Australia and Timor-Leste
Contact between Portuguese East Timor and Australia can be traced back to the 19th century. The relationship was irregular until mid-20th century when some commercial links and oil exploration began to develop. An Australian Consulate was established in Dili in 1941, chiefly intended to monitor the activity of the Japanese, who had also established a consulate there.
The movement of Allied troops, mostly Australian, into Dili in late 1941 was intended to forestall an expected landing by Japanese troops. This was a problematic move, since Portugal had no part in the war. When a much larger contingent of Japanese troops did land, the Australian 2/2 and 2/4 Commando units resisted successfully, with the selfless support of the Timorese people living in the mountainous regions where most of the fighting took place. These friendly allies were later penalised for feeding, housing, nursing and warning Australian soldiers, at least 40,000 being killed in reprisal.
When they left the island, the Australians promised to return and repay their helpers for their sacrifice. Sadly, neither the Portuguese government under Salazar’s dictatorship nor the Australian government moved to help the East Timorese people restore towns or villages which had been destroyed by chiefly Allied bombing. When Portuguese rule ended in 1974, their former colony was still underdeveloped, with few resources of water, roads, or administration. Illiteracy was rated at 98%.
Incorporation into Indonesia followed Portuguese withdrawal. The western part of the island had already been ceded by the Dutch when they withdrew from their East Indies colony. Although the Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, had urged a peaceful incorporation of East Timor into Indonesia, military preparations were made. What was known as Operasi Komodo began. The two main political parties, UDT and Fretilin, favoured independence for their nation. When fighting broke out, the Portuguese governor and his administration fled to the island of Atauro, and in October 1975 a large scale attack was launched from West Timor by Indonesian forces. It was during this attack that the five newsmen who were based in Australia were killed in Balibó.
The subsequent military operation against Fretilin troops resulted in thousands of Timorese refugee families fleeing to the mountains, where they endured bombing raids and starvation conditions. Over 150, 000 civilians are estimated to have died, without help from international agencies like the Red Cross, forbidden access by Indonesia. Australian help was not forthcoming. Indeed, Indonesian military personnel were trained in Australia and other military aid given.
In more recent times, officials from the Australian government have negotiated a treaty with Indonesia and Timor-Leste on maritime boundaries which dictate fishing rights as well as mineral exploration and development. Since Timor is adjacent to both countries and considerable resources of oil and natural gas exist in the area, these maritime boundaries are important for each nation, not least the impoverished Timor-Leste. Australian government negotiators tread a delicate path of appeasement of Indonesia and a just settlement for Timor-Leste.
