A brief history of the conflict

Nine days after declaring independence from Portugal in 1975, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia, marking the beginning of a bloody, repressive and violent occupation that would last for the next 25 years.

The Indonesian military forcibly displaced thousands of East Timorese from their homes and banned them from leaving resettlement camps, despite lack of food or adequate hygiene facilities. All human and civil rights were suspended.

The occupation was marked by several high profile massacres of citizens in addition to a general climate of fear and repression.

In 1991, a peaceful protest prompted by the last-minute cancellation of a Portuguese parliamentary delegation to East Timor resulted in the massacre of hundreds of demonstrators.

It marked the beginning of an international movement in support of independence for East Timor, culminating in a UN-mandated vote for independence in 1999.

After the popular consultation in which the people of East Timor voted overwhelmingly for independence, Indonesian-backed militias attacked communities across the country. During the occupation it is estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 people died.

UK arms sales to Indonesia

The UK has a long history of selling arms to Indonesia, and despite the insistence of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that none of these arms would be used to repress human rights within Indonesia, extensive evidence collected in East Timor has shown UK-manufactured jets, tanks and arms being used in Timor between 1975 and 1999.

The UK licensed the sale of Hawk jets or other major arms to Indonesia in 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1996. The value of the UK's arms exports to Indonesia during the period 1997 to 1999 alone is estimated to be in the neighbourhood of £287.75 million pounds. (Source: CAAT/TAPOL - opens in a new window)   Throughout this period reports of major human rights abuses in East Timor were being documented and ignored by the UK government.

The UK has given £1 million to the World Bank's Trust Fund for East Timor, but recently announced it had no further plans to contribute to this programme. Although it funds other agencies and programmes in the area, even the most optimistic funding estimates suggest this would be less than 10% of what the UK earned in arms sales to Indonesia between 1997 and 1999.

East Timor today

East Timor today is wracked by poverty. Around half the population of just over a million is unemployed. Forty per cent live on less than $1 a day. And an estimated 100,000 people - nearly one-tenth of the population - are living as refugees.

Since gaining independence in 1999, East Timor has struggled to come to grips with its troubled past. Breaking cycles of violence is a slow process. In neighbouring Indonesia, the military perpetrators of human rights violations rise through the ranks and obtain positions of political influence with no fear of prosecution.

In East Timor a lack of justice has fed violence between former political and ethnic rivals. An assassination attempt on President José Ramos-Horta in 2008 is further evidence that, despite the assurances of both the East Timorese and Indonesian governments that justice and forgiveness has occurred for past atrocities, in practice it remains a long way off.

Progressio and East Timor

Progressio has a long history of campaigning in support of East Timor and its people. We are now asking the UK government to acknowledge its role in the occupation and repression of the East Timorese people by funding comprehensive capacity-building and rehabilitation programmes to help East Timor move into a peaceful future. Currently, the UK government is washing its hands of East Timor and the proactive and constructive role it could play to promote meaningful progress. Read more about Progressio's involvement in East Timor.

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