The Null Device

Here come the Brave Ones again? As East Timor approaches the finalisation of its status as an independent state, swearing in its first popularly-elected president, six Indonesian warships have entered East Timorese waters and refused requests to leave. Is it merely simple intimidation from the Indonesian military, or the vanguard of a new invasion?

¶ east timor indonesia 1

Recently East Timor, which attained independence after years of bloody repression, held presidential elections. A thought that occurred to me: would East Timor have had any chance of getting its independence today, had it not done so before the World Trade Center terrorist attack? Probably not; given how governments across the world have capitalised on the War On Terror to label domestic pro-autonomy movements (from Chechens to Uighurs) as "terrorists" ineligible for sympathy or human rights, I can imagine Indonesia being given carte blanche to pacify its recalcitrant province by all means necessary, with no interference from the Western media, in return for joining the coalition against al-Qaeda.

¶ 9/11 dissent east timor geopolitics indonesia insurgency terrorism the long siege 2