Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship

The Indonesia–Timor Leste Commission on Truth and Friendship was a truth commission established jointly by the governments of Indonesia and East Timor in August 2005. The commission was officially created to investigate acts of violence that occurred around the independence referendum held in East Timor in 1999 and sought to find the "conclusive truth" behind the events. After holding private hearings and document reviews, the commission handed in the final report on July 15, 2008 to the presidents of both nations, and was fully endorsed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, providing the first acknowledgement by the government of Indonesia of the human rights violations committed by state institutions in Timor. The commission is notable for being the first modern truth commission to be bilateral.

East Timor was originally colonized by the Portuguese, and remained a colony up until the fall of the military dictatorship in 1974. East Timor declared independence soon afterwards, but Indonesia soon decided to intervene as it became clear that the government of the new state would most likely be leftist. The Indonesian government began Operation Komodo, which was intended to bring about the integration of the East Timorese territory. It began with a propaganda campaign, but after the outbreak of conflict in East Timor, the Indonesian military began a campaign on the 7th of October starting with an assault on a border post and accumulating with a full-scale invasion utilizing paratroopers and naval support. The United Nations quickly condemned the invasion via resolution, but due to resistance in the Security council, no further action was taken. The United States also tacitly gave their approval, as the dismantling of a pro-communist government helped advance the policy of containment being pursued by the government.

Indonesia occupied the territory for the following two decades. During the administration of the Habibie government, a referendum was held in the occupied area asking if the residents of the area wished to remain a part of Indonesia. Even before the referendum, there was harassment by militia groups in the area, with UN workers being attacked in Maliana. It soon became clear in the wake of the referendum that the referendum result would be overwhelmingly in favor of the "no" option on the ballot; this raised tensions to a boiling point, and within two hours of the announcement of the results, armed militia groups began attacking civilians. Militia continued to attack civilians as they withdrew from the country, and several massacres occurred as the troops filtered out of the area. A UN peacekeeping force known as INTERFET was deployed to stabilize the situation, made up of mostly Australian troops, and was withdrawn with the arrival of normal UN peacekeepers. East Timor eventually transitioned from a UN mandate to an independent country.

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