East Timor still searches for justice, 50 years after Indonesian invasion

East Timor – It is simply a quiescent day successful Lospalos.

Just the clucking of chickens, the grunt of a pig and successful the distance, a transistor vigor playing Portuguese reggaeton; a emblematic small-town soundtrack successful this state of 1.4 cardinal radical situated successful the Timor Sea betwixt Indonesia and Australia’s bluish territories.

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In the surviving country of her home, Berta dos Santos recalled the time successful December 1975 erstwhile the Indonesian service brutally breached Lospalos’s tranquillity.

“They came down by parachute and started shooting,” dos Santos told Al Jazeera, recounting the onslaught connected the agrarian municipality located immoderate 210km (130 miles) eastbound of the capital, Dili.

Dos Santos was lone a child, but on with others, she ran to fell successful the adjacent mountains. The invading Indonesian forces were determined to find them – particularly the women and girls.

“The service searched for america successful the bush, captured america and took america back,” she said, recounting however astatine conscionable 9 years aged she was violently raped by Indonesian soldiers.

Her mother, Helena, was dragged distant and forced into intersexual slavery.

The crimes committed against dos Santos, her parent and galore others successful Lospalos marked conscionable the opening of Indonesia’s savage 24-year-long concern of East Timor.

What followed was convulsive subject regularisation typified by massacres and the forced starvation of civilians, intersexual unit and the torture, imprisonment and execution of those who resisted Indonesia’s occupation.

Indonesian soldiers parade with weapons during a flag-raising ceremonial to people Indonesian Independence Day astatine the governor’s bureau successful the East Timor superior of Dili successful 1999 [Weda/AFP]

Resistance – Ximenes’s story

East Timor was a Portuguese colony successful Southeast Asia for much than 300 years.

A coup successful 1974 backed by left-wing forces successful Lisbon was the impetus that started Portugal’s process of decolonisation and retreat from its overseas territories, with East Timor declaring independency connected November 28, 1975. It would beryllium a short-lived solemnisation of state for the Timorese.

Under the pretext of warring communism and backed by the United States, neighbouring Indonesia invaded the tiny half-island conscionable implicit a week aft independency was declared; Jakarta’s forces rapidly captured East Timor’s capital, Dili, connected December 7.

Some of East Timor’s young emerging leaders, specified arsenic existent President Jose Ramos-Horta, were capable to fly overseas astatine the clip of the penetration and would stay overseas for years advocating for independency and keeping the planetary spotlight connected the plight of the Timorese people.

Others fled into the mountainous jungles to embark connected a decades-long equipped resistance.

One of those was Major-General Americo Ximenes, besides known arsenic Sabika Besi Kulit, which translates arsenic “Metal Skin”.

Ximenes present lives connected the outskirts of Dili successful a location provided done a veterans’ pension. Considered a nationalist leader successful East Timor, helium is seldom seen successful nationalist and is present committed to household beingness aft years of subject action.

Major-General Americo Ximenes, besides known arsenic Sabika Besi Kulit (Metal Skin) astatine his location connected the outskirts of East Timor’s capital, Dili. Ximenes told Al Jazeera helium would deterioration specified sandals, pictured here, erstwhile warring the Indonesian subject successful the mountainous jungles for 24 years arsenic they were ‘more comfortable’ than boots [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

The 72-year-old was primitively portion of East Timor’s Portuguese-run equipped forces earlier independence. After the 1975 penetration by Indonesia, helium joined the absorption and would stay successful the jungle to combat the Indonesians for astir a 4th of a period arsenic a person successful FALINTIL (the Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor).

Isolated from immoderate extracurricular assistance successful the mountainous and jungle interior, and faced with the firepower of the US-backed Indonesian army, Ximenes said it was a conflict conscionable to support resisting.

“We had to find our ain weapons to proceed fighting, adjacent to get food,” helium said, recounting however FALINTIL fighters relied connected the weapons taken from Indonesian soldiers killed successful battle.

“If you person 10 oregon 20 guns, you’ve got to fig retired however to usage the guns to seizure much guns,” helium said, describing however fighters successful his platoon would tally to prime up not lone weapons but “boots, food, ammunition and clothing” from slain Indonesian soldiers.

“As helium shoots, helium kills his target. There’s different worker down him without guns. He is the 1 that, arsenic soon arsenic helium shoots, starts moving to get the equipment,” helium said.

“All this enactment would instrumentality lone 2 oregon 3 minutes. Every shot, each bullet, is 1 kill. And by the 3 minutes, determination volition beryllium a ceasefire, and we volition cod what we request to cod and disappear,” helium said.

“Metal Skin”, arsenic helium was past known owed to his quality to past galore encounters with Indonesian forces, would not spot his household for 24 years. He told Al Jazeera however the 1980s were a peculiarly hard decade, erstwhile determination was nary planetary media attraction and East Timor had nary interaction with the extracurricular world.

He and his fighters, unsocial successful the jungle, would person conscionable 1 missive a twelvemonth from the governmental enactment of FRETILIN (Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor), the governmental enactment of which FALINTIL was its equipped wing.

It was during the 1980s that overmuch of East Timor’s civilian colonisation was forcibly displaced and starved; an estimated 200,000 radical died, astir a 3rd of the population, successful what is wide considered a genocide.

FALINTIL soldiers drill astatine their basal successful the Viqueque territory successful East Timor successful August 1999 [File: Reuters]

Based successful the mountains, Ximenes told however helium and his fighters would perceive of atrocities perpetrated against civilians, particularly those inflicted against section women. Rather than instil fear, the outrages inspired galore successful FALINTIL to proceed resisting, including the civilian villagers connected whom the absorption relied for food, supplies and accusation astir Indonesian unit movements.

“More villagers were consenting to assistance america due to the fact that of the atrocities against women,” helium said. Despite the sidesplitting and torture, determination were “more Timorese villagers that would similar to enactment america and support us, provender america and walk connected information”.

After much than 2 decades of concern and equipped resistance, governmental advocacy by supporters abroad, and nether unit from the planetary community, the Indonesian authorities yet agreed to clasp a referendum to find the archetypal steps towards East Timor’s independence.

Then successful 1999, a nationalist ballot was administered by the United Nations, and contempt large-scale unit and intimidation from some the Indonesian service and collaborating section equipped groups, 78.5 percent of East Timor’s voters formed their ballot successful favour of independence.

By 2002, the agelong and bloody roadworthy to nationhood was complete.

While East Timor had yet achieved independence, the repercussions of Indonesia’s concern stay profoundly embedded successful society.

Repercussions – Kristina Siti’s story

Kristina Siti was nary mean kid increasing up successful Lospalos.

She was teased mercilessly by different children and shunned by adults due to the fact that of her origins.

“They considered maine an illegitimate child, an Indonesian child, a kid without a father. Some neighbours and adjacent relatives wouldn’t fto their children play with me,” Siti said.

Siti’s begetter was an Indonesian soldier. Siti’s parent had been forced into a narration with the worker successful bid to support her brothers, who had fled to the jungle to articulation the resistance.

“To support her family, my parent was forced to wed an Indonesian service commander,” the present 43-year-old told Al Jazeera.

“When I was 2 years old, my begetter near East Timor and went backmost to Indonesia. He ne'er came back, and we ne'er heard from him again,” she said.

Siti’s parent would aboriginal wed a section Timorese man, yet the fearfulness continued. Siti told however a fractional sister from her mother’s 2nd matrimony was taken distant by unit astatine conscionable 2 weeks aged and adopted by an Indonesian soldier.

“My parent suffered a batch during the occupation. She was strong, but she was besides a unfortunate of that achy time,” Siti said.

“There are respective women who suffered the aforesaid destiny arsenic my mother,” she said.

“And they besides person children my age, immoderate are younger, and immoderate are older. In astir each village, determination are women who fell unfortunate to the Indonesian concern for assorted reasons,” she added.

Two East Timorese women reunite successful Dili successful 1999 arsenic others hold for the accidental to conscionable with missing friends and relatives from a formation carrying refugees from West Timor [File: Reuters]

Accountability

The nonstop fig of women who were subjected to intersexual and different forms of unit nether Indonesian concern remains unknown, and fewer of the Indonesian soldiers and commanders who committed quality rights abuses during the concern person ever been brought to justice.

Neither person Timorese collaborators, who led equipped groups to terrorise their ain radical and near down a devastated state earlier fleeing to West Timor aft the 1999 referendum that yet resulted successful independence.

Hugo Fernandes, the manager of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (known by the Portuguese acronym CAVR), described East Timor successful 1999 aft the rampages by Indonesia’s section collaborators arsenic the nation’s “Year Zero”.

“Almost 90 percent of infrastructure was burned down and radical were inactive mourning those killed. A batch of wide atrocities happened,” helium said.

In 2005, CAVR released a 2,500-page study detailing the quality rights abuses committed during the occupation. While the information and reconciliation process brought a signifier of healing for many, Fernandes told Al Jazeera that 1 of the cardinal unresolved aspects of the decades-long concern remains bringing perpetrators to justice.

East Timor forensic constabulary cheque a operation tract arsenic they hunt for much quality skeletons successful Liquisa connected the outskirts of Dili, East Timor, successful 2010. The operation of a luxury edifice adjacent East Timor’s superior uncovered wide graves containing the skeletons of radical who whitethorn person been killed during the country’s concern by Indonesia, scientists accidental [Lirio Da Fonseca/Reuters]

While East Timor’s existent President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao “definitely similar to speech astir reconciliation”, others “still request justice”.

Even efforts wrong Indonesia to bring perpetrators to justness for crimes successful East Timor person been stymied by a “lack of governmental will” and the information that immoderate perpetrators are considered “national heroes” among Indonesians, according to Human Rights Watch.

Only 1 condemnation – that of Eurico Guterres, a pro-Indonesian Timorese militia person – stood among 18 radical prosecuted by an “ad hoc” tribunal established successful Indonesia successful 2001 to analyse quality rights abuses successful East Timor.

But demands for justness person reached the highest level of the Indonesian government, including the existent President Prabowo Subianto. A erstwhile Kopassus peculiar forces commandant successful East Timor, Subianto has been the absorption of allegations regarding terrible quality rights abuses.

Subianto has strenuously denied his engagement successful specified abuses, including a massacre successful 1983 that led to an country successful East Timor being referred to arsenic “Valley of Widows” aft much than 200 section men were killed there.

Despite the past of violence, Fernandes told Al Jazeera that the existent East Timor authorities prioritises a bully narration with Indonesia.

“A bully narration with Indonesia is important, much important than anything,” Fernandes said.

Indonesia is besides 1 of East Timor’s astir important trading partners, and Jakarta precocious backed Dili’s palmy quest for inclusion successful the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

An abandoned United Nations conveyance successful the municipality of Lospalos, East Timor. The UN Transitional Administration successful East Timor (UNTAET) operated from October 1999 to May 2002, with a mandate to administer the country, support security, supply humanitarian assistance, assistance with instauration building, and oversee the modulation to afloat independency [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Justice

For those with inactive vivid memories of Indonesian rule, differing views connected justness prevail.

Kristina Siti told Al Jazeera that she was not seeking justness for what happened during the occupation.

“What our household experienced was lone a tiny portion of the consequences of the war,” she said.

“Many radical suffered acold much than I did,” she told Al Jazeera.

“Some died successful the war, immoderate were separated from their wives and children, immoderate had their children taken to Indonesia, and immoderate disappeared without a trace,” she said.

For Major-General Ximenes, justness needs to statesman astatine home.

He told Al Jazeera that helium was profoundly disappointed with the absorption his state has taken and condemned politicians who “steal from the people”.

“Only those who person fought successful the jungle, they’re the ones that recognize each other,” helium said.

While Berta Dos Santos suffered much than astir astatine the hands of Indonesian troops portion inactive a precise young girl, she said justness involves “healing and reconciliation”.

“I person fto spell of my pain, my anger, my resentment and my bitterness agelong ago,” Dos Santos said.

“The joyousness that independency has brought is worthy much than my symptom and choler and bitterness,” she added.

Berta dos Santos, left, and her parent Helena dos Santos extracurricular their location successful Lospalos [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]