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by Sonja Jacobs '00 Recently, the situation in East Timor, Indonesia, has bombarded the international community with reports of brutal violence against the Timorese people sponsored by the Indonesian government and military. East Timor has a complicated history that has led to the turmoil we hear about today. Pre-1975 Colonization and Invasion East Timor was a colony of Portugal until 1974, when a civil war in Portugal forced that country to give up its overseas colonies. An unofficial referendum was held in 1974, to begin to determine the possibilities for the future. The most votes (about 50 percent) were in support of independence, followed closely (45 percent) by support of partial autonomous status within Indonesia. At no point has there been any support for East Timor becoming a province of Indonesia. However, the Indonesian government (at that time controlled by the dictator Soeharto), ignored that, and began infiltrating East Timor with Indonesian military troops beginning in September 1975, followed by a full-scale invasion on December 7, 1975. Indonesia has occupied the territory ever since. 1976-1979-One-third of the population killed Those East Timorese who were not outright killed by the Indonesian military as it moved from the border with West Timor to the capital, Dili, were sent to "Re-indoctrination Camps," where huge numbers of people died of disease and starvation. Meanwhile, eighty percent of the population was relocated to other parts of the territory, which caused (as the Indonesian government intended) a partial breakdown of East Timorese society and culture. During the years 1976 to 1979, over 200,000 people died at the hands of the military; the population of the territory in 1975 was 680,000. The resistance to FRETILIN (Independent Timor Revolution Front) since that time. The 1980s-Economic isolation East Timor was declared the 27th province of Indonesia in July 1976 by President Soeharto. From 1976 to 1989, East Timor's borders were closed by the Indonesian government. All trade was controlled by an elite few, making the East Timor economy completely dependent on imports of supplies from Jakarta. Meanwhile, Soeharto and top military officials formed corporations that bought up monopolies in production of East Timor's natural resources: coffee, sandalwood, and oil. During the 1980s, the Indonesian government did build schools, hospitals, and roads, but the East Timorese did not see a rise in the standard of living that other Indonesians saw during these years. 1989-99-Opened economy, international attention The opening of the province in 1989 has had positive and negative effects. On one hand, the international awareness of what's been going on there has grown. On the other, immigration from the rest of Indonesia has created an elite class of Indonesians who occupy the highest levels of the provincial government, as well as being most of the doctors and teachers. In 1996, Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo shared the Nobel Peace Prize, which gave the East Timor cause for international attention. August 30, 1999-today-New hope? Finally, on August 30 of this year a referendum was held to determine the future of East Timor. Overwhelmingly, at almost 80 percent of the vote, the people voted to separate completely from Indonesia, to become independent. Since September 6, the day when the election results were announced, militias that support integration with Indonesia have gone on killing sprees of independence supporters.
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