Protests commemorate Dili massacre

Wednesday, November 18, 1992 - 11:00

Protests commemorate Dili massacre

Demonstrations in many Australian cities on November 12 and the following Saturday marked the first anniversary of the massacre of East Timorese civilians at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili by Indonesian troops.

In Sydney (pictured, photo by Gail Lord), 500 people attended a mass and marched to Town Hall. Some 1000 joined the Melbourne protest.

In Adelaide, demonstrators outside Santos House released 300 balloons in memory of those who died. Santos, along with BP and BHP, is a major investor in the exploration for oil in the Timor Gap.

Chanting "Indonesia out of East Timor, Australia out of the Gap", and "Suharto is a butcher, don't fly Garuda", demonstrators in Perth disrupted work at the offices of the Indonesian national airline.

In Brisbane, there was an overnight vigil followed by a procession to King George Square.

From GLW issue 80