1975-1999 - Indonesia
Political tensions--exacerbated by Indonesian involvement--heated up, and on August 11, 1975, the Timorese Democratic Union Party (UDT) launched a coup d'etat in Dili. A brief but bloody civil war followed, and the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN) pushed UDT forces into Indonesian West Timor.
Shortly after the FRETILIN victory in late September 1975, Indonesian forces began incursions into East Timor. On October 16, five journalists from Australia, Britain, and New Zealand were murdered in the East Timorese town of Balibo shortly after they had filmed regular Indonesian army troops invading East Timorese territory.
On November 28, 1975, FRETILIN together with the Prime Minister Xavier do Amaral, unilaterally declared the Independence of Timor-Leste. Nicolau Lobato, who later became the first leader of the Armed Resistance, was appointed as the Prime Minister of the new independent country. The declaration of independence led to a civil war. When FRETILIN declared East Timor an independent state,Indonesia responded by launching a full-scale military invasion on December 7.
On the pretext of protecting its citizens in Timorese territory, Indonesia invaded the eastern part of the island and declared the island as its 27th province, renaming it Timor Timur. Indonesia was given the tacit support of the American Government, which saw FRETILIN as a Marxist organization.
Jakarta, fearing that FRETILIN represented the potential of a communist influenced state in Indonesia's midst, had initially supported the Associaco Popular Democratica de Timor (APODETI). APODETI, which favoured East Timor's integration into Indonesia, initially had little support but gained some UDT backing following FRETILIN's declaration of independence. Indonesia now took more assertive action: in December 1975 its troops launched a full-scale invasion. On December 22, 1975 the UN Security Council called on Indonesia to withdraw its troops from East Timor. In the ensuing violence and chaos, including famine, an estimated 100,000-200,000 East Timorese died.
Declaring a provisional government made up of Timorese allies on January 13, 1976, the Indonesian Government said it was acting to forestall civil strife in East Timor and to prevent the consolidation of power by the FRETILIN party. The Indonesians claimed that FRETILIN was communist in nature, while the party's leadership described itself as social democratic. Coming on the heels of the communist victories in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, the Indonesian claims were accepted by many in the West. Nonetheless, the widespread popular support shown for the guerilla resistance launched by the Timorese made clear that the Indonesian occupation was not welcome. In the absence of a legitimate act of self-determination, the United Nations never recognized the incorporation of East Timor into Indonesia.
After the occupation of the territory by Indonesia, the Timorese Resistance progressively consolidated itself, initially under the leadership of FRETILIN. To support FALINTIL (Armed Forces of National Liberation of Timor-Leste), established on August 20, 1975, a Clandestine Front was created at an internal level, and a Diplomatic Front externally. Afterward, under Xanana Gusmão’s leadership, a policy of National Unity was launched, unifying the efforts of the Timorese political sectors and proceeding with the non-politization of the Resistance’s structures, turning CRRN (Council of National Resistance) into CNRM (Maubere Resistance National Council), which later became known as CNRT (National Council of Timorese Resistance).The latter lead the process until Timor-Leste’s independence, already under the auspices of the United Nations.
About one third of the country’s population, more than 250 thousand people, died during the war. Estimates of the number of Timorese who lost their lives to violence and hunger during the Indonesian occupation range from 100,000 to 250,000. The Portuguese language was forbidden, and the use of Tetun was discouraged by the pro-Indonesia government by strongly criticizing the press. This same government also limited the access of international observers to the territory until the forced resignation of Suharto in 1998.
The Indonesian occupation of Timor was initially characterized by a program of brutal military repression. Beginning in the late 1980s, however, the occupation was increasingly characterized by programs to win the "hearts and minds" of the Timorese through the use of economic development assistance and job creation while maintaining a strict policy of political repression. Serious human rights violations--such as the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre--continued.
In 1996, José Ramos Horta and the bishop of Dili, D. Ximenes Belo, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their dedication to the defense of human rights and independence of Timor-Leste. In May 1998, with Suharto’s resignation and the end of the "Indonesian economic miracle”, B.J.Habibie was immediately sworn in as President. Habibie agreed that the people of East Timor would be given a chance to vote on the future of their territory. They were not offered the option of independence directly. Instead, they were given the chance to accept or reject a package, which would have given the territory a large measure of autonomy within Indonesia.
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