TIMOR-LESTE

An island country in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands, at the southern extreme of
the Malay Archipelago is called East Timor . It occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor,
the small nearby islands of Atauro (Kambing) and Jaco, and the enclave of Ambeno, including the
town of Pante Makasar, on the northwestern coast of Timor. Dili is the capital and largest city.1

East TimorEast Timor.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The island back in the days were populated by large number small kingdoms that strived on
the trade of sandalwood with foreign merchants from China and India. The list of the rulers are
as follows; 2
1 Kings of Aileu
2 Kings of Ainaro
3 Kings of Alas
4 Kings of Amabi
5 Kings of Amakono (Miomaffo)
6 Kings of Amanatun
7 Kings of Amanuban
8 Kings of Amarasi
9 Kings of Ambeno
10 Kings of Amfoan
11 Kings of Amfoan-Sorbian
12 Kings of Atabae
13 Kings of Atsabe
14 Kings of Balibo
15 Kings of Barique
16 Kings of Baucau
17 Kings of Bebico
18 King of Belu Tasi Feto
19 Kings of Bercoly
(Fatumarto)
20 Kings of Bibiluto
21 Kings of Bibissuço
22 Kings of Biboki
23 Kings of Bobonaro
24 Kings of Cailaco
25 Kings of Caimau
26 Kings of Cairui
27 Kings of Camenaça
28 Kings of Claco
29 Kings of Cotubaba
30 Kings of Cova
31 Kings of Dailor
32 Kings of Deribate
33 Kings of Dirma
34 Kings of Dote
35 Kings of Ermera
36 Kings of Failacor
37 Kings of Fatuboro
38 Kings of Fatuleu
39 Kings of Fatumean
40 Kings of Faturó
41 Kings of Fialaran
42 Kings of Funai
43 Kings of Funar
44 Kings of Hera
45 Kings of Insana
46 Kings of Jenilu
47 Kings of Kupang
48 Kings of (Greater) Kupang
49 Kings of Lacló
50 Kings of Laclubar
51 Kings of Lacluta
52 Kings of Lacore
53 Kings of Laga
54 Kings of Lakekun
55 Kings of Laleia
56 Kings of Lamaknen (Maere)
57 Kings of Makir in Lamaknen
58 Kings of Lamassane
59 Kings of Lanqueiro
60 Kings of Lasiolat
61 Kings of Leimeia
62 Kings of Lidak
63 Kings of Liquiçá
64 Kings of Lolotoe
65 Kings of Luca
66 Kings of Mahubo
67 Rulers of Malaka and Belu
68 Kings of Manatuto
69 Fettors of Manubait
70 Kings of Manufahi
71 Kings of Manumera
72 Kings of Maubara
73 Kings of Maucatar
74 Fettors and kings of Mollo
75 Kings of Motael
76 Kings of Naitimu
77 Kings of Noimuti
78 Kings of Nusadila
79 Topass officers and kings of
Oecussi
80 Kings of Ossoroa
81 Kings of Ossu
82 Kings of Raimean
83 Kings of Samoro
84 Kings of Saniri
85 Kings of Sarau
86 Kings of Seisal
87 Kings of Silawan
88 Emperors of Sonba'i Besar
89 Emperors of Sonba'i Kecil
90 Kings of Suai
91 Kings of Taebenu
92 Fettors of Takaip
93 Kings of Tiris-Mauta]
94 Kings of Turiscai
95 Kings of Tutuluru
96 Kings of Ulmera
97 Kings of Vemasse (Ade)
98 Kings of Venilale
99 Kings of Vessoro
100 Kings of Viqueque
101 Maromak Oan (Divine
Sons) of Wehali
102 Liurais of Wehali
103 Kings of Wewiku
 Most of the people are of Papuan, Malayan, and Polynesian origin and are predominantly
Christian. About 40 different Papuan and Malayan languages or dialects are spoken, dominated by
Tetum. Portuguese is spoken by a small fraction of the population, but it is one of the country’s
two official languages, the other being Tetum; Indonesian and English are considered to be
“working” languages. 1

Sandalwood
The island is rich in sandalwood. Due to the abundance of sandalwood, the island attracted
the European explorers which led to the Portuguese colonizing the island. During the colonial era
in the 17th century, there was 2 European powers competing for the control over the island, the
Portuguese and the Dutch. This resulted to the split of the island into 2, the Portuguese controlled
the eastern part of Timor island, and the Dutch controlled western half and the rest of Indonesia.
3

Under the Portuguese rule, Timor-Leste was neglected and exploited. It had seen no
investment or development of any kind from the Portuguese except where it mattered to them,
the Sandalwood and coffee exports. It got even worst in the early 19th century when Portugal's
economy took a dive and the colonies were taxed heavily to support the faltering economy. And
then, World War 2 came around. The Timorese and the Allied forces ran into the mountains and
form a resistance force to try to stop the Japanese forces to no avail. 3

The Portuguese was met with major resistance from the East Timorese people which led to a
military coup in 1975, the Portuguese eventually abandoning its colonies and began the
establishment of political parties by the people in Timor Leste for the first time.

During the political turmoil that came after, The FRETILIN, which is a pro-independent political
party, resisted a coup attempt by the pro-Portuguese party (UDT) and made a unilateral
declaration of independence making the country fully independent for the first time.

The joy of independent Timor-Leste was short lived though as the Red Scare swept over the
western world. The western world was in panic mode and while Timor-Leste was celebrating its
independent, Indonesia had a different plan for the country.

Indonesia after seeing the coup, saw the opportunity to annex Timor Leste into Indonesia as
a 27th province. Using the fear of communism to its advantage, Indonesia influenced the
western world, gained its support, receiving military equipment from the US. Timor-Leste saw it
coming and issued multiple messages to the US for support, all of which were ignored.
 INVASION
Right before the invasion, the Indonesian president Suharto convinced the US president Ford
to understand the purpose of the Operation Komodo and to not take action, in which Ford
replied "We will understand and not press you on the issue. We understand the problem and the
intentions you have". The next day, in the peaceful morning of the 7th December 1975, the
invasion began, the largest military operation ever carried out by the Indonesian to date.
The Indonesian troops began their invasion from the west, taking control over the radio
tower, severing communication to the outside world and by noon. First, they overthrown
FRETILIN gov’t and take control of Dili, the capital city of Timor-Leste. Second, They then took
control of Baucau, the second biggest city the next day.

The UN condemned the move but did absolutely nothing to help the East Timorese people,
while the Australians believed that Timor-Leste cannot govern themselves and was better off
being part of Indonesia. Everyone turned blind eyes towards the annexation and Timor-Leste
became part of Indonesia for the next 26 years.
Indonesia ruled Timor-Leste with violence and brutality. According to Indonesia official
statistic, Timor Leste had 653,211 people in 1974 and the number dropped dramatically to
498,433 people in 1975. Timor-Leste had lost over 23% of its population during the first year of
Indonesia occupation alone.
The East Timorese people didn't give up so easily though as they ran for the hills and
started arming themselves for resistance. To counter the that, the Indonesian troops launched
the "Encirclement and Annihilation" campaign that annihilated the resistance camps left and
right. Though the resistance efforts were proved unfruitful against the Indonesian army, the
ideology thrived and inspired a militant named Xanana Gusmão to begin a process of organizing
a resistance network which laid a groundwork for the turning point of Timor Leste.

After almost twenty-five years of brutal occupation, an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 East Timorese
civilians lost their lives in the months before, and days immediately after, the
voting. Approximately 500,000 people were forced from their homes or fled to seek refuge.4

The violence was part of a systematically planned policy by elements of the Indonesian
government and TNI to prevent the people of East Timor from freely participating in the
referendum, and to punish them for voting for independence.5 The crimes included mass
murder, torture, assault, forced disappearance, mass forcible deportations, the destruction of
property, and rape and other sexual violence against women and children. These crimes were
part of a pattern of gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, which,
in many cases, constituted crimes against humanity.6

1 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “East Timor” Retrieved from: https://www.britannica.com/place/East-Timor.

2 Listof rulers in Timor. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_Timor
3 Pete, R. “A Brief History Of Timor Leste” Retrieved from: https://www.bucketlist/posts/timor-leste-history-how-it-came-to-be.
4 United Nations General Assembly, “Situation of Human Rights in East Timor,” Note by the General Secretary, December 10,

1999. See also Indonesian Legal and Human Rights Association, “Ad Hoc Trials Are Far Away From International Standard,” May 5,
2002.
5 See U.N. Document A/54/26, S/2000/59 “Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor to the secretary-

general,” January 31, 2000; U.N Document A/54/660 “Situation of Human Rights in East Timor,” December 10, 1999; Komnas
HAM, “Report of the Indonesian Commission of Investigation into Human Rights Violations in East Timor,” 31 January, 2000.
6See U.N. Document A/54/26, S/2000/59 “Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor to the secretary-

general,” 31 January, 2000, p.123. In particular, the TNI, as well as the Timorese militias, committed gross violations of
fundamental human rights in a planned, systematic, and large-scale way. Ibid, p.60.