Part 3: The History of the Conflict Part 3: The History of the Conflict..........................................................................................................1 Part 3: The History of the Conflict..........................................................................................................5 3.1 Introduction...................................................................................................................................5 3.2 Portuguese colonialism in Timor-Leste.......................................................................................6 Overview ........................................................................................................................................6 The arrival of the Portuguese........................................................................................................7 Colonial consolidation ...................................................................................................................8 Portuguese governance and Timorese resistance ......................................................................8 Portuguese Timor in the 20th century ..........................................................................................9 The international movement for decolonisation and Portugal’s position...................................10 Portuguese development plans and growing anti-colonial sentiments.....................................11 3.3 Changes in Portugal and the decolonisation process..............................................................13 Overview ......................................................................................................................................13 The MFA and the Carnation Revolution.....................................................................................13 Rapid decolonisation, turmoil in Portugal...................................................................................13 The impact of the Carnation Revolution in Portuguese Timor ..................................................14 The formation of political parties in Portuguese Timor ..............................................................15 3.4 The international climate and Indonesia’s policy on Portuguese Timor..................................17 Overview ......................................................................................................................................17 The United Nations and Portuguese Timor................................................................................17 Indonesia and the international community................................................................................18 Indonesian policy on Portuguese Timor.....................................................................................19 3.5 The decolonisation process and political parties......................................................................23 Overview ......................................................................................................................................23 The dawning of political consciousness .....................................................................................23 The composition of the political parties ......................................................................................24 Internal developments and tensions...........................................................................................25 The political parties prepare for armed confrontation ................................................................26 Fretilin and the spectre of communism.......................................................................................27 Governor Lemos Pires’s “mission impossible”...........................................................................29 The coalition between UDT and Fretilin .....................................................................................31 3.6 Indonesia’s growing involvement in Portuguese Timor: destablisation and diplomacy..........33 Overview ......................................................................................................................................33 Operasi Komodo and increased covert military operations.......................................................33 Indonesian diplomacy..................................................................................................................34 3.7 The armed movement of 11 August and the internal armed conflict.......................................40 Overview ......................................................................................................................................40 UDT launches its 11 August armed movement .........................................................................40 The failure to negotiate: internal armed conflict.........................................................................42 UDT retreats to the border ..........................................................................................................44 Portugal’s response to the internal conflict.................................................................................44 Indonesia’s response ..................................................................................................................44 3.8 Portuguese Timor under Fretilin administration .......................................................................46 - 1 - Overview ......................................................................................................................................46 Prisoners and political violence...................................................................................................47 Restoring order............................................................................................................................49 Administration..............................................................................................................................49 Balibo: Indonesia increases intensity of military operations......................................................51 3.9 Fretilin’s unilateral declaration of independence, and the response .......................................53 Overview ......................................................................................................................................53 Background to Fretilin’s unilateral declaration of independence...............................................53 The declaration of independence ...............................................................................................55 Reactions to the declaration of independence...........................................................................56 Full-scale invasion imminent.......................................................................................................58 3.10 Full-scale invasion ...................................................................................................................60 Overview ......................................................................................................................................60 Indonesia’s decision to invade and conduct open warfare........................................................60 Dili prepares its defence strategy ...............................................................................................61 Indonesian military preparations: Operation Seroja (Lotus)......................................................62 Invasion of Dili and Baucau.........................................................................................................62 United Nations response to the full-scale invasion....................................................................66 3.11 Timorese experience of early occupation and Indonesia’s attempts to formalise integration ..........................................................................................................................................................68 Overview ......................................................................................................................................68 ABRI consolidates; Indonesia installs “Provisional Government” .............................................68 Fretilin in retreat, the massacres of prisoners............................................................................69 ABRI advances, early 1976.........................................................................................................70 East Timorese experience of the early occupation....................................................................70 Fretilin regroups...........................................................................................................................71 Indonesia formalises the integration...........................................................................................72 Operation Seroja continues—US-supplied OV-10 Bronco aircraft introduced.........................73 Military stalemate, late 1976 .......................................................................................................73 3.12 “Encirclement and annihilation”: the final stages of Operation Seroja 1977-79....................75 Overview ......................................................................................................................................75 Civilian population in the mountains...........................................................................................75