The Indonesian National Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (TNI-AD), Navy (TNI-AL), and Air Force (TNI-AU). The President of Indonesia is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. As of 2023, it comprises approximately 400,000 military personnel including the Indonesian Marine Corps, which is a branch of the Navy.
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.
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie was an Indonesian politician and engineer who served as the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh vice president in March 1998, he succeeded Suharto, who resigned after 32 years in office. Originating from Sulawesi with Gorontalese-Javanese ancestry, his presidency was seen as a landmark and transition to the Reformation era.
Balibo is a town in East Timor situated approximately 10 kilometres from the Indonesian border. It is located in the sub-district of Balibo, Bobonaro District.
Wiranto is an Indonesian politician and retired army general, who is serving as the chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council, since December 2019. Previously, he was the Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces from February 1998 to October 1999 during Indonesia's transition from authoritarian rule to democracy, he ran unsuccessfully for President of Indonesia in 2004 and for the vice-presidency in 2009. On 27 July 2016, Wiranto was appointed Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, replacing Luhut Binsar Panjaitan.
The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian commercial television networks who were murdered in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. The Balibo Five were based in the town of Balibo in East Timor, where they were killed on 16 October 1975 during Indonesian incursions before the invasion. Roger East travelled to Balibo soon after to investigate the likely deaths of the Five and was later executed by members of the Indonesian military on the docks of Dili.
The Indonesian Army is the land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the Tentara Keamanan Rakyat (TKR) "People's Security Forces" first emerged as a paramilitary and police corps.
The Kopassus is an Indonesian Army (TNI-AD) special forces group that conducts special operations missions for the Indonesian government, such as direct action, unconventional warfare, sabotage, counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism, intelligence gathering and special reconnaissance (SR). Kopassus was founded by Alexander Evert Kawilarang and Mochammad Idjon Djanbi on 16 April 1952. It gained worldwide attention after several operations such as the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and the release of hostages from Garuda Indonesia Flight 206.
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.
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 Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain. After a small-scale civil war, the pro-independence Fretilin declared victory in the capital city of Dili and declared an independent East Timor on 28 November 1975.
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.
Balibo is a 2009 Australian war film that follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed while reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor of 1975. The film is loosely based on the 2001 book Cover-Up by Jill Jolliffe, an Australian journalist who met the men before they were killed.
General Feisal Edno Tanjung, known as Feisal Tanjung, was an Indonesian Army general who was ABRI Commander and also served as Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security of the Republic of Indonesia. He had experience in combat, territorial and education. Much of his career was spent in special forces, Sandhi Yudha RPKAD Group (Kopassus) and later at the Kostrad 17th Airborne Infantry Brigade.
East Timor independence formally occurred on 20 May 2002.
Sintong HamonanganPanjaitan is a retired Indonesian army officer who graduated from the National Military Academy in 1963. Military Advisor to President BJ Habibie, Secretary for Development Operational Control of Kodam IX/Udayana and Danjen of Kopassus. He received 20 operation orders at home and abroad during his military career. He was removed from his position as pangdam due to the Dili incident at the Santa Cruz cemetery in 1991, which instigated the decline of his career in the military before retiring with the rank of lieutenant general.
Muhammad Herindra is an Indonesian retired general who is currently serving as Indonesia's deputy minister of defence under Prabowo Subianto. He has held the office since 23 December 2020.
Archived "The Jakarta Post" articles require free registration before viewing.
Indonesia 
Indonesian Army 
Lieutenant General 