November 12 will be the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre, Dili, East Timor . To mark the occasion a two-day online symposium will be held to which Darwin activist Robert Wesley-Smith, a longtime East Timor supporter , has been asked to contribute . He will cover his demonstration against the massacre , the first in Australia, followed by a march on the Indonesian consulate.
Information supplied for the symposium follows :
The Santa Cruz Massacre of 12 November 1991 in Dili, East Timor was a turning point in the East Timorese struggle for national self-determination. The Indonesian army’s killing of more than two hundred and seventy young East Timorese protesters at the Santa Cruz cemetery was captured in dramatic footage and broadcast internationally, turning global attention back to this former Portuguese colony.
Critically, the protest – and its violent crackdown – dramatically changed the way the international community regarded the Indonesian occupation of the territory. Responses to the Santa Cruz Massacre also demonstrated the growing power, influence, and impact of transnational solidarity networks and global human rights activism.
Scheduled in the leadup to the thirty-year anniversary of the massacre, this two-day online symposium will bring together international researchers to discuss this critical event. The symposium is organised by the Timor-Leste Studies Association (TLSA), Australia, in partnership with the Centro Nacional Chega (CNC), Timor-Leste and supported by the Asian Studies Association of Australia (ASAA).
We welcome papers covering, for example, the leadup to and significance of the 12 November protest, the East Timorese clandestine movement’s strategy, the Indonesian counterstrategy and responses, and the international dimensions of this event. Papers may be presented in Tetum, Portuguese, English or Indonesian.
