Abstract

Making an Issue of East Timor

In 1975, Indonesia invaded and illegally occupied East Timor, killing perhaps 100,000 to 200,000 out of a population of less than 700,000. Until 1989 it was open to few visitors, and even now access is restricted. Some years ago, an Australian member of parliament trying to expose Indonesian atrocities in East Timor told a member of Congress that Jakarta's defenders around the world had imposed such stringent standards of proof that "one almost has to bring them dead bodies before they will accept your information. Official American embarrassment was magnified by the television and eyewitness coverage of the November 12 events, little as it was, it made these atrocities in East Timor undeniable and more widely noticed than they had ever been-and the strong Congressional reaction to it.