The East Timor Question

by Hainsworth, Paul; McCloskey, Stephen; Ramos Horta, Jose

• ISBN13: 9781860644085
• ISBN10: 1860644082
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-11-04
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris

Summary

East Timor is one of the World's most infamous "trouble spots." Originally colonized by the Portuguese, it was brutally invaded and occupied by the Indonesian State military forces in 1975. Over the next year, according to the UN, about one third of the population died from massacres, starvation and disease. But recent events in Indonesia have given rise to expectations that there may be a fundamental shift in the State's position on East Timor. This book considers the potential for change against a backdrop of growing popular and political support for the Timorese cause. Addressing East Timor's recent emergence as an issue of global importance, it illustrates how local, grassroots, individual, organizational and campaign initiatives have contributed to this state of affairs, in the context of the increased emphasis which is being placed on ethics, international morality and human rights in contemporary international relations.

Author Biography

Paul Hainsworth is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Ulster, and Amnesty International's country coordinator for East Timor and Indonesia.

Stephen McCloskey is the coordinator for One World Centre for Northern Ireland and Secretary of the East Timor Solidarity Campaign.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vi
Notes on Contributors	vii
Foreword	ix
John Pilger
Preface	xiii
Jose Ramos-Horta
Introduction: East Timor-From European to Third World Colonialism	1	(16)
Stephen McCloskey
A Personal Journey through East Timor	17	(14)
Peter Carey
Reporting East Timor: Western Media Coverage of the Conflict	31	(10)
Hugh O'Shaughnessy
Balibo: The Cover-up that Led to Genocide	41	(10)
Maureen Tolfree
The Legacy of the Suharto Dictatorship	51	(18)
Carmel Budiardjo
The Indonesian Propaganda War against East Timor	69	(16)
Estevao Cabral
Seeds of Hope - East Timor Ploughshares Disarming the Hawks	85	(10)
Andrea Needham
Jen Parker
Jo Wilson
New Labour, New Codes of Conduct? British Government Policy towards Indonesia and East Timor after the 1997 Election	95	(22)
Paul Hainsworth
The United States: From Complicity to Ambiguity	117	(16)
Charles Scheiner
Canberra: Jakarta's Trojan Horse in East Timor	133	(18)
Jim Aubrey
The Local Meets the Global: East Timor and Ireland's Presidency of the European Union	151	(16)
Eilis Ward
East Timor and Western Sahara: A Comparative Perspective	167	(18)
Pedro Pinto Leite
South Africa's Transition: Lessons for East Timor?	185	(8)
Adrian Guelke
Conclusion: East Timor After Suharto - A New Horizon	193	(20)
Paul Hainsworth
Index	213