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The Santa Cruz Massacre
November 12, 1991
"When
film footage of the massacre at Santa Cruz*. was broadcast to
audiences around the world it provoked a significant international
outcry against the practices of the Indonesian military in
Timor-Leste.... However,
... even in the face of strong international demands to bring
those who had killed unarmed demonstrators to account, the
institutional practices of ABRI/TNI provided the majority of
perpetrators who were most responsible with effective impunity."
-- Chega!
Final Report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and
Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) |
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On November 12, 1991, Indonesian troops fired upon a peaceful memorial
procession to a cemetery in Dili, East Timor that had turned into a
pro-independence demonstration. More than 271 East Timorese were killed that day
at the Santa Cruz cemetery or in hospitals soon after. An
equal number were disappeared and are believed dead. This massacre, unlike
many others which occurred during the course of Indonesia's U.S.-backed
occupation, was filmed and photographed by international journalists. Amy
Goodman and Allan Nairn, two U.S. reporters, were beaten during the
massacre.
The Santa Cruz Massacre sparked the international solidarity movement
for East Timor, including the founding of the East Timor Action Network,
and was the catalyst for congressional action to stem the flow of U.S.
weapons and other military assistance for Indonesia’s brutal security
forces. Ali Alatas, former foreign minister of Indonesia, called the
massacre a "turning point," which set in motion the events
leading to East Timor's coming independence.
The people of East Timor now have their freedom and
are an
independent nation, but they have yet to see justice for decades
human rights crimes
inflicted on their people and country by the Indonesian military.
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| Casualties of the November 12, 1991 Massacre at Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili,
East Timor |
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The attached lists were compiled by the Portuguese solidarity group "A Paz e
Possivel em Timor-Leste" (Peace is Possible in East Timor). It was published in
leading Portuguese newspapers in November, 1992. Jose Ramos-Horta described how the data
was obtained:
"... has been compiled by 12 teams of East Timorese students, school teachers,
priests, nuns, nurses, paramedics, hospital staff, workers a the morgues, totaling 72
researchers, working round the clock for three months, interviewing household members in
each "bairro," immediately after 12 November 1991.
The preliminary report reached Lisbon in February and was handed over to two specialist
groups in Portugal that have been investigating human rights abuses in East Timor for more
than 10 years. A copy was channeled to Amnesty International for independent verification.
It took six months for mass of the detailed information sent from East Timor to be
processed and analyzed. The researchers took extreme care in double-checking each piece of
information."
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Background and more |
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Timorese
families saddened by fruitless mass grave hunt
(September 1, 2008)
In search of a mass grave near Dili
(August 2008)
Spirits of the dead summoned to heal old wounds
(August 2008)
In
search of a mass grave near Dili
(August 2008)
Timor's mass
graves to be excavated (February 18,
2008)
Hope in hunt for graves of East Timor massacre
(December 22, 2007)
Knowing
Where the Bodies Are Buried. The Indonesian Generals -- and
Putin -- Laugh, Allan Nairn (December
03, 2007)
Concern:
Remembering the Santa Cruz massacre (Nov. 2007)
15th Anniversary of Massacre
ETAN: On 15th Anniversary of Timor Massacre Rights Network Calls for Justice;
ETAN Urges Administration, New Congress to Support International Tribunal
Fifteen Years Later
East Timor Massacre Victims Still Waiting for Justice By
Ben Terrall and
John M. Miller
Democracy Now!:
15 Years After East Timor Massacre, Calls for
Accountability Continue (November 13th, 2006) Audio and video
The Wire:
East Timor 15 years on from the Dili massacre
Produced by Erica Vowles (November 13th, 2006) Audio
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Eyewitness Accounts
STL:
Domingos Barreto jailed just for being at 12 November 1991
Demo (May 2008)
Amy Goodman's radio
documentary
Massacre: The Story of East Timor
Back From the Dead - a survivor
interviewed
Senate Testimony of Allan Nairn - witness to the Santa Cruz
massacre.
Excerpt
from East Timor’s Unfinished Struggle: Inside the
Timorese Resistance by Constâncio Pinto and Matthew Jardine
Interview
with Max Stahl
In 1994,
a U.S. court issued a $14 million judgment against General Sintong Panjaitan for his role in the massacre.
Tenth Anniversary
of Santa Cruz Massacre Prompts Calls for Justice for East Timor
Coverage
of 10th Anniversary of Santa Cruz Massacre
Congressional Letters on 10th Anniversary of Santa Cruz Massacre:
House;
Senate
(11/29/01)
Death of an
Activist - Kamal Bhamadhaj (May 2000)
A Mother’s Lament at the
Ninth Anniversary of the Santa Cruz Massacre
(and other video from the 9th anniversary
remembrance events)
John
Pilger on the massacre with photo and film clip
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
and the Santa Cruz Massacre
Photographs
Photos from
November 1998 re-enactment
More on Justice
and Human Rights
page
Order
video & audio documentaries with footage of the massacre
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