East Timor — A Western Made Tragedy
By Mark Aarons and Robert Domm
Left Book Club. $5.95
Reviewed by Tony Iltis
The November 12 massacre of a funeral procession in the Timorese capital, Dili, put the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, now in its 17th year, back into the international spotlight. For anyone wishing to learn the history of this occupation and the Timorese resistance, East Timor — A Western Made Tragedy provides a good starting point.
The authors both have first-hand experience of East Timor.
Mark Aarons visited the island to report for the ABC in March 1975, when the Portuguese were in the process of withdrawing and the Timorese were enthusiastically preparing for independence.
Robert Domm has experienced East Timor under both Portuguese and Indonesian rule. In the early 1970s, he visited Dili regularly as a merchant seaman.
In 1989 when, for the first time since their invasion, the Indonesians allowed tourists into East Timor, Domm took the opportunity. In 1990 he returned and, with the assistance of the underground resistance network, was able to interview the legendary commander of the Timorese guerrillas, Xanana Gusmao.
At the Melbourne launch of East Timor — A Western Made Tragedy, Emilia Gusmao, wife of Xanana, described Domm as "the first westerner to break the isolation of the East Timorese resistance leaders from the outside world."
At the launch, Domm made a scathing attack on Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans, whom he described as "leading the pack of amoral world leaders". He cited, as an example of Australia's diplomatic role, the threat to cut off development aid to Vanuatu if that country condemned Indonesia over its role in East Timor.
A strength of the book is that it explains that Australia's shameful stance on East Timor dates right back to before the Indonesian invasion. Close relations with Indonesia were a priority of the Whitlam government's foreign policy. In September 1974 and April 1975, Whitlam met with Indonesian dictator Suharto and told him that Australia favoured the integration of East Timor into Indonesia.
The book also quotes from a secret August 1975 telegram from the Australian ambassador in Jakarta in which he emphasised the importance of the energy-rich Timor Gap saying, "This could be more readily negotiated with Indonesia ... than with Portugal or independent Portuguese Timor."
An article on the legality of the 1990 treaty in which Australia and Indonesia divided up the Timor Gap is included as an appendix.
The book also covers the November 12 massacre in detail. A Timorese account that was smuggled out is quoted at length, and a thorough study of the international reaction is provided. Amnesty International's report into the massacre is included as a second appendix. n