Recently, it seems that international news coverage has been dominated by the events taking place in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq. A concerned citizen is hard pressed to find news on much else. There are, however, other struggles on the world stage, which go virtually unnoticed in the Western world. One hot spot is the island of Timor, which lies off the northern coast of Australia. The events that are occurring on that small island are sadly reminiscent of the tragedy of genocide in Kosovo.

To understand the modern struggle on East Timor, we have to look at its history. In 1633, the Portuguese first established a colonial presence on the island, and they tended to settle on the eastern half of Timor. The Dutch colonized surrounding Indonesia, as well as Western Timor. The Portuguese government established a firm hold on East Timor, and it became an important link in their overseas empire. They used it as a base to link their holdings in India with Macau in China.

The status quo of colonial rule went virtually uninterrupted until World War II, when the Japanese invaded Indonesia and East Timor. They drove out the European presence on the islands, and gave the people limited self-government. After the war was over, the Dutch and Portuguese tried to reassert their imperialistic claims in their former colonies. The Dutch failed, and on December 27, 1949, allowed the people of their colony to form the modern country of Indonesia. The Portuguese however, were not so accommodating, and continued to rule East Timor.

During the 1960's and 1970's the United Nations criticized the Portuguese for continuing to run a sizable colonial empire. They were steadfast on their policy toward their colonies, and would not even discuss abandoning them. This changed in April of 1974 when the dictatorship in Portugal was overthrown. The new regime called for a scheduled process of decolonization to be implemented as soon as possible. They promised self-determination for East Timor, as well as their colonies in Africa. Before they could start this process however, civil war broke out on the island of Timor, and the Portuguese abandoned the island. The war was between separatist forces which wanted an independent East Timor, and pro-Indonesian groups who wanted to be incorporated as part of Indonesia. The independence movement forces were stronger, and on November 28, 1975, they declared their independence from any foreign rule. A provisional government was set up in the Capital city of Dili, and for the most part, conflict on the island subsided.

The Indonesian government took advantage of the, "unrest" on the island, and deployed troops to stop the bloodshed. Instead of helping the Provisional government of the new country, the troops backed minority groups that wanted the Eastern half of the island to be incorporated as part of Indonesia. Those groups eventually seized power with the aid of the Indonesian military. On July 17, 1976, then Indonesian president Soeharto formally proclaimed East Timor Indonesia's twenty seventh province. This act set the stage for the modern conflict of today. Ever since that time, the Indonesian government has forcefully rooted out and destroyed the majority forces and leaders on the island.

Indonesia is a country with a population of 180 million people. Eighty-seven percent of these people practice the Islamic faith. The rest of the population are Hindus and Buddhists. East Timor, however, is a predominately Catholic area. The Roman Catholic faith is practiced by an overwhelming majority of the population. The Indonesian government persecutes Catholics, and does not allow them the same rights as native Indonesians even though East Timor is suppose to be an equal province of Indonesia. This, coupled with the fact that Indonesians, and not native Timorians, control the government of the island, is why the people of East Timor are struggling for their independence.

There has been some international pressure to resolve the issues in East Timor. The Australian government, because of the island's proximity, has been very active in trying to resolve the conflict. In recent years, they have been urging the United Nations to do something about Timor. At UN mediated talks, the Portuguese and Indonesian governments have begun an open dialogue on East Timor. These talks are helping to give the people of the island more rights under Indonesian rule. However, the recent economic trouble in Indonesia has put a damper on the discussions. Because of the instability within the Indonesian regime, it is almost impossible for anymore progress on the East Timor issue.

The problems in East Timor will not be resolved easily. Some groups charge the Indonesians with practicing a form of, "neo-colonialism." Others believe that they are just taking what is rightfully theirs. Many purport that if the majority of the population on East Timor want to be independent of Indonesian rule, then they should have the right to form their own country. Regardless, until serious action is taken by the world powers, the violence in East Timor will continue.

Chomsky, Noam. Towards a New Cold War, Pantheon Books: New York, 1982.

http://www.easttimor.com/html/summaries56.htm

http://www.prica.org/east_timor/krono.html

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