End Impunity For Suharto’s Crimes In Indonesia, Timor-Leste
By Celestino Gusmao for East Timor and Indonesia Action Network. Jakarta - Indonesia recently held a symposium on the violent events of 50 years ago which brought the Indonesian General Suharto to power. The results were inconclusive as the dictator’s defenders denied the massacres and attacked those who want Indonesia to finally deal with its blood past.
The tragedy of 1965-1966 is part of a long history of massacres by the Indonesian military. As East Timorese, we know very well the brutality of the Indonesian dictator’s regime. I was born after the initial Indonesian invasion in 1975, but grew up under the occupation. As a young student, I saw the Indonesian military intimidate and abuse youth suspected of supporting East Timorese independence. We were not safe anywhere: Suharto’s troops would seize us at home, school or on the streets; many were never seen again. I watched helplessly as soldiers murdered my cousin, Luis Gusmaõ Pereira, in a public market in Triloedae-Laga.