page_title: Indonesian occupation of East Timor
section_title: Indonesian campaigns against the resistance
hierarchical_section_title: Indonesian occupation of East Timor / Indonesian hegemony / Indonesian campaigns against the resistance
caption_attribution_description: Integration monument donated to East Timor by Indonesia, Dili; remembering Dom Boaventura and the Rebellion of Manufahi (source)
context_page_description: The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to the decolonisation of its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain. After a small-scale civil war, the pro-independence Fretilin declared victory in the capital city of Dili and declared an independent East Timor on 28 November 1975.
  Claiming that its assistance had been requested by East Timorese leaders, Indonesian military forces invaded East Timor on 7 December 1975, and by 1979 they had all but destroyed the armed resistance to the occupation. Following a controversial "Popular Assembly" which many said was not a genuine act of self-determination, Indonesia declared the territory a province of Indonesia.
  Immediately after the invasion, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council passed resolutions condemning Indonesia's actions in East Timor and calling for its immediate withdrawal from the territory.
context_section_description: Leaders of Indonesian intelligence influential with Suharto had initially envisaged that invasion, subdual of Fretilin resistance, and integration with Indonesia would be quick and relatively painless. The ensuing Indonesian campaigns up through 1976 were devastating for the East Timorese, an enormous drain on Indonesian resources, were severely damaging to Indonesia internationally, and ultimately a failure. The wanton, wholesale killings by the TNI near the coastal regions during the opening months of the invasion had driven a large portion of the population and most of the remaining Falintil into the central regions. This proved counterproductive as it left Indonesian troops fighting against an enemy which was well equipped and had access to agricultural resources and population. The civilian population came to see the Falintil as a buffer against the excesses of the Indonesian forces, which led to heightened support for the resistance. From 1975 to 1977, the Fretilin protected at least 40% of the population who had fled the coastal regions, in inhospitable conditions, with the active support of rallied communities. Schwarz suggests the fact that the Indonesian military's power base remained barely dented by the mid-1970s intelligence miscalculations and ongoing failures was a measure of the military's dominance of Indonesian affairs.
  By the end of 1976, a stalemate existed between the Falintil and the Indonesian army. Unable to overcome massive resistance and drained of its resources, the TNI began rearming. Indonesian navy ordered missile-firing patrol-boats from the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as submarines from West Germany. In February 1977, Indonesia also received thirteen OV-10 Bronco aircraft from the Rockwell International Corporation with the aid of an official US government foreign military aid sales credit. The Bronco was ideal for the East Timor invasion, as it was specially designed for counter-insurgency operations in steep terrain. By the beginning of February 1977, at least six of the 13 Broncos were operating in East Timor and helped the Indonesian military pinpoint Fretilin positions. The OV-10 Broncos dealt a heavy blow to the Falintil when the aircraft attacked their forces with conventional weapons and Soviet-supplied Napalm known as 'Opalm.' Along with the new weaponry, an additional 10,000 troops were sent in to begin new campaigns that would become known as the 'final solution'.
  TNI strategists implemented a strategy of attrition against the Falintil beginning in September 1977. This was accomplished by rendering the central regions of East Timor unable to sustain human life through napalm attacks, chemical warfare and destruction of crops. This was to be done in order to force the population to surrender into the custody of Indonesian forces and deprive the Falintil of food and population. Catholic officials in East Timor called this strategy an "encirclement and annihilation" campaign. 35,000 ABRI troops surrounded areas of Fretilin support and killed men, women, and children. Air and naval bombardments were followed by ground troops, who destroyed villages and agricultural infrastructure. Thousands of people may have been killed during this period. In early 1978, the entire civilian population of Arsaibai village, near the Indonesian border, was killed for supporting Fretilin after being bombarded and starved. The success of the 'encirclement and annihilation' campaign led to the 'final cleansing campaign', in which children and men would be forced to hold hands and march in front of Indonesian units searching for Fretilin members. When Fretilin members were found, the members would be forced to surrender or to fire on their own people.
  During this period, allegations of Indonesian use of chemical weapons arose, as villagers reported maggots appearing on crops after bombing attacks. Fretilin radio claimed Indonesian planes dropped chemical agents, and several observers—including the Bishop of Dili—reported seeing napalm dropped on the countrys
caption: The integration monument in Dili was donated by the Indonesian government to represent emancipation from colonialism
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