Pro-Indonesian militias

Pro-Indonesia militias (also pro-Indonesian militias) were East Timorese paramilitary militia groups that formed to show/prove loyalty to the Indonesian government during the movement for East Timorese independence in the late 1990s. They operated during the last years of the military Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975-1999).

Some believed that the independence movement would be unsuccessful, and that those loyal to Indonesia would be rewarded when they regained control of the area. Militia groups included Aitarak, Besi Merah Putih, Laksaur, and Mahidi.

Most of the worst acts of the period, including the Liquiçá Church Massacre, were committed by these East Timorese groups, albeit often with support of the Indonesian military.

Eurico Guterres was one of the most notorious member of these groups.

Fictional representations of these groups, their members, actions, and atrocities were shown in the 2006 Australian miniseries Answered by Fire.

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