This book is a history of the struggle for independence after East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in 1975. The occupation, which lasted 24 years, was immediately resisted through guerrilla warfare and clandestine resistance. A continuum of effort between the armed freedom fighters in the mountains, the resilience of urban supporters, and international activism and support eventually brought about liberation in September 1999. Given that the Timor rebels did not have a land border with a friendly state, had no external supplier of weapons and no liberated area in which to recover between guerrilla operations, their successful resistance is unique in the history of guerrilla warfare and independence struggles. Equally uncommon was an unexpected weapon in the struggle -- a remarkable display of strategic non-violent action. This is the first study to integrate all the major factors in East Timor's independence struggle. The multi-dimensional perspectives addressed in this volume include Indonesian, US and Australian diplomacy; Indonesian military operations and activities against the populace; East Timorese resistance at all social levels; human rights abuses; the issue of oil; and international diplomacy resulting from global solidarity activism.

About the Author
Clinton Fernandes is Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales. Prior to becoming an academic, he spent 15 years in the Australian Army and served as the Australian Intelligence Corps' Principal Analyst (East Timor) in the final years of East Timor's independence struggle. In 2008/9 he assisted the Australian Federal Police's War Crimes team on the subject of the Indonesian military and the East Timorese resistance. From 2007 to 2009 he served as the Consulting Historian for Balibo, a feature film about the murder of six Australian-based journalists in East Timor in 1975.


Book Information
ISBN 9781845194918
Author Clinton Fernandes
Format Paperback
Page Count 261
Imprint Liverpool University Press
Publisher Liverpool University Press