João Viegas Carrascalão

João Viegas Carrascalão

João Viegas Carrascalão (born August 11, 1945 on the Fazenda Algarve , Leotala , Liquiçá municipality , Portuguese Timor ; † February 18, 2012 in Dili , East Timor ) was an East Timorese politician and chairman of the União Democrática Timorense (UDT, Democratic Union Timor ) . In addition, until 2010 he was Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of East Timor and Ambassador of East Timor to South Korea .

Life

He was born in 1945 as the ninth of 14 children of the Portuguese exile Manuel Viegas Carrascalão and the Timoresin Marcelina Guterres, on their Fazenda Algarve near Liquiçá. In 1962 he graduated from high school Dr. Francisco Machado in Dili. While his older brothers were studying in Portugal, there was not enough money for him to study. After school in Dili he became a seaman, but a short time later he took a course as a surveyor in the Portuguese colony of Angola . João Carrascalão finished his non-commissioned officer course in the Portuguese army as the second best, behind the later resistance fighter Nicolau Lobato . Finally he studied photogrammetry and cartography in St. Gallen , Switzerland . Back in Portuguese Timor, Carrascalão headed the Departamento de Geografia .

The Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1975 heralded independence for East Timor. Carrascalão returned to East Timor with his brothers Manuel and Mário and together with them founded the UDT, the first political party in East Timor. The party advocated close ties to the former colonial power Portugal or, as they said in Tetum: "mate bandera hum" - in the shadow of the Portuguese flag . João Carrascalão advocated the independence of East Timor even then. Finally, the UDT also supported a gradual approach to independence. On August 11, 1975 the UDT tried to come to power with a coup, but the FRETILIN was able to prevail in the civil war and street fighting in Dili, in which Carrascalão also fought. Indonesia later occupied East Timor .

Carrascalão went into exile with his wife and two small children, first to Portugal, then to Australia, and first got by with unskilled labor. He received an engineering degree in geometry from the University of New South Wales . He later got a job as a cartographer, while he was politically active against the Indonesian occupation worldwide, among other things supported by his brother Mário, who provided him with information from East Timor. João Carrascalão was part of the East Timorese delegation that was allowed to appear before the UN Committee on Decolonization on August 12, 1988 .

In August 1999, the East Timorese were finally able to vote on their independence and voted in favor with a large majority. Carrascalão cast his vote in Australia and returned to Dili a few weeks later. Militias and Indonesian forces had destroyed much of the country before a UN reaction force took power. Carrascalão was appointed Minister of Infrastructure by the UN administration and coordinated the start of the reconstruction of East Timor. On July 16, 2001 he resigned to lead the UDT in the upcoming parliamentary elections . Carrascalão became a member of the Constituent Assembly , but did not like the entire legislative period of the resulting national parliament. Ovídio Amaral became the new Minister for Infrastructure . Carrascalão was the chairman of the UDT.

Carrascalão took full responsibility for the coup and the consequences of the coup in 2003 when he testified before the Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR) of East Timor. At the public hearing, he said under oath:

“Let me start by saying to all of you that I made a mistake with the community. All the victims of the UDT who were killed by the FRETILIN are my fault. All the FRETILIN victims who were killed by the UDT are my fault. Because I initiated the August 11th movement (note: the UDT coup ) and I accept full responsibility to ensure that the truth is brought to light. If you are looking for the one to blame, you don't have to look far. It was my fault. I will carry this burden. It is important, friends, if you want to point your finger at someone, just point to me. "

For the 2007 presidential election Carrascalão ran as candidate, but retired after the first round on April 9 at 1.72% from the lowest share of the vote. In the parliamentary elections on June 30, 2007 , Carrascalão was number one on the party list, but the UDT failed because of the new three percent hurdle.

In 2009 he was appointed East Timor's first ambassador to South Korea by President José Ramos-Horta . The accreditation took place on October 14, 2009. He held this office until his death. On Saturday, February 18, 2012, João Carrascalão died unexpectedly of a heart attack at 1:40 in the morning. He had heart problems and diabetes.

family

See also : The Carrascalão Family

João Carrascalão was married to Rosa Maria, the sister of José Ramos-Horta, who was previously a senior member of FRETILIN. The couple had a daughter (Sandra João Nelson), a son (João Miguel Carrascalão) and six grandchildren.

See also

• History of East Timor

Web links

Commons : João Viegas Carrascalão  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of João Viegas Carrascalão ( Portuguese )

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} The Korea Herald: Heroic envoy to Korea dies in East Timor , February 21, 2012
2. ^ Turkish Press, June 2, 2008, Tiny East Timor faces huge hurdles on road to Beijing Olympics
3. ↑ Biography of President Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, published by FRETILIN
4. ↑ ^{a b} Sapo.pt: Morreu dirigente histórico timorense João Carrascalão , February 17, 2012 ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Hamish McDonald: Instigator of civil war later reconciled with his foes , Sydney Morning Herald, March 9, 2012
6. ^ The Special Committee on decolonization on the morning of 12 August considered the question of Gibraltar and East Timor.
7. ↑ Annemarie Devereux: Timor-Leste's Bill of Rights: A Preliminary History , ANU Press 2015, limited preview in Google book search.
8. ↑ United Nations: Three cabinet members step down to stand as candidates , July 16, 2001
9. ↑ Pat Walsh : Winter of East Timor's Patriarchs , accessed December 25, 2018.
10. ↑ Website of the President of East Timor: Timor-Leste's Embassies in abroad ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed July 16, 2016.