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Richard Holbrooke talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas
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Timorese Skeletons in Holbrooke's Closet
Richard Holbrooke is heading to Dili as a representative of the UN, but he's carrying the baggage of a shameful past of covering up for Indonesian human rights abuses.
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Smoke billows from fires in Dili.
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Rebuilding East Timor's Economy
If East Timor ever does become an independent country, becoming self-sufficient will be its first priority, and perhaps its biggest challenge.
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Members of the Free Aceh resistance.
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The Domino Effect
The impending vote in East Timor will certainly resound across Indonesia, especially in other restless provinces. As independence movements gain momentum in all corners of the massive archipelago, to conclude that the region is the next Yugoslaiva is the natural -- and common -- academic conclusion. If East Timor breaks free, will Ambon, Aceh, Bali, and Irian Jaya necessarily follow? Experts disagree.
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US Aid to Indonesia
Despite international condemnation of its violent occupation and administration of East Timor, Indonesia has remained a key U.S. ally and the recipient of billions of dollars in American military and economic aid over several decades.
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Who Are the Militias?
Squads of pro-integration East Timorese men patrol nearly every village in every district of East Timor. The Indonesian army clearly trains and arms them, but denies it. Experts say the Indonesians are trying to create the illusion of civil war. Who are these civilian terrorists, and why are they killing their neighbors?
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The Torture Industry
The Indonesian army and its henchmen among the militias have made torture both and art and a science. Political prisoners are forced to swallow metal rods, subjected to electric shock, hung by chains, thrown from helicopters, suffocated, and sliced with machetes.
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Raping the Future
The Indonesian government's social policy toward East Timor has included the systematic violation of sexual and reproductive rights of East Timorese women.
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Photos, top to bottom:AP Photo/Pool; P. Bronstein/Gamma Liaison; Andres Hernandez/Gamma Liaison;
courtesy of the
East Timor Action Network
