Coalition between FRETILIN and UDT 1975
The 1975 coalition between FRETILIN and UDT was an alliance of the two largest parties in the Portuguese Timor colony .
prehistory
On April 25, 1974, the Carnation Revolution ended the Portuguese dictatorship . As a result, the Portuguese colonies were to be given independence, including Portuguese Timor .
Several parties were formed and preparations for elections were made. While the left-wing FRETILIN sought complete independence for East Timor , the União Democrática Timorense (UDT) preferred a close relationship with the colonial power "in the shadow of the Portuguese flag". Initially only with internal autonomy, from August 1, 1974, taking into account the growing Timorese nationalism, in a temporary federation with Portugal, which was in agreement with the prevailing opinion in Portugal. In contrast to the African colonies, Portuguese Timor in the mother country did not believe in survival as an independent state and saw a federation with Portugal as the realistic possibility. The APODETI aimed to join the neighboring Indonesia . The APODETI was financed from Jakarta , but it found little popular support. There were also a few other small parties. Nationalism, in a temporary federation with Portugal.
The coalition
The Portuguese governor Mário Lemos Pires proposed APODETI, FRETILIN and UDT to form an alliance. The APODETI refused. On January 21, 1975, the UDT and FRETILIN agreed the coalition. In mid-March they formed a joint transitional government for East Timor with the Portuguese colonial administration, which was to remain in office for three years until a constituent assembly was elected. This first step towards an East Timorese national front caused concern for Indonesia , which was already striving to join East Timor to its own national territory. The anti-communist propaganda against FRETILIN was intensified in order to divide the East Timorese. With success at UDT. UDT and FRETILIN had a common political basis with the fundamental goal of independence for East Timor, but the interpersonal tone was harsh. The UDT saw FRETILIN as communists, while the latter cursed the UDT as fascists. The UDT also saw itself on the defensive, since FRETILIN succeeded in addressing the masses, which is why they also claimed the sole right of representation of the East Timorese people. There were no mechanisms that could bridge the differences in the coalition.
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 local election pilot. The voters simply threw pebbles into the candidates' baskets to cast their votes. Candidates close to FRETILIN were able to prevail clearly against UDT candidates.
In April, representatives of the UDT and FRETILIN were invited to Jakarta by the Indonesian military . After their return, a meeting of the Central Commission of the UDT was convened, at which, after a heated discussion, the majority voted for an end to the coalition with FRETILIN. In May the Indonesian secret service again invited UDT members for talks and made it clear that Indonesia would never accept an independent government with the participation of the communist FRETILIN. The alleged "communist threat" served those UDT leaders as a reason to finally leave the coalition with FRETILIN on May 27, 1975.
The tensions between UDT and FRETILIN ultimately led to open civil war and the invasion and annexation of East Timor by Indonesia.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g "Part 3: The History of the Conflict" (PDF; 1.4 MB) from the "Chega!" Report of the CAVR (English)
- ↑ a b Timor-Leste Memória: East-Timorese Resistance Archive & Museum, Chronology ( Memento of the original dated February 6, 2011 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. (English)
- ↑ José Ramos-Horta: Funu: The Unfinished Saga of East Timor. The Red Sea Press, 1987, limited preview in Google Book search
- ^ Official government website of East Timor: History. Retrieved December 29, 2015 .
- ↑ Geoffrey C. Gunn: History of Timor , pp. 149–156 ( Memento of the original of March 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Technical University of Lisbon (PDF file; 805 kB)
- ↑ Frédéric B. Durand: History of Timor-Leste , pp. 105-106, ISBN 978-616-215-124-8 .
- ^ Nations Encyclopedia: East Timor - History , accessed November 4, 2017.
