THE EAST TIMOR QUESTION, 1975-2002
On microfiche
compiled and edited by Jill Jolliffe, with annual supplements.
Background
Reacting against the seemingly endless colonial wars in which Portugal was still involved in April 1975,
junior officers of the Portuguese army overthrew the Caetano regime, successor to the lengthy Salazar dictatorship,
installing democracy in the country for the first time in decades. The new Portuguese government initiated a process
of decolonization that had the aim of granting independence to the colonies in Africa and the eastern half of the
island of Timor, which the Portuguese had held since the sixteenth century. Claiming the support of the population
of East Timor, the Suharto government in Jakarta invaded the former colony on 7 December 1975 and later incorporated
it as a province of Indonesia, an act still not recognized by the U.N. Many Timorese opposed the Indonesian regime,
launching the guerrilla movement Fretilin, under the leadership of Nicolau Lobato, who was later succeeded by
José Alexandre Gusmão ("Xanana"). During the two decades since the invasion there have been systematic
violations of human rights and a process of neocolonization on the part of Indonesia that continues to this day,
despite the continued resistance of many Timorese and protests from sections of the international community.
Archive formed
Following this story closely from its start, first from the region and later from Lisbon, Portugal, Australian journalist Jill Jolliffe has amassed a personal archive containing many rare and some unique materials in several languages originating from Portuguese, Indonesian, Australian, British, American and other international sources. Most of the documents cover the twenty years in question, such as:
— a large file of newspaper clippings and other documentation in English, Portuguese and (some) Indonesian, organized chronologically
— originals of letters and communiques sent from Timor by guerrilla leader José Alexandre Gusmão ("Xanana"), 1981-1994 and other resistance documents
— an extensive file of interviews conducted with Timorese dissidents and refugees since 1975
— captured correspondence and reports of Indonesian authorities; Indonesian propaganda texts in English
— documents relating to the deaths of foreign journalists at Balibo, East Timor on 16 October 1975, and other documentation of human-rights violations
— the report of the Portuguese Commission of Inquiry into the decolonization of East Timor, in two versions (the original unedited one and that later released in a limited printed version by the Cabinet in 1981
— reports of parliamentary commissions in Australia and other countries; UN documents
— church documents on East Timor, including pastoral letters
— private correspondence with various figures
— a photographic record 1975-1994, from various sources
As background, Jill Jolliffe has also collected earlier materials on Timor, such as:
— 19th century Portuguese political pamphlets on Timor
— much documentation on World War II on the island, including a secret report on events during the war by Governor Manuel de Abreu Ferreira de Carvalho
Importance for research
Such a range and variety of materials concerning East Timor will not easily be available elsewhere in one place and Jill Jolliffe has therefore done researchers into the question a great service by organizing and editing her collection and making it available to others.
Microfiche project
Following an initiative by the Australian National University Library in Canberra, which was the first to commit itself to purchase a set, MMF Publications has made this valuable collection available on microfiche in 1997.
Please inquire for details.