How can survivors of mass violence rebuild their lives? It’s a question that Timor-Leste’s centre for truth and reconciliation has asked, and one that survivors have answered. Initiatives are taking shape across the island, now two decades out from its independence from Indonesian military occupation. “Houses of memory to hope” provide homes for survivors who… More Repairing justice in Timor-Leste
By Michael Carrier This post is based on archival documents held by Rob Wesley-Smith in Darwin, NT, Australia. Australians for a Free East Timor is an organization that endured for many years fighting to get the information out. In their efforts, AFFET published media releases that reminded Australians and AFFET’s audience the details of the… More Australians for a Free East Timor (Darwin)
This week’s release of online archival documents from the Timor International Solidarity Archive (TiSA) represents thousands of pages of publications, news clippings and internal documents from the files of Arnold Kohen, including papers published under the names East Timor Defence Committee, The Humanitarian Project, and others. The materials are organized into three subcollections composed of materials collected by Arnold… More New archival document release : Arnold Kohen papers
In 1991, hundreds of Timorese died or were injured at the hands of Indonesian soldiers at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili, Timor-Leste. The massacre was pivotal in the Timor-Leste independence struggle, bringing systematic violations of human rights and mass atrocities to global attention and sparking a wave of solidarity activism around the world. The… More Call for contributions: Documents on the Santa Cruz massacre, 12 November 1991
By Hannah Osborne-O’Donnell Memorials and monuments are both sites of remembrance. They can commemorate the lives of great individuals, the deaths of individuals, victories, and tragedies. They can have the effect of promoting feelings of pride and patriotism or cause visitors to feel great sadness or even anger. These sites can be spontaneous. Something is… More The Monuments of Timor Leste
This open letter by Cris Carrascalão was originally published on facebook and is reprinted here from the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network mailing list. In it, the author speaks about her own family’s experience and the Indonesian president’s decision to honour a militia leader convicted of crimes against humanity by awarding him with one… More Open letter to the president of Indonesia, from a victim and survivor
The Australian state of Victoria, in May 2021, announced a truth commission. Here, Pat Walsh connects Indigenous-linked truth commissions to that of Timor-Leste. By Pat Walsh Victoria’s just announced Yoo-rrook commission on truth and justice for our First Peoples rightly looks to a similar model in Canada. It also had a clear Indigenous focus and… More Australia’s new truth commission: The East Timor experience
Infographic by Carolina Martinez
By Macalister Arendt This post summarizes documents from the Canada Asia Working Group archives about a Canadian church delegation to Timor-Leste (East Timor) in 1998, describing a demonstration that the delegation saw as a “turning point” in the march to independence. The original records are available to researchers on request. In 1998, after two years… More A church mission to Timor-Leste, 1998
By Jordan Sneyd-Dewar This post summarizes materials in the United Nations Archives just posted to the Timor International Solidarity Archive, especially the UN Secretariat’s 1975 file. On November 28, 1975, East Timor declared itself independent from their Portuguese colonial occupiers. The declaration should have been a landmark moment for a people that had finally gained… More The United Nations Response to Indonesia’s Invasion of East Timor (December 1975)
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