Wesley–Smith helping save
a man who
had been shot
in the leg
by rampaging militia. The victim’s leg
was swollen to
three times normal.
Darwin agronomist , Rob
Wesley –Smith , is working
on a document
entitled 117 Days
in East Timor,
an account of
his hectic involvement
in another dangerous
period in the Timorese
struggle for freedom . The
title of his
manuscript is a
play on Seven Days in
East Timor , by the
then Deputy Prime Minister , Tim Fischer ,who was in the country on
August 30,1999 to witness the vote that gave the Timorese
independence from the
brutal Indonesian military rule.
Wesley-Smith’s account covers
the period October
9 1999 to
early February 2000 during
which he kept
a diary while
engaged in many
activities to help the residents . At the
time there was still
some militia activity .
The Suai
Church Massacre happened on
September 6, 1999, two days
after the announcement of the results of
the independence referendum
. According to the International
Commission of Inquiry Report
on East Timor to the Secretary General of the United Nations several hundred people
had sought refuge in the Ave Maria Church from
attacks of the Laksaur militia (a pro-Indonesia group) in the city. Then the militia, with the support of the Indonesian military killed up to
200 people. Twenty-six
bodies were identified
that had been
buried across the border in West Timor,
but eyewitnesses claimed
many more were killed.
In his introduction, Wes is critical of
Australian politicians on
both sides. There are details of
talks with the UN,
the Food and Agriculture
Organisation, priests , NGOs
; mention is
made of journalists
John Martinkus ,Ginny Stein
of the ABC, Paul
Toohey , Peter Cook . The
Northern Territory News
gets a mention
for donating $200
towards a worthy cause .
The diary
tells how information picked
up and passed on may have
prevented UN personnel
being ambushed . He
has sent copies of
the diary to
people he was
involved with during that
period for comment
and elaboration , and has
been urged to
have the finished work published .
Elders at Aileu waiting arrival by helicopter of Xanana Gusmao
One of the
episodes in his diary
which attracted input involved the so-called
“ Aileu Corn Rebellion ”. He
was involved in
the distribution of
seed by vehicles, helicopters and
boat in the
drive to get villagers to
grow food in
those desperate days. Large amounts
of seed corn which
had been
treated with chemicals to
assist in the growing process were
distributed . In Indonesian ,
the bags warned that
the seed was not to
be eaten . However, some people fed
pigs on the corn and
they died . As a result , the belief was formed that the
seed was “ poisoned ” by the
Indonesians and anyone eating the crop
would also die, a view
promoted by a fanatical man
nicknamed Permaculture Paul .
Falintil pro-independence fighters at Aileu wanted to burn the precious seed . Aid officials raced to the town to convince the men the seed was just treated to ensure it was not eaten by insects and attacked by fungus to make sure it grew well. It was only poisonous before planted. A total of 330 tonnes of seed had already been distributed to 70,000 families .
The first anniversary of the killing of the Balibo Five newsmen was marked soon after Wes arrived in the country . During his time there he drove supply trucks to various parts of the country along the dangerous, winding roads , forded big rivers ,without backup, helped in various ways to ease the strain on the populace by taking part in preparation of concerts. He recorded various situations he faced , tense moments with some officials , and the many people he mixed with in villages.
He was in Dili for the anniversary of the l975 Indonesian invasion . Darwin musicians came over and held the first concert and celebration under freedom (Type in Dili Concert in YouTube to see.) . Wes tells how he "liberated" three or four desks from the Indonesian Bank building .
At one stage
he came across a tired and frightened
family who said they had escaped
from the militia in Betano village ,on the coast, where Australian commandoes had
been landed and taken off in 1942
. With their captors, the fearful
family expected to be picked up by
an Indonesian vessel. Rather than leave them to an uncertain
fate, the people were put aboard
the vehicle and
returned home.
On returning to
Dili, Wesley-Smith went to the UN meeting
place to report the incident. There he saw a
military man , Brigadier Ernie Chamberlain , who had worked late and was tired , and told him that he wanted to pass
on this
information. The brigadier got into his Range Rover to take him to
the Intel office and asked
him for his name . On telling
him he was Rob
Wesley-Smith there was a surprising
response. Brigadier Chamberlain put his
hands to his face, said: “ For 30 years you were
right , and we were wrong.”
A totally unexpected statement which acknowledged Wes’s long campaign for East
Timor’s freedom , despite the
attitude of various Australian
governments.
The brigadier, now a retired
historian who is in contact with
Wes, had previously been the Military Attache to Jakarta
and had been coopted
to help with emergency relief
organisation. He took Wes to the
Intel section and told the troops, ”Listen up, folks, this
here is Rob Wesley-Smith.” It is understood
two Blackhawk helicopters were sent to Betano
next day and arrested 14 militia.
Timor-Leste President, Taur Matan Ruak, with Rob Wesley-Smith
FOOTNOTE : From
time to time Little
Darwin has run
parts of Wesley-Smith’s action packed life, including involvement in the anti - Vietnam War movement, close association with the Gurindjis , the Chamberlain case, his leading part in setting up the NT Civil Liberties Council , especially his involvement in
the East Timor
struggle , billing him as the
UNQUIET AUSTRALIAN , a play on Graham Greene’s anti-Vietnam war novel ,
THE QUIET AMERICAN .
There is still much more to tell as he gave this blog
access to his extensive archives , supplying various refreshments , even a tasty serving of dragonfruit and yoghurt, during the research . One extraordinary
event still to be covered involved Wes
“knighting” Jose Ramos- Horta in Darwin at a time when most of the world was turning a blind eye to the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Timorese.
