Here is a simple and short explanation of the East Timor case.

1. EAST TIMOR CASE
International national & current Affairs

3. Background
 From the start of invasion in August 1975 onward, TNI forces engaged in the
wholesale massacre of Timorese civilians.
 There were many dead bodies in the streets- all we could see were the soldiers
killing-killing-killing.
 It is estimated that at least 2000 Timorese were killed in the first two days during
invasion in Dili alone.
 The mass killings continued unabated as Indonesians forces advance on the Fertile
held mountain regions of East Timor,
 In March 1977 ex-Australian consul James Dunn Published a report detailing
charges that since December 1975 Indonesian forces had killed between 50,000
and 100,000 civilians in East Timor.
 This is consistent with statement made on 13 February 1976 by UDT leader Lopez
da Cruz that 60,000 Timorese had been killed during the previous six months of
civil war, suggesting a death toll of at least 55,000 in the first two months of the
invasion.

4. Killings
 In March 1977 ex-Australian consul James Dunn Published a report detailing
charges that since December 1975 Indonesian forces had killed between 50,000
and 100,000 civilians in East Timor.
 This is consistent with statement made on 13 February 1976 by UDT leader
Lopez da Cruz that 60,000 Timorese had been killed during the previous six
months of civil war, suggesting a death toll of at least 55,000 in the first two
months of the invasion.
 A delegation of Indonesian relied workers agreed with this statistics. A late 1976
reported by the Carholic Church also estimated the death toll at between 60,000
and 100,000.
 The Indonesian government presented its annexation of East Timor as a matter of
anti-colonial unity.

5. Brutality
 As a result of the destruction of food crops, many civilians were forced to leave
the hills and surrender to the TNI.
 Often, when surviving villagers came down to lower-lying regions to surrender,
the military would execute them.
 Those who were not killed outright by TNI troops were sent to receiving centers
which were prepared in advance, In these transit camps, the surrendered
civilians were registered and interrogated. Those who were suspected of bring
members of the resistance were detained and killed.
 These centers were often constructed of thatch huts with no toilets. As a result,
many of the Timorese – weakened by starvation and surviving on small rations
given by their captors – died of malnutrition, cholera, diarrhea and tuberculosis.

6. Pacification starts
 By late 1979, between 300,000 and 370,000 Timorese had passed through these
camps.
 In 1981 the Indonesian military launched Operasi Keamanan ( operation
Security), which some have named the “fence of legs” program.
 During this operation, Indonesian forces conscripted 50,000 to 80,000 Timorese
men and boys to march through the mountains ahead od advancing TNI troops as
human shields to foreclose a FRETILIN counterattack. The objectives was to sweep
the guerillas into the central part of the region where they could be eradicated.
 In August 1983, 200 people were burned alive in the village of Creras, with 500
others killed at a nearby river.

7. Pacification starts
 Between August and December 1983, Amnesty international documented the
arrests and “disappearances” of over 600 people in the capital city alone.
 Indonesian military abuses against women in East Timor were numerous and
well-documented.
 In addition to suffering arbitrary detainment, torture, and extrajudicial execution,
women faced rape sexual abuse.
 During a memorial mass on 12 November 1991 for a pro-independent youth
shot by Indonesian troops, demonstrators among the 2,500-strong crowd 200
Indonesian soldiers opened fire on the crowd killing at least 250 Timorese.
 Sharp condemnation of the military came not just from the international
community, but from within parts of the Indonesian elite.

8. The East Timor case
 One can count the instances of success of self-determination movements on
fingers. One such example is that of East Timor – a case that is cited with much
derision in the Muslim World as symbolic of the double standards of the world
community. However, that is missing the forest for the trees.
 The UN action on East Timor led to meaningful developments in the law of self-
determination. In his paper titled The Right of Self-Determination: Is East Timor a
Viable Model for Kashmir?. Amardeep Singh argues that post East Timor, self-
determination extends to the creation of a “new State from a territory with
uncertain status” and justifies international intervention in situations where a
State denies self-determination to a people. He draws crucial parallels between
Kashmir and East Timor, as follows.

9. ……
 The first is uncertainty. The status of Kashmir like East Timor is uncertain
because, in terms of international law, it is unclear whether Kashmir is legally a
part of India or Pakistan or an independent territory.
 Second, process. The UNSC has laid down “free and fair plebiscite” as the means
to an end for the people of Kashmir.
 Third, international intervention. Even assuming that the above does not justify
foreign intervention in favor of Kashmir, massive human rights violations in
Kashmir call for Kashmir’s secession and global response.