This document discusses East Timor's long struggle for independence from Indonesian occupation between 1975 and 1999. It provides quotes from Canadian officials in the 1970s and 80s who viewed East Timor's incorporation into Indonesia as irreversible, while East Timorese activists argued the occupation was illegal and could be reversed. The document outlines how East Timorese refugees and student activists in Canada worked to raise awareness of the human rights situation in East Timor. Ultimately, East Timor won its independence in 1999, ending over two decades of occupation and genocide, showing that campaigns for justice and self-determination can overcome long odds.

1. THERE'S NO
SUCH THING AS
A LOST CAUSE
THE CAMPAIGN FOR EAST
TIMOR’S INDEPENDENCE

2. BE REALISTIC...

3. BE REALISTIC...
DEMAND THE IMPOSSIBLE

4. W H E R E I S E A S T
T I M O R ?

5. W H E R E I S E A S T
T I M O R ?

6. W H E R E I S E A S T
T I M O R ?

7. S I L E N T M O U T H S ,
S P E A K I N G M O U T H S
A C R E AT I O N S TO R Y
O F T H E M A M B A I
P E O P L E , T I M O R - L E S T E
( E A S T T I M O R )
Image by Antonio P.
Domingues, from F. Sylvan,
Cantolenda Maubere

8. Photo:ElaineBriere

9. Photo:ElaineBriere

10. Photo:ElaineBriere

11. A “LOST
CAUSE”?“ I N O U R V I E W I N C O R P O R AT I O N I S A N
E S TA B L I S H E D A N D I R R E V E R S I B L E FA C T.”
- D E PA R T M E N T O F E X T E R N A L A F FA I R S C A N A D A
“ T H E O C C U PAT I O N O F E A S T T I M O R I S B R U TA L A N D
I L L E G A L . B U T I D O N ’ T B E L I E V E I T I S
I R R E V E R S I B L E .”
- A U D R E Y S A M S O N , N O VA S C OT I A E A S T T I M O R
G R O U P
( Q U O T E S F R O M L I B R A R Y & A R C H I V E S C A N A D A , R G 2 5 , F I L E 2 0 - T M O R )

12. P I E R R E T R U D E AU
O N E A S T T I M O R :
East Timor “raised the problem of
self-determination of peoples”
but Canada had “decided that
stability of the region should be
the foremost concern and thus
had supported Indon[esia].”
- - Cited in David Webster, Fire
and the Full Moon: Canada
and Indonesia in a
Decolonizing World (UBC
Press, 2009). 171.
- Image: President & Madame
Suharto greet Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau

13. L E A R N I N G A B O U T
E A S T T I M O R
The Indonesia East Timor
Program, Trent University, 1985

14. THE EAST TIMOR ALERT NETWORK

15. SANTA CRUZ MASSACRE, 1991
Images Steve Cox; ETAN/US

16. TIMORESE REFUGEES IN CANADA
Abe Barreto Soares & Aloz MacDonald
(Abe ho Aloz) performing in Ottawa
Bella Galhos releases torture
photos, Vancouver, 1997 (photo:

17. A P E C 1 9 9 7 ,
VA N CO U V E R
Student protests @ University
of British Columbia seek
“citizen’s arrest of Indonesian
president Suharto for crimes
against humanity. Photo: Elaine
Briere.

18. WINNING A
“LOST CAUSE”
E N D O F O C C U PAT I O N & G E N O C I D E 1 9 9 9

19. R E S TO R AT I O N O F
I N D E P E N D E N C E
C E L E B R AT I O N
Maliana, Timor-Leste, 2015.
Photo: David Webster

21. THERE'S NO
SUCH THING AS
A LOST CAUSE

22. NEXT
STEPS
T R U T H , J U S T I C E ,
R E C O N C I L I AT I O N