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Laksaur was one of the pro-Indonesia militias which committed atrocities around the time of the referendum for independence in 1999 in East Timor. They are considered the principal agents in the Suai Church Massacre, which occurred a week after the referendum. They were believed to have been supported by the military of Indonesia.
East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. The country comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor and the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco. The first inhabitants are thought to be descendant of Australoid and Melanesian peoples. The Portuguese began to trade with Timor by the early 16th century and colonised it throughout the mid-century. Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in an 1859 treaty for which Portugal ceded the western half of the island. Imperial Japan occupied East Timor during World War II, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese surrender.
Great Timor refers to the irredentist concept of a united and independent island of Timor, which is currently divided between the independent state of East Timor and the Indonesian territory of West Timor. The concept of unifying the island has been raised since the mid-20th century.
Pro-Indonesia militias in East Timor, commonly known as Wanras, were active in the final years of the Indonesian occupation leading up to the 1999 independence referendum. They were groups of armed civilians trained by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to maintain peace and order in their region on official orders. The Indonesian Constitution of 1945 and the Defence Law of 1988 stipulate that civilians have the right and duty to defend the state by receiving basic military training.
The Suai Church massacre occurred on 6 September 1999, in Suai, Cova Lima District in southwestern East Timor, two days after the results of the independence referendum were announced.
The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor originally began as the military wing of the Fretilin party of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to Fretilin's political conflict with the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT).
The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus, began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to overthrow the Fretilin regime that had emerged in 1974. The overthrow of the popular and short-lived Fretilin-led government sparked a violent quarter-century occupation in which approximately 100,000–180,000 soldiers and civilians are estimated to have been killed or starved to death. The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor documented a minimum estimate of 102,000 conflict-related deaths in East Timor throughout the entire period from 1974 to 1999, including 18,600 violent killings and 84,200 deaths from disease and starvation; Indonesian forces and their auxiliaries combined were responsible for 70% of the killings.
An independence referendum was held in East Timor on 30 August 1999, organised by United Nations Mission in East Timor. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie, to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 27 January 1999, for the United Nations to hold a referendum, whereby East Timor would be given choice of either greater autonomy within Indonesia or independence.
The National Council of Maubere Resistance was an umbrella organisation of East Timorese individuals and organisations dedicated to resisting the Indonesian occupation of 1975–1999.
The 1999 East Timorese crisis began with attacks by pro-Indonesia militia groups on civilians, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The violence intensified after a majority of eligible East Timorese voters voted for independence from Indonesia. Some 1,400 civilians are believed to have died. A UN-authorized force (INTERFET) consisting mainly of Australian Defence Force personnel was deployed to East Timor to establish and maintain peace.
East Timor and Indonesia established diplomatic relations in 2002. Both share the island of Timor. Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975 and annexed East Timor in 1976, maintaining East Timor as its 27th province until a United Nations-sponsored referendum in 1999, in which the people of East Timor chose independence. Following a United Nations interim administration, East Timor gained independence in 2002. Indonesia already had a consulate in Dili during the Portuguese colonial period, though Indonesia formalized their relations by establishing an embassy in Dili. Since October 2002, East Timor has an embassy in Jakarta and consulates in Denpasar and Kupang. Relations between the two countries are generally considered highly positive, despite various problems. Numerous agreements regulate cooperation in different areas. East Timorese are visa-free in Indonesia.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1236, adopted unanimously on 7 May 1999, after recalling previous resolutions on East Timor including 384 (1975) and 389 (1976), the Council welcomed an agreement between Indonesia and Portugal on the future of East Timor and a proposed United Nations presence to assist with the East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum scheduled for August 1999.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1246, adopted unanimously on 11 June 1999, after recalling previous resolutions on East Timor, particularly Resolution 1236 (1999), the council established the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) to organise and conduct the East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum on the future status of East Timor, scheduled for August 1999.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1262, adopted unanimously on 27 August 1999, after recalling previous resolutions on East Timor, particularly resolutions 1246 (1999) and 1257 (1999), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) until 30 November 1999.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1264, adopted unanimously on 15 September 1999, after recalling previous resolutions on East Timor (Timor-Leste), the Council authorised the establishment of the multinational International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) to restore peace and security in the territory, facilitate humanitarian assistance and protect the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET).
East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor. East Timor was a Portuguese colony, known as Portuguese Timor, until 28 November 1975.
The Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission on Truth and Friendship was a truth commission established jointly by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor in August 2005. The commission was officially created to investigate acts of violence that occurred around the independence referendum held in East Timor in 1999 and sought to find the "conclusive truth" behind the events. After holding private hearings and document reviews, the commission handed in the final report on July 15, 2008 to the presidents of both nations, and was fully endorsed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, providing the first acknowledgement by the government of Indonesia of the human rights violations committed by state institutions in Timor. The commission is notable for being the first modern truth commission to be bilateral.
Juliana dos Santos is an East Timorese young woman who was kidnapped in 1999 by the Laksaur militia following the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum. Her case became the focus of concern for activist Kirsty Sword Gusmão who subsequently brought the case to the attention of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Passabe, officially Passabe Administrative Post, is an administrative post in the Oecusse municipality and Special Administrative Region (SAR) of East Timor, which is an exclave surrounded on three sides by Indonesian West Timor. Its seat or administrative centre is the suco of Abani. In the 2004 census it had a population of 7,531 people in 1,153 households. Passabe is a small village (sulo) in the administrative post, very near the Indonesian border. It was the site of a massacre of East Timorese by pro-Indonesia militias in the follow-up to the 1999 referendum for East Timor's independence.
East Timor independence formally occurred on 20 May 2002.
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