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This was published as a chapter in Andrew Tan (ed.), Handbook of Terrorism and Insurgency (Malvern: Elgar 2007), pp.374-401, and draws on my researches with the East Timorese diaspora in Lisbon (1999-2000) and former resistance fighters in East Timor (2000, 2003-4). It gives a broad overview of the Indonesian military occupation of East Timor and its antecedents. For more details see my articles ‘East Timor: Third World Colonialism and the Struggle for National Identity’, Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism (Coventry), Nos.293/294 (October-November, 1996), 29; ‘A Personal Journey Through East Timor’, [diary of a clandestine journey to East Timor in March-April 1997] in Paul Hainsworth & Steven McCloskey (eds), The East Timor Question: The Struggle for Independence from Indonesia (London: I.B. Tauris, 2000), pp.17-30; ‘The Catholic Church, Religious Revival and the Nationalist Movement in East Timor, 1975-98’, Indonesia and the Malay World (London), vol.27 no.78 (June 1999), pp.77-95; ‘Speaking Truth To Power: An Historian’s Responsibility’ [on twenty years of political reporting, lobbying and commentary on East Timor under Indonesian occupation of], Oxford Magazine, No.181,Noughth Week, Michaelmas Term 2000, pp.3-7; (with Eílis Ward). ‘The East Timor Issue in the Context of Indonesian-EU Relations’, Indonesia and the Malay World, vol.29, No.83 (March 2001), pp.51-74; 'The Security Council and War: The Case of East Timor' (OUP 2007); ‘Third World Colonialism, the Geração Foun, and the Birth of a New Nation: Indonesia through East Timorese Eyes, 1975-99’, Indonesia (Ithaca, NY), 76 (October 2003), pp.23-67;
Nowadays, Indonesia enjoys a rather positive international reputation and a status of Southeast Asia’s “middle power”, as advocated by many political science scholars (Laksmana, 2011; Fels, 2017). Indeed, the economic and political upsurge of Indonesia is quite notable. From its collaborations with the US and Australia on counter-terrorism to its role as the economic powerhouse in the region, this former Dutch colony is a major player not only within Southeast Asia but also on a global scale (Murphy, 2010). Indonesia is one of the founding member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967 (Anwar, 2009). Ever since, it has been argued to be one of the primary actors in the region and an avid advocate of the organization’s fundamental values. However, one incident in the country’s history sticks out as being scandalous and outright unlawful, even according to ASEAN’s very own norms – Indonesian invasion and subsequent occupation of East Timor in 1975.
This was an article I wrote with Eilís Ward of Trinity College, Dublin, now of the National University of Ireland, Galway, which was published in Indonesia and the Malay World, Vol.29 no.83 (March 2001), pp.51-74. It deals with European Union (pre-1993, European Community) diplomacy on the East Timor issue concentrating particularly on the role of Portugal after its accession to the EC/EU on 1 January 1986 and its impact in providing a focus for EU diplomacy relating to Indonesia and East Timor. The East Timor Issue in the Context of EU-Indonesian Relations, 1975 - 1998 By and Peter Carey (Trinity College, Oxford)
Human and Social Studies
East Timor: A Historical Singularity2014 •
During the 24 years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, to talk about its cultural individuality as a product of its history - focusing on what set it apart from Indonesia - was an act likely to raise suspicions of some kind of manipulation of history for political purposes. Naturally, the same suspicions could fall on anyone assuming an opposite view, that is a view that valued the connection uniting the two peoples and discarded what separated them. In this paper, we adhere more to the first perspective. Obviously, we are not driven by the desire to prove that East Timor had to be, a priori, independent; this is by no means the task of a historian. We are simply trying to explain, a posteriori, why, in the referendum of 30 August 1999, the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence
Policy and Society
Ten Questions about East Timor for which we need Answers2006 •
Determining the social, political and economic basis of the outbreak of violence in Timor during early 2006 leads to questions about the nature and form of that conflict itself and its implications for Australian security policy. Until questions about the nature of recent political dynamics in East Timor and the intersection of patronage politics, foreign linkages and the possible manipulation of regional identity are determined, we cannot be sure of the kind of conflict the Timorese and those who would help them at risk of their lives are facing.
Timor-Leste is amongst the youngest nation-state of the United Nations system and is about to mark its first decade as a sovereign state, with equal status as any member of the United Nations. There is excitement about marking this tenth anniversary on 20 May 2012. Next year Timor-Leste will also celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the 1912 great Revolt of Manufahi, led by D. Boaventura, against Portuguese colonial rulers. Having experienced centuries of colonial rule, almost a quarter of a century of foreign occupation and a war of resistance, a referendum for self-determination followed by a bloody transition, and finally the gain of its rightful sovereignty as an independent nation on 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste is one country with incredible history prior to becoming a State. As this piece is being written, the National Parliament concluded the 13-day debate on the 2012 State Budget, ending with the approval of almost $USD1.7 billion in expenditure which largely provides the kick off envisaged by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão to implement the 20 year Strategic Development Plan 2011-2030 approved by the Parliament earlier this year. Reflecting upon this very first decade of Statebuilding exposes the pain and the inspirational dynamics of this process with its many lessons of success as well as its weaknesses, and of national resilience - important lessons for the international community, particularly in the realms of nationbuilding and Statebuilding. Key words: Timor-Leste, elections, stability, political parties, CNRT, Fretilin, celebrations, nationbuilding and statebuilding, development, trust, peacebuilding
This paper was originally presented at the Conference on "Conflict and Violence in Indonesia", at the Humboldt University, Berlin, 3-5 July 2000, and later published in the conference papers. It is based on my extensive interviews with members of the East Timorese (mainly student) diaspora in Lisbon in 1999-2000 funded by the Leverhulme Foundation and later published in my "Geracao Foun" article in the Cornell journal "Indonesia" 76 (October), pp.23-67, which is also uploaded to this website.
2003 •
This is a copy of my article which appeared in the Cornell journal 'Indonesia' 76 (October 2003): 23-67 and later in a shorter version in the Journal of Romance Studies (London), vol.5 no.1 (Spring 2005), pp.37-52, The material for this article was collected through extensive interviews with members of the East Timorese diaspora community in Lisbon in 1999-2000 and subsequently in the UK and East Timor in 2001-2002 and was funded by a Leverhulme Grant (London) [updated 28 April 2021].
For small states and territories, the Cold War conflict between communism and liberal democracy that dominated international politics in the second half of the twentieth century was a mixed blessing. Some proved adept in exploiting the competition between the greater powers to their own advantage, maneuvering between both sides and patrons to win political and financial support and favors. 1 Others were less fortunate, finding their needs and wishes subordinated to the preoccupations and desires of larger powers, whose leaders often cited Cold War considerations to justify what were in reality self-interested policies. In some cases, such as Laos and even more Cambodia, states that initially demonstrated some skill in performing a balancing act in the Cold War ultimately fell victim to ideological extremism and internal terror. External powers backed different factions and groups, encouraging and sometimes exacerbating political and ethnic divisions that on occasion resulted in brutal and devastating civil war. Decolonizing or recently decolonized states where competition was rife over precisely which elements or individuals would replace the power of past imperial overlords were especially vulnerable to such pressures. Yet changing circumstances could also prove advantageous to smaller powers, and if adeptly navigated sometimes enabled them to win surprising victories against larger neighbors. East Timor was one example of a territory that initially found its interests subordinated to broader Cold War considerations, yet ultimately succeeded in winning international backing for its quest for independent status. This paper explores how and why external policies towards East Timor evolved in the later twentieth century.
Lusotopies, Karthala, Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paris
Thinking East Timor, Indonesia and Southeast Asia2002 •
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