Month: August 2018

Canadian cabinet minister on the 1999 Timor-Leste referendum

August 30, 2018

Like most observers, Raymond Chan, Secretary of State (Asia Pacific), government of Canada, was impressed by the courage and determination of the Timorese people as they lined up to vote. The following transcript contains his remarks on observing the 1999 Timor-Leste referendum, republished for the 19th anniversary of the vote. Raymond Chan: East Timor press… More Canadian cabinet minister on the 1999 Timor-Leste referendum

Tragedy or Betrayal? The United Nations Consultation in East Timor

August 30, 2018

Nineteen years after the 1999 referendum in Timor-Leste, in which people voted more than 78% for Independence, on a voter turnout of over 98%, we reprint observer reports of the ballot and what followed. This account by Randall Garrison, now a member of Canada’s parliament, is reprinted from Tok Blong Pasifik, December 1999, published by… More Tragedy or Betrayal? The United Nations Consultation in East Timor

“Grandfather Crocodile is my inspiration: Abé Barreto Soares, poetry and nation-building in Timor-Leste

August 21, 2018

Poetry can help build nations. It is doing so today in Timor-Leste (East Timor), where themes of resistance to foreign rule, Indigenous re-assertion, language and the shape of the new nation intertwine. One of the country’s leading poets, Abé Barreto Soares, embodies the way these themes come together. Although it declared its independence from Portugal… More “Grandfather Crocodile is my inspiration: Abé Barreto Soares, poetry and nation-building in Timor-Leste