Table Of ContentAn eyewitness
account of
EastTimor's
descent into hell,
1997-2000
John Martinkus
FOREWORD BY
XANANA GUSMAO
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"V
A
War
Dirty Little
A
Dirty
War
Little
John Martinkus
RANDOM HOUSE AUSTRALIA
Random HouseAustraliaPtyLtd
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FirstpublishedbyRandom HouseAustralia2001
Copyright©John Martinkus2001
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NationalLibraryofAustralia
Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry
Martinkus,John.
A
dirtylittlewar.
Includes index.
ISBN 174051 016X.
1. Politicalatrocities-Indonesia-TimorTimur. 2.
TimorTimur (Indonesia) -Politicsandgovernment. 3.
TimorTimur (Indonesia) -Autonomyand
independence movements. I.Tide. .
320.95986
Coverandtextdesign byGreendot Design
TypesetbyMidlandTypesetters, Maryborough, Victoria
Printedandbound byGriffin Press, Netley, SouthAustralia
Historical details in introduction courtesyofParliamentofAustralia
Senate Committee inquiryreportinto EastTimor, October 1999.
98765432
10 1
1
contents
Foreword vii
Introduction xi
Glossary xvii
CHAPTER ONE
January 1997 Dili, EastTimor 1
CHAPTER TWO
31 May 1997 Jakarta, Indonesia 29
CHAPTER THREE
9August 1998 Dili, EastTimor 5
CHAPTER FOUR
1 November 1998 Dili, East Timor 82
CHAPTER FIVE
27January 1999 Suai, East Timor 116
CHAPTER SIX
24 February 1999 Dili, EastTimor 139
CHAPTER SEVEN
19April 1999 Kupang, WestTimor 174
CHAPTER EIGHT
29June 1999 Maliana, East Timor 215
CHAPTER NINE
30August 1999 Maliana, East Timor 263
CHAPTER TEN
6September 1999 Dili, EastTimor 300
CHAPTER ELEVEN
20September 1999 Darwin, Australia 347
Postscript 404
Acknowledgements 419
Index 421
Foreword
When reading this book it is important to try to under-
stand what the effect ofthe violence catalogued here has
had upon the East Timorese people today. Remember
that theviolent consequences ofIndonesian military rule
ofEast Timor in the period covered here were only the
final stages of a 25-year brutal occupation. Far worse
atrocities than those detailed here were carried out
against the EastTimorese people in the late seventies and
eighties. Sadly for us, these were not well documented.
The international media were largely silent because of
foreign governments' concern for their relations with
Indonesia and the great impossibility ofanyone gaining
physical access to EastTimor.
Until 1989, EastTimorwas barred to all outsiders and
the internal conflict, which all Timorese knew very well,
was largely unknown beyond our prison-island. In 1991
the brave Youth resistance led a massive demonstration
that had an extraordinary political impact. The dramatic
footage of Indonesian forces murdering unarmed East
Timorese civilians opened the world's eyes to the
violence that until then had been kept hidden.
Despite the widespread international attention the
footage aroused, only a very small number ofjournalists
VII
JOHN MARTINKUS
vin
and politicians continued to pay close attention to,
report, and speak out about the continuing repression
inside East Timor. Although I often said we were alone
in our struggle we were not; there were people all over
the world who worried about us and helped us.
The work ofjournalists, such as John Martinkus, in
East Timor became increasingly important throughout
the nineties. Comprehensive and impartial documenta-
tion ofincidents ofviolence conducted against the East
Timorese people paved the way for the international
pressure on the Indonesian government to allow the
United Nations to conduct the ballot in August of1999.
When the Indonesian military and their militia
proxies embarked on the campaign ofkilling, depopula-
tion and the destruction and theft of property in East
Timor in response to the independence result, it looked
as though East Timor and the suffering of its people
would once again be hidden from the outside world. It
was only a handful ofinternationals who remained to try
and document the final crimes of the Indonesian
military that took place before international peacekeep-
ers were allowed into the country. This book is one such
document.
John Martinkus covered our conflict from inside East
Timor through the period of armed struggle by our
heroic Falintil guerrillas, the years of brave yout;h and
clandestine resistance, to the violence before and after
the ballot as well as the eventual arrival of the peace-
keepers and the departure ofthe Indonesian forces. The
stories he wrote about the atrocities helped to bring
international attention to the genocide the world was
ignoring.
This book provides a first-hand account ofsome ofthe
key events that led to the long awaited independence of
