Independence

After a successful invasion in December 1975, the Indonesian government declared Timor to be the 27th Province of Indonesia in July 1976.  Although the United Nations never recognised Indonesian sovereignty and called for its withdrawal, little international response followed,  the United States and the United Kingdom having already supplied arms to Indonesia.  Dissuaded by the United States government, the Australian government did not yet intervene, considering then as now that the plight of the Timorese people to be of less importance politically than appeasement of Indonesia. 

A United Nations resolution urging Portugal and all member states to recognise East Timorese rights to self-government lapsed after the 1975 invasion, although the United Nations  Commission for Human Rights condemned the abuses which  were occurring and called for an arms embargo.  Subsequently the 2005 report of the  CAVR [Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation] summarised the situation:   the 1970’s saw large scale military operations, with supporters of Falintil resettled or put into detention camps; the 1980’s were the years of reorganised resistance into guerrilla forces, with a largely Timorese intelligence and paramilitary presence in towns and villages – a militarised East Timorese society.

In the late 1980’s isolation was somewhat less, students attending Indonesian and Portuguese universities being a source of resistance in demonstrations such as the  mass shooting by security forces at the Santa Cruz cemetery in 1991. This massacre was for the first time witnessed and photographed by the journalist Max Stahl, and international awareness and support for the Timorese followed. Under the auspices of the United Nations a plebiscite finally took place in 1999.  Despite violent opposition, voters turned out in huge numbers and 78.5% opted for independence.  Violence continued during the Indonesian withdrawal,  not  only from the TNI but from Timorese militias, many of whom owed their military training and employment to their former  masters, both Portuguese and Indonesian. The historical heritage of Portuguese, Timorese and Indonesian influence and intermarriage has, therefore heralded a complex process towards nationhood.

After three years under the control of the United Nations, the Democratic Republic of  Timor-Leste was declared on May 20, 2002.