and is therefore "a thorn in the side of Australia and a thorn in the back of Indonesia." There is evidence that Whitlam only made his position after Suhartos made it clear that he did not see another solution for East Timor. On April 4, 1975, at his further meeting with Whitlam in Townsville , Suharto expressed the Indonesian view that Portugal saw the integration of East Timor in Indonesia as the best option, provided the people were behind the decision. At this meeting, too, Whitlam Suharto gave the green light to take over East Timorese territory. The takeover should, however, take place while recognizing the East Timorese's right to self-determination and in a way that "should not upset the Australian population". While it was clear that the Indonesian plans were incompatible with these terms, Whitlam did not make it clear which item was Australia's priority. Although Suharto ruled out violence as an option against Whitlam, the Indonesian president made it clear that the wishes of the East Timorese people cannot be relied on. Whitlam agreed that the East Timorese “have no idea about politics” and that they need time “to recognize their ethnic kinship to their Indonesian neighbors.” In a secret telegram to his Foreign Minister Don Willesee on September 24, 1974, Whitlam had already clearly stated “ I prefer integration, but self-determination has to be honored. "
In 1974 the Indonesian government asked US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger how the United States would feel about an Indonesian invasion. The United States had concerns about Portuguese Timor’s independence in the midst of the Cold War and after the lost war in Vietnam . After winning Indonesia as an ally, they did not want a destabilizing, left-wing regime in the middle of the large archipelago. The United States feared that East Timor could become a “second Cuba” because FRETILIN had contacts with the People's Republic of China and was considered communist. They did not want to risk a communist domino effect in Southeast Asia, which is why the United States, like Australia, tolerated the actions of pro-western Indonesia, even though Portugal was a NATO member and tried to support its former colony. But Lisbon only had diplomatic options against the interests of the participating states. In March 1975, US Ambassador to Indonesia, David D. Newsom, recommended a policy of "silence" in support of Kissinger's view. At the summit meeting on July 5 in Camp David by US President Gerald Ford and Suharto, the topic of "East Timor" was excluded. Suharto concluded with the sentence "Integration in Indonesia is the only way."
Other Western states and Suharto's Asian allies also shared the view that Portuguese Timor should be absorbed by Indonesia. UK Ambassador John Archibald Ford stated in a recommendation for London:
"Even without Soviet or Chinese intervention that territory could become the" problem child "[of the region] ... Britain's interest is that Indonesia integrates that territory ... If there is a crisis and a debate in the UN we shall all keep our heads down and avoid taking a position against Indonesia. "
"Even without Soviet or Chinese intervention, this territory could become the" problem child "[of the region] (...) Britain is interested in Indonesia integrating this area (...) If there is a crisis and a debate in the UN, we'll all keep our heads down and avoid taking a position against Indonesia. "
Within the young ASEAN , reactions to Indonesia's efforts in the direction of Portuguese Timor ranged from reluctance on the part of Singapore to support from Malaysia . Japan also supported Indonesia to protect its own economic interests.
Civil war and proclamation of independence
In the spring of 1975 FRETILIN was able to rely on a majority of the population in all of East Timor. On March 13, 1975, elections were held in the Lautém district as part of the decolonization program. The aim was to replace the traditional ruling systems. There were no party lists or candidates in this pilot project for local elections. Voters simply threw pebbles into the candidates' baskets to cast their votes. Candidates close to FRETILIN were able to prevail clearly against UDT candidates. On July 11th, the Portuguese parliament passed a law allowing East Timor to vote for a popular assembly in October. A Portuguese High Commissioner would then lead the colony to independence in a three-year transition period. But Portugal was increasingly distracted from the political developments in its colony by civil unrest and political crises. It was mainly concerned with the decolonization of Angola and Mozambique. Many Portuguese politicians saw the independence of East Timor as less and less realistic and discussed a connection between Portuguese Timor and Indonesia.
Guinea-Bissau gained independence at the end of 1974. Mozambique, Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe followed in the early summer of 1975 , but struggles for power broke out in East Timor following the intrigues of the Indonesian military intelligence agency Bakin. The alleged “communist threat” during the Cold War and shortly after the Vietnam War became the justification for those UDT leaders who were already dissatisfied with the alliance with FRETILIN to leave the coalition on May 27, 1975. On June 6, 1975, Indonesian troops , disguised as UDT fighters, occupied the enclave of Oe-Cusse Ambeno. Since there was no reaction from Portugal, Indonesia saw itself encouraged to take further steps.
From June 26th to 28th, António de Almeida Santos , the Portuguese Minister for Coordination of Interterritorial Affairs, held talks with UDT and APODETI representatives as well as Indonesian diplomats in Macau. FRETILIN boycotted the meeting because of the participation of Indonesia and APODETI. The conference saw a Portuguese attempt to surrender East Timor to Indonesia. The UDT was angry about the boycott. With this conference, Indonesia was finally recognized by Portugal as a participating party on the East Timor question. The result of the conference was Decree 7/75 . It laid down the structure of a provisional government, with the participation of all parties, and a timetable for elections in the following year. Portuguese rule was to end for good in 1978. This created a legal basis that prevented a direct transfer of Portuguese Timor from Portugal to Indonesia, but the decree only established a right to self-determination, not the independence of East Timor. The FRETILIN was inconsistent with regard to the decree, but it was announced that it would take part in the elections. The UDT supported the decree, APODETI and Indonesia rejected it. It would only amount to independence for East Timor and the schedule was too long. UDT and FRETILIN criticized secret bilateral meetings between the Portuguese and Indonesian delegations.
|
President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
|
|
|---|---|
| Francisco Xavier do Amaral (FRETILIN) | November 28, 1975 to September 14, 1977 |
| Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (FRETILIN) | September 1977 to December 31, 1978 |
President of the Provisional Government 
|
|
| Arnaldo dos Reis Araújo (APODETI) | December 17, 1975 to July 17, 1976 |
 President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
|
|
| Xanana Gusmão (independent) | May 20, 2002 to May 20, 2007 |
| José Ramos-Horta (independent) | May 20, 2007 to May 20, 2012 |
| Taur Matan Ruak (independent) | since May 20, 2012 |
On June 10th, there was almost a confrontation between local soldiers of the Forças Armadas Português em Timor ( German Portuguese Armed Forces in Timor ), who supported FRETILIN, and their comrades, who were behind Dili's mayor César Mousinho , a founding member of the UDT. While their superiors were playing cards, the FRETILIN supporters left the garrison in Taibesi and drove towards the city center with the aim of removing the mayor from his office. Rui Alberto Maggiolo Gouveia , Lieutenant Colonel of the Forças Armadas Português em Timor and Police Commander, opposed the insurgents and told them not to do anything stupid. After this gentle admonition, the soldiers returned to Taibesi. There was no disciplinary procedure for them.
On August 11, 1975, the UDT attempted a coup (Operaçao Sakonar) to counter the growing popularity of FRETILIN. The Indonesian secret service had moved the UDT to take this step. On August 13, the UDT formed the movement for the unity and independence of Timor-Dili ( Portuguese Movimento para Unidade e Independência de Timor-Dili MUITD ) with sympathizers from the Portuguese colonial army . She planned to dissolve all pro-independence parties and integrate their members into the MUITD. In the first days after the coup the UDT was able to win over police chief Maggiolo Gouveia and various units of the military, such as the companies in Baucau and Lospalos . On August 16, the UDT called for the expulsion of all communists from the territory, including "those in the Portuguese governor's office". She called for the repeal of Decree 7/75, which set the schedule for the independence of Portuguese Timor by 1978 and the resumption of negotiations on the independence of the colony. On August 17th, Major Mota, Head of the Political Affairs Bureau, and Major Jónatas were sent back to Lisbon. The two representatives of the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA) were accused of being the communist wing in the colonial government.
Street fighting broke out in Dili. East Timorese, who previously served in the Portuguese army, supported the FRETILIN in battle and formed the core of the Forças Armadas de Libertação Nacional de Timor-Leste FALINTIL ( German Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor ) , which was founded on August 20 . In the three-week civil war , around 1500 UDT supporters fought against 2000 FRETILIN men.
Governor Pires did not use the remaining Portuguese soldiers to regain control. The Dutch freighter MV MacDili left Dili on August 12 with 272 people on board. Most of them were employees of the Portuguese colonial administration or members of the military who were to be brought to safety before the fighting. On August 15, the ship reached Darwin, Australia. The Norwegian SS Lloyd Bakke was off the coast of East Timor when it received an emergency call from Pires. The ship brought 1150 refugees to Darwin. MacDili brought about 500 people from Dili on the night of August 27th. At 3:30 am she left the port ; the landing craft in towLoes with Governor Pires and the last members of the colonial administration on board. Other members and 85 soldiers had already been brought to the island of Atauro, off Dili, the day before, where Pires set up his new headquarters. The refugees on board also brought the MacDili to Darwin. A burden for the Australian city as Darwin had been destroyed by Cyclone Tracy only eight months earlier .
Pires tried to negotiate an agreement between the two parties from Atauro. He was urged by FRETILIN, which took Dili on August 27, to return and move on with decolonization, but Pires insisted on waiting for instructions from Lisbon. In this way he wanted to avoid a guerrilla war against the Portuguese government in East Timor. Finally, FRETILIN, better armed and supported by the general public, was finally able to prevail and de facto take control of the entire colony by September , officially continuing to recognize Portuguese sovereignty over the colony. On September 13th, the Central Committee of FRETILIN (CCF) drafted a communiqué with which it officially recognized the Portuguese sovereignty and called for further negotiations on decolonization. The negotiations should take place “in national territory and without external pressure”. But Portugal continued to refuse to recognize FRETILIN as the sole representative of the East Timorese.
A total of 1,500 to 3,000 people died in the fighting. 10,000 to 20,000 UDT fighters and civilians fled to West Timor, Indonesia. Of the 3,000 Timorese Assimilados and European Portuguese, 80% left the colony by the end of the civil war.
Indonesia posed the threat of civil war that was plunging Portuguese Timor into anarchy and chaos, but just a month later, aid agencies from Australia and other countries visited the colony and said the situation was stable. Thanks to the great support in the population, FRETILIN quickly restored peace and order. The food supply for the population was also assured, thanks to help from the International Red Cross and the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA). Former UDT supporters who had stayed now worked with FRETILIN. Missing administrative staff was filled with former soldiers, regional committees were set up in the individual districts and various commissions were set up in October. Since the branch of Banco Nacional Ultramarino was closed and FRETILIN lacked the know-how to set up a banking system, there was a shortage of foreign currencies , which made the flow of cash and international trade more difficult. To a certain extent, the economy was still supported by the Chinese community, so that at least in the markets in Dili and in the Chinese shops in October and November life returned. State and church schools remained closed due to a lack of teachers. Many nuns and pastors had left the country. "The shepherds left just at this point when the lambs needed their guidance," commented Francisco Xavier do Amaral later. However, FRETILIN had problems preventing its cadre from abuse of office, and the more than 2000 prisoners of war also brought difficulties. The original intention was to keep them prisoner until the Portuguese administration returned. But since this did not happen, the FRETILIN set up an investigation commission (Comissão de Inquêrito) on September 30th , which was supposed to separate leaders from uninvolved party members among the prisoners. To this end, witnesses were questioned in public negotiations, which led to arbitrary judgments. Executives and suspects were taken to Dili and Aileu for further investigation. There they were sometimes subjected to massive abuse. There were also murders and executions. The bad treatment of the prisoners was not an official line of FRETILIN and party leaders also took action against it, but the Central Committee did too little to remedy the grievances.
In view of the UDT's defeat, Indonesia felt compelled to change its strategy. Operation Komodo des Bakin became the Flamboyan military operation , which was subordinated to a specially established special unit. In September, Indonesian special forces began incursions into Portuguese Timor. On September 16, FRETILIN therefore repeated its call for negotiations with Portugal. In addition, a conference with Portugal, East Timor, Indonesia and Australia was supposed to "clear up rumors and misunderstandings". Disguised as UDT fighters, Indonesian troops occupied the East Timorese border town of Batugade on October 8, 1975 and drove out the FALINTIL units there. The headquarters of Operation Flamboyan was set up here. On October 8, 1975, Philip Habib , a member of the US delegation to the United Nations Security Council, informed the other participants that it looked as if Indonesia had now started attacking East Timor. Kissinger replied that he hoped Habib would keep his mouth shut about this. Until October 16, 1975, the districts on the border Bobonaro and Cova Lima were largely in Indonesian hands. Two British, one New Zealand and two Australian television journalists (the Balibo Five ) who witnessed the occupation of the East Timorese border town of Balibo that day were deliberately murdered by Indonesian soldiers. Indonesia even now denied having troops in East Timor or even wanting to occupy the country by force, although warships had already fired at the coast in Balibo and Maliana was occupied on the same day by troops landing there with airplanes, which is considered a large-scale offensive got to. At a meeting of the foreign ministers of Portugal and Indonesia in Rome at the beginning of November , Portugal promised to look again with the Timorese parties for a peaceful solution. Although FRETILIN had indicated that it was ready for talks, these ultimately no longer took place. While FRETILIN tried to persuade the Portuguese governor to return and the Portuguese flag occasionally waved from government buildings, it became clear that international support, independent of Portugal, was becoming more and more necessary. In November FRETILIN sent a delegation to seek support abroad for a unilateral declaration of independence. 25 countries accepted recognition. On November 24th, FRETILIN launched an appeal to the UN Security Council to force the withdrawal of the Indonesian troops. She called for UN peacekeeping troops to be deployed.
At the same time, preparations were made for the large-scale Indonesian invasion. Arms and supplies were brought inland and attempts were made to increase troops. To this end, a militia was created, the Milícia Popular de Libertação Nacional (MIPLIN).
In Atabae , fighters from FRETILIN under Aquiles Freitas Soares , a Timorese nobleman from Letemumo and a former sergeant in the Portuguese army with twelve years of military experience, continued to resist until November 26th. Since the middle of the month the Indonesians had therefore fired at Atabae's capital, Aidabaleten, from the sea and finally occupied it on the morning of November 28th. For FRETILIN this was the final signal to proclaim independence, since as an independent state they hoped for more support from the United Nations.
The Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor ( Portuguese República Democrática de Timor-Leste , tetum Repúblika Demokrátika Timor Lorosa'e ) RDTL on November 28, 1975 was recognized by a total of twelve states, in addition to former Portuguese colonies such as Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique or São Tomé and Príncipe, also from the People's Republic of China (as the only permanent member of the UN Security Council), Cuba and Vietnam. Portugal, Indonesia, Australia, the United States and the United Nations, however, refused to recognize it. Australia called them "provocative and irresponsible". The US emphasized that it did not want to interfere.
Francisco Xavier do Amaral became East Timor's first President and Nicolau Lobato became Prime Minister. Indonesia responded by reporting that the leaders of UDT, APODETI, KOTA and the Labor Party had signed the so-called Balibo Declaration on November 30, 1975 , calling for East Timor to join Indonesia. The declaration, a draft of the Indonesian secret service, was signed in Bali and not in Balibo, probably under pressure from the Indonesian government. The signatories were more or less prisoners of Indonesia. Xanana Gusmão called the paper the "Balibohong Declaration", a play on words with the Indonesian word for "lie".
Indonesian occupation
Invasion by Indonesia
Just one day after the declaration of independence, the Indonesian military officially raised its red and white flag on November 29, 1975 in the East Timorese exclave Oe-Cusse Ambeno.
From December 7, 1975, Operation Seroja ( Operasi Seroja , German Lotus ) under the leadership of Colonel Dading Kalbuadi began the occupation of the rest of East Timor. First, in the early hours of the morning, Dili was shot at by 20 Indonesian Navy warships and 13 planes bombed targets in the city, then boats and parachutists landed on the beaches. There were public executions at the Dilis shipyard. One of the victims there was the Australian journalist Roger East .
With the help of the Portuguese corvettes João Roby and Afonso Cerqueira , Governor Pires and the last members of the colonial administration left their refuge on Atauro on December 8th.
Another Indonesian landing followed on December 10th in Baucau , the second largest city in East Timor. Other places followed. On December 30th, the Indonesians landed on Atauro, where shortly afterwards the last sign of Portugal's claim to power over its colony was obtained in an official ceremony; a Portuguese flag that Governor Pires had left behind. On December 31st, Manatuto fell.
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Political support for the invasion came from the United States government. This is evidenced by previously secret government documents published by the US National Security Archive in December 2001 . Just one day before the occupation of East Timor, US President Gerald Ford and US Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger met with Indonesian President Suharto in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.
Although the Australian government protested loudly in public after the occupation of East Timor was almost complete, it had already secretly promised not to intervene actively. With the annexation by Indonesia, Australia now had the opportunity to set a sea border in the east of Timor to its advantage, with considerable shares of the oil reserves in the Timor Trench on the Australian side. As early as 1972, Australia and Indonesia had defined the border in the Timor Sea near West Timor. With Portugal an agreement did not materialize, so in the border known as the Timor Gap ( German Timor Gap ) remained. This policy was not popular with the Australian public, as they remembered the heroic struggle of the Timorese during World War II on the Australian side. There were violent protests, but the government ignored them.
José Ramos-Horta traveled to New York three days after the start of the invasion as foreign minister of the independent state of Timor-Leste to brief the United Nations Security Council on the actions of the Indonesian military. Although the United Nations had turned a blind eye to the annexation of Western New Guinea a few years earlier, it did not recognize the occupation of East Timor. Several states exerted pressure here, above all Portugal. Pro-Indonesian states, such as India , Japan and Malaysia , submitted a draft resolution to the General Assembly of the United Nations in which Portugal and the Timorese parties were accused of responsibility for the dead, but this was in favor of a motion from Algeria , Cuba, rejected by Senegal , Guyana and others. On December 12, 1975, the UN General Assembly passed resolution 3485, which confirmed that ...
“... the opinion of the representative of Portugal as the administrative power regarding the developments in Portuguese Timor was heard. […] [The General Assembly] deplores the military intervention by Indonesia's armed forces in Portuguese Timor and calls on the Indonesian government to withdraw its troops immediately from the territory […] [and] urges the UN Security Council to take urgent action to protect the territorial integrity of Portuguese Timor and the inalienable right of its inhabitants to self-determination. "
Internationally, East Timor continued to be regarded as a "dependent territory under Portuguese administration" . In the Portuguese Constitution of 1976 Portugal assumed responsibility for East Timor with Article 307. In 2001 this section was still part of the constitution (then Article 293):
“(1) Portugal remains bound by the responsibilities imposed on it in accordance with international law to uphold and guarantee East Timor’s right to independence.
(2) It is the duty of the President of the Republic and of the Government to take all actions that are necessary to achieve the objectives mentioned in the preceding paragraph. "
On December 22nd, the UN Security Council passed UN resolution 384 , which followed the resolution of the General Assembly. On April 22, 1976, the demand in UN resolution 389 was repeated. Australia was the only country to recognize the annexation of East Timor by Indonesia in 1979.
Mass murders and rapes occurred during the invasion. At first the Indonesians only occupied strategically important places and connecting roads. At the same time, in many villages people still lived undisturbed by the invaders. During this phase, many Timorese fled to the interior of the island, where it was possible for them to build up small settlements and to farm. It was not until mid-1977 that the Indonesian military began to penetrate these regions.
Organization of resistance and internal struggles
Members of the Communist Party of Australia gave FRETILIN a radio station which Alarico Fernandes , East Timor’s Minister of Information and Security, used as Radio Ma 2500 after the invasion to inform the population, spread propaganda and send encoded messages to the fighters. Australian activists intercepted the broadcast in Darwin and distributed it in Australia. On December 12, 1978, Radio Ma Brille was switched off by the Indonesians. There is speculation that Fernandes defected to the Indonesians and sent encrypted radio messages to the invaders before his capture in order to reveal positions of the resistance.
At the FRETILIN Congress from May 15 to June 2, 1976 in Soibada , Lobato was officially promoted to military commander. At the congress, FRETILIN developed structures for the civilian population in the areas under its control and for military resistance through FALINTIL. The civilian population that had fled was collected in so-called bases de apoio (German: support or restraint base ) in each administrative unit, divided according to their hometowns. These bases served as political and logistical bases, both for civilians and for the fighters.
In 1976/77 there was a dispute within FRETILIN about the direction of the movement and the right strategy in the fight against the invaders. The radical left wing of FRETILIN declared other national forces (often former Portuguese soldiers with a Catholic-Conservative background) to be counterrevolutionaries who faced imprisonment, torture and execution. Various members criticized the creation of liberated zones (zonas libertadas) , in which the civilian population could support the armed resistance. For example, Aquiles Freitas Soares, who had made a name for himself in the defense of Atabae, called for a purely military strategy that does without civilian bases in order to give civilians the opportunity to return from the mountains to their homes and to surrender. The Liurai Francisco Ruas Hornay spoke out in Iliomar against the assembly of civilians for political education in the sense of FRETILIN. It was also suggested to work with other parties, such as the UDT, in the fight against the Indonesians. Among the critics were former members of the Portuguese colonial army, traditional leaders and also parts of the FRETILIN leadership. The differences of opinion escalated into conflict. Soares founded his own unit in Quelicai , the Comando da Luta Boru-Quere (Kampfkommando Boru-Quere) , also because of the murder of at least nine civilians in Venilale by local FRETILIN leaders who had suspected the victims of collaboration. Hornay had to flee after an exchange of fire with his men. The leadership in the sectors took massive action against the dissidents , and in late 1976 they were captured. Soares, Hornay, and several of their men were executed.
Important bases de apoio (1976 to 1978) 
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alas | Baguia | Barique | Beco | Builo (mountain) |
| Cabalaki (mountain) | Cailaco | Catrailete (on the Tatamailau ) | Fatuberlio | Fatubessi |
| Foho Bibileo | Foho Taroman | Halik | Iliomar | Labarai |
| Laclo | Laclubar | Lacluta | Laleia | Lobito |
| Manufahi (southern and northern sectors) | Malehui ( Maucatar ) | Matebian | Maucatar | Mehara |
| Natarbora | Ossu | Remexio | Uai-mori | Uato-Lari |
| Zoilpo | Zova | Zumalai | ||
Tensions also rose within the Central Committee. Amaral boycotted participation in the conference in Laline in May / June 1977. Especially in the northern center sector (Centro Norte) there was speculation that there were traitors within the resistance. People were arrested and killed for having had contact with UDT supporters, for example in the re-education camp ( Campos de Rehabilitação Nacional , Renal) in Remexio , where 21 people were executed in April 1977.
At the end of July, the central committee of FRETILIN in Herluli (Remexio) decided to dismiss Amaral due to differences of opinion about how to proceed against the Indonesian occupation. After Amaral was deposed, there was a cleanup operation within FRETILIN in August. Several of Amaral's followers were captured, beaten and shot, including many of his bodyguards. Amaral himself was imprisoned in Tutuluro on September 14, 1977 . The FRETILIN Central Committee accused him of high treason because he wanted to protect the people of his homeland Turiscai from atrocities by the Indonesian army. At the local level, he had therefore negotiated troop reductions and a ceasefire. In September 1977 Lobato also became chairman of FRETILIN and nominal president of the Democratic Republic of East Timor. António Mau Lear Duarte Carvarino was appointed Prime Minister and FRETILIN deputy chairman and Vicente Sa'he dos Reis was appointed National Political Commissioner.
According to research by Loro Horta , the son of José Ramos-Horta, a sea blockade of the Indonesian Navy between 1975 and 1978 with Australian support prevented ships from the People's Republic of China from supplying the FALINTIL with weapons. China tried to bring weapons for 8000 fighters including medium anti-aircraft guns, light artillery and anti-tank weapons for the infantry to East Timor. Instead, the weapons were brought to Mozambique and used by the local government in the fight against the RENAMO . After Mao Zedong's death in 1976, the People's Republic's commitment to East Timor declined and in 1978 it almost ended completely. Unofficial contacts through individuals remained, for example, Marí Alkatiri maintained contact with the People's Republic via Hong Kong and its diplomatic missions abroad. In 1997, Alkatiri was a guest of the Chinese government at the ceremony to hand over Hong Kong to China. Financial aid for the Timorese resistance was channeled through Chinese businessmen.
As the attacks by the Indonesian army increased, the defense of the bases de apoio was further expanded. In the outer ring stood fighters from the FALINTIL ( Companhias de Intervenção , intervention units ), which was followed by a ring of civil defense units , the Forças de Auto-Defesa (self-defense forces, FADE for short, or Armas Brancas , white weapons). The civilians were in the center. They were forbidden to leave the defensive ring. In the base everyone was encouraged to cultivate their own cultivation areas as well as the community gardens of the community. The youth organization OPJT (Organização Popular de Juventude Timorense) and the women's organization OPMT (Organização Popular de Mulheres Timorense) of FRETILIN organized the planting of rice, maize, manioc and other crops. The harvest was distributed to those in need and used to care for the FALINTIL soldiers. The women also wove fabrics and made traditional medicine. In simple schools reading and writing and the political ideology of FRETILIN were taught. At night they sang freedom songs. Even today, former residents romanticize this period, while others describe the work of caring for the fighters as forced labor. Disputes and conflicts, including private ones, were decided by political cadres of FRETILIN or open tribunals (assembleia popular) . Malefactors were put in simple prisons like pigsties called Renal (Rehabilitação Nasional) . There was also mistreatment and torture. Minor offenses were punished with work such as laying out fields. If the food supplies were lost due to the attack by the Indonesian army, it could mean starvation for the residents. The supply of the population became more and more difficult as the unoccupied regions became more and more narrow, such as the areas around Matebian , Alas and the plain of Natarbora . With the increasing bombardment, more and more civilians wanted to surrender to the Indonesians, which the FRETILIN suppressed in order not to undermine morale. Partly with abuse and imprisonment. But over time, more and more Timorese gave up. The first civilians to flee into the woods surrendered to the invaders on February 3, 1976 in Bobonaro. More groups with up to 700 members followed each week. Bunak , who had lived in the woods for three years, were the last to stand in 1979 .
By November 1978 the last bases de apoio were also destroyed. Lobato was injured in the Indonesian operation "Encirclement and Extermination" and captured shortly afterwards on December 31, 1978 by the Indonesians. Depending on the source, he then committed suicide or was shot by the Indonesian soldiers. The "Operation Einkreisung" was directed not only against the bases of FRETILIN, but also against their production of food. As a rule, the target area was initially massively bombed. Napalm should defoliate the forest. This was followed by artillery fire and the attack of the ground forces. The target village was surrounded and the inhabitants were deported to transit camps. FRETILIN members and sympathizers were executed and their houses burned down. At the end of the operation, the FRETILIN faced defeat. Over 80% of the FRETILIN fighters had died, 85% of the members of the high command had been killed and 90% of their weapons had been destroyed.
Indonesian administration
Governors of the Timor Province Timur 
|
|
|---|---|
| Arnaldo dos Reis Araújo (APODETI) | August 4, 1976–1978 |
| Guilherme Maria Gonçalves (APODETI) | 1978-1982 |
| Mário Viegas Carrascalão (UDT) | September 18, 1982 - June 1992 |
| José Abílio Osório Soares (APODETI) | September 11, 1992 - October 1999 |
With APODETI member Arnaldo dos Reis Araújo as president, the Provisional Government of East Timor ( PGET , Indonesian: Pemerintah Sementara Timor Timur , PSTT ) was set up as a puppet government of Indonesia on December 17, 1975 , consisting of APODETI and UDT leaders. Araújo, in a letter to the UN Secretary-General on December 22, 1975, refused to send a United Nations observation team. However, in a secret letter in June 1976 he also complained to the Indonesian President Suharto about attacks by the Indonesian military:
“We concede that the looting of private businesses, government agencies and public finances could have been due to the emotions of the war. But it is difficult to understand why the cruel state of uncertainty persists after six months. […] Widows, orphans, children and cripples come to my office day and night and beg for milk and clothes. There is nothing I can do but join them with my tears as the Provisional Government has nothing. "
On May 31, 1976, a popular assembly selected by the Indonesian secret service passed a petition with all 37 votes to join the neighboring country without a referendum. Mário Carrascalão later stated that this was the sole purpose of this popular assembly. The petition was signed by PGET President Araújo and the Chairman of the People's Assembly, Guilherme Gonçalves . The Balibo Declaration was invoked. The East Timorese representatives were then flown to Jakarta in a military plane and on June 7th, Araújo, Gonçalves, Francisco Xavier Lopes da Cruz and Carrascalão handed over the petition to Indonesian President Suharto. With the Indonesian Law No. VII / 1976 on July 17th, Timor Timur (Indonesian for East Timor) officially became the 27th province of the Republic of Indonesia and Araújo became governor on August 4th. Francisco Lopes da Cruz became Vice Governor . During the Suharto dictatorship, the governors of all Indonesian provinces were appointed by the president for a five-year term and confirmed by the Indonesian Council of Representatives of the People (DPR). While active or retired military personnel were appointed in many provinces, the governors of Timor Timur were all civilians from the former Portuguese colony. Second in the administration was the Secretary of the Regional Administration (Secretary Wilayah Daerah, Sekwilda) , who was appointed by the Indonesian Minister of the Interior. He was in control of the provincial budget. All but one of the secretaries in Timor Timur were military officers.
On August 4, 1976, the Council of Representatives of the People of the Province (DPRD) was installed, with Guilherme Gonçalves as chairman. It had 25 to 45 members, but they were not elected. 80% of the seats were reserved for the parties controlled by the Indonesian state, the remaining 20% went to the Indonesian Armed Forces (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia ABRI) . The representatives in the district parliaments were also appointed. From the end of 1976 the Indonesian military issued permits (surat jalan) to the population, which allowed them to leave their settlements to cultivate the surrounding fields. Up until 1978 there were severe restrictions on freedom of movement and it was not until 1983 that the situation normalized to the point where refugees and displaced persons could return to their home villages.
|
Distribution of seats in the DPRD
|
|||||
| year | PPP | Golkar | PDI | ABRI | total |
| 1980 | 0 | 25th | 0 | 0 | 25th |
| 1981 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 1982 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 4th | 36 |
| 1987 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 45 |
| 1988 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 45 |
| 1989 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 9 | 44 |
| 1990 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 45 |
| 1991 | 0 | 34 | 2 | 9 | 45 |
| 1992 | 2 | 29 | 5 | 9 | 45 |
| 1997 | 1 | 30th | 5 | 9 | 45 |
Criticism of the consequences of the occupation for the civilian population was not tolerated by the Indonesian system. In July 1980, three UDT activists were arrested and beaten up after they had broadcast critical reports in Manu-kokorek , the multilingual program of Radio Republik Indonesia . Two members of the DPRD were arrested in November 1981 after reporting in a letter to President Suharto alleged serious misconduct by Indonesian officials and military personnel, including the murder of East Timorese civilians.
Araújo lost his post in 1978 after he had publicly compared the economic conditions under Indonesian administration with the Portuguese colonial era, when all investments flowed back directly into the mother country. Araújo's successor was Guilherme Gonçalves, who also had to resign early after a dispute with Colonel Paul Kalangi , the secretary of the regional administration, over the share of the coffee tax for the local government. From September 18, 1982 to June 1992, Mário Carrascalão was governor. During his tenure, the civil administration normalized. Carrascalão wanted a more peaceful way. He met the FALINTIL commander Xanana Gusmão twice for peace talks, in Lariguto in 1983 and in Ariana in 1990 . The result, however, was not an end to the conflict with the Indonesians, but the alliance of the various factions of the political East Timor. Carrascalão also made public human rights violations by the Indonesian occupying power. José Abílio Osório Soares , brother of the late chief strategist of APODETI José Fernando Osório Soares, took over the post in 1992 as the last governor for two terms. Francisco Lopes da Cruz remained Vice Governor until 1982. He was followed by the Indonesian officers Brigadier General AB Saridjo (until 1993) and Lieutenant Colonel J Haribowo (until the end of the occupation in 1999). Both had previously been secretaries of the regional administration.
Kopassus and Kostrad units set up a military command structure parallel to the civil administration. Attempts by Vittorio Winspeare Guicciardi , the UN Secretary-General's special envoy, to visit areas from Darwin that were still held by FRETILIN were prevented by the Indonesian military by a blockade of East Timor. The military district of Korem 164 / Wiradharma was officially established on March 26, 1979 under the hardliner Colonel Adolf Sahala Rajagukguk as commanders. In the same year, the military leadership of the armed forces in Jakarta created the special unit Kohankam (from 1989 Kolakops ) for East Timor . In 1976 and 1978, the 744 and 745 infantry battalions were set up in East Timor , in which native East Timorese were recruited from among Indonesian officers. But although these were the units with most of the East Timorese in the Indonesian army and were the only ones permanently stationed in East Timor, the local forces remained in the minority. Of the 600 members of Battalion 745, only 150 were East Timorese. Also, they weren't very reliable in their loyalty. The same applied to the militias set up by Indonesia, many of which were forcibly recruited members, especially in the run-up to the 1999 independence referendum . This was even true of the western Bobonaro district, which according to pro-integration spokesman should have been the most pro-Indonesian.
In order to be able to bring heavy weapons into more remote areas, the Indonesians expanded the road network. Due to the notorious lack of money, the Portuguese only laid gravel roads for the transport of trade goods. At the end of the colonial era, there were only six kilometers of paved roads in East Timor. Road construction in particular was cited by Indonesia as an example of the development of the region, with which one tried to legitimize the occupation and to revile the Portuguese colonial power for its failure. Xanana Gusmão later commented on this point in his defense speech before the Indonesian court as follows:
“Because Portugal failed to develop East Timor in 400 years, do we Timorese have to pay for the mistakes of one colonial power while we pay for the crimes of the other? (...) I have to ask whether one can rate colonialism as 'good' or 'bad'. "
For better control, parts of the population were forcibly relocated from remote areas. For them, Indonesia set up so-called "transit camps" in East Timor, to which hundreds of thousands of civilians who had previously fled the invaders in FALINTIL-controlled areas were brought. The Indonesian offensives of 1977/78 forced the FRETILIN leadership to allow the civilians to surrender to the Indonesians. In December 1978, according to the Indonesian military, 372,900 Timorese, about 60% of the population, lived in these transit camps. In 1979, based on current knowledge, there were such camps in at least 139 places, the real number of camps was probably higher. There were three different camps in the town of Ainaro alone. One of the worst was in Railaco from the end of 1979 . Survivors said they had to gather roots and leaves to avoid starvation. Internees from Lacluta later reported:
| Population development in East Timor 1970 to 1980 | |||||||
| Administrative office / sub-district |
1970 
|
1980
|
Modification [%] | Administrative office / sub-district |
1970
|
1980
|
Modification [%] |
| Aileu | 26,217 | 9,241 | −64.8 | Lautém | 7,088 | 9,143 | 29.0 |
| Ainaro | 8,985 | 10,428 | 16.1 | Letefoho | 11,410 | 11,501 | 0.8 |
| Alas | 5,034 | 3,574 | −29.0 | Liquiçá | 16,416 | 8,895 | −45.8 |
| Atabae | 5.013 | 6,346 | 26.6 | Lolotoe | 11,689 | 4,502 | −61.5 |
| Atauro | 3.133 | 5,206 | 66.2 | Lospalos | 10,992 | 15,693 | 42.8 |
| Atsabe | 15,325 | 10,668 | −30.4 | Luro | 8.212 | 5,205 | −36.6 |
| Baguia | 12,239 | 8,138 | −33.5 | Maliana | 7,508 | 12,233 | 62.9 |
| Balibo | 30,743 | 13,179 | −57.1 | Manatuto | 5,703 | 6,875 | 20.6 |
| Barique | 5,744 | 1,683 | −70.7 | Maubara | 14,610 | 11,450 | −21.6 |
| Baucau | 20,398 | 25,317 | 24.1 | Maubisse | 20,119 | 10,409 | −48.3 |
| Bazartete | 16,610 | 8,997 | −45.8 | Nitibe | 4,753 | 7,058 | 48.5 |
| Bobonaro | 11,085 | 20,480 | 84.8 | Oesilo | 5,922 | 7,296 | 23.2 |
| Cailaco | 6,753 | 5,240 | −22.4 | Ossu | 16,655 | 12,022 | −27.8 |
| Dili | 28,516 | 62,874 | 120.5 | Pante Macassar | 10,698 | 17,034 | 59.2 |
| Ermera | 18,506 | 18,816 | 1.7 | Passabe | 4,379 | 5,722 | 30.7 |
| Fatuberlio | 8,942 | 3,074 | −65.6 | Quelicai | 18,780 | 11,258 | −40.1 |
| Fatululic | 1,899 | 1,215 | −36.0 | Remexio | 7,851 | 4,880 | −37.8 |
| Fatumean | 2,379 | 2.164 | −9.0 | Seed | 18,438 | 17,250 | −6.4 |
| Fohorem | 4,677 | 3,515 | −24.8 | Suai | 13,484 | 15,250 | 13.1 |
| Hato-Udo | 4,724 | 7,871 | 66.6 | Tilomar | 3,272 | 3,501 | 7.0 |
| Hatu-Builico | 6,829 | 8,459 | 23.9 | Turiscai | 5,981 | 2,890 | −51.7 |
| Hatulia | 20,743 | 15.096 | −27.2 | Tutuala | 2,200 | 2,623 | 19.2 |
| Iliomar | 4.136 | 5,435 | 31.4 | Uato-Lari | 13,911 | 14,683 | 5.5 |
| Laclo | 6,512 | 3,578 | −45.1 | Uatucarbau | 6,071 | 5,802 | −4.4 |
| Laclubar | 15,316 | 10,611 | −30.7 | Vemasse | 5,727 | 4,977 | −13.1 |
| Lacluta | 9,965 | 4.132 | −58.5 | Venilale | 11,736 | 11,148 | −5.0 |
| Laga | | 14,914 | 13,989 | −6.2 | Viqueque | 14,665 | 17,986 | 22.6 |
| Laleia | 3,169 | 1,695 | −46.5 | Zumalai | 13,494 | 7,043 | −47.8 |
| TOTAL | 610.270 | 555,350 | −9.0 | ||||
“In 1979 we surrendered in the old town of Lacluta. Around 500 people died of starvation and the lack of drugs to fight tuberculosis, marasmus and diarrhea. Many who died had no family members to bury them. Some died in the camp and some while looking for something to eat in the forest. We survived on food like:
- Sago from the bebak palm
- Fruits of the rubber tree
- Guavas
- Leaves from the end of the coconut
- Maek (a tuber)
- Kuan (a small, fibrous yam root)
- Aidak (a kind of lychee)
- Water spinach
- Banana saplings
- Laho (mice)
- Samea (snakes)
- Manduku (frogs)
Horses were bought from the Hansip for only 1,000 Indonesian rupiah and two cans of rice for a meal (rantang) each . Gold chains could be bought for a can of rice. In exchange for food such as buffalo or deer meat, daughters to Hansip members and members of the military could be forcibly married, even if they were already legally married.
The Indonesian armed forces and the sub- district administrator (camat) decided to move the internees from the old city of Lacluta to the village of Dilor . Political leaders and FALINTIL members were tortured and killed in Dilor. All men over 15 years old were instructed to report to the military post in the morning and in the evening and to keep watch at night. If they did not comply, all of their belongings would be stolen and they could be tortured. For example, one could be immersed in dirty water for three hours, forced to walk through thorn bushes, stand on coals, or be hung upside down. Women were regularly raped and forcibly married to Hansip and soldiers without their consent or their families. Many of the children that emerged from this were simply abandoned.
From 1979 to 1980 we received relief supplies from the Indonesian Red Cross, such as dried fish, chicken, milk, flour, salt, blankets and medicines, and were looked after by medical staff, a doctor and two nurses. However, the food we got was too high in protein to digest for malnourished people and many died. We were finally allowed to create gardens, but only within a radius of less than a kilometer from Dilor and only with a travel permit from the security chief. Often there was forced labor without pay. There were no training opportunities because there were no institutions or teachers. School children were forced to serve as TBOs ( tenaga bantuan operasi , 'surgical assistants'). "
Up to ten people, children and old people, died every day. Investigations assume thousands of dead in the camps. The International Red Cross did not reach Dili until October 1979 . Aid for the internees was organized in cooperation with the Indonesian Red Cross. First aid measures immediately went to Hatulia and Laclubar. In six months, 1,800 tons of grain, 360 tons of rice, 1,080 tons of beans, 216 tons of vegetable oil, 270 tons of milk powder and 180 tons of protein biscuits were to be delivered to 60,000 people. In 1981, the Red Cross aid program reached 80,000 people in 15 settlements and had a budget of $ 6.26 million in the first phase. Half of this was used solely for transport by helicopter. In the 1980s, some inmates were allowed to return to their home villages. Others were forcibly resettled in new villages or other places, so-called "settlement centers" (tempat pemukiman) , according to strategic considerations . During this period, forced relocation became one of the most important weapons against the Timorese resistance. The victims were those who were suspected of working with FRETILIN or simply those of whom family members were in the resistance. Thousands, mostly women and children, were deported to Atauro in the early 1980s, where there was again a lack of food and other important things. It was not until 1982 that the International Red Cross was allowed to help these displaced persons as well.
Other aid supplies were intercepted by soldiers from the Indonesian armed forces. A member of the American Catholic Relief Service (CRS) reported that in 1979 they were forced to take the groceries to the district military headquarters. Instead of 10 kg per person, the CRS were only allowed to distribute 5 kg. The military justified the measure that otherwise food would be passed on to FRETILIN. Only with further deliveries by the CRS would further aid be distributed to the population. The CRS employees were told that the soldiers wanted to use or sell the second half of the relief supplies for themselves. Construction workers were also supposed to be paid with the food, even though the Indonesian government had already released funds for this. Other soldiers exchanged fresh eggs and chickens for the food they delivered. Such abuse of aid supplies has been documented in Maubisse, Ermera, Hatu-Builico, Liquiçá, Manatuto, Baucau, Lospalos, Laga and Suai. The soldiers also sorted out well-preserved items from clothing deliveries for personal use or sale. CRS workers who protested were threatened at gunpoint and accused of being a FRETILIN sympathizer.
At the beginning of 1979 about a hundred men from Ermera , the previous capital of the district of the same name , and the Suco Ponilala were brought by the Indonesian occupying forces to the place where the city of Gleno stands today. The Indonesian military forced the men to clear the previously uninhabited area and remove the vegetation so that the new city could be built here. If the forced laborers failed to complete their daily quota, they were tortured as a punishment. Three men who were too sick to work were killed by the soldiers. Since it was not possible to create gardens at that time, food was supplied by the military. When the work on the new district capital Gleno was finished in 1983, the military stopped the supply. The families of the forced laborers have now also been forcibly relocated to Gleno. Because basic gardens had still not been laid out, deaths from starvation occurred. It was not until 1985 that the residents of Glenos were allowed to move freely.
For the first time, the inhabitants of East Timor took part in the Indonesian national elections in 1982, 311,375 East Timorese cast their votes. The result was clearly fake. It resulted in over 100% of the votes for the ruling Golkar party . In the Indonesian Parliament Timor Timur sent eight deputies.
In December 1988, President Suharto formally ended the isolation of East Timor with Presidential Decree 62. The occupied area was given an equivalent status to the 26 other provinces of Indonesia. The travel restriction was lifted for Indonesian nationals and foreign tourists and journalists were allowed to enter the province after obtaining official permits. From this time on, the influence of the military within East Timor decreased. In 1993 the Kolakops special forces of the Indonesian military in East Timor were disbanded and the area lost its status as a special zone. The Korem 164 / Wiradharma military district was then directly under the leadership of the Kodam IX / Udayana area command in Bali until it was dissolved .
The struggle for independence
|
Commanders of the FALINTIL
|
|
|---|---|
| Rogério Lobato | Aug. 20, 1975 -? |
| Fernando do Carmo | ? - December 7, 1975 † |
| Nicolau dos Reis Lobato | May 1976 to December 31, 1978 † |
| Xanana Gusmão | 1981 to November 20, 1992 (arrested) |
| Ma'huno Bulerek Karathayano | 1992 to April 5, 1993 (arrested) |
| Nino Konis Santana | April 1993 to March 11, 1998 † |
| Taur Matan Ruak | 1998 to February 1, 2001 (conversion of FALINTIL into F-FDTL) |
In August 1977 Suharto announced an amnesty for FRETILIN fighters who surrendered and repeated the offer on December 31, 1977. In reality, however, East Timorese who surrendered or were captured faced torture and murder. Anyone who fell into the hands of the occupiers was first questioned. Some of them were beaten with blunt objects, burning cigarettes or electric shocks. After the interrogation, the senior officers made decisions about life and death. Those who belonged to the leadership of the resistance or had a higher education were mostly murdered, as were their wives.
This was followed by a period of terror and the resettlement of the civilian population, and persecution of supporters of the independence movement by pro-Indonesian militias and the army. Civil security forces with East Timorese as members were set up by Indonesia. The Hansip were armed and paid, while the Ratih (Rakyat Terlatih, "trained people") received neither arming nor regular payments. Some of the civilians who surrendered to the invaders were conscripted as TBOs ( Tenaga Bantuan Operasi , surgical assistants). TBOs had to accompany the troops to the front lines and carry ammunition and equipment. At times they also served as scouts and guides, sometimes as spies in the zones held by the FALINTIL. By using civilians for warlike purposes, the Indonesians violated international martial law .
Mau Lear was caught and killed in February 1979. At that time, of the former 48 members of the FRETILIN Central Committee, only Sera Key , Xanana Gusmão, Txai and Mau'huno were still alive . All operated on the eastern tip of Timor. In March, Gusmão and Ma'huno met in Titilari with the other remaining political leaders Mau Hodu , Bere Malay Laka and Txai and the military commanders Mauk Moruk , Reinaldo Freitas Belo (Kilik Wae Ga'e) , Olo Gari , Nelo and Freddy , to reorganize the resistance. Sera Key was captured by the Indonesians in April while searching for remaining fighters in central East Timor, and was probably murdered. Two further reconnaissance missions were initially unsuccessful. If the FRETILIN guerrilla war was not the rule until the death of Nicolau Lobato, Xanana Gusmão began using this tactic to fight for independence. Various Timorese groups fought the occupiers from the mountains with support from the population. On June 10, 1980, FALINTIL units attacked the television station in Marabia , the weapons depot of B Company of 744 Infantry Battalion in Becora and military facilities in Dare and Fatu Naba on the outskirts of the capital Dili. It was the first major attack, also known as "levantamento" (Portuguese: uprising, uprising) since the resistance movement was almost completely crushed in 1978. In response, the Indonesian military killed over 100 people and tortured or exiled members of resistance fighters the island of Atauro, used as a prison island. During the clashes, the Indonesian military committed massive human rights violations and atrocities (including murder and rape ). The number of Indonesian soldiers deployed in East Timor varied from 15,000 to 35,000. From 1 to March 8, 1981 took place on Mount Aitana ( subdistrict Lacluta Subdistrict a meeting held FRETILIN). The "reorganization of the National Conference" served to restructure the resistance against the Indonesian invaders after the loss of all resistance bases (bases de apoio) and liberated zones (zonas libertadas) . Xanana Gusmão was elected as the new head of FALINTIL.
On April 7, 1981, Tetum was approved by the Vatican as the language for the liturgy . The result was both a strengthening of the East Timorese national identity and a further influx of Catholicism. Around 1975 the proportion of Catholics in the population was only about 30 percent. One of the reasons for the poorly successful evangelization was the rivalry between Dominicans and Jesuits. During the freedom struggle against Indonesia, however, the Catholic Church became the unifying bracket between the tribal associations against the predominantly Muslim Indonesians. By 2002 the proportion of Catholics in the population increased to over 90 percent. Liberation theology from Latin America had a strong influence . Another reason for the increase in Catholics was that the inhabitants of East Timor had to choose between one of the five recognized religions (Islam, Catholic and Protestant Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism) when registering with the Indonesian authorities. Under the pressure of the election, most East Timorese opted for Catholicism. It is sometimes assumed that similarities between the traditional concept of Lulik and the Catholic faith, such as the worship of the dead and icon worship, played a role here.
"Operasi Kikis" (also Operation Pagar Betis ) followed from May to September 1981 , in which 60,000 Timorese civilians roamed across the island in a so-called " fence made of legs " in order to track down insurgents. Children were also among the conscripts who were on the front lines against the FALINTIL. At the end of the march on September 7th at St. Anthony's Shrine on Aitana, depending on the information, between 70 and 500 people, including women and children, were killed by the Indonesian army.
Amnesty International released secret documents dated July 1982, according to which Colonel Adolf Sahala Rajagukguk, the military area commander for East Timor, and his secret service chief, Chief Major Williem da Costa, had given written consent to the use of torture against suspects with alleged rebel connections. The documents said:
"Hopefully, interrogations involving the use of force will not take place, except in certain cases when the person being interrogated is having trouble telling the truth [is evasive] ... If it is necessary to use force, make sure there are no others People present [TBO, Hansip, Ratih, population] ... Avoid taking photos of ongoing torture [when using electric shocks, undressing, etc.] "
On August 20, 1982, the Cabalaki uprising (Levantamento de Kabalaki) took place in Mauchiga , Dare , Mulo (all Hatu-Builico ), Aituto (Maubisse) and Rotuto ( Same ). FALINTIL fighters and some residents from the towns attacked several Indonesian bases in the region. So the Dare Koramil , Koramil and police in Hatu-Builico and the Hansip in Aituto, Rotuto and Raimerhei . The Indonesians immediately sent troops to the region. In Dare houses were burned down, schools closed and women and children were forced to keep watch in military posts. There were also forced relocations, pillage, looting and rape. The military posts were set up in every Aldeia in the region, plus eight community posts around Dare. FALINTIL fighters and a large part of the population fled the area, some to the Cabalaki.
The deputy responsible, Colonel Purwanto , began secret negotiations with the rebel leader Xanana Gusmão, which ended on March 23, 1983 with a ceasefire. However, there were attacks by the Indonesian army on the population, including in Kraras ( Viqueque sub- district ). As a result, the FALINTIL, together with men from the region, attacked the Indonesian military post in Kraras on August 8, 1983. 14 soldiers were killed. This was followed by retaliation by the military, the so-called Kraras massacre . Almost 300 inhabitants of the village died, numerous people were arrested and others were able to flee into the mountains. The village was dissolved by the occupiers. The region is now called the "Valley of the Widows" .
Between August 5 and 8, hundreds of members of armed militias ( Wanra , Hansip ) from Mehara , Lore , Leuro and Serelau (all in Lautém district) deserted and joined FALINTIL. The Indonesians carried out punitive actions in their hometowns. Hundreds of women and others who were left behind were rounded up on trucks and interned for several months. There was torture and rape. Several hundred families were later forcibly relocated to the island of Atauro. The large-scale operation “Operasi Sapu Bersih” (“Clean Table”) of the Indonesian military followed in August, and in September 1983 the Operasi Persatuan and Operasi Keamanan (“Operation Security”).
In 1984, chief of staff Reinaldo Freitas Belo, his deputy Mauk Moruk , his subordinate Oligari Asswain and another FALINTIL commander attempted the uprising against commander Xanana Gusmão. While they rejected his policy of uniting all national forces, calling himself a traitor and the true proponent of the revolution, Gusmão accused the group of a lack of sense of duty and military errors due to arbitrariness. The rebel commanders did not appear at a reorganization meeting of FALINTIL in Liaruca called by Gusmão in September 1984. Instead, they tried to win over other commanders in Same. On September 4th a radical restructuring of the military command structure was decided in Liaruca. Belo and Mauk Moruk, along with three others, were kicked out of the Central Committee for rioting. Gusmão now became FALINTIL's chief of staff as well as commander. A unit of fighters from all military regions was dispatched to disarm the rebels. Reinaldo Freitas Belo had disappeared, but Mauk Moruk could be discovered. Although he had no more support, he managed to escape armed. He finally surrendered to the Indonesians and went into exile, which he spent mostly in the Netherlands. According to Gusmão, Reinaldo Freitas Belo shot himself shortly afterwards. Gusmão later accused him of having psychological problems. Other FALINTIL commanders claim that Belo was killed in a battle with the Indonesians. Oligari Asswain , Mauk Moruk's deputy, was banned from FALINTIL and later founded the CPD-RDTL . Mauk Moruk's brother Cornélio Gama was initially also removed from the FALINTIL, but was later allowed to return. At the same time, he founded his own organization that had religious features, the Sagrada Família . Gusmão used his newly won power to throw the Marxist ideology of FRETILIN overboard in the resistance, in favor of national unity. Resistance members who were not involved in the partisan struggle and who belonged to other political currents were now integrated into a national resistance movement.
From August 1983 to June 1984 there were heavy bombings by the Indonesian Air Force , which also affected the civilian population. Further Indonesian offensives followed in November 1986, March 1987 and July 1987. The reaction of the Timorese resistance consisted of ambushes in December 1985 and March 1988. In October 1986 the FALINTIL even occupied the city of Viqueque for three days. On November 21, 1986, 34 Indonesian soldiers were killed in an ambush by the FALINTIL near the source of Ossohira . In December 1988, she successfully carried out an attack on Indonesian soldiers in the outskirts of the capital Dili.
A birth control program was started in April 1985 with support from the World Bank and the Ford Foundation . Reports from this period speak of forced sterilizations, forced abortions and forced contraception, even if the later Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of East Timor (CAVR) could not prove any organized genocide using these methods. From some quarters, these alleged measures, together with the immigration of settlers from other parts of Indonesia, were also seen as a means of indo-nosing the population. By 1999, the number of Indonesians in East Timor rose to 85,000. The birth control program was implemented in the villages with the help of the military, mostly through hormone implants and injections. If pregnancies did occur nonetheless, they were often complicated and fatal. Some children were born with deformities. Some women have been neutered after childbirth and girls have been given contraceptives along with vaccinations at school without education. Even today, many women distrust clinics and gynecological treatments. In addition, the birth rate in East Timor rose sharply after the Indonesians had left. At times the country had the highest rate in the world. As of 1980, 500 families from Java and Bali were resettled in the transmigration program. Between 1980 and 1985, there were officially 14,142 immigrants. In 1984 around 5,000 Balinese had settled in East Timor. By 1988, 15,550 had been added. At the height of Suharto's transmigration policy , the proportion of the East Timorese population that came from Indonesia reached up to 20%, according to Indonesian sources. It is noticeable that the proportion of Muslims still only reached 4%. This was due to the fact that mainly Catholics immigrated.
On March 31, 1986, the National Timorese Convergence (Convergencia Nacional Timorense CNT) was founded by UDT, FRETILIN, KOTA and the Partido Trabalhista (Workers' Party) as an umbrella organization. On August 12, 1988, UDT chairman Moisés da Costa Amaral was allowed to speak before the UN Committee for Decolonization, as a member of a CNT delegation, for East Timor's right to self-determination. Other members of the delegation were Martinho da Costa Lopes, Roque Rodrigues (FRETILIN) and João Carrascalão (UDT). The UN General Assembly repeatedly passed resolutions (A / RES / 37/30, A / RES / 36/50, A / RES / 35/27, A / RES / 33/39, A / RES / 32/34, A / RES / 31/53), who condemned the illegal occupation. But the East Timor conflict received little attention from the international community. There continued to be divisions and power struggles between the individual groups of the East Timorese resistance. Therefore, on December 31, 1988, Xanana Gusmão and José Ramos-Horta founded the National Council of Resistance of the Maupe ( Conselho Nacional de Resistência Maupe CNRM ) as a new umbrella organization with Gusmão at its head. He should better coordinate the freedom struggle.
With the establishment of the Resistência Nacional dos Estudantes de Timor-Leste (RENETIL) in 1988, a new generation of resistance emerged, which was recruited from East Timorese students in Indonesia. In the 1980s, Indonesia began to award numerous scholarships for study places in Bali and Java to East Timorese young people in order to politically agree on them.
The proposal of the Roman Catholic Church to have a referendum on independence or remaining as a province of Indonesia led to new discussions about the future of the crisis region. Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo , who was ordained bishop in 1988, tried to use the influence of the Church to alleviate the suffering of the population. The visit of Pope John Paul II. October 12, 1989 in East Timor strengthened the confidence of the population and pushed the conflict for a short time back into the consciousness of the world public. After the mass, a group of young people unfolded banners. They demonstrated for self-determination and against human rights violations. This embarrassing moment for Indonesia was followed by a wave of arrests and torture. The American ambassador to Jakarta, John Monjo , traveled to Dili in January 1990 to investigate allegations of torture. In front of his whereabouts, the Hotel Turismo in Dili, there were small demonstrations on three consecutive days.
Indonesian troops tried on November 14, 1990 in the area around Same and Ainaro with the "Operasi Senyum" (Operation Smile) to catch Gusmão. Four days earlier, a woman who had testified during interrogation that the rebel leader was at a nearby mountain had been captured. Xanana Gusmão was probably able to escape the night before the attack. After the attack, in which twelve battalions and four helicopters were deployed, the military said they had tracked about 100 fighters. A container with Gusmão's documents, a video camera and his typewriter was also found. The documents included letters from the Pope and Bishop Belos.
The Santa Cruz massacre and the international reaction
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The visit of a Portuguese parliamentary delegation had been under discussion since autumn 1989 at the suggestion of UN Secretary General de Cuéllar , but shortly before it took place it was canceled by the Portuguese because Indonesia refused entry to Australian journalist Jill Jolliffe . In November 1991, the Special Rapporteur on Torture , Pieter Kooijmans , was also due to travel to East Timor to investigate reports of human rights violations by various organizations. During the presence of the UN Special Rapporteur, the Santa Cruz massacre (also known as the Dili massacre ) occurred on November 12th in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital Dili , in which the Indonesian military killed over 200 people and in the following days made many disappear. The journalists who had come to visit the Portuguese were able to observe what was happening, the British journalist Max Stahl managed to film the massacre. Mário Viegas Carrascalão, who was the Indonesian governor of Timor Timur at the time, exposed secret executions by the Indonesian military. The publication caused great outrage around the world. Today is November 12th to commemorate the victims of a national holiday in East Timor.
After the Santa Cruz massacre, public opinion in the western world tipped in favor of the Timorese. In addition, the Soviet Union disappeared from the world stage in the same year, so that Indonesia could no longer warn of a Marxist specter. A movement in solidarity with East Timor arose in Portugal, Australia and the United States. The massacre had a major impact on public opinion in Portugal, especially after East Timorese people were shown praying in Portuguese on television. In Australia, too, much of the population was outraged and criticized Canberra's close ties to the Suharto regime and Jakarta's recognition of sovereignty over East Timor. While this embarrassed the Australian government, Secretary of State Gareth Evans downplayed the murders as a misstep. In East Timor, too, resistance regained strength after the Santa Cruz massacre. At the end of the 1980s / beginning of the 1990s, the military resistance consisted of only 143 fighters with 100 rifles. But after the massacre, their number rose to 245 guerrillas with 130 rifles. RENETIL organized its first demonstration in Jakarta.
With the arrest of Xanana Gusmão on November 20, 1992 and the refusal of the Indonesian side to allow relatives and employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross to see the prisoners, the conflict intensified. On December 9th, the FALINTIL hit the first military strike after Gusmão's arrest. She set an ambush on an Indonesian patrol near Maubisse in Manufahi. Over 30 soldiers were killed and two trucks were destroyed. Gusmão received the highest award in Portugal in 1993 as a sign of the Portuguese's respect. The management of the FALINTIL was taken over by Ma'huno Bulerek Karathayano (real name: Gomes da Costa) , who was also captured by the Indonesians on April 5, 1993. He was followed by Nino Konis Santana , who died on March 11, 1998 in an accident in the Ermera district.
Portugal tried unsuccessfully to get the international community to put pressure on Indonesia. The situation in East Timor was regularly brought up to the European Union . However, other EU members saw no advantages in doing more for the country. For example, Great Britain, which had close economic ties with Indonesia, including arms deliveries.
From 1994 the resistance of the generation of Santa Cruz demonstrators, the Lorico Asuwain, reorganized . Violent demonstrations broke out across East Timor between November 13 and 24, 1994. In many places the Indonesian army temporarily lost control of the situation. The riots repeated themselves from January to March 1995. For the first time supporters of independence were attacked by paramilitary groups. More violent clashes followed over the next few months. It was triggered by the denigration of the Catholic faith by an Indonesian official in his speech and in conversations with locals during his visit to East Timor. As a result, East Timorese youth attacked the Indonesian police and Muslim immigrants and destroyed their property. Protests had already occurred before the APEC summit in Bogor, Indonesia on November 15, 1994. 29 East Timorese students (including Arsénio Bano ) drove in taxis to the American embassy in Jakarta and, despite the security precautions, jumped over the 2.6 m high fence into the embassy grounds, where they unfurled banners with "Free East Timor". This long-prepared embassy occupation received international attention in the media and suppressed Suharto's successes at the APEC summit. Only after twelve days were the embassy occupiers ready to end the action. The Red Cross took them to the airport, from where they could fly to the asylum in Portugal. There they initially refused to speak to the press and referred to a press conference that was then led by José Ramos-Horta. The embassies of Sweden and Finland had already been occupied so that one could gain experience in dealing with the media. On November 19, 1995, the British, Dutch and Japanese embassies were occupied for the APEC summit in Osaka and on December 7, for the anniversary of the Indonesian invasion of the Russian and Dutch embassies, with 112 Indonesian and East Timorese demonstrators. In 1996 it was the turn of the Australian, New Zealand and French embassies and in March 1997 the embassy of Austria . All occupations were non-violent.
When President Suharto visited the Hanover Fair and other cities in Germany in 1995 , he was accompanied by minor protests, including by Amnesty International . The Weimar City Council declared Suharto an undesirable person. In Dresden he was refused entry in the city's Golden Book , leaflets were thrown at him and his vehicle was prevented from continuing. Suharto authorized members of the Indonesian secret service to investigate in Germany who could be held responsible for these demonstrations. These investigations were mainly aimed at East Timorese who lived in Germany, but also at Sri-Bintang Pamungkas , a member of the PPP and the Indonesian parliament, who was in Germany at the same time. Even if the then federal government under Helmut Kohl addressed the human rights violations at its meeting with Suharto, it was still a proponent of economic cooperation between Indonesia and Germany. Human rights organizations particularly criticized the export of German submarines and Bo 105 helicopters to Indonesia. Germany, together with the also conservative government of the United Kingdom under John Major, opposed efforts by the Republic of Ireland to put the East Timor conflict on the European Union's agenda during its EU Council Presidency in the second half of 1996 .
In 1996 the Indonesian People's Democratic Party (PRD) called for a withdrawal from East Timor. The party leadership was arrested in July. In the same year, the two peace and independence activists, Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos-Horta, received the Nobel Peace Prize , which brought international interest to the conflict. With the beginning of the Asian crisis a year later and the associated problems for the stability of Indonesia, the circumstances slowly changed. The United States refused to support the Jakarta government and Australia pushed for more concessions.
On May 29, 1997 elections took place in which representatives of East Timor should be elected to the Indonesian parliament. Between May 27 and 31, in the vicinity of the elections, there were several attacks by FALINTIL fighters, which killed a total of nine civilians and 20 members of the Indonesian security forces. Independence fighters were also killed. In July, South African President Nelson Mandela visited Indonesia and met both Suharto and prisoner Xanana Gusmão. Mandela issued a written statement urging the release of all East Timorese political leaders. “ We can never normalize the situation in East Timor unless all political leaders, including Mr Gusmão, are released. It is you who have to find a solution. ” The Indonesian government rejected the request, but announced that Gusmão's prison sentence, which totaled 20 years, would be reduced by three months.
At the National Timorese Congress from April 23 to 27, 1998 in Peniche (Portugal), the various East Timorese groups (FRETILIN, UDT, KOTA, APODETI and Workers' Party) were finally united and the CNRM was renamed the Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense CNRT .
On May 21, 1998, the long-time ruler Suharto resigned after student protests . In June, his successor Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie offered East Timor autonomy within the Indonesian state. However, he ruled out complete independence and declared that Portugal and the United Nations should recognize Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor. The CNRT rejected the proposal on August 11, 1998, calling instead for a referendum on independence and the release of Xanana Gusmão. This was followed from August to October by discussions between UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and the Foreign Ministers of Indonesia and Portugal on a special status for East Timor with extensive autonomy.
The 1999 independence referendum
In 1999 Portugal won some allies, first in the EU and later in other parts of the world, who urged Indonesia to find a solution to the conflict. Under strong international pressure, President Habibie declared on January 27th that his government could now consider East Timor's independence if the East Timorese rejected an autonomy solution. On March 11, the UN, Portugal and Indonesia agreed at ministerial level to hold a referendum on the future of East Timor. On April 21, the conflicting parties in East Timor agreed to end the violence. The 2000 FALINTIL fighters agreed to a ceasefire.
Pro-Indonesian forces in East Timor reacted to the announcement of the referendum with massive intimidation and threats to the population. On April 6, 1999, the pro-Indonesian militias Besi Merah Putih (BMP) and Aitarak , together with Indonesian soldiers and police officers, carried out the church massacre in Liquiçá , in which between 61 and over 200 people died. Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson expressed great concern about the tense situation. There were clear connections between the 20,000 militiamen and the 18,000 Indonesian soldiers at the time, which made themselves felt in the command structures and equipment. The Wanra had been set up by the military, officially recognized as a vigilante for the protection of the public and integrated into the local administrative structure. They were funded by government funds and the men were trained by the military. Apart from the leaders, the members of the militias were mostly not political convicts. Some of the mostly uneducated young men allowed themselves to be blinded by money and power, others were forced to participate under threat of violence. Membership was sealed with traditional ceremonies such as boils. Alcohol and drugs played a big role. Human rights organizations assume that the Wanra had the mandate to either prevent the referendum through a civil war or to influence the result in favor of Indonesia. It remained unclear how far the actions of the militias were ordered by the army or even from Jakarta.
On May 5th, the agreement between Indonesia and Portugal on the future of East Timor was finally concluded and this was confirmed by the UN Security Council on May 7th with resolution 1236 . The referendum was supposed to give the East Timorese people a choice between independence and Indonesia as the Special Autonomous Region of East Timor SARET . The UN special envoy Ian Martin arrived in Dili in June . He criticized the acts of violence by the militias, which forced tens of thousands to flee to the western part of the island. There they were delivered to the Indonesian units. With Resolution 1246, the World Security Council decided to set up UNAMET . 280 UN police officers and 50 UN military advisers were supposed to advise the Indonesian security forces during the referendum. In addition, the Indonesian government was reminded of its duty to maintain law and order in East Timor. On July 4, 1999, the pro-Indonesian militia Besi Merah Putih (BMP) attacked an aid convoy in Liquiçá which was accompanied by UNAMET and UNHCR employees . Of the 77 people in the convoy, several local employees were seriously injured and the vehicles were destroyed with bars and stones. 62 members of the convoy escaped to the police station. They were able to return to Dili later. Indonesian police officers and members of the secret service who were present did not intervene. On the contrary. One week after the incident, the Indonesian police began an investigation into a UN worker for alleged possession of weapons. On 6 July there were further attacks by militias on UN employees in Maliana and Liquiçá. Indonesia tried to persuade the East Timorese people to stay with a pro-autonomy campaign. Large sums of money were invested and political associations were founded to distribute food, medicines, T-shirts with the words “Pro Autonomie” and national flags. The CNRT refrained from holding major public events in order not to further stir up the violence.
From July 16 to August 5, voter registration was open. It started three days late because the Indonesian security forces had difficulties to ensure security. 451,792 residents of East Timor were registered as voters. On August 20, an event organized by pro-independence activists was attacked by militias in Suai, and UN employees were threatened by militias in Manatuto.
The referendum of August 30, 1999 finally brought with 344,580 votes (78.5%) a clear majority for the independence of East Timor against 94,388 votes (21%) for the autonomy, with a participation of 98.6%. The result was announced on September 4th. In the event of the defenders of independence, the Wanra had been prepared to worsen conditions through a civil war to such an extent that Indonesia would continue to be needed as a protective power. Just a few hours after the result was announced, the Indonesian military, together with the militias, launched Operation Donner ( Operasi Guntur in Indonesian ), a wave of violence and destruction across East Timor. The aim of this action planned in July under the name Operasi Wiradharma was that the Indonesian Parliament (MPR) would overturn the referendum in view of the situation. As early as September 2, violence had escalated across the country in front of the members of the UNAMET election commission. The disappointed opponents of the independence movement, the pro-Indonesian militias and the Indonesian army massacred people in many parts of the country and left scorched earth behind after their departure . Noam Chomsky writes in Radical Priorities :
"In one month, around 2000 people were murdered in this massive military operation, hundreds of women and girls were raped, three quarters of the population were displaced and 75% of the country's infrastructure was destroyed."
Around 60,000 houses were burned down by the militias. 80% of the schools and practically all medical facilities were destroyed. Around 280,000 East Timorese, a quarter of the population, were forcibly evacuated to West Timor by Indonesian security forces, some of whom had fled themselves. The instructions for planning this measure had already been given to the regional army command in Bali on May 5th. Even the United Nations had not been informed of the plans until shortly before the vote. The East Timorese were housed in the refugee camps in Noelbaki , Tuapukan , Naibonat in Kupang, Kefamenanu and 200 other smaller camps. There were mainly deportations in the greater Dili area, along the border with West Timor, in the Oe-Cusse Ambeno exclave and in the Lautém district. The "evacuees" were to be further dispersed across Indonesia according to the plans of the military behind them. 200,000 East Timorese were on the run within the country. But the goal of starting a civil war failed. The FALINTIL remained calm on instructions from Xanana Gusmão and did not respond to the violence of the pro-Indonesian militias.
Human rights defenders in Portugal, Australia, the United States and other countries around the world urged their governments to intervene. The Indonesian government should be forced to agree to a multinational reaction force that could restore order in East Timor. After the murder of four local UNAMET employees, the United Nations ordered the withdrawal. On September 9, loans from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were put on hold. Three days later, Habibie agreed to withdraw his forces and agreed to an international reaction force. On September 15, UN resolution 1264 legitimized the INTERFET (International Force for East Timor) peacekeeping force , which was supposed to restore order. Despite the sympathy of the People's Republic of China for East Timor, short-term negotiations and guarantees by the West were required for China and Russia to agree to the delegation to the UN Security Council. They feared a precedent that could also be applied to Tibet , for example . 22 countries provided up to 11,500 soldiers. about half came from Australia, the rest for the most part from Thailand , Malaysia, the Philippines and New Zealand . Germany sent two transport machines with medical personnel. Other countries joined the mission over the following months. The armed forces were under the command of the Australian Major-General Peter Cosgrove . On September 20, the first Australian units landed at Dili Airport .
UN administration from 1999 to 2002
On September 21, 1999, the Dutch reporter Sander Thoenes was murdered by Indonesian soldiers. After minor clashes with the pro-Indonesian militias, INTERFET quickly controlled the region. Large parts of the population had fled to the mountains or the western part of the island. But members of the militia had also withdrawn to West Timor and carried out sporadic raids from there, mainly on the southern part of the border, which was controlled by the New Zealand army. When these raids were repelled and Indonesian support ended due to international pressure, the militias dispersed. When they left, they set many houses on fire. The Oe-Cusse Ambeno exclave was liberated in October. On October 19, the Indonesian parliament officially accepted the result of the referendum and annulled the annexation law of 1976. With the resolution of the UN Security Council 1272 , the UN interim administration UNTAET was empowered on October 25 to organize the reconstruction of the country from February 14, 2000 and replace INTERFET. But refugees in West Timor were held in camps and murdered for months after they were officially handed over to the UN peacekeeping mission. On November 1, 1999, the last Indonesian soldier left East Timor as part of a farewell ceremony attended by representatives of the Indonesian military and the UN as well as Xanana Gusmão as President of the CNRT. On November 17, Sérgio Vieira de Mello took up his post as interim administrator of East Timor as the new UN special envoy in Dili . At a conference in Tokyo on December 17, 1999 , grants of over 417 million euros were committed.
In December the 15-member National Consultative Council (NCC) was created to represent the people of East Timor in the administration as a kind of transitional parliament. On February 23, 2000, the military command passed from INTERFET to UNTAET. On April 28, the East Timorese postal service began operations, and on May 12, the first public hearing of the District Court of Dili took place. On July 12, the NCC set up a transitional cabinet . The members of the NCC were appointed by Administrator Mello. Even if the selection of the East Timorese members was de jure Mello, he left this to Xanana Gusmão , the CNRT president. In addition to Mello, there were four other representatives from the UN and five East Timorese in the cabinet, including Ramos-Horta, Marí Alkatiri and João Carrascalão.
 UN administrator East Timor
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| Sérgio Vieira de Mello | November 17, 1999 to May 19, 2002 |
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UN special envoy for East Timor
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| Ian Martin | May 1999 to November 2002 |
| Sérgio Vieira de Mello | November 17, 1999 to May 19, 2002 |
| Kamalesh Sharma | May 21, 2002 to May 21, 2004 |
| Sukehiro Hasegawa | May 21, 2004 to September 30, 2006 |
| Atul Khare | December 6, 2006 to December 4, 2009 |
| Ameerah Haq | December 4, 2009 to June 8, 2012 |
| Finn Reske-Nielsen | June 8, 2012 to December 31, 2012 |
On July 24, 2000, the New Zealand UN soldier Leonard Manning (24) was killed in an exchange of fire with a pro-Indonesian militia at the border near Tilomar and his body was mutilated. He was the first member of the UN peacekeeping force in East Timor to be killed in combat. On August 10, the Nepalese UN soldier Devi Ram Jaishi died while fighting with a militia in Suai near the border. Three other Nepalese soldiers and one East Timorese civilian were injured. On September 6th, three UNHCR workers were murdered in a refugee camp in Atambua, West Timor. The UN Security Council thereupon called on Indonesia with UN Resolution 1319 to take action against the militias that had their bases in West Timor, to disarm them and to secure the refugee camps and the border. A total of 17 UNTAET members died during the mission.
In October 2000, the NCC was reorganized following an agreement between UNTAET and CNRT. The National Council (NC) now had 33 members, all of whom were East Timorese. CNRT President Xanana Gusmão was elected spokesman for the NC on October 23. The National University of East Timor reopened on November 15th. On September 12, 2000, the interim cabinet decided to establish the East Timorese Defense Forces F-FDTL . The conversion of the FALINTIL into the F-FDTL was officially carried out on February 1, 2001 in a ceremony in Aileu. FALINTIL Commander Taur Matan Ruak was appointed Brigadier General to Commander the Armed Forces.
On June 9, 2001, the CNRT disbanded to clear the way for the various parties to campaign for the forthcoming first election. The elections for the constituent assembly were held on August 30, 2001. With independence, the assembly became the first parliament in East Timor . The FRETILIN won 55 of the 88 seats (57.3% of the vote) in the election, the UDT only two. The Partido Democrático became the second strongest force . The second interim cabinet was sworn in on September 20 . Mello remained as the only representative of the UN as administrator in the cabinet. At his side was Alkatiri, as a representative of the majority party FRETILIN. The other members of the government were East Timorese who either belonged to FRETILIN or the PD or were non-party. On March 22nd, 2002, the first constitution was passed by the Constituent Assembly. On April 14th, Xanana Gusmão was elected as the new head of state of East Timor in the first presidential election. He received 82.7% of the vote.
The first years of independence
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Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
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| Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (FRETILIN) | November 28, 1975 to September 1978 |
| António Mau Lear Duarte Carvarino (FRETILIN) | October 1977 to February 1979 † |
| Marí Bin Amude Alkatiri (FRETILIN) | May 20, 2002 to June 26, 2006 |
| José Ramos-Horta (independent) | July 10, 2006 to May 19, 2007 |
| Estanislau da Silva (FRETILIN) | May 19, 2007 to August 8, 2007 |
| Xanana Gusmao (CNRT) | August 8, 2007 to February 16, 2015 |
| Rui Maria de Araújo (FRETILIN) | since February 16, 2015 |
With UN resolution 1410 of May 17, 2002, three days before formal independence, a three-year mandate for the successor to the UNTAET mission was agreed. The UNMISET monitored the democratization process in East Timor from 2002 to 2006.
On May 20, 2002, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was officially granted independence . The accession to the United Nations as 191st member took place on September 27th.
On December 4, 2002, riots broke out in Dili and other parts of East Timor after a student was arrested on suspicion of murder the previous day. First, students and teachers demonstrated in front of the parliament against the arrest, because they believed it was unfounded. Although President Gusmão agreed with the protesters that they would retire for the night in order to discuss the case with him the next day, more men arrived in the meantime and took over the protest. They marched to the police headquarters to demonstrate. Many of the protesters had no connection with the arrested person or even knew his story at all. The situation escalated and the police opened fire. Two students were killed. Other students carried their bodies to the parliament building, where there were fights with the police and the looting of shops, most of which belonged to Chinese traders . The Hello Mister supermarket was set on fire, as well as the house of Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri, government vehicles and the Annur Mosque in the Arab quarter of Dilis. The police shot again at the rioters and four other students were killed. Alkatiri opened an investigation and blamed foreign influence for the incidents.
In May 2005, after weeks of protest marches, religious education in public schools was reinstated as a compulsory subject in the curriculum. Prime Minister Alkatiri introduced a bill in February that the subject should only be attended voluntarily.
On May 20, the last UN blue helmet soldiers of UNMISET left East Timor. This left the United Nations Office in East Timor (UNOTIL) with 45 employees. On January 23, 2006, President Gusmão called for another UN presence in East Timor. UN forces are still needed to train police officers and provide support for the upcoming 2007 elections. According to Gusmão, 15–20 military liaison officers should continue to work in a Special Political Office for these tasks .
On January 6, 2006, three Indonesians were shot dead by East Timorese police on the border near Turiskain on the Malibaca River . According to Indonesian military sources, the three victims were fishing when fire opened on them without warning. Jakarta protested violently. Following the incident, East Timorese women were raped.
Establishing the national borders
As early as 2001, members of the Indonesian military warned that East Timor's independence could spark secessionist movements in West Timor. East Timorese separatists had received local support in West Timor, including from the Catholic diocese of Atambua there. The aim is to unite the two parts of the island into an independent " Greater Timor ". In 2005 a local commission warned against a "Greater Timor group" in West Timor. However, such a group did not appear in the public eye and neither the government nor the major parties of East Timor pursue such a policy.
Since 2005, the land border with Indonesia is 97% regulated. It is largely based on the colonial demarcation between Portugal and the Netherlands, which, however, could only be understood to a limited extent due to technical problems. For example, if the valley path had been defined in the colonial treaties as the basis for drawing the boundaries of rivers, it now turned out that this was not possible due to the constantly changing course of most rivers. It was then agreed on the median as a new orientation line. Controversial points were areas around the exclave Oe-Cusse Ambeno ( Área Cruz in the sub- district Passabe , Citrana triangle in the sub - district Nitibe ), as well as the exact modalities of a corridor from Oe-Cusse Ambeno to the main state area. The claims to the uninhabited small island Fatu Sinai (Pulau Batek) gave up East Timor after a few years.
On April 21, there was an exchange of fire between Indonesian soldiers and the East Timorese border police near Maliana . An Indonesian soldier was injured. There were different statements from both sides about the event.
In September 2009, a group of Indonesian soldiers drove to the East Timorese village of Naktuka and began taking photos of newly constructed buildings. They were thrown out by the inhabitants and sent back across the border. On May 26, 2010, 28 armed soldiers from the Indonesian armed forces broke into Suco Beneufe and planted their flags in Naktuka, one kilometer from the border. On May 29, 2010, they destroyed two houses of social institutions in Suco. On June 24, an armed unit of the Indonesian army again entered the Naktuka area one kilometer, but withdrew when they encountered a unit of the East Timorese border police. Residents of Naktuka see a connection with the unclear demarcation between the countries. These were the worst incidents between the two countries since East Timor became independent in 2002.
Relations with Australia were strained due to the debates over the maritime border between the two countries. Canberra claimed oil and natural gas fields south of the Timor Trench, which according to the Convention on the Law of the Sea would lie within the exclusive economic zones of East Timor. Australia withdrew from the Convention in March 2002, shortly before East Timor's independence, and relied on the contour of the edge of the Australian continental plate. During the Indonesian occupation, the oil field in the Timor Sea between Timor and Australia was discovered and on December 11, 1989 the Timor Gap Treaty between Jakarta and Canberra was concluded. In May 2004, the Australian government reaffirmed the validity of the contract in this form, which shifted the sea border, and thus also the raw materials, in favor of Australia. East Timor then accused Australia of withholding a million US dollars in license income every day by drawing the border from East Timor . On January 12, 2006, the two countries agreed in the Timor Sea Treaty and the Treaty on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea on the distribution of the profits from the oil and gas reserves. The agreement ratified in 2007 is accompanied by a 50-year moratorium on the maritime border, without East Timor foregoing its territorial claims.
Processing of human rights violations
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The processing of human rights violations during the occupation and especially around the independence referendum in 1999 took place at various levels. On the one hand through an ad hoc human rights court in Jakarta and the Special Panels for Serious Crimes (SPSC) in East Timor. In addition, there was the Truth and Friendship Commission (Commission for Truth and Friendship CTF) set up jointly by East Timor and Indonesia and the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Comissão de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliacão de Timor-Leste CAVR) of the United Nations.
Due to the large number of crimes, legal processing avoided minor offenses such as intimidation, insults, arson, theft, destruction of property and crops, and minor bodily harm from the outset. Only crimes against humanity such as murder, rape and displacement were investigated . Another problem with the reconciliation work was that in East Timor the perpetrators and victims mostly came from the same village and were sometimes even related to one another. Many perpetrators of minor offenses had been incited or forced to participate under threat of violence. Again and again, the perpetrators of 1999 had themselves been victims in the civil war between UDT and FRETILIN. These internal tensions prevented the return of many refugees from West Timor . The aim was to compensate for these problems through the work of the truth commissions.
Around 4000 children were brought from East Timor by Indonesian soldiers, officials and religious organizations during the 24 years of occupation, mostly to help them. Often promises were made to parents for a good education for their children. Other children were kept like slaves by the soldiers who killed or snatched them from their parents. According to a secret military document, Indonesian soldiers were supposed to support the transfer of children to Indonesia in order to spread Islam in East Timor. Many children went to strict Muslim schools and were forcibly converted. The kidnapping was never official state policy, but just a year after the invasion, President Suharto, for example, had taken 23 East Timorese children into his residence in Jakarta. They became an East Timorese branch of the Suharto family. Since most of them were only two or three years old, it is difficult to find their families in East Timor today. Numerous children have simply disappeared.
At the beginning of 2015, the government proclaimed the policy of “mourning the nation” ( tetum dec-lutu nasional ) or “ shedding the black”. The remembrance of the past should now be carried out more in memory than in mourning as before. Critics note that many families have not yet finished mourning because the remains of their relatives have not yet been found. There is no trace of many of the victims of the occupation, including the folk hero Nicolau Lobato , whose death anniversary on December 31, 2015 is supposed to mark the end of the Dec-lutu Nasional .
Jakarta Human Rights Court
With the establishment of the Human Rights Court in Jakarta, Indonesia prevented an international tribunal. However, the court's jurisdiction was limited to crimes against humanity that occurred in April and September 1999 in Dili , Liquiçá and Suai districts . On March 14, 2002, the Human Rights Court began its work. 16 members of the Indonesian military and police, the last Governor of Timor Timur José Abílio Osório Soares and the leader of the Aitarak militia Eurico Guterres were charged in twelve trials. Olivio Moruk , another militia leader, was killed in Atambua shortly after the charges became known under circumstances that have not yet been clarified. It is speculated that he wanted to testify about the perpetrators of the 1999 wave of violence in the Indonesian military. Contrary to the demands of the Indonesian investigative commission KPP-HAM, the former commander-in-chief of the army and defense minister General Wiranto , the former secret service chief major-general Zacky Anwar and João da Costa Tavares , commander-in-chief of the militias, did not find themselves in the dock. Human rights activists have already criticized the prosecution's indictments. Although the wave of violence in 1999 was clearly initiated by the Indonesian military and the militias were equipped and financed by the military, the incidents were presented as civil war-like clashes among the population that did not originate in the army. The court assessed the incidents accordingly and left the de facto control of the militias by the Indonesian civil administration and the military unevaluated in the judgments.
Six of the 18 defendants were eventually convicted. On November 27, 2002, Eurico Guterres received ten years' imprisonment. His militia is charged with participating in several massacres, including the church massacres in Suai and Liquiçá. An appeals court reduced the sentence to five years in 2004. Guterres was then at large pending another hearing at the Indonesian Supreme Court . On March 13, 2006, the Jakarta Supreme Court upheld Guterres' ten-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity. Four of the five judges considered it proven that in April 1999 he had not prevented his supporters from attacking Manuel Carrascalão's house, which was filled with refugees . Guterres, who is now Indonesian, claimed to be innocent. In May 2006, he was arrested in Kupang and taken to Jakarta's maximum security prison, Cipinang . Ironically, former freedom fighter and current President of East Timor, Xanana Gusmão, was previously held here. In April 2008 the Supreme Court acquitted Guterres again because he could not be held responsible for all of his militia's actions.
On March 12, 2003 Brigadier General Noer Moeis was sentenced to five years in prison. He was the troop commander in East Timor in the summer of 1999 and was found guilty of condoning the atrocities of the pro-Indonesian militia. The three years imprisonment that Major General Adam Damiri , the highest-ranking defendant, was sentenced to on August 5, was similarly justified . Surprising, because the public prosecutor's office had pleaded for an acquittal due to an alleged lack of evidence. José Abílio Osório Soares was sentenced to three years in prison. The prosecution had asked for ten and a half years. The Jakarta Supreme Court upheld the human rights court's guilty verdict on April 12, 2004. After only four months in detention, however, an appeal against the verdict was successful in the last resort and Soares was released. The reason for the reversal of the judgment was that East Timor was then under military administration and therefore the civilian governor could not be held responsible for the crimes.
Ultimately, six of the eighteen defendants were convicted by the Human Rights Court, but the judgments were all gradually overturned by the highest court. It was noticeable that the minimum sentence of ten years in prison was only applied to the two East Timorese. The international community of states and human rights organizations already criticized the relatively mild judgments and the twelve acquittals of the Human Rights Court.
Special Panels for Serious Crimes in Dili
Simultaneously with the withdrawal of the last UN blue helmet soldiers, the United Nations Prosecution ( Serious Crimes Unit ) and the Special Panels for Serious Crimes SPSC at the Dili District Court ceased their work on May 20, 2005 . Hundreds of unsolved cases of serious human rights violations have been left to the completely overwhelmed national judiciary. More than half of the murders and an even larger proportion of the rapes went unpunished. In November 2004 the investigation by the SCU ended.
The tribunal consisted of two international and one local judges. The SCU prosecutors were also international lawyers. Until the independence of East Timor in 2002, the agency was subordinate to the UN mission, then directly to the country's highest public prosecutor. In addition, local staff were trained with the help of the SPSC, which supported the establishment of the national judiciary. The SCU pursued crimes against humanity that occurred between January 1 and October 25, 1999. The reason for the restriction was the authority's limited financial and human resources. The aim was not only to hold the perpetrators responsible, but also to convict commanders and those responsible for their subordinates, which also affected the Indonesian armed forces. Former SCU employee Marco Kalbusch explained:
“The entire territory of East Timor was viewed as a single crime scene, allowing the hundreds of individual human rights violations - homicides, rape, destruction and displacement - to be viewed in their entirety. Thus, evidence of a far-reaching and systematic attack against the civilian population could be provided, part of which was the individual human rights violations with which the perpetrators wanted to exert pressure on the population so that they would vote in the referendum out of fear in favor of autonomy within the Indonesian state association. "
By the time it ceased its work, the UN-based judiciary had indicted 391 people, but 316 of them were in Indonesia. 87 defendants, mostly fellow travelers in pro-Indonesian militias, were jailed. For example, on December 9, 2003, former militia member Salvador Soares was sentenced to ten and a half years in prison for the murder of two UNTAET employees in 1999.
On February 24, 2003, ex-governor José Abílio Osório Soares and the former Indonesian army chief General Wiranto were convicted in absentia by the SPSC. On May 10, 2004, the SPSC issued an international arrest warrant against Wiranto, but the East Timorese attorney general Longuinhos Monteiro did not forward it to Interpol . The Jakarta and Dili governments did not cooperate with the court in prosecuting Indonesian defendants. They did not want to burden the mutual relationship, which is why Indonesian convicts from administration and military were not brought to account. President Xanana Gusmão even regretted the charges against Indonesia, while the United Nations referred responsibility for the charges to the East Timorese judiciary.
CAVR and CTF
In order to achieve reconciliation in parallel with criminal prosecution, the United Nations and East Timor founded the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR) in 2000. In July 2001, Sérgio Vieira de Mello signed the regulation establishing the CAVR. It should document all human rights violations between April 25, 1974 and October 25, 1999, including the civil war between UDT and FRETILIN, and support reconciliation within the country. For this purpose, statements from witnesses, victims and perpetrators were collected and public hearings were carried out.
Seven national commissioners, 30 regional and 250 employees worked, supported by international experts, in 13 district teams. The headquarters of the CAVR was in Dili, there were also six other regional offices. There was also an advisory body to which, for example, the Indonesian human rights lawyer Munir Said Thalib , who was murdered on September 7, 2004, belonged. The headquarters of the CAVR was in Dili's Balide district in the former Comarca prison .
The public work of the CAVR ended in April 2004. In October 2005 the CAVR handed over the 2000-page report to Chega! (Port .: "Enough!", "Enough!") on the effects of the Indonesian occupation on President Xanana Gusmão. A copy was given to Parliament in November and to the UN in January 2006. The Australian newspaper The Australian , Singapore's The Straits Times, and other newspapers previously published content from the report after it was leaked to them. The publication of the report caused resentment in the East Timorese government, who saw relations with Indonesia as a result, especially since the Indonesian government had not previously had the opportunity to study the report more closely.
The CAVR spoke to 8,000 witnesses and concluded that up to 183,000 East Timorese civilians perished between 1975 and 1999 - out of a total of 800,000 residents. 18,600 were illegally murdered or disappeared, a further 84,200 died of starvation or disease. There were 8500 cases of torture. 70% of all murders were committed by Indonesian security forces. The names of over 3,600 Indonesian soldiers are written on the monument to commemorate the Indonesian fallen in Operation Seroja. Most of the casualties occurred in the first years of the occupation. There are twelve Indonesian military cemeteries with 1124 graves in East Timor. The rest is due to East Timorese collaborators, but freedom fighters have also killed. The Australian quoted on, the occupiers had "decided to use starvation as a weapon of war" . The report also reported burning or burying live people, cutting off ears and genitals, and using napalm . In a statement, Indonesia denied having had the opportunity to use napalm at all, but documents from the Australian secret service show both the capacities and plans for the use of napalm by Indonesia.
The CAVR report goes on to say: “Systematic executions, torture, rape and sexual slavery were officially accepted by Indonesia” , according to the CAVR. The CAVR accused government officials and Indonesian ministers of knowing about the planned intimidation and scorched earth strategy. Instead of stopping them, they supported them directly, the report said. The CAVR recommended bringing the perpetrators to justice and demanding compensation from Indonesia. Likewise from states that militarily supported the Suharto regime, such as the United States and Great Britain.
FRETILIN was also accused of human rights violations between 1974 and 1999. The report listed 1,297 illegal killings (murders) , 71 disappearances, over 3,000 arrests, nearly 1,000 cases of ill-treatment, sexual assault, over 400 cases of forced relocation, forced recruitment and destruction of private property. The majority of these incidents took place in the 1980s.
The former commander in chief of the Indonesian military, General Endriartono Sutarto , said he could not imagine that the military and police were responsible for so many deaths. He also denied a deliberately caused famine. Indonesia's Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono called the report "a statistics war on things that never happened."
As an alternative to the prosecution process in East Timor and Indonesia, the Truth and Friendship Commission (CTF), based on the South African model, should deal with the investigation of the crimes of 1999. On March 9, 2005, Presidents Gusmão and Yudhoyono signed a corresponding agreement in Jakarta. In a statement, human rights and non-governmental organizations criticized the agreement as an attempt to draw a line under the past without punishing the perpetrators.
In 2005, President Xanana Gusmão said of the CAVR that they had “grandiose idealism that goes well beyond conventional political boundaries”. He promoted a good relationship with the now democratic Indonesia. He stuck to the CTF and its goal of “processing without prosecution”. In contrast, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon criticized the CTF in 2007 for granting amnesty for serious crimes. Ban stated:
"The policy of the United Nations, however, is that it cannot endorse or condone an amnesty for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or serious crimes against human rights, nor can it do anything to support such."
Ban forbade UN members, such as the UN special envoy to East Timor Ian Martin in 1999, to testify before the Commission as witnesses.
Lieutenant General a. D. Kiki Syahnakri , the last military commander of the Timor Timur Province , confirmed in his testimony to the CTF in October 2007 that the Wanra (popular resistance groups) had been legally trained and armed by the Indonesian military as paramilitary groups. He denied human rights violations by the Indonesian state. Instead, he accused the United Nations of contributing to the 1999 violence.
In July 2008, the CTF finally presented its 300-page report. It states that the Indonesian government, military and police are grave complicity in the human rights violations in the 1999 riots. The old occupying power financed and equipped the militias. Indonesian soldiers are accused of leading roles in the massacres. The police are accused of participating in the violence rather than preventing it. This violence was not accidental, arbitrary or spontaneous, but organized. Here the report contradicts the previous Indonesian representation. On a smaller scale, independence groups are also held responsible for human rights violations such as deprivation of liberty. The final report was unanimously adopted by the CTF and accepted by the governments of both countries. The report asks those responsible to apologize to the victims. Names of individual perpetrators are not listed in the report, which is criticized by outsiders. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono declared his "regret for the mistakes" made in 1999. East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão said he was pleased with the apology.
Nahe biti - roll out a mat for peace
The lines of conflict running through the middle of the communities and village communities, but also feuds that had existed for centuries, made the reconciliation process in the country that the CAVR accompanied, more difficult. A helpful means for this was the dispute settlement and reconciliation process “nah biti” ( tetum “rolling out a mat” , something like : “resolving disagreements”), which comes from the traditional culture of East Timor and can be found in almost all ethnic groups in the country. Traditional authorities, such as the Lian Nain , mediate after hearing both sides, whereupon compensation is paid. By settling down on a bast mat, the conflicting parties seal the reconciliation with the mediator. The near biti is expressed with the words “Saida mak ladiak haluha tiha ka monu hela iha ne'e, labele louri ba liur. Maibe buat nebe mak diak lori ba hodi fo hatene ba, no hanourin, oan sira. "(Tetum:" What is bad should be forgotten and should not be taken home. However, you can take the good things with you to tell about them and to teach them to your children. ”) finished. The East Timorese traditionally differentiated between biti boot ("large mats", things that affected the tribe, clan or clan) and biti kiik ("small mats", family matters ).
A formal process of reconciliation in the communities (Community Reconciliation Process) for less serious crimes was developed from tradition , which was recognized both legally and socially. The ceremonies were carried out in holy houses ( Uma Lulik ) , in which the necessary ritual objects (Sasan Lulik) were kept.
If a perpetrator voluntarily opted for reconciliation, he could turn to the CAVR, provided that he confessed in full, accepted responsibility for his actions and refrained from violence in the future. These agreements were recorded in writing. Criminals without a political background were denied this route. The prosecution now checked whether the crime was a minor crime and whether there were no further allegations against the perpetrator. If both were the case, the CAVR district team contacted the affected Suco and the victims to check their willingness to seek reconciliation. With five representatives of the sucos, if possible, several cases concerning the suco were dealt with over a day or two. Mostly the representatives from the Church were traditional leaders ( Liurai or Dato-lulik ) and Chefe de Sucos , or Chefe de Aldeias . Contrary to the previous tradition, particular attention was paid to the fact that there were at least one or two women on the committee. Nevertheless, it was difficult for women, be it as victims or as perpetrators, to participate in the process. On the one hand, they were very cautious, on the other hand, they often left the reconciliation events that lasted until late at night, for example to look after the children. Sometimes women were simply forgotten as victims. The CAVR district commissioner led the process. After hearing the perpetrators, who described the circumstances of the incident and asking for forgiveness, and the victims, the entire community was able to ask questions about the incident. Then the panel brokered adequate compensation and symbolic redress. In addition to paying small sums of money and traditional items, this could also be done in the form of community work or helping to rebuild a house. The agreement was registered as a judgment in the district court . After completing the atonement, the perpetrator could no longer be prosecuted. If he violated it, he could face a year in prison or a fine of up to 3,000 US dollars.
In the end, CAVR received 1542 requests for a reconciliation procedure. It was denied in 86 people because the perpetrators were charged with more serious crimes. More than 90% of the proceedings concerned crimes during the 1999 crisis. Most of the perpetrators were members or followers of the pro-Indonesian militias or had worked for the Indonesian military, police or secret service. In some cases, the panel refused to forgive the perpetrators because the apology was not believed to be credible. The great response to the reconciliation process can be explained by the desire of the perpetrators to be accepted back into society, especially since their children and other family members were also excluded.
In addition, a national close biti with representatives from all 13 districts of the country was carried out in the capital Dili. The resulting Sasan Luliks were then passed on to twelve Uma Luliks in the other districts of East Timor.
Most of the confessing perpetrators who underwent the close biti were satisfied with the reconciliation, but there was criticism that only the petty perpetrators were held accountable while commanders and backers were safe from prosecution in Indonesia. Without a conviction of the main perpetrators, in the opinion of many East Timorese, the reconciliation and coming to terms with it would only be incomplete. Even today, several thousand East Timorese live in the Indonesian West Timor and other parts of Indonesia.
The 2006 riots
For some time now, there has been increasing dissatisfaction among the population about the lack of improvement in the situation. East Timor is the poorest country in Asia and is completely dependent on foreign aid. Unemployment is high, economic growth is low and the ruling politicians have been criticized. The riches from the gas and oil reserves could not yet be exploited to fill the empty state coffers. The regions in the west of the country felt themselves to be disadvantaged in the distribution of offices compared to the eastern parts of the country. The traditional networks and internal tensions apparently played a role here.
From the end of April 2006, East Timor experienced the worst unrest since the Indonesian military withdrew in 1999. The protests were sparked by the dismissal of almost 600 of the 1600 soldiers of the East Timor’s Defense Forces, who deserted in early 2006 in the course of a few weeks in protest over the poor working conditions and transport regulations . They accused Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri of favoring certain ethnic groups in the promotions. The conflict escalated in May. Street battles and pillage broke out in Dili. Criminal youth gangs marched through the capital and the FDTL fought with the rebels. On May 25, an International Stabilization Force (ISF) landed at the request of the East Timorese government. Under the leadership of Australia, the soldiers from the neighboring country, New Zealand , Malaysia and Portugal were supposed to restore order and quiet.
Over time, the conflict developed more and more into a power struggle between Prime Minister Marí Alkatiri and President Gusmão. Alkatiri was accused of arming militias to kill political opponents. Interior Minister Rogério Lobato and Defense Minister Roque Rodrigues were released and Lobato arrested. On June 25, Foreign Minister and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate José Ramos-Horta and Minister for Transport, Communications and Public Relations Ovídio Amaral resigned from all political offices. In doing so they protested against the decision of FRETILIN to hold onto Prime Minister Alkatiri. A day later, Alkatiri gave up, took responsibility for the unrest and announced his resignation. On July 8th, José Ramos-Horta was officially appointed as Alkatiri's successor and sworn in on July 10th.
At first there was tense calm in Dili, as Ramos-Horta is accepted from all sides. Some of the refugees slowly returned to their homeland or, when their houses were destroyed, moved to the mass tent camps provided by the government. The number of houses burned down is said to be in the thousands. At least 37 people were killed in the unrest and 155,000 were on the run. From the end of August onwards there was repeated fighting between the gangs from different parts of the country. By early 2007, another 30 people were killed as a result.
UNMIT
On August 25, 2006, the UN Security Council agreed on a new mission which, in accordance with resolution 1704, should restore security in East Timor, help with economic development and support the upcoming 2007 presidential and parliamentary elections . The UNMIT (United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste) , the follow-up mission to UNOTIL, consisted of around 1,600 police officers, military advisors and civilian employees.
After the ceremony, Prime Minister Ramos-Horta announced his resignation if militias and opposition groups continue to violently oppose the government. A few hours after the start of the UN mission, rival gangs fired arrows at each other near the presidential palace that evening .
On October 17, the UN published a report on the riots recommending an investigation against ex-Prime Minister Alkatiri, former ministers Rogerio Lobato and Roque Rodrigues and the head of the armed forces Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak . Alkatiri did not manage to prevent weapons from being distributed to civilians, although he is said to have known about it. Ruak and the ministers are said to have been responsible for distributing weapons. The report concludes that Ruak failed to prevent the unrest. The shooting of unarmed police officers by soldiers could not be blamed on him. The report also accuses President Gusmão of errors in negotiations with the rebels. He did not respect the institutional channels. He was exonerated from the charge that Gusmão had incited rebel chief Alfredo Alves Reinado and his men to commit crimes. In connection with a shooting on May 23, Reinado and his men were accused of "crimes against life and the person" . Reinado justified himself by saying that he had been attacked at the time and had only defended himself. President Gusmão welcomed the report as independent and impartial and urged the government to review the report's recommendations. On March 7, 2007, ex-minister Lobato was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison after a trial. The prison sentence was reduced to half the time on Independence Day 2008.
The Xanana Gusmão government
FRETILIN lost power in the 2007 elections
The 2007 elections were relatively non-violent. Xanana Gusmão did not run again in the presidential election. Instead, he later ran for election as the new prime minister in the general election. His close political friend, Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta, who has been independent since 2006, applied for the office of president. While the first ballot was marked by various irregularities, the second passed without major incident. Ramos-Horta was able to prevail against the candidate of the ruling party FRETILIN Francisco Lu-Olo Guterres and took up the office of President on May 20th. The day before he had resigned from the post of Prime Minister, which Vice Prime Minister Estanislau da Silva took over from FRETILIN. International election observers criticized several incidents during the election but called them by and large free and fair.
A total of 14 parties ran for the parliamentary elections on June 30, 2007. The vote count was without any major abnormalities. FRETILIN lost its absolute majority and was only able to unite 29.02% of the voters behind it. The CNRT of Gusmão immediately reached 24.10% and went with Coligação ASDT / PSD and Partido Democrático PD alliance ( Aliança da Maioria parlamentar ) a. This alliance provides 37 of the 65 members of the new parliament. In addition, two other small parties and an electoral alliance ( PUN and UNDERTIM and Aliança Democratica KOTA / PPT ) entered parliament. The other parties failed at the three percent hurdle. Xanana Gusmão was sworn in as Prime Minister on August 8, 2007.
Violent riots broke out shortly after Gusmão was charged with forming a government. In the eastern strongholds of FRETILIN alone, the districts of Viqueque and Baucau , 323 houses were set on fire between December 8 and 14 and 4,000 people were displaced. The total number of new displaced persons was 6,000. The worst incidents were the attack on a convent and orphanage of the Salesians of Don Bosco in Baguia , in which underage girls were raped, and an attack on a UN convoy in Viqueque. Three incidents in which Australian troops disparaged and stole the flag of FRETILIN brought new ignition. The Australian commander, Brigadier John Hutcheson personally returned one of the flags and regretted the incident. The other two flags were returned through other authorities. FRETILIN General Secretary Alkatiri thereupon demanded the withdrawal of the Australians, as they were no longer neutral.
First term of Gusmão
Rebel leader Reinado surrendered his weapons on June 16, 2006, provided that international troops guarantee his safety. But on July 25, Reinado was arrested by the Australians for illegally possessing weapons. He was later to be charged with murder as a soldier was killed in skirmishes between his people and troops loyal to the government on May 23, 2006. Reinado and 56 followers managed to escape from prison on August 30th. In Ermera district they agreed to place themselves under the supervision of the security forces. At the end of February 2007, Reinado fled again with his people. They are credited with attacking two border police posts where weapons were stolen. President Gusmão authorized the international peacekeeping force to arrest Reinado and asked Indonesia for assistance.
On March 1, 2007, Reinado was trapped in Same with 150 men by the Australian Army. He was joined by Gastão Salsinha , another leader of the rebel soldiers and Leandro Isaac's independent MP , to support him. Parts of the civilian population fled the place. Reinado threatened the government with civil war again, accusing Australia of an illegal invasion of East Timor. On the morning of March 4, Australian units, supported by two helicopters and armored vehicles, stormed the place. Four rebels were killed, but Reinado and Salsinha escaped with their men. Only a few rebels could be captured. Isaac was unharmed. The following night there were protests and riots in Dili, Gleno and Ermera. Isaac later distanced himself from Reinado on the grounds that he was aiming for an armed struggle against the government.
During 2007, the government tried to get Reinado to face the authorities. Although President José Ramos-Horta also met the rebel personally, he was unsuccessful. Reinado even threatened civil war. On February 11, 2008 there was an exchange of fire between the rebels and the security personnel in the Ramos-Horta house in Dili. Reinado and another rebel were killed, Ramos-Horta and one of his bodyguards were seriously injured. Shortly thereafter, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão was attacked by Reinado's men, but escaped unharmed. The rebel movement collapsed in the weeks that followed. The rebels were either captured or voluntarily placed themselves into government custody. On March 3, 2010, 24 rebels were sentenced to between 9 and 16 years in prison for the attacks. Even after the trial, it remained unclear who shot the president and who killed Reinado and his comrade. On August 24, President Ramos-Horta pardoned all those convicted.
On October 12, 2009, the government was able to fend off a vote of no confidence with the coalition's vote (38 against 25). The trigger was the release of the alleged war criminal Maternus Bere at the instigation of Prime Minister Gusmão and President Ramos-Horta. Indonesia protested against the arrest of its national in early August, whereupon Bere was handed over to the Indonesian embassy in Dili on August 30, on the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum. The unauthorized release led to serious accusations from the population, the United Nations, the Catholic Church and human rights organizations. The country's Supreme Court is investigating a possible breach of the constitution. Gusmão said he had released Bere in the interests of good neighborly relations. Bere is accused of participating in the Suai church massacre , in which up to 200 people are believed to have been murdered in 1999.
Allegations of corruption by the opposition FRETILIN against members of the government could not be confirmed at first, but led to extensive discussions on the subject at the end of 2008. 35% of East Timorese believed corruption had gotten worse. The government then set up an anti-corruption commission CAC to investigate the various allegations. In September 2010, Deputy Prime Minister José Luís Guterres and Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa were temporarily suspended. The background to this is the award of a highly endowed diplomatic post to the wife of Guterres. On November 25, the Dili District Court dismissed all charges against Costa. On May 9, Guterres was also acquitted. A few months later, new allegations arose against the ministers Emília Pires (finance) and Lúcia Lobato (justice). Lobato was eventually sentenced to five years in prison and a fine for mismanagement. On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the independence referendum on August 30, 2014, President Taur Matan Ruak pardoned Lúcia Lobato after a total of only 18 months in prison.
The ties to Australia weakened further as East Timor tried to work with as many partners as possible. The request of the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to set up a center for asylum seekers in East Timor was rejected by the Gusmão government and the opposition. Much to the displeasure of Australia, East Timor bought two new patrol boats from the People's Republic of China. Military cooperation also began with the United States and the Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries (CPLP). Relations with the former occupying power of Indonesia continued to improve. Like most members, it supported the proposal to incorporate East Timor into ASEAN . However, there have been repeated incidents around the disputed area at Naktuka . Indonesian soldiers invaded the area claimed by East Timor several times, expelled East Timorese and destroyed their property.
As a spokesman for so-called " fallen states ", East Timor established itself through a conference of the g7 + states in Dili in April 2010. The conference was intended to exchange experiences on stabilization measures and to strengthen common interests vis-à-vis donor states, with East Timor itself being a successful example of a successful one Stabilization sees. East Timor's Finance Minister Emília Pires was elected as the new chairman of the g7 + countries.
On September 13, 2011, the Authority for Banking and Payments ( Portuguese Autoridade Bancária e de Pagamentos ABP ) was transformed into the Central Bank of East Timor ( Portuguese Banco Central de Timor-Leste BCTL ).
Elections 2012
In the 2012 presidential elections in East Timor, José Ramos-Horta lost in the first round. After criticizing the government several times, Xanana Gusmão withdrew his support. Instead, the Prime Minister spoke out in favor of Taur Matan Ruak, the former commander in chief of the armed forces. This won the runoff against Francisco Guterres, who ran for FRETILIN for the second time without success. Taur Matan Ruak took over the presidency on May 20, 2012. Apart from some arson and stone throwing, the elections were relatively peaceful. There were no major incidents in the parliamentary elections on July 7th . Gusmãos CNRT emerged from them as the strongest force, but narrowly missed the absolute majority. FRETILIN also has the mathematical possibility of setting up a government coalition with the two small parties Partido Democrático and Frenti-Mudança FM. The other parties failed at the three percent hurdle.
Second term
CPD-RDTL and KRM
At the end of 2012, over 1,000 supporters of the veterans' movement CPD-RDTL under the leadership of General Coordinator Aitahan Matak occupied a large area in Welaluhu (Suco Clacuc , Fatuberlio subdistrict , Manufahi district), which belongs to the local village community. The administrator of the sub-district Fatuberlio Tobias Hornay even spoke of 7,000 members of the CPD-RDTL, the organization itself of 11,000. The centenary of the Manufahi rebellion under the Liurai Boaventura was named as the occasion . As the members of the CPD-RDTL wore machetes and uniforms, the local population felt threatened by them and demanded that they leave. Aitahan Matak denied a criminal act. They want to operate in a cooperative agriculture in order to make East Timor independent of imports. There are also no illegal collections of money. Just accept donations to finance the project. The CPD-RDTL also denied cattle theft. Locals complained that their fields had been occupied by the CPD-RDTL, while the organization spoke of unused land that had previously been used by the Indonesians for their resettlement program and therefore now belonged to the state. In mid-March 2013 the remaining 800 CPD-RDTL members were brought back to their home districts by the Welaluhu police. The fields were given to local authorities. The CPD-RDTL was offered by the government to cultivate properties in other districts as a cooperative.
In November 2013, the Konseilu Revolusionariu Maupe (KRM, German Revolutionary Council Maupe ) caused a sensation when members marched in Laga in military uniforms, violating the uniform ban for civilians. The KRM was founded by Mauk Moruk , who had only returned from exile in the Netherlands in October. In the same month Mauk Moruk gave a speech at the national university in which he called on the country's intellectuals to join his anti-poverty revolution and overthrow the Gusmão government. Another demand was a return to the 1975 constitution . The intellectuals of the Sagrada Família of Mauk Moruk's brother Cornélio da Conceição Gama ( L7 ) should also join. An announced demonstration for early elections in the Dili on November 28, Independence Day, took place, as did the requested talks with Prime Minister Gusmão. Demonstrations against Australia and the controversial CMATS treaty did not receive police approval. The KRM grew to be a threat to the stability of the country. In February 2014, a police operation in Lalulai ( Laga sub- district ) resulted in an exchange of fire with KRM members. A policeman was injured by a Molotov cocktail. On March 3, the National Parliament ordered the police to take action against the activities of the KRM and the CPD-RDTL. On March 10, KRM members erected a blockade on the road to Baucau in the Laga sub-district . One person was injured by an explosive device that was thrown. After consultations with the top management, L7 declared on March 14th that the KRM was ready to cooperate with the authorities, even if “the whole of Dili would be on fire” if he so wished. Mauk Moruk and co-boss José Santos Lemos ( Labarik Maia ) were arrested, L7 was placed under house arrest. António da Costa ( Aitahan Matak ), head of the CPD-RDTL, turned himself in to the authorities and also came under house arrest. In the absence of evidence, Mauk Moruk and Labarik Maia were released on December 13, 2014. In January 2015, the KRM took two police officers hostage in Laga and wounded two others. Prime Minister Gusmão personally drove to Laga in a convoy and negotiated the release of the hostages. Mauk Moruk fled with his people into the jungle.
Border dispute with Australia
In 2006 the disagreements over the border in the Timor Sea and the exploitation of natural resources with Australia were settled by the CMATS treaty . However, the dispute arose because the Australian company Woodside Petroleum, which was commissioned with the exploitation of the Greater Sunrise gas field, wanted to liquefy the natural gas at sea instead of on land, where workers in East Timor would benefit. In 2013 it became known that the Australian foreign intelligence service ASIS 2004 had installed bugs in the East Timorese cabinet room and wiretapped conversations concerning the negotiations on the border with Australia. The eavesdropping devices were installed by secret service employees who worked as development workers in East Timor. As a result, East Timor questioned the validity of the moratorium on the border and went to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague . On December 3, 2013, a few days before the trial began, ASIO raided the offices of East Timor lawyer Bernard Collaery and a former ASIS agent who is believed to be a whistleblower in the case. Documents and data carriers were confiscated. His passport was confiscated by ASIS agents. He actually wanted to appear as a key witness (code name Witness K ) at the Hague trial after he learned that former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer , who was responsible for espionage , was a paid advisor at Woodside Petroleum after leaving parliament assumed. East Timor's government protested violently, but Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan and Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the action was in the legitimate interests of national security.
On March 3, 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Australia to stop espionage against East Timor. Communication between East Timor and its legal advisers must not be disturbed. Australia is allowed to keep the seized documents until the end of the hearing at the court of arbitration, but is not allowed to evaluate them or use them against East Timor. A few days later, Australia warned East Timor that the dispute over the sea borders could endanger relations between the countries. In October, the two parties to the dispute agreed to suspend the proceedings and restart negotiations on the sea borders.
In January 2017, both governments declared that the CMATS should be dissolved. On March 6, 2018, the two states signed a new border treaty that postponed the agreements in favor of East Timor.
Other events
On December 31, 2012, the United Nations officially ended the UNMIT mission. On March 25, 2013, the last ISF facilities were handed over to East Timor.
The second government of Gusmão also faced allegations of corruption by the CAC against leading politicians. On January 24, 2013, the public prosecutor formally charged State Secretary Francisco da Costa Soares on suspicion of abuse of office and tax fraud. The allegations relate to his time as director general at the Ministry of Finance . However, since the government put pressure on parliament, Soares' immunity was not lifted and the investigation remained pending. On July 21, 2015, former Minister of Education, João Câncio Freitas , was sentenced to seven years in prison and paid compensation to the state of $ 500,000. He was accused of abuse of power and economic participation in a television education program.
In July 2013 the government banned three martial art groups (MAG): Persaudaraan Setia Hati Terate (PSHT), Korka and Kera Sakti . The PSHT alone had 35,000 members. The constitutionality of the ban was controversial, as the violence between the gangs was always attributable to individual members and not to the entire group. Since the training and wearing of the group uniforms and symbols is now forbidden, these groups now work covertly in secret. Some of the ceremonies are being relocated to West Timor, Indonesia. The widespread membership of members of the police and army remains problematic. To whom the loyalty applies in the event of a conflict is questionable. After all, 993 police officers and soldiers took off their MAG uniforms in an official ceremony. In January 2015, 288 members of the security forces at the government palace renounced their MAGs and publicly acknowledged their loyalty to the state. However, the vows to the MAGs count as lifelong membership, from which one cannot withdraw.
Until 2014, many foreigners, mainly from Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries, worked in the East Timorese judiciary, both as advisers to the Prosecutor General and the Anti-Corruption Agency and as judges. It was due to the lack of qualified staff after independence was restored. Gradually, in the years since 2002, the posts were filled with East Timorese. Most recently, around 50% of judicial officers, including 12% of judges, came from other countries. After East Timor had lost several legal proceedings for tax claims against raw material companies, all foreigners in the judiciary were dismissed by parliamentary resolution on October 24th. After the East Timorese Supreme Court declared that there was no legal basis for the decision, the visa of the foreigners was revoked and they were ordered to leave within 48 hours. The advisors were accused of incompetence and possibly corruption, even though they had no connection with the cases. Foreign observers speculated, however, that East Timor wanted to reverse unpleasant judgments. Others suggest that this is how critics should be removed. The tax procedures have been reopened.
Early resignation Gusmão
In November 2013, Gusmão announced that he would withdraw from active politics before the end of the legislative period . He would resign as Prime Minister by September 2014 at the latest. He later postponed the date to April 2015 because he still wanted to bring the new negotiations on the border dispute with Australia to an end. At the beginning of 2015, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão announced again that he would reshuffle the government and also resign prematurely. On February 5, he informed his coalition partners that he wanted to propose former Health Minister Rui Maria de Araújo as his successor and resigned with a letter to President Taur Matan Ruak. Araújo was a member of the central committee of the opposition party FRETILIN, which is why there was anger in the three coalition parties about Gusmão's move. Araújo received support from the leadership of FRETILIN and from the former Prime Minister and President José Ramos-Horta. President Taur Matan Ruak officially accepted Gusmão's resignation on February 9th and charged Araújo with the formation of a new government on February 10th, after the CNRT had also officially proposed him. The list of new cabinet members was published on February 11th. Xanana Gusmão continued as Prime Minister until the new Prime Minister was sworn in.
The Rui Maria de Araújo government
Inauguration and conflict with the KRM
Rui Maria de Araújo is the first Prime Minister of East Timor to no longer belong to the 1975 generation of independence fighters.
Before the new government was sworn in on February 16, 2015, Araújo lost a member of the cabinet. State Secretary Francisco da Costa Soares appeared at the ceremony, but did not attend, leaving his office vacant. Soares thus drew the conclusions from the investigation that had been ongoing since 2013 against him for taking advantage. According to his statements, his post will remain vacant until the investigation into him is concluded.
At 2 a.m. on March 8, 2015, a group attacked the local police station in Baguia with firearms and homemade explosives. Three police officers who stayed in the building as the bodyguard of President Vicente da Silva Guterres were injured. The Speaker of Parliament was in town for a relative's funeral and was in a nearby building, but was probably not the target of the attack and was unharmed. In addition to the police station, the local Liurai's house and at least two other houses also burned. Vehicles were also damaged. According to police sources, the attackers belonged to the Mauk Moruk KRM. However, this denied participation. A few days later, special forces captured eleven people believed to be connected to the attack. On June 28, a soldier in Atelari was shot by KRM members. Since Operation Hanita began on March 11, after the attack on Baguia, 468 people had already been arrested by the security forces. Human rights organizations criticized the security forces' rude treatment of the civilian population and their property.
On August 6, there was a firefight in Osso-Uaque ( Venilale administrative office ). One KRM member was killed, a police officer and a soldier were seriously injured. Finally, Mauk Moruk and two other KRM commanders were caught by the police and the army on August 8 and killed in action. Several people were also injured, including a police officer. In an initial statement, the government regretted the death of Mauk Moruk. On August 19, the government officially declared the end of Operation Hanita .
Dispute over the supreme command of the armed forces
In 2016 there was a rift between President Taur Matan Ruak on the one hand and parliament and government on the other. It began with Taur Matan Ruak's appointment of Filomeno Paixão as the new military commander in chief of the armed forces on February 9th . The president did not follow the recommendation of the cabinet of October 12, 2015, which had proposed an extension of the term of office of Major General Lere Anan Timor . The government and parliament viewed this decision as a breach of the constitution. Calls for impeachment proceedings against the president were heard from the ranks of the MPs. Taur Matan Ruak justified his decision in a speech to parliament on February 25, stating that otherwise there would have been a transport backlog in the F-FDTL. In the same speech, he accused the ex-prime ministers and party leaders of CNRT and FRETILIN Xanana Gusmão and Marí Alkatiri that relatives were preferred to them in government contracts. The same behavior would have led to the overthrow of the Indonesian dictator Suharto . Taur Matan Ruak also raised allegations of corruption against FRETILIN chairman Francisco Lú-Olo Guterres . The president also criticized the planned major projects in Oe-Cusse Ambeno and on the south coast. Instead, more money should be invested to improve the quality of life of the population. With the same criticism, Taur Matan Ruak had previously vetoed the planned state budget for 2016 in December. In protest at the Suharto settlement, Gusmão, acting Minister for Planning and Strategic Investments, returned the medal he had received from Taur Matan Ruak on Independence Day 2015. The President had honored Gusmão for his "eloquent leadership in the struggle for national liberation" and called him the founding father of the country. Alkatiri called the president's speech an "act of desperation". Taur Matan Ruak is hiding behind his immunity. The Tribunal de Recurso de Timor-Leste decided following a complaint by the Government that the decision "for the political function of the exercise characteristic of power" is about the military commander of the president and rejected the request for a temporary injunction against the appointment Paixãos back. The court could not take action against a political act, even if it might be illegal. Therefore the court declared that it had no jurisdiction. On April 15, a new government proposal was published that the new Chief of Staff, Pedro Klamar Fuik , would become the current commander of the Navy and the Instituto de Defesa Nacional (IDN) . Calisto dos Santos ( Coliati ), previously a military attaché in the East Timorese embassy in Canberra, was proposed as his deputy . On the same day, Taur Matan Ruak accepted the proposal. Lere Anan Timor, Paixão and four other officers were to be transferred to the reserve, but the exact procedure for the transfer of office was not decided. In the end, it did not take place during the tenure of President Taur Matan Ruak. In October 2015, the government recommended extending the terms of office of Lere Anan Timor and Filomeno Paixão.
Since the CNRT was of the opinion that the PD would support the president in the dispute, Gusmão's party gave the smaller party a written notice to terminate the coalition. In parliament, the CNRT demanded on March 11th to dismiss the PD members in the parliamentary presidium in accordance with the new balance of power. President of the Parliament Vicente da Silva Guterres (CNRT) was also asked to resign when he opposed the reshuffle. On May 5, Guterres was voted out of office and resigned as President of Parliament. On the same day, his deputy Adérito Hugo da Costa (CNRT) was elected to succeed him. The Vice-Presidents Adriano do Nascimento and Angelina Machado de Jesus of the PD were voted out by parliament. Eduardo de Jesus Barreto and Duarte Nunes (both from the CNRT) became the new vice-presidents . Maria Fernanda Lay remained secretary of the Presidium, Ângela Corvelo her deputy. The new deputy is now Domingas Álves da Silva (CNRT). This means that all members of the Presidium are members of the CNRT.
Other events
In 2016 the dispute with Australia over the border in the Timor Sea intensified. The Movimento Kontra Okupasaun Tasi Timor (MKOTT, German movement against the occupation of the Timor Sea ) describes the situation of an "occupation by Australia" and the protest against it the "second struggle for independence". From March 21 to 24, over 10,000 Timorese demonstrated in front of the Australian embassy in Dili. Likewise in other places in the country. In Adelaide and in front of the Australian embassies in Manila , Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur , Timorese exiles demonstrated together with local activists. The largest demonstration outside of East Timor drew several hundred protesters in Melbourne on March 24 . During the week, Facebook called for a public call for the border to be drawn along the center line between the countries ( #MedianLineNow and #HandsOffTimorOil ). On April 11th, East Timor called the United Nations to arbitrate the border dispute. Within a year there will be a report from the United Nations, but it is not binding.
On May 20, 2017, Francisco Lú-Olo Guterres , elected on March 20, became the new President of East Timor.
The second Alkatiri government
On September 15, 2017, Marí Alkatiri was sworn in again as Prime Minister of East Timor by FRETILIN. His FRETILIN had just become the strongest force in the 2017 parliamentary elections with 23 seats. It formed a coalition with the PD, which only brings in seven seats, which means that the alliance only has 30 of the 65 seats in parliament. The party KHUNTO had withdrawn their commitment to participate in the day of the signing of the coalition agreement, due to internal party disputes, who said minority government but support to the Parliament. However, FRETILIN, PD and KHUNTO were already missing two votes in the election of the President of Parliament Aniceto Guterres Lopes (FRETILIN) on September 4th, so that Lopes defeated his predecessor Adérito Hugo da Costa (CNRT) with just one majority . The three former prime ministers Ramos-Horta, Silva and Araújo and the PD party leader Mariano Sabino Lopes act as ministers of state. Ramos-Horta also holds the newly created post of "National Security Advisor," a new post based on the United States' National Security Advisor .
On October 5, President Guterres extended the term of office of the three highest officers of the F-FDTL for another year.
On October 6th, the 35 MPs from CNRT, PLP and KHUNTO sent a letter to President Francisco Guterres expressing their willingness to "offer an alternative solution for a government" to ensure "peace, stability and development". Guterres is criticized for recognizing a minority government instead of “looking for a solution that a majority government would have made possible”. On October 8, the three opposition parties announced the establishment of the bloc "Oppositional Alliance of the Parliamentary Majority" ( tetum Aliansa Opozisaun Maioria Parliamentar AOMP ), with which they want to control the work of the government. On October 12th, CNRT, PLP and KHUNTO officially signed an agreement to form the new Aliança da Maioria Parliamentary (AMP) . On October 19, the opposition rejected the government program presented by Alkatiri with a majority.
On December 18, 2017, President Aniceto Guterres Lopes gave the government 30 days to present the second program proposal. After it was not submitted on January 18, 2018 and Guterres did not invite Lopes to a plenary session against the rules, it was decided that the opposition's motion of censure should be discussed for up to three days from January 31. Observers therefore expect the government to fall on February 2nd. According to the constitution, President Guterres can then dissolve parliament and order new elections or appoint a new head of government to form a government. If parliament is dissolved, new elections must be held within two months, which means that new elections can be expected in April.
On February 1, 2018, the three parties of the AMP decided to work together in the election campaign. To this end, the alliance was renamed Aliança para Mudança e Progresso ( German Alliance for Change and Progress ).
The Taur Matan Ruak government
Conflict between government and president
In the parliamentary elections on May 12th, FRETILIN was able to retain the number of its seats in parliament, but the AMP received an absolute majority with 34 seats. The PD only had five seats. The Frenti Dezenvolvimentu Demokratiku (FDD) with three seats, an alliance of Partidu Unidade Dezenvolvimentu Demokratiku (PUDD), UDT, Frenti-Mudança and Partido do Desenvolvimento Nacional (PDN) , moved into parliament . A complaint against the election result by FRETILIN because of alleged election fraud was rejected by the Tribunal de Recurso as “unfounded”.
The new parliament met for the first time on June 12th. There was a scandal in the election of the enlarged parliamentary presidium because FRETILIN and PD are not taken into account for the posts. Since the PUDD MP also participated in the boycott of the meeting, but the FM MP received a post, supported by the UDT representative, the FDD alliance disintegrated on June 17th. The PUDD MP now sits alone in Parliament, while the FM and UDT form a joint parliamentary group. The parties of the AMP coalition form three separate parliamentary groups.
On June 22, 2018, Taur Matan Ruak was sworn in as Prime Minister and 27 other members of his government. Eleven cabinet members proposed by Taur Matan Ruak were rejected by President Guterres. Two candidates were pending ongoing corruption proceedings (they were later withdrawn by the AMP), seven candidates had been charged with corruption and two candidates were, in Guterres' opinion, ineligible for office for ethnic reasons. Guterres commissioned the Comissão Anti-Corrupção to subject all nominated candidates to an examination. The members of the government of the PLP had already been presented to the CAC for examination before Taur Matan Ruak was nominated and disclosed their assets to the Tribunal de Recurso de Timor-Leste .
On July 9, the AMP-dominated parliament refused Guterres permission to go on a business trip to Portugal because of the blockade. The next day, CNRT boss Xanana Gusmão wrote to the president threatening him with impeachment. As Guterres continued to refuse to appoint the controversial candidates, parliament began to apply sanctions to pressure. The East Timorese head of state requires parliamentary approval for official trips abroad and this has now been refused. In July 2018 for the CPLP summit in Lisbon, in September for the UN General Assembly in New York, in October for a state visit to Indonesia and in November for a visit to Pope Francis in the Vatican.
Breaking and forming a coalition
At the end of 2019, MPs of the CNRT made more and more Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak jointly responsible for the fact that the majority of the CNRT ministers were still not in office after 18 months, as President Guterres blocked their swearing in. The slow progress of the Tasi Mane project also caused a dispute between PLP and CNRT. On January 17, 2020, the government's proposal for the 2020 budget failed again. Only the 13 MPs from PLP and KHUNTO voted for the draft. 15 opposition MPs voted against, the CNRT coalition MPs and the rest of the opposition members abstained. Both the FRETILIN and the PD did not vote in unison. Taur Matan Ruak then declared the end of the AMP. But President Guterres waived his right to dissolve parliament and call new elections. Instead, he entrusted Taur Matan Ruak with running the government. President Guterres then held talks over several days with all parties represented in parliament, numerous interest groups and leading politicians. Gusmão stayed away from the invitation, but stated that his CNRT was aiming for new elections, whereas otherwise the formation of a new government with the existing parliament was preferred. The various parties began talks to form a new government coalition. On February 21st, FRETILIN announced that a coalition with the PLP would be possible. With its 31 of 65 MPs, it would have needed support from the UDT, FM and PUDD, each of which had a seat in parliament, in order to be able to form a majority. But they were already in discussion with the CNRT. On February 22nd, CNRT, KHUNTO, PD, UDT, FM and PUDD publicly signed a coalition agreement to form a new government. The alliance has 34 seats and thus a parliamentary majority. On February 24, Taur Matan Ruak submitted his resignation as Prime Minister to Guterres. The PLP founded a common platform with FRETILIN as a counterweight to the six-party alliance.
Due to the crisis situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic (see below), Taur Matan Ruak withdrew his resignation on April 8, after consulting Guterres. The President had delayed the dismissal for so long. The president also did not respond to the six-party alliance's proposal to appoint Gusmão prime minister. The instability of the new six-party coalition was also evident on April 27 when the state of emergency was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In parliament, PLP, FRETILIN and KHUNTO voted unanimously for the extension. In the PD, party leader Mariano Sabino Lopes voted for the extension, one MP was missing and the other three abstained, as did the representative of the PUDD. CNRT, FM and UDT voted against the extension. CNRT parliamentary group leader Duarte Nunes declared the new alliance to have died again after the vote. On April 29, the KHUNTO announced its withdrawal from the alliance, while Taur Matan Ruak and Alkatiri announced that they would fill vacancies in the government with five FRETILIN members and one PD member. After the PD announced that it also wanted to support the government, Gusmão announced on May 11 that the CNRT would leave the government and asked the CNRT members with government offices to resign. Most of them followed the request and remained in office until their successors were appointed.
While the CNRT's complaints against the President before the Supreme Court failed, the MPs from FRETILIN, PLP and KHUNTO removed the Speaker of Parliament Arão Noé da Costa Amaral (CNRT). Because Amaral refused to invite a meeting to be voted out of office, his deputy Maria Angelina Lopes Sarmento (PLP) took over what the CNRT criticized as a breach of the rules of procedure. The meetings on May 18th and 19th were chaotic. Members of the CNRT blocked the two Vice-Presidents Sarmento and Luís Roberto da Silva (KHUNTO) from accessing the seats of the Presidium on Monday, shoving and shouting . They overturned the paneled table and chairs over them. Police officers eventually intervened and kept all MPs out of the Bureau area. Sarmento instead took a seat on the government bench and opened the meeting under the protection of security personnel. With the votes of the three-party coalition, Amaral was declared deposed and Aniceto Guterres Lopes (FRETILIN) was elected as the new President of Parliament. The police had to keep order and prevent fistfights several times. The Supreme Court dismissed complaints against the new presidency as a political decision. The government cabinet was reorganized by the end of June. It now also includes politicians from FRETILIN and a PD member.
Other events
On November 18, 2018, an off-duty drunk police officer shot dead three young men in the Culuhun tragedy . The incident sparked general outrage and protests, as police officers are only allowed to carry weapons while on duty. The gunman and three other officers involved were arrested.
A case of COVID-19 infection was reported for the first time on March 21, 2020 . For this reason, the state of emergency with far-reaching restrictions in public life has been in effect since March 27, with a brief interruption.
The Resistensia Nasional Defende Justisa e Konstituisaun RDTL (RNDJK), founded in 2020, called for Francisco Guterres to resign due to the conflict between the government and the president. Leading members include Angela Freitas , chairwoman of the Partido Trabalhista (PT) and former CPD-RDTL leader António Tomás Amaral da Costa . When the RNDJK announced that it wanted to force Guterres to resign with a multi-day demonstration and threatened violent groups, army chief Lere Anan Timor ordered seven soldiers to be posted in the vicinity of the RNDJK headquarters on September 1 and threatened arrest from Freitas and Costas. Freitas called this an attempt to intimidate. In general, the army's action was criticized as unconstitutional, as internal security is the responsibility of the police. So also by representatives of the governing parties. At the same time, the RNDJK was accused of wanting to destabilize the country.
attachment
See also
- History of the Arabs in East Timor
- History of the Chinese in Timor
- History of Dilis
- Timetable East Timor
literature
- Noam Chomsky , Edward S. Herman: Political Economy of Human Rights. Volume 1: The Washington Connection and Third World Fascism. Cape. 3.4.4. "East Timor: Genocide on the Sly". South End Press, Boston 1979, ISBN 0-89608-090-0 .
- Sue O'Connor : Nine New Painted Rock Art Sites from East Timor in the context of the Western Pacific Region. In: Asian Perspectives. Vol. 42, No. 1, 2003, Hawai'i, pp. 96-128.
- Sue O'Connor, Matthew Spriggs, Peter Veth: Excavation at Lene Hara Cave establishes occupation in East Timor at least 30,000–35,000 years ago. In: Antiquity. 76, No. 291, 2002, ISSN 0003-598X , pp. 45-50.
- Fernando Augusto de Figueiredo: Timor. A presença portuguesa (1769–1945) , Universidade do Porto, 2004 (Portuguese, PDF; 69.4 MB).
- Andrea Fleschenberg (Ed.): East Timor - Four Years of Independence. Social, political and economic developments. ( Memento from July 5, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (= Focus Asia. Volume 27). Asia House, Essen 2006, ISBN 3-933341-35-3 . (pdf; 974 kB)
- I. Glover: Archeology in Eastern Timor. 1966-1967. Terra Australis II, Canberra, ANU 1986, ISBN 0-86784-943-6 .
- Sibylle M. Gomes et al .: Human settlement history between Sunda and Sahul: a focus on East Timor (Timor-Leste) and the Pleistocenic mtDNA diversity. In: BMC Genomics. 16, December 22, 2014, p. 70. doi: 10.1186 / s12864-014-1201-x
- Hans Hägerdal: Lords of the Land, Lords of the Sea; Conflict and Adaptation in Early Colonial Timor, 1600–1800. 2012.
- Jörg Meier: The East Timor Conflict (1998-2002). Reasons and consequences of a failed integration. (= Armed conflicts after the end of the East-West conflict. Volume 17). Publishing house Dr. Köster, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-89574-560-X .
- Andrea K. Molnar: "Died in the service of Portugal", legitimacy of authority and dynamics of group identity among the Atsabe Kemak in East Timor. In: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. Special publication series. Singapore 2005; also in: Journal of Southeast Asian Studies. Cambridge 37.2006, 2, ISSN 1474-0680 , pp. 335-355.
- Peter L. Münch-Heubner : East Timor and the crisis of the Indonesian multi-ethnic state in world politics. (= Reports and studies of the Hanns Seidel Foundation eV Volume 82). Munich 2000, ISBN 3-88795-214-6 .
- René Pélissier : Timor en guerre - le crocodile et les Portugais (1847–1913) . Éditions Pélissier, Montamets, Orgeval 1996, ISBN 2-902804-11-3 . (French)
- José Ramos-Horta: Funu - East Timor's struggle for freedom is not over! Ahriman, Freiburg 1997, ISBN 3-89484-556-2 .
- Brad Simpson: Indonesia's Colonial War in East Timor 1975–1999. In: Bernd Greiner, Christian Th. Müller, Dierk Walter (eds.): Hot wars in the cold war . Hamburg 2006, ISBN 3-936096-61-9 , pp. 339-375. ( Review by H. Hoff , Review by I. Küpeli )
- Matthew Spriggs, Sue O'Connor: Vestiges of Early Pre-agricultural Economy in the Landscape of East Timor. Recent Research. In: Anna Karlström, Anna Källén (Ed.): Fishbones and glittering emblems. Southeast Asian archeology 2002 . Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities (Östasiatiska museet), Stockholm 2003, ISBN 91-970616-0-3 , pp. 49-58.
Web links
- Pictures of the FRETILIN guerrilla ( Memento from July 4th 2007 in the Internet Archive )
In German language :
- Society for Threatened Peoples - Several articles on the Indonesian occupation
In English:
- The National Security Archive (USA), East Timor Revisited: Ford, Kissinger and the Indonesian Invasion document 4, pp. 9,10.
- Benedict Anderson : Imagining East Timor , Arena Magazine No. April 4 - May 1993
- East Timor Action Network
- East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis (La'o Hamutuk)
- Human Rights Watch publications on East Timor
- Chega! The final report of the CAVR
- Genocide Studies Project: Yale East Timor Project
- Timor's Tutorial in Oil Politics
- Timor-Leste - Memory (with time table)
In Portuguese:
- Historical footage in the archive of the Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical (IICT)
- Revista da Armada: A história da presença da Marinha em Timor ( Memento of April 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- Archive & Museum of Timorese Resistance : Document Archive
Main evidence
- A. Barbedo de Magalhães: Population Settlements in East Timor and Indonesia. University of Coimbra, Portugal, October 24, 1994.
- Frédéric B. Durand: Three centuries of violence and struggle in East Timor (1726-2008). (PDF; 243 kB) Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence, (online), June 7, 2011, accessed on May 28, 2012, ISSN 1961-9898 .
- Geoffrey C. Gunn: History of Timor , available from Centro de Estudos sobre África, Ásia e América Latina , CEsA of the TU Lisbon (PDF file; 805 kB).
- James J. Fox, Dionísio Babo Soares : Out of the Ashes: Destruction and Reconstruction of East Timor . ANU Press, Canberra 2003, ISBN 975-12-2908-1 .
- Andrea K. Molnar: History and Politics. Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University
- Antoinette Schapper: Finding Bunaq: The homeland and expansion of the Bunaq in central Timor . In: Andrew McWilliam, Elizabeth G. Traube: Land and Life in Timor-Leste: Ethnographic Essays. 2011, pp. 163-186.
- Government of Timor-Leste: History. ( Memento from July 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- Monika Schlicher: Portugal in East Timor. A critical study of the Portuguese colonial history in East Timor from 1850 to 1912. Aberag, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 3-934376-08-8 .
- UNTAET : The United Nations and East Timor - A Chronology. ( Memento from March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. ( Memento of March 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.5 MB). Yale University 2005.
Individual evidence
- ↑ ETAN: Legend of East Timor: The Crocodile Story
- ^ The crocodile that became Timor. Taken from Fernando Sylvan 's Cantolenda Mauchte
- ↑ a b c d Sibylle M. Gomes et al .: Human settlement history between Sunda and Sahul: a focus on East Timor (Timor-Leste) and the Pleistocenic mtDNA diversity. In: BMC Genomics. 16, December 22, 2014, p. 70. doi: 10.1186 / s12864-014-1201-x
- ↑ Official government website: About Timor-Leste ( Memento of July 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j A. Barbedo de Magalhães: Population Settlements in East Timor and Indonesia , University of Coimbra , October 24, 1994.
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. ( Memento of March 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.5 MB). Yale University, 2005, pp. 43, 44.
- ↑ Gunn, pp. 4 and 5.
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, pp. 42, 43, 54.
- ↑ Hawkins, Stuart & O'Connor, Sue & Maloney, Tim & Litster, Mirani & Kealy, Shimona & N. Fenner, Jack & Aplin, Ken & Boulanger, Clara & Brockwell, Sally & Willan, Richard & Piotto, Elena & Louys , Julien: Oldest human occupation of Wallacea at Laili Cave, Timor-Leste, shows broad-spectrum foraging responses to late Pleistocene environments , (2017). Quaternary Science Reviews. 171. 58-72. 10.1016 / j.quascirev.2017.07.008.
- ^ Sue O'Connor: New evidence from East Timor contributes to our understanding of earliest modern human colonization east of the Sunda Shelf. Antiquity 81, 2007, pp. 523-535.
- ^ Sue O'Connor et al .: Pelagic Fishing at 42,000 Years Before the Present and the Maritime Skills of Modern Humans. In: Science. Volume 334, 2011, p. 1117.
- ^ Adelaide Now: World's first anglers hooked in Timor. November 26, 2011.
- ↑ Michelle C. Langley, Sue O'Connor, Elena Piotto: 42,000-year-old worked and pigment-stained Nautilus shell from Jerimalai (Timor-Leste): Evidence for an early coastal adaptation in ISEA , accessed August 21, 2016.
- ^ New Scientist: Painted 37,000-year-old shell is East Asia's oldest jewelery. August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ^ S. O'Connor, G. Robertson, KP Aplin: Are osseous artefacts a window to perishable material culture? Implications of an unusually complex bone tool from the Late Pleistocene of East Timor in Journal of Human Evolution, January 15, 2014, accessed January 23, 2014.
- ↑ Knowledge: 35,000 THE NUMBER. ( Memento from February 2, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. January 23, 2014, accessed January 23, 2014.
- ↑ a b c d Christopher D. Standish, Marcos García-Diez, Sue O'Connor, Nuno Vasco Oliveira: Hand stencil discoveries at Lene Hara Cave hint at Pleistocene age for the earliest painted art in Timor-Leste , Archaeological Research in Asia, March 18, 2020.
- ↑ Lene Hara
- ^ The unofficial guide to Timor-Leste: Tutuala and the eastern tip
- ↑ ABConline, February 11, 2011 Scientists find 10,000-year-old stone carvings
- ^ A b c Sue O'Connor: Nine New Painted Rock Art Sites from East Timor in the Context of the Western Pacific Region , pp. 19 ff., Asia Perspectives, Vol. 42, No.1, 2003 , accessed on 6. April 2020.
- ↑ SAPO: Colar de conchas com 6.500 anos ajuda a datar comunidades em Timor-Leste. August 3, 2015, accessed October 15, 2015.
- ^ Australian National University: Indonesian island found to be unusually rich in cave paintings , December 13, 2017 , accessed December 14, 2017.
- ^ A b c John Norman Miksic, Geok Yian Goh, Sue O'Connor: Rethinking Cultural Resource Management in Southeast Asia: Preservation, Development, and Neglect. 2011, ISBN 978-0-85728-389-4 , pp. 43-55.
- ^ Gunn, p. 2.
- ^ Andrew McWilliam: Austronesians in linguistic disguise: Fataluku cultural fusion in East Timor ( Memento from November 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 171 kB)
- ↑ Schapper: Finding Bunaq. P. 182.
- ↑ ABC news: Canberra archaeologists discover fossils of giant rats the size of dogs in East Timor. November 6, 2015, accessed November 7, 2015.
- ↑ a b ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC: ATLAS OF MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE ESCAP REGION, Volume 17, Geology and Mineral Resources of Timor-Leste, United Nations , p. 37, accessed on March 19, 2013.
- ↑ Sapo.tl: Tambor Dong Son vietnamita com cerca de 2000 anos found in Timor-Leste. November 18, 2015, accessed November 18, 2015.
- ^ Sue O'Connor, Andrew McWilliam, Jack N. Fenner, Sally Brockwell: Examining the Origin of Fortifications in East Timor: Social and Environmental Factors. In: The Journal of Island and Coastal Archeology. May 2012, doi: 10.1080 / 15564894.2011.619245 , accessed on January 10, 2016.
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, p. 63.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Hans Hägerdal: Rebellions or factionalism? Timorese forms of resistance in an early colonial context, 1650-1769
- ↑ Gunn, p. 17.
- ↑ a b Susana Barnes, Hans Hägerdal, Lisa Palmer: An East Timorese Domain - Luca from Central and Peripheral Perspectives , p. 335, 2017, DOI: 10.1163 / 22134379-17302020 , accessed on November 22, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Monika Schlicher: Portugal in East Timor. A critical study of the Portuguese colonial history in East Timor from 1850 to 1912. Aberag, Hamburg 1996, ISBN 3-934376-08-8 .
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, p. 57.
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, p. 47.
- ↑ Peter V. Lape: Chronology of Fortified Settlements in East Timor (PDF; 2.2 MB) , Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- ↑ picture of the memorial plaque
- ↑ Facebook presence of the Zona Spesial Ekonomia Sosial no Merkadu - Oe-Cusse: Presidente Autoridade Dr. Mari Alkatiri mai hare Ro'o Caravela to'o dadauk ona iha Monumento Lifau ... from Syeilla Ricardo, November 5, 2015 , accessed on November 6, 2015.
- ^ A b Religion Catholicism and ancestral cults - Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University
- ↑ Gunn, p. 18.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Chronologie de l'histoire du Timor (1512–1945) suivie des événements récents (1975–1999) (French; PDF; 887 kB)
- ↑ a b Gunn, p. 29.
- ↑ a b c d History and Politics: 2. b. Portuguese contact and historical experience - Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Frédéric B. Durand: Three centuries of violence and struggle in East Timor (1726–2008)
- ↑ Douglas Kammen: Fragments of utopia: Popular yearnings in East Timor , Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 40 (2), pp. 385–408 June 2009, doi: 10.1017 / S0022463409000216
- ^ A b Artur Teodoro de Matos: D. Frei Manuel de Santo António: missionário e primeiro bispo residente em Timor. Elementos para a sua biografia (1660–1733) ( Memento from May 25, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (Portuguese)
- ↑ a b Instituto Camões ( Memento of August 5, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Profiles Of Eminent Goans: Past And Present , Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi, ISBN 81-7022-619-8 .
- ↑ Laura SM Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration:…. 2005, p. 98.
- ^ History of Timor, confirmed by Meyer's Konversationslexikon
- ↑ a b c d Marques, AH de Oliveira: História de Portugal , Volume II, Lisbon, Palas Editores, 1984, p. 474. ( Memento of January 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k James J. Fox, “The Paradox of Powerlessness: Timor in Historical Perspective,” December 9, 1996, Department of Anthropology, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University ( Memento of July 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 70 kB)
- ^ Worldstatesman
- ↑ VOC 1461 (1689), f. 553-4, in: NA ,lösungen. Quoted in: Hans Hägerdal: Rebellions or factionalism? Timorese forms of resistance in an early colonial context, 1650-1769
- ↑ Gunn, p. 31.
- ↑ a b c Gunn, p. 32.
- ↑ Gunn, pp. 41-42.
- ↑ Ordem dos Pregadores iha Timor-Leste: Historia OP iha Timor , accessed on April 22, 2020.
- ↑ a b Forum Hakesuk: Confêrencia nas Celebrações do Primeiro Centenário do Nascimento do Senhor Dom Jaime Garcia Goulart , May 28, 2008 and 1769 O Onzo de Agosto na História de Timor-Leste , accessed on April 22, 2020.
- ↑ Alberto Ricardo da Silva : HISTÓRIA BADAK DIOCESE DILI NIAN , April 24, 2015 , accessed on November 23, 2017.
- ↑ Susana Barnes, Hans Hägerdal, Lisa Palmer: An East Timorese Domain - Luca from Central and Peripheral Perspectives . S. 332, 2017, DOI: 10.1163 / 22134379-17302020 , accessed on November 22, 2017.
- ↑ http://siarq.iict.pt/pagman/vman003.asp?CODOBJ=102062000178&RCODOBJ=102062000178&CODDES=46&txtDes=Coelho,%20Ant%F3nio%20de%20Albuquerque (link not available)
- ↑ Gunn, p. 40.
- ↑ a b Royal Timor: Sonbai ( Memento from July 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, pp. 71 & 72.
- ↑ a b c d e Hans Hägerdal: Governors of Portuguese Timor to 1832 ; Sources: Artur Teodoro de Matos: Timor Portugues, 1515–1769 (Lisboa 1974), Affonso de Castro: As possessões portuguezas na Oceania (1867) and Luna de Oliveira: Timor na historia de Portugal (1940s)
- ↑ a b Gunn, p. 44 ff.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 45.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 49.
- ↑ a b c d e Gunn, p. 50.
- ↑ Susana Barnes, Hans Hägerdal, Lisa Palmer: An East Timorese Domain - Luca from Central and Peripheral Perspectives , p. 336, 2017, DOI: 10.1163 / 22134379-17302020 , accessed on November 22, 2017.
- ↑ Hans Hägerdal: Lords of the Land, Lords of the Sea; Conflict and Adaptation in Early Colonial Timor, 1600–1800, 2012, p. 407.
- ↑ Fernando Augusto de Figueiredo: Timor. A presença portuguesa (1769–1945) (PDF; 69.4 MB)
- ↑ a b Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, p. 83.
- ↑ a b c d e Gunn, p. 55.
- ↑ a b c d e Hague Justice Portal: Island of Timor: Award - Boundaries in the Island of Timor (English)
- ^ The New York Times, October 7, 1910, Portugal's rich colonies: Germany and Great Britain Not Long Ago Had a Plan to Divide Them.
- ↑ Schapper: Finding Bunaq. P. 171.
- ^ A b c Antoinette Schapper: Crossing the border: Historical and linguistic divides among the Bunaq in central Timor. Pp. 7-8.
- ↑ a b c Gunn, p. 77.
- ↑ Schapper: Finding Bunaq. P. 174.
- ↑ a b Gunn, p. 92.
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, p. 84 ff.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Part 3: The History of the Conflict" (PDF; 1,4 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ^ Sentenca Arbitral ETAN, December 18, 2001, TNI Warns of W. Timor Rebels
- ↑ Schlicher 1996, p. 183.
- ↑ Schlicher 1996, pp. 137/138.
- ↑ Património de Influência Portuguesa: Dr. Carvalho Hospital , accessed September 8, 2020.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 59.
- ↑ Schlicher 1996, p. 133.
- ↑ Schlicher 1996, p. 135.
- ^ Durand, p. 5.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 64.
- ↑ a b Colóquio Timor: Missões Científicas e Antropologia Colonial. AHU, 24-25 de May de 2011 AF Ferreira, O Álbum Fotográfico do Districto de Timor (1890-1910) como fonte de investigação (PDF; 989 kB)
- ↑ Património de Influência Portuguesa: Mission of the Sacred Heart of Jesus , accessed November 15, 2016.
- ^ Gunn, p. 117.
- ↑ a b c d Gunn, p. 115.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 54.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 67.
- ^ Gunn, p. 57.
- ^ Alfred Russel Wallace: The Malay Archipelago
- ↑ Atlas of mineral resources of the ESCAP region, Volume 17, Geology and Mineral Resources of Timor-Leste, Chapter III, Mineral and Hydrocarbon Resources of Timor-Leste, p. 2. ( Memento from March 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) ( PDF; 9.8 MB), accessed on October 6, 2012.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 111.
- ↑ a b c d Gunn, p. 107.
- ^ WG Clarence-Smith: Planters and small holders in Portuguese Timor in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries ( Memento of February 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Fernando Augusto de Figueiredo: Timor. A presença portuguesa (1769–1945), p. 458. Oporto 2004
- ↑ Fernando Augusto de Figueiredo: Timor. A presença portuguesa (1769–1945), pp. 551 and 668. Oporto 2004
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, p. 72.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 108.
- ^ The Mount Washington Post, May 4, 1934, Britain would buy island?
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald, March 19, 1934, Timor Island
- ^ The Age, May 30, 1934, Purchase Reports Discredited
- ^ Laura Suzanne Meitzner Yoder: Custom, Codification, Collaboration: Integrating the Legacies of Land and Forest Authorities in Oecusse Enclave, East Timor. 2005, pp. 72 and 73.
- ↑ Oxfam: Social and Economic Development in Oecusse, Timor-Leste, 2008 ( Memento of September 30, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Architectural heritage of portuguese origins of Liquiça , p. 39, Dili 2013.
- ^ René Pélissier : Portugais et Espagnols en "Océanie". Deux Empires: confins et contrastes ( Memento of April 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Éditions Pélissier, Orgeval 2010.
- ↑ Durand, p. 7.
- ^ Gunn, p. 95.
- ↑ Steve Sengstock, Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
- ↑ Gunn, p. 100.
- ↑ Agência Ecclesia: Expulsão dos Jesuítas e das religiosas Canossianas de Timor em 1910 ( Memento of November 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Australian Department of Defense, Patricia Dexter: Historical Analysis of Population Reactions to Stimuli - A case of East Timor ( Memento of September 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.1 MB)
- ↑ Património de Influência Portuguesa: hpip.org , accessed on November 4, 2016.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 122.
- ↑ Gentes da Diáspora: Herói e Mártir (Portuguese)
- ^ Gunn, p. 133.
- ^ Gunn, p. 145.
- ↑ Steven Farram: Eaton and White in Portuguese Timor: The first two Australian consuls, 1946–1950 (PDF; 388 kB), accessed on September 21, 2013.
- ↑ Aviation Safety Network (English)
- ^ A b c Ernest Chamberlain: The 1959 Rebellion in East Timor: Unresolved Tensions and an Unwritten History , accessed September 7, 2013.
- ↑ Gunn, pp. 144-145.
- ↑ Australian Department of Defense, Patricia Dexter: Historical Analysis of Population Reactions to Stimuli - A case of East Timor ( Memento of September 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.1 MB)
- ↑ Geoffrey C. Gunn: Revisiting the Viqueque Rebellion of 1959 (PDF; 170 kB), accessed on December 8, 2012.
- ^ Ernest Chamberlain: Rebellion, Defeat and Exile - The 1959 Uprise in East Timor , 2009, revisid second edition , accessed December 8, 2012.
- ^ John Hajek: Towards a Language History of East Timor, according to Recenseamento Geral da População e da Habitação 1970. ( Memento of December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Quaderni del Dipartimento di Linguistica - Università di Firenze. 10, 2000, pp. 213-227.
- ^ A. McWilliam, L. Palmer, C. Shepherd: Lulik encounters and cultural frictions in East Timor: Past and present , pp. 310, 2014, Aust J Anthropol, 25: 304-320. doi: 10.1111 / taja.12101 , accessed December 12, 2017.
- ^ Andrew McWilliam, Elizabeth G. Traube: Land and Life in Timor-Leste: Introduction. In: Andrew McWilliam, Elizabeth G. Traube (eds.): Land and Life in Timor-Leste: Ethnographic Essays. Australian National University, 2011, ISBN 978-1-921862-59-5 .
- ↑ a b Ivo Carneiro de SOUSA, Lusotopie 2001: 183–194, The Portuguese Colonization and the Problem of East Timorese Nationalism ( RTF ; 63 kB)
- ^ A b John Hajek: Towards a Language History of East Timor. ( Memento of December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Quaderni del Dipartimento di Linguistica - Università di Firenze. 10, 2000, pp. 213-227.
- ↑ Ruth Elizabeth Nuttall: The Origins and Onset of the 2006 Crisis in Timor-Leste , p. 14, PhD thesis, The Australian National University, February 2017, accessed July 31, 2019.
- ↑ José Luís Leiria Pinto: Timor 1973/75. Recordações de um marinheiro , Academia Marinha, May 22, 2012 ( Memento of May 25, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on May 25, 2016.
- ↑ Antero Bendito da Silva, Robert Boughton , Rebecca Spence: FRETILIN Popular Education 1973-1978 and its Relevance to Timor-Leste Today , University of New England, 2012, accessed June 5, 2019.
- ↑ a b A. Schwarz: A Nation in Waiting: Indonesia in the 1990s . Westview Press, 1994, ISBN 1-86373-635-2 .
- ↑ a b c d e Timor-Leste Memória: East-Timorese Resistance Archive & Museum, Chronology ( Memento of February 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
- ↑ Elizabeth G. Traube: Planting the flag. In: Andrew McWilliam, Elizabeth G. Traube (eds.): Land and Life in Timor-Leste: Ethnographic Essays. Australian National University, 2011, ISBN 978-1-921862-59-5 .
- ↑ a b José Ramos-Horta: Funu - East Timor's struggle for freedom is not over! Ahriman, Freiburg 1997, ISBN 3-89484-556-2 .
- ^ A b c East Timor Government: History , accessed August 5, 2012.
- ^ A b Nations Encyclopedia: East Timor - History , accessed November 4, 2017.
- ↑ The National Security Archive: Photocopy from Gerald R. Ford Library: Sensitive eyes only (PDF; 86 kB) December 30, 1974.
- ^ University of Kassel - AG Peace Research: East Timor 1975: USA gave the green light for invasion
- ↑ The National Security Archive: Photocopy from Gerald R. Ford Library: Sensitive eyes only (PDF; 317 kB) March 4, 1974.
- ↑ JR Walsh and GJ Munster: Documents on Australian Defense and Foreign Policy 1968-1975 , pp. 192-193, Hong Kong, 1980.
- ^ Official government website of East Timor: History. Retrieved December 29, 2015 .
- ↑ David Hicks: Rhetoric and the Decolonization and Recolonization of East Timor , p. 128, limited preview in the Google book search
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab Monika Schlicher: East Timor faces its past , accessed on September 10, 2018.
- ^ David Hicks: Rhetoric and the Decolonization and Recolonization of East Timor. Routledge, 2015, p. 189 limited preview in Google Book search
- ↑ Scan from the book Timor, Antes do Futuro by Mário Viegas Carrascalão (Dili: Livraria Mau Huran, 2006), accessed on September 10, 2018.
- ^ New York Times: Timor Refugees, in Australia, Tell of Killings , August 26, 1975 , accessed September 12, 21.
- ↑ Mula de Física: MacDili , September 18, 2009 , accessed September 12, 21.
- ↑ Amanda Wise: Exile and Return Among the East Timorese. Routledge, 2015, p. 41 limited preview in Google Book search
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Chapter 7.3 Forced Displacement and Famine" (PDF; 1.3 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ^ The National Security Archive: The Secretary's Staff Meeting (PDF; 174 kB) October 8, 1974.
- ^ Sarasota Herald Tribune, October 16, 1975, Fighting unabated in Portuguese Timor
- ^ A b c Jill Jolliffe: East Timor: Nationalism and Colonialism. University of Queensland Press, Queensland 1978, OCLC 4833990 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h "Chapter 7.2 Unlawful Killings and Enforced Disappearances" (PDF; 2.5 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ^ East Timor Government: History
- ^ Gunn, pp. 160 and 161.
- ↑ Expresso: Última bandeira portuguesa de Timor está em Jacarta , June 27, 2015 , accessed on July 23, 2015.
- ^ The National Security Archive: Ford, Kissinger and the Indonesian invasion, 1975-76
- ^ A b Northeast Asia peace and security network: East Timor Analysis # 18 ( Memento of August 14, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) September 21, 1999.
- ↑ a b The Guardian: Oil and gas had hidden role in Australia's response to Indonesian invasion of Timor-Leste , May 7, 2018 , accessed October 13, 2018.
- ↑ Resolution 3485 of the UN General Assembly (English)
- ↑ Constitution of Portugal of 1976: Article 307 (Portuguese), accessed November 4, 2020.
- ^ Constitution of Portugal from 2001 (German), accessed on November 4, 2020.
- ↑ Resolution 384 and 389 of the UN Security Council (English)
- ^ Yale East Timor Project: Map of East Timor's Districts and Resistance Sectors, 1975-99 ( Memento of January 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Ben Kiernan (Ed.): Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia: Documentation, Denial, & Justice in Cambodia & East Timor. 2007, p. 182.
- ^ ABC Canberra, February 17, 2011, Treasure Trove: Radio for the people of East Timor
- ↑ Angelo Novo's Page: The struggle of the east-timorese
- ↑ a b c d e f Lydia M. Beuman: Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation (2016).
- ^ Taylor, John G. The Indonesian Occupation of East Timor 1974-1989. London: Catholic Institute for International Relations, 1990, ISBN 1-85287-051-6 .
- ↑ a b Loro Horta : "Timor-Leste - The Dragon's Newest Friend", 2009 (PDF; 103 kB)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h "Part 4: Regime of Occupation" (PDF; 563 kB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ^ Far East and Australasia 2003 (Far East & Australasia). Psychology Press, 2003, ISBN 1-85743-133-2 , p. 423 ( preview in Google Book Search)
- ^ A b Statement of Amnesty International's Concerns in East Timor. ( Memento of May 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) August 1983, from a letter from the Prime Minister of Vanuatu to the United Nations Security Council, November 30, 1983, document S / 16215 of December 14, 1983, retrieved on May 11, 2016.
- ^ A b Diario Nacional: Morreu o ex-vice-primeiro-ministro timorense Mário Carrascalão. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ↑ Sapo Notícias: Basílio do Nascimento: Timor-Leste perde "figura incontornável" , May 19, 2017 , accessed on May 20, 2017.
- ↑ Ben Anderson : Indonesia. Volume 40 (1985): 131-164. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ↑ Avet Tewelde Weldemichael: Third World Colonialism and Strategies of Liberation: Eritrea and East Timor Compared. Cambridge University Press, 2013, limited preview in Google Book search.
- ↑ Joseph Nevins: A Not-so-distant Horror: Mass Violence in East Timor. Cornell University Press, 2005, Google Book Search limited preview .
- ↑ Schlicher 1996, pp. 266/267.
- ↑ a b Schlicher 1996, pp. 280/281.
- ↑ "Chapter 7.5: Violations of the Laws of War" (PDF; 534 kB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ↑ Clinton Fernandes: “Populist Catholics”: Fretilin 1975. p. 263. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
- ↑ Ben Kiernan (Ed.): Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia: Documentation, Denial, & Justice in Cambodia & East Timor. 2007, ISBN 978-1-4128-0669-5 , p. 129.
- ↑ "Part 5: The History of the Conflict" (PDF; 564 kB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ↑ Judith Bovensiepen, Frederico Delgado Rosa: Transformations of the sacred in East Timor , accessed December 27, 2017.
- ↑ a b c "Chapter 7.4: Arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment" (PDF; 2.5 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ^ Nautilus Institute: Chapter 11: The ory and practice in intelligence and control operations: (1) Terror. P. 269 (PDF; 390 kB), accessed on October 8, 2013.
- ↑ "Chapter 6: The Profile of Human Rights Violations in Timor-Leste, 1974 to 1999" (PDF; 456 kB) from the final report of the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of East Timor (English)
- ↑ Chapter 7.7: Sexual Violence (PDF; 1.2 MB) from the final report of the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission of East Timor (English)
- ↑ Late Night Live in Timor ( Memento from February 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Human Rights Watch : East Timor: Remembering History April 1993 ( PDF ; 280 kB)
- ↑ Sara Niner: The new reaction: Xanana and Paulino 'Mauk Moruk' Gama , December 16, 2013 , accessed March 8, 2015.
- ↑ International Crises Group: Resolving Timor-Leste's Crisis . Crisis Group Asia Report N ° 120, October 10, 2006 ( memento of September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), p. 3, accessed on March 8, 2015.
- ^ Frédéric B. Durand: History of Timor-Leste. ISBN 978-616-215-124-8 , p. 118.
- ^ A b Ernest Chamberlain: The Struggle in Iliomar: Resistance in rural East Timor Iliomar Sub-District , pp. 119 ff., 2017 , accessed on November 6, 2018.
- ↑ Timor-Leste Memória: Controlo de natalidade (English)
- ^ J. Atticus Ryan, Christopher A. Mullen: Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization: Yearbook 1997. p. 75.
- ^ Louise Olsson: Gender Equality and United Nations Peace Operations in Timor Leste. 2009, ISBN 978-90-04-17549-5 , pp. 66-67.
- ↑ Ben Kiernan: The demography of genocide in Southeast Asia - The Death Tolls in Cambodia, 1975-79, and East Timor, 1975-80 , in Critical Asian Studies, 35, 2003, pp. 4, 585-597. (PDF; 422 kB)
- ^ The Special Committee on decolonization on the morning of 12 August considered the question of Gibraltar and East Timor. ( Memento from February 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Timor Leste Memória: Cronologia
- ^ A b c d Dan Nicholson: The Lorikeet Warriors: East Timorese new generation nationalist resistance, 1989-99 , Department of History, Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne, October 2001, accessed March 19, 2015.
- ↑ News Mandela: 44 Years after Invasion: East Timor's 1975 Generation , December 17, 2019 , accessed January 8, 2020.
- ↑ Gunn, p. 165.
- ↑ Ben Kiernan: Genocide and Resistance in Southeast Asia: Documentation, Denial, and Justice in Cambodia and East Timor , 2011
- ↑ ETAN: Documents on East Timor from PeaceNet and Connected Computer Networks - Volume 19: December 1, 1992 - January 11, 1993 , accessed December 25, 2018.
- ↑ BACK DOOR Newsletter on East Timor, February 1, 2002 , accessed August 1, 2012.
- ↑ Dr Clinton Fernandes: If My Aunty Had Balls, She'd Be My Uncle: Dubious Counter-Factuals in East Timorese History , UNSW Canberra , accessed July 13, 2012.
- ↑ Watch Indonesia! : Suhartos Chaostage in Hanover, Indonesia-Information No. 3 1995.
- ↑ German Bundestag Printed Matter 13/1648 ( Memento of 28 September 2007 at the Internet Archive ) 7. June 1995.
- ↑ Stephen McCloskey, Paul Hainsworth: East Timor Question: The Struggle for Independence from Indonesia , 2000, ISBN 978-0-85771-229-5 .
- ↑ (INDONESIA-L) HRW / ASIA - East Timor Guerrilla Attacks: East Timor Guerrilla Attacks of June 4, 1997 ( Memento of September 19, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d David Stevens: Strength through diversity: The combined naval role in Operation Stabilize, Working paper No. 20, Sea Power Center - Australia ( Memento September 10, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Human Rights Watch : Questions and Answers on East Timor ( Memento of November 14, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) 1999.
- ↑ Resolution 1246 of the UN Security Council (English)
- ↑ ETAN : July 4 Militia Attack on the Humanitarian Team in Liquiça: Another Slap in the Face to the UN (Summer 1999) ISSN 1088-8136
- ^ BBC, September 4, 1999, Timor chooses independence
- ^ A b c Congressal Research Service: Timor-Leste: Political Dynamics, Development, and International Involvement. P. 7. (PDF; 683 kB), accessed on August 26, 2012.
- ↑ a b James Dunn : Crimes Against Humanity in East Timor, January to October 1999: Their Nature and Causes , February 14, 2001 , accessed August 29, 2018.
- ↑ "Part 10: Acolhimento and victim support" from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ↑ Resolution 1264 of the UN Security Council (English)
- ↑ John Braithwaite, Hilary Charlesworth, Adérito Soares : Networked Governance of Freedom and Tyranny: Peace in Timor-Leste , p. 102 , ANU press 2012.
- ↑ Resolution 1272 of the UN Security Council. Retrieved March 8, 2019 . (English)
- ^ South China Morning Post: UN takes over East Timor command February 15, 2000.
- ↑ Militias, the military and the misery of the young democracy. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . September 28, 2000.
- ↑ Chronology of the UN mission ( Memento of March 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Nation Building by the International Community: An International Law Analysis of the United Nations Administrative Missions in Kosovo and East Timor in Google Book Search
- ^ Scoop, 15. July 2010, Wreath-laying At Tilomar, Timor-Leste
- ↑ BBC : [ East Timor peacekeeper killed , August 11, 2000], accessed November 29, 2012.
- ↑ AFP: Nepalese UN soldier dies after East Timor shooting , August 10, 2000
- ↑ Resolution 1319 of the UN Security Council (English)
- ↑ United Nations: East Timor UNTAET - Background , accessed May 18, 2016.
- ^ Website of the government of East Timor: II UNTAET Transitional Government , accessed on May 18, 2016.
- ↑ Resolution 1410 of the UN Security Council (English)
- ↑ UNMISET Report on December 4, 2002 Civil Disturbance in Dili
- ↑ East Timor: Church and State Solve Problem of Religious Education ( Memento from April 16, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Tempointeractive, January 6, 2006, Three Indonesians Shot by Timor Leste Police ( Memento from January 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Jakarta Post (ETAN), December 18, 2001, TNI Warns of W. Timor Rebels
- ↑ Jakarta Post (ETAN), February 26, 2005, Officials wary of Great Timor State
- ↑ (PDF) DELINEATION AND DEMARCATION SURVEYS OF THE LAND BORDER IN TIMOR: INDONESIAN PERSPECTIVE. In: researchgate.net. February 4, 2016, accessed March 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Sukehiro Hasegawa: Routledge Revivals: Peacebuilding and National Ownership in Timor-Leste (2013) . limited preview in Google Book Search, April 21, 2005
- ↑ a b Wikinews, July 28, 2010, border disputes between Indonesia and Timor-Leste threaten to escalate
- ^ Jesuit Social Justice Center: Closing the Timor Gap Fairly and in a Timely Manner ( Memento of April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) September 3, 2004.
- ^ La'o Hamutuk: Information about the Treaty between Australia and Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) , accessed March 26, 2014.
- ↑ Kate Lamb: East Timor's stolen children , Global Post, July 8, 2012 , accessed July 11, 2012.
- ↑ Fundasaun Mahein: Nicolau Lobato: A Timorese Hero in Another Country , December 11, 2015 , accessed on December 14, 2015.
- ↑ Office of the General Prosecutor of the Republic Timor-Leste ( Memento of January 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Master of Terror: Abilio Soares ( memento of November 30, 2018 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on November 29, 2018.
- ↑ United Nations: PRESS CONFERENCE BY PRESIDENT OF TIMOR-LESTE January 20, 2006.
- ↑ a b Peter Carey: East Timor under Indonesian Occupation, 1975-99 , pp. 14ff., Accessed on December 6, 2018.
- ↑ a b "Chega!" - Report of the CAVR (English)
- ↑ David Webster: A crime against humanity confirmed: Indonesian use of napalm against East Timorese civilians, 1983 , May 11, 2015 , accessed May 13, 2015.
- ↑ Philip Dorling: Australia knew about Indonesia's napalm plans in Timor Leste , Sydney Morning Herald, May 9, 2015 , accessed May 13, 2015.
- ↑ Reuters, July 27, 2007, UN chief criticizes Timor-Indonesia “truth” body
- ↑ Jakarta Post, October 25, 2007, TNI 'armed' East Timor civilians ( Memento of April 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Consensus on East Timor report: Soares. In: smh.com.au. July 12, 2008, accessed March 8, 2019 .
- ↑ Jakarta blamed for East Timor rights violations ( Memento from May 6, 2015 in the web archive archive.today )
- ^ BBC, July 15, 2008, Indonesia regrets E Timor wrongs
- ↑ Reuters Alertnet, July 16, 2008, INTERVIEW-E. Timor PM satisfied with Indonesia's regret
- ^ A b Dionísio Babo Soares : Nahe Biti: The Philosophy and Process of Grassroots Reconciliation (and Justice) in East Timor , The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 5, No. 1, April 2004, pp. 15-33. (PDF; 133 kB)
- ↑ a b Josh Trinidade: An oath for the people of Timor (PDF; 89 kB)
- ↑ UCAnews: East Timorese exiles trapped in poverty , February 6, 2018 , accessed February 8, 2018.
- ↑ Bataviase, December 22, 2009, 12 residents arrested after Kupang clash
- ↑ Resolution 1704 of the UN Security Council (English)
- ↑ List of the National Electoral Commission CNE on the parties on the 2007 ballot (PDF; 362 kB)
- ↑ CNE - Official final result of the counting July 9, 2007 ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 60 kB)
- ↑ Internal Displacement Monitoring Center ( Memento of September 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 464 kB)
- ^ The Nation, March 2, 2007, Trapped East Timor rebel demands face-to-face talks ( Memento of March 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ BBC, March 4, 2007, Troops storm E Timor rebel base
- ↑ Timor erupts as rebel flees raid. In: Sydney Morning Herald , March 5, 2007.
- ↑ Lindsey Murdoch: Attack on Timorese President unsolved. In: Sydney Morning Herald. March 5, 2010.
- ↑ President pardons rebels who shot him. In: Sydney Morning Herald. August 25, 2010.
- ^ Associated Press: East Timor government survives no-confidence vote , October 12, 2009 , accessed January 1, 2016.
- ↑ Tempo Semanal, September 23, 2010, Breaking News: Vice Prime Minister "Lugu" and Foreign Minister Zac da Costa - Indicted
- ↑ ABC, October 1, 2010, E Timor ministers indicted over corruption claims
- ^ Tempo Semanal, November 25, 2010, Dili District Court rejects accusation filed against minister for foreign affairs
- ^ Diario Nacional, May 12, 2011, Horta calls for everyone to be subjected to the courts' decision
- ↑ Radio Australia: Former East Timor justice minister receives jail sentence , June 8, 2012 , accessed June 9, 2012.
- ↑ Ted McDonell: Former East Timor justice minister and convicted fraudster in pardon farce , August 30, 2014 ( memento of March 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed August 30, 2014.
- ^ The Australian, January 24, 2011, East Timor says it straight: no to asylum center
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald, June 7, 2010, Relations strained as East Timor buys Chinese navy boats
- ↑ Timor-Leste has supports of most ASEAN member countries to join the bloc: president ( Memento from September 9, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ Speech by his excellency the Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão at the opening session of the “g7 +” meeting (PDF; 93 kB)
- ↑ Suara Timor-Lorosa'e on Timor Lorosae Nação, April 12, 2010, Due its success of overcoming 2006 crises, TL now chairs G7 + for two years
- ↑ Own presentation and history of the Central Bank of East Timor on its official website (Port., Engl. And Tetum ), accessed on January 20, 2015.
- ^ A b East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin: CPD-RDTL members continue wearing military uniforms and carrying machetes intimidating local residents. November 21, 2012, accessed December 16, 2012.
- ^ Radio Timor-Leste: Local residents in Fatuberliu disagree with CPD-RDTL's presence. November 21, 2012.
- ^ East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin: CPD-RDTL accused of slaughtering the people's livestock in Fatuberliu, Defense Force Chief warns against protests against the State. November 23, 2012, accessed December 16, 2012.
- ^ Radio Timor-Leste: More than 11,000 CPD-RDTL members remain in Fatuberliu. November 23, 2012.
- ↑ Televizaun Timor-Leste: Police return CPD-RDTL members to Their districts. March 19, 2013.
- ↑ Anna Powles: Xanana Gusmao-Mauk Moruk: Timor struggles with its past and future , The interpreter, December 5, 2013 , accessed March 8, 2015.
- ↑ Ex-Guerrillas Threaten Political Stability in East Timor , April 1, 2014 , accessed March 8, 2015.
- ^ East Timor Law and Justice Bulletin: Breach in East Timor Defense Force (F-FDTL) Chain of Command Exposes Military Vulnerability, says Fundasaun Mahein , March 14, 2014 , accessed March 8, 2015.
- ↑ ANGOP: Timor Leste: Tribunal de Díli determina libertação imediata de Mauk Moruk e comandante Labarik , December 15, 2014 , accessed on March 8, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Janina Pawelz: The withdrawal of Prime Minister Gusmão: Setting the political course in Timor-Leste , GIGA Focus number 2, 2015 , ISSN 1862-359X , accessed on March 8, 2015.
- ↑ The Age: ASIO raids: Australia accuses East Timor of 'frankly, offensive' remarks , January 21, 2014 , accessed March 24, 2014.
- ↑ Channel News Asia: Archived from the original on July 5, 2013 ; Retrieved July 4, 2013 .
- ↑ a b Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Australian Bugs in Dili , December 7, 2013 , accessed on December 16, 2013.
- ^ Australian Financial Review: East Timor PM: raid 'unacceptable' , December 4, 2013 , accessed December 16, 2013.
- ↑ ABCnews: East Timor spying case: PM Xanana Gusmao calls for Australia to explain itself over ASIO raids , December 5, 2013 , accessed December 16, 2013.
- ↑ East Timor’s Government website: Statement by His Excellency the Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão , December 4, 2013 , accessed December 16, 2013.
- ↑ Netzpolitik.org: Industrial espionage: Australian intelligence services fight over billions in gas field , December 4, 2013 , accessed on December 16, 2013.
- ↑ Newmatilda.com: Stop Spying On Timor, Court Tells Australia , March 5, 2014 , accessed March 24, 2014.
- ↑ ABCnews: Australia issues diplomatic warning to East Timor saying maritime boundaries case risks relationship , March 17, 2014 , accessed March 24, 2014.
- ^ A b Sydney Morning Herald: Australia and East Timor restart talks on maritime boundary , October 28, 2014 , accessed October 28, 2014.
- ↑ Sydney Morning Herald Australia's unscrupulous pursuit of East Timor's oil needs to stop , January 11, 2017 , accessed January 20, 2017.
- ^ La'o Hamutuk: Information about Treaties between Australia and Timor-Leste Goodbye CMATS, welcome Maritime Boundaries , accessed on March 18, 2018.
- ↑ UN ends after 13 years of peacekeeping in East Timor
- ↑ Jornal Nacional Diario: Public Prosecutor Accuses Secretary of State in Fifth Government Francisco Borlaco of Abuse of Power and Tax Fraud , March 14, 2013, accessed March 17, 2013.
- ↑ a b Tempo Semanal: EFI Burlaco Husu Adia Simu Tomada De Pose , February 16, 2015 ( memento of February 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on February 17, 2015.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Tribunal Distrital de Díli aplica pena prisão de 7 anos a João Câncio , July 21, 2015 , accessed on July 21, 2015.
- ↑ Independente: KAK applies house detention to Freitas. February 25, 2013.
- ↑ Michael Leach: Concerns over judicial independence in Timor-Leste , October 31, 2014 , accessed on November 1, 2014.
- ↑ Crikey: East Timor's fragile stability under threat with PM retiring, November 15, 2013 , accessed December 22, 2013.
- ↑ The Age: Xanana Gusmao to quit as leader of East Timor , January 15, 2014 , accessed January 15, 2014.
- ↑ Damien Kingsbury: No good time for Xanana Gusmão to let go , October 25, 2014 , accessed October 28, 2014.
- ↑ Timor Hau Nian Doben ( Lusa ): Partidos da coligação informados que Rui Araújo é o novo PM timorense , February 5, 2015 , accessed on February 5, 2015.
- ^ Website of the President of East Timor: HE President of Republic, Taur Matan Ruak, Accepts the Request for Resignation of Prime Minister ( Memento from February 9, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ), accessed on February 9, 2015
- ↑ Website of the President of East Timor: HE President of Republic, Taur Matan Ruak Accepts the Proposal of the Most Voted Party on nominee-Prime Minister ( Memento from February 11, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ), accessed on February 10, 2015.
- ↑ President's website: The Head of State Has Accepted the Proposal Put Forward by Prime Minister-Designate Regarding the Government's new Structure ( Memento from February 11, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ), accessed on February 11, 2015.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Governo a tomar medidas para controlar situação em Baguia , March 8, 2015 , accessed on March 8, 2015.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Mauk Moruk nega envolvimento no ataque à esquadra da vila timorense de Baguia , March 10, 2015 , accessed on March 11, 2015.
- ↑ Opini: Kazu Baguia, KOK Kaptura Ema Nain 11 ( memento from March 15, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ), accessed on March 13, 2015.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Soldado ferido em tiroteio com elementos de grupo illegal , June 29, 2015 , accessed on June 30, 2015.
- ↑ Lusa : Um morto e dois feridos em confrontos entre forças de segurança timorenses e um grupo ilegal , August 7, 2015 , accessed on August 8, 2015.
- ↑ RTP : Corpo de Mauk Moruk chega a Díli, segurança reforçada , August 8, 2015 , accessed on August 8, 2015.
- ↑ Government of Timor-Leste: Regrettably, Mauk Morocco killed in the Joint Operation , August 8, 2015 , accessed on August 8, 2015.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Governo timorense dá por terminada operação Hanita, que decorria desde março , August 19, 2015 , accessed on August 19, 2015.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: PR timorense exonera chefe das Forças de Defesa, nomeia novo comandante. February 9, 2016, accessed March 1, 2016.
- ^ The Age: Impeachment calls heating up in East Timor. February 22, 2016, accessed March 1, 2016.
- ^ Speech By His Excellency The President Of The Republic, Taur Matan Ruak, To National Parliament On The Dismissal Of Major-General Lere Anan Timur. February 26, 2016, accessed March 1, 2016.
- ↑ Timor Haunian Doben: Presidente de Timor-Leste vetou proposta de Orçamento Geral do Estado para 2016. December 29, 2015, accessed on March 1, 2016.
- ↑ SAPO: Xanana Gusmão devolveu medalha que recebeu do PR timorense em 2015. February 26, 2016, accessed on March 1, 2016.
- ↑ SAPO: Líder da Fretilin acusa Presidente timorense de "ato de desespero" , accessed on March 1, 2016.
- ↑ RTP: Mudança de comando militar timorense está dentro das competências do PR, diz tribunal , March 8, 2016 , accessed on March 8, 2016.
- ^ Press release by the President of East Timor from April 15, 2016 ( memento from April 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on April 16, 2016.
- ↑ SAPO: Novo comando das forças de Defesa timorenses representa "transição geracional" - PR. April 15, 2016, Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ↑ Timor Agora: Governu rekomenda atu halo renovasaun ba mandatu hosi xefe forsa defeza nian sira. October 13, 2015, accessed May 21, 2017.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Maior partido timorense afasta Partido Democrático da coligação do Governo. March 13, 2016, accessed March 22, 2016.
- ↑ Sapo: Prezidente foun hosi parlamentu Timór promete atu halo esforsu hodi aselera ho prosesu lejislativa. May 5, 2016, Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- ↑ Sapo: Parlamento de Timor-Leste com nova mesa depois de quase dois meses de debate. May 5, 2016, Retrieved May 6, 2016.
- ↑ Channel News Asia: Maritime border dispute with Australia a 'second fight for independence' for Timor-Leste. accessed on March 22, 2016.
- ↑ BBC: Thousands rally in East Timor over Australia oil dispute , accessed March 23, 2016.
- ↑ SBS: East Timor determined to get Australia's attention over 'unfair' sea boundaries. March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ↑ SAPO Notícias: Milhares protestam em Dilí contra Austrália por causa de fronteiras marítimas. May 22, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ^ East Timor takes Australia to UN over sea border. In: Sydney Morning Herald. April 11, 2016, Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ^ Press release by the government spokesman for East Timor: Timor-Leste Launches United Nations Compulsory Conciliation Proceedings on Maritime Boundaries with Australia. April 11, 2016, Retrieved April 11, 2016.
- ↑ a b SAPO: VII Governo constitucional de Timor-Leste toma hoje posse incompleto , September 15, 2017, accessed on September 15, 2017.
- ↑ Tatoli: KHUNTO Koopera ho Partdu Koligasaun , September 13, 2017 , accessed on September 13, 2017.
- ↑ Diário de Notícias: PR timorense renova mandato de chefia das forças de defesa de Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) , October 5, 2017 , accessed on October 5, 2017.
- ↑ Diário de Notícias: Oposição timorense oferece a PR "alternativa" se Programa do Governo for chumbado , October 6, 2017 , accessed on October 8, 2017.
- ↑ GMN-TV: PLP no KHUNTO forma bloku AOMP kontrola Governu , October 7, 2017 , accessed on October 8, 2017.
- ↑ Tafara.tl: Partidu Tolu Asina Plataforma Aliansa Maioria Parlamentar , October 12, 2017 ( memento of October 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 12, 2017.
- ↑ Sapo: Executivo timorense reforça medidas de segurança após rejeição do Programa de Governo , October 19, 2017 , accessed on October 19, 2017.
- ↑ Diário de Notícias: Presidente do parlamento timorense dá 30 dias ao Governo para reapresentar programa , December 18, 2017 , accessed on December 18, 2017.
- ↑ Sapo: Mari Alkatiri diz que vai desmontar moção de censura “sem mérito” da oposição , January 18, 2018 , accessed on January 18, 2018.
- ↑ The Timor News: AMP Avansa Pakote Uniku Hasoru Eleisaun Antesipada , February 1, 2018 , accessed on February 2, 2018.
- ↑ Tatoli: Rezultadu Apurramentu Munisipiu CNE halo ona tabulasaun , May 14, 2018 , accessed on May 15, 2018.
- ↑ LUSA: Tribunal de Recurso considera improcedente recurso da Fretilin , May 23, 2018 , accessed on May 23, 2018.
- ↑ Timor Agora: Parlamento timorense vai ter sete bancadas, com coligações a dividirem-se em partidos , June 21, 2018 , accessed on June 24, 2018.
- ↑ SAPO: Primeiro grupo de membros do VIII Governo timorense tomou posse em Díli , June 22, 2018 , accessed on June 23, 2018.
- ↑ Jornal Tornado: Xanana Gusmão nicht tomou posse no novo governo timorense , June 23, 2018 , accessed on June 23, 2018.
- ↑ a b UCA news: Constitutional crisis on the cards in Timor-Leste , July 9, 2018 , accessed on July 9, 2018.
- ↑ a b Reflesaun: Taur Matan Ruak on Tight Rope , accessed June 24, 2018.
- ↑ Timor Post: http://www.guideposttimor.com/daily_news.pdf, (link not available)
- ↑ LUSA: Xanana Gusmão ameaça PR timorense com destituição por bloqueio a membros do Governo , July 10, 2018 , accessed on July 10, 2018.
- ↑ Expresso Sapo: Timor. Xanana Gusmão ameaça PR com destituição por bloqueio a membros do Governo , July 10, 2018 , accessed on July 11, 2018.
- ↑ Timor Agora: Veto a viagens do PR timorense ao estrangeiro "ung fica bem" a Timor-Leste - Conferência Episcopal , November 5, 2018 , accessed on November 10, 2018.
- ↑ Michael Leach: In Timor-Leste, failed budget sparks a political crisis , January 20, 2020, The Interpreter , accessed January 21, 2020.
- ↑ Tempo Timor: Political Crises: Timor-Leste Parliament rejects 2020 state budget , January 17, 2020 , accessed on January 18, 2020.
- ↑ SAPO: Presidência da República prepara ronda de contactos sobre situação do país , January 21, 2020 , accessed on January 24, 2020.
- ↑ Tatoli: PM: Governing Coalition “No Longer Exists” After Budget Rejection , January 20, 2020, The Interpreter , accessed January 21, 2020.
- ↑ Observador: Fretilin com "otimismo moderado" sobre possibilidade de formar governo em Timor-Leste , February 21, 2020 , accessed on February 22, 2020.
- ↑ SAPO (LUSA): Xanana Gusmão anuncia nova coligação para formação de Governo em Timor-Leste. , February 22, 2020 , accessed on February 22, 2020.
- ↑ a b LUSA: Última Hora - Covid-19: PM timorense retira pedido de demissão apresentado a 22 de fevereiro , April 8, 2020 , accessed on April 8, 2020.
- ↑ LUSA: Covid-19: Estado de emergência em Timor-Leste impõe várias restrições , March 27, 2020 , accessed on March 28, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Fretilin reitera apoio ao atual Governo timorense para que dates legislatura , April 23, 2020 , accessed on April 23, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Última Hora - Covid-19: Parlamento timorense aprova extensão do estado de emergência mais 30 dias , accessed on April 27, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: CNRT, de Xanana Gusmão, diz que nova aliança parlamentar em Timor-Leste “já morreu” , April 27, 2020 , accessed on April 27, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Fretilin ocupa pastas das Finanças, Administração Estatal e Saúde no Governo timorense , April 29, 2020 , accessed on April 29, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: PM timorense vai preencher 'vagas' no Governo com elementos da Fretilin - ministros , April 29, 2020 , accessed on April 29, 2020.
- ↑ Tatoli: KHUNTO Deklara Retira Hosi Koligasaun Foun , April 29, 2020 , accessed on April 29, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Partido Democrático timorense declara apoio ao Governo para garantir estabilidade , May 7, 2020, accessed on May 7, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Última Hora - CNRT de Xanana Gusmão comunica ao primeiro-ministro timorense saída do Governo , May 11, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Tribunal de Recurso timorense indefere petição de deputados do CNRT de Xanana Gusmão , accessed on May 12, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Vice-presidente do parlamento timorense vai apresentar queixa contra deputados , May 18, 2020 , accessed on May 18, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Tensão no parlamento timorense com empurrões entre deputados , May 18, 2020 , accessed on May 18, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Maioria 'destitui' presidente do parlamento timorense em votação irregular , May 19, 2020 , accessed on May 19, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Tribunal de Recurso timorense indefere recurso sobre eleição de presidente do parlamento , May 28, 2020 , accessed on May 28, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Presidente timorense dá posse a 19 novos membros do Governo , June 24, 2020 , accessed on June 24, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: COMPOSIÇÃO DO NOVO GOVERNO TIMORENSE , June 25, 2020 , accessed on June 25, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Quatro polícias detidos após disparos que fizeram três mortos em festa em Díli , November 18, 2018. , accessed on November 19, 2018.
- ↑ Ministry of Health Osttimors : Rezultadu most ba COVID-19 pozitivu 1 (ida) IHA Timorese. , March 21, 2020 , accessed on March 21, 2020.
- ↑ LUSA: Tensão política em Timor-Leste marca debate com trocas de críticas no parlamento , March 26, 2020 , accessed on March 26, 2020.
- ↑ Lusa: Bancadas do Governo timorense consideram “subversiva” ação de contestação a PR , September 1, 2020 , accessed on September 1, 2020.
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