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At a mass by the Pope on Oct 12th 1989 in Dili in front of a number of foreign journalists, an anti-Indonesian demonstration took place. This was the start of a new direction for the resistance movement and in January and September 1990 pro-independence demonstrations were again held in Dili. Although suppressed by the regime, the non-violent and political resistance was beginning to grow. This unarmed resistance began to work closely with the armed groups.
Initially, the Indonesians do not seem to have seen this new initiave as a major threat. A visit to East Timor by Portuguese MP's was to be allowed in early November 1991, but this was cancelled at the last minute as the Indonesians objected to the presence of an Australian journalist who was to accompany the visit.
Between those killed in the initial shooting and those who were arrested and have never been seen since, an estimated 200 - 300 people were killed.
The world wide outcry was intense and the Indonesian regime had to set up a commission of inquiry. Some soldiers were sentenced for a few months, however captured demonstrators received sentences from 10 years to life.
The Santa Cruz massacre provided the impetus necessary to restart action on the diplomatic front. The UN made a concerted effort to get Portugal and Indonesia around a table to discuss solutions. They hoped to eventually include Timorese leaders: Xanana Gusmao, head of CNRM and FALINTIL; and Bishop Belo, the spiritual leader of Timorese catholics. But before the talks took place, on the 20th December 1992, Xanana was arrested. Shortly afterwards he appeared on television and denounced his fight for independence.
In 1993 Xanana Gusmao received a life sentence in a trial that was condemned as unjust by observers. He was only allowed to read 2 pages of a 28 page defence. From prison, a number of smuggled interviews reached the outside and it became clear that Xanana's denouncement was forced, and that he still supported independence. If anything, his imprisonment gave Xanana much greater influence and a higher profile internationally. (His life sentence was commuted to 20 years as part of a "good will" gesture to celebrate one of Suharto's birthdays.)
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Young East Timorese had been encouraged to go to Jakarta to study, the regime hoping to weaken the traditional culture further and strengthen their ties to Indonesia. But many of these Timorese had links to the resistance movement. As the anniversaries approached there were demonstrations outside foreign Embassies in Jakarta. The demonstrations usually ended with a number of the protesters jumping into the embassy walls and pleading for asylum. (A number of Timorese simply jumped into embassy's without prior demonstration.) The countries involved did not have to worry about embarassing the Indonesian government by accepting them as Portugal automatically agreed to take them.
The largest demonstration in Jakarta, on the anniversary of the invasion, involved not only Timorese but Indonesian pro-democracy activists. This was the first time there had been such a link and was regarded as an extremely positive move by many observers.
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of this pageThe British government was and remains particularly bad for this sort of double standard. It granted export licenses for 44 Hawk aeroplanes, which are eminently suitable for counter-insurgency use. The British claimed that they were to be used for training purposes and that they had assurances from the Indonesian government that they would not be used in Timor. (Aid and training were given to Indonesia on the same grounds that it would not be used to support its occupation of East Timor). The British government though was highly selective about who it believed, when Hugh O'Shaughnessy, a British Journalist, saw Hawks over Dili on Sunday the 12th of November 1995, the Government chose to believe the blanket denial by the Indonesians.
But, although, the British set a bad example, Australia's record at this time was even worse. Australia was one of the few countries to have recognised the invasion and annexation as legitimate. In 1991, it signed an agreement with Jakarta to allow exploration and extraction of the oil reserves in the Timor Sea. Under International law this area still belongs to the Portuguese government who were outraged at the move. Australia also signed in 1995, a security treaty with Indonesia.
It should be noted though that Australia has the largest number of Timorese refugees and that there is strong grassroots support for East Timor. Due to this, the Australian government was under constant pressure to change and the Australian press kept the issue in the public arena. Equally, the US also sold weapons to the Suharto regime and was reluctant to criticise its actions.
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pageInternationally, there was increased activity. The new Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, appointed a special envoy to East Timor to try and regenerate the cancelled tri-partite talks. Jamsheed Marker's first visit to East Timor proved controversial. A group of students, frustrated at being denied access to the UN envoy, demonstrated outside his hotel. The demonstration was broken up violently. There were unconfirmed reports of deaths. Nearly 40 people were arrested and human rights groups received reports of abuse in prison. Despite this unpromising start, the tri-partite talks were restarted and the Portuguese and Indonesian governments agreed to increase the number of meetings to try and find a solution to the problem.
One of the most positive developments on the international front came at the end of the year when Nelson Mandela was allowed to meet Xanana Gusmao. Mandela offered to work as a mediator in the conflict and called for Xanana's release.
The last few months of 1997 were very difficult for Indonesia, huge forest fires raged uncontrollably throughout Sumatra, causing an environmental disaster that affected most of South East Asia. The Indonesian economy was affected by the sudden and unexpected downturn in the South East Asian economies. This latter factor was to make 1998 one of the most dramatic years in recent Indonesian history.
1998 started out uneventfully. The situation in East Timor worsened as the government and army responded harshly to continued resistance. The drought in the region which had exacerbated the forest fires in Sumatra, led to fears of widespread famine to which East Timor was particularly vulnerable.
Indonesia continued to suffer from the impact of the economic downturn. The rupiah lost 80 percent of its value in a matter of months. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs. The Indonesian people began to openly demand the end of the Suharto regime. In february tens of thousands of Indonesians took to the streets. The demonstrations become riots, with the anger of the crowds directed their anger, possibly encouraged by the police, at the Chinese minority. Suharto was re-elected by the people's consultative assembly in April for another five years but lasted less than five weeks. In May he was forced to resign and was replaced by his close colleague, B. J. Habibie.
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Transmigration
Family Planning
Brief autobiographies
of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize winners
Despite the continued resistance to their rule, the Suharto regime actively encouraged Indonesians to emigrate to East Timor by giving them money incentives. It has also made it clear that opportunities for East Timorese on the island would be limited. Civil servants appointments were often made to non-Timorese and non-Timorese businesses were given preference over Timorese ones. The best agricultural land available was given to the newcomers. In turn, East Timorese were encouraged to move to other parts of Indonesia with promises of land when they get there.
The inevitable result was a population shift, but the numbers are staggering. Between 1992 and 1997, 100,000 Indonesians moved to East Timor (out of a 1995 population of 800 000.) At its height the influx reached 1,000 people a week. (Reliable figures are not available for the movement of Timorese in the other direction.)
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There were anecdotal reports that throughout the 80's and 90's, women were being injected with what they thought were vitamins or tetanus injections. The injections were only given to women, with sometimes whole classes of schoolgirls being injected. Refugees have claimed that they took part in or witnessed such incidents. The women who had had such injections afterwards suffered menstrual problems and had problem conceiving.
Rumours spread to the large cities that the injections were Depo-Provera, a contraceptive. Interestingly, according to the Indonesian governments own figures, Depo-Provera is the most popular form of birth control in East Timor. In 1987, 60% of all women using contraception in East Timor used Depo-Provera in comparison to 19% in the rest of Indonesia. By 1990, the figure had risen to 66%.
Although there is no direct evidence that the injections were forced on the women, it is clear that women, particularly in the large cities were frightened to seek health care and usually refused all injections, whatever the reason given for them.
Even more worringly, there were rumours of forced sterilisations. Particularly after a woman has given birth to her first child in hospital. Again there is only anecdotal evidence, but women were very reluctant to go into hospital for labour. The only hospitals that were trusted were the Catholic ones which were very underresourced.
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Bishop Belo, Carlos Filepe Ximenes Belo, was born in a village in Bacau, East Timor on the 3rd of February 1948 to a farming family. He was sent to missionary schools to study and then to the seminary in Dili. On graduation in 1973 he went to Portugal to study. In 1980, after spending some time in Rome, he was ordained and in 1981 returned to East Timor as the Director of Fatumaca college. In this post he consistently fought to ensure that the history and culture of East Timor would be taught to future generations and also spoke out against the military regime. His was often the only voice that could be heard from what was effectively a closed country through most of the eighties. In 1983, he was appointed apostolic administrator of the diocese of Dili, making him leader of the catholic church in East Timor. As an apostolic administrator he reports directly to the holy see and though he was made a bishop in 1988, he is the bishop of Lorium, Italy. This means that he is not a full, formal member of the local (Indonesian) bishop's conference.
Bishop Belo has often been condemned for being so outspoken and on occasion has been isolated from the church authorities. His phone is constantly tapped and there have been a number of assassination attempts but nothing has deterred him. Following the Dili massacre in 1991 he sheltered 250 people in his own villa, before escorting them all personally home to ensure their safety. Unfortunately, many of these people later disappeared.
In recent years he has established a new seminary with the aim of providing an education for the future leaders of East Timor, and ensuring that the culture and language of the Maubere people will survive.
Jose Ramos-Horta. Born 26th December 1946. He is the special representative of the CNRT, the National Council for Timorese resistance. The CNRT is an umbrella organisation for all the Timorese resistance groups, it has been described as a coalition government. As special representative Jose Ramos-Horta is the public spokesperson for the Timorese people. A role he takes very seriously and he speaks often and passionately. He has been involved in the struggle for independence for many years and was involved in the early democracy movement as Secretary for foreign affairs of the Timorese Social Democratic Association, (the organisation which becamd Fretelin) in which capacity he visited Jakarta in 1974 and 1975 to try and gain their support for an East Timor independent of Portugal.
Although he speaks often, he does not speak of, or for himself. He stresses his representative role and often refers to the "two great men" that East Timor has produced: Xanana Gusmao and Bishop Belo. He is not though merely a committed speaker but also initiated, in 1989, the process that led to CNRT's peace initiative. The document that was produced has the support of all Timorese resistance parties and has provided a focus for diplomatic efforts. He is profoundly committed to human rights and often in his speeches will highlight the struggles of other beleaguered peoples, within Indonesia and around the world.
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