Indonesian occupation belongs to the past, motto is ‘not to happen’ again

On Sunday, the 50 years of Indonesian occupation of East Timor will be marked (December 7, 1975), nine days after the Timorese unilaterally declared independence from Portugal on November 28, 1975. Indonesia only left the territory after the referendum on self-determination on August 30, 1999. East Timor restored independence on May 20, 2002. According to the ‘Chega’ report prepared by the Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation, at least 183,000 people were killed during the 24 years of Indonesian occupation of East Timor. The Commission for Reception, Truth, and Reconciliation was established in 2000 to investigate human rights violations committed in East Timor between 1974 and 1999, creating mechanisms for reconciliation that facilitated agreements between communities and perpetrators of crimes and offenses during the same period.