The Centre for Southeast Asia Research at SPPGA invites you to a webinar about Timor Leste’s journey to independence and the implications of this history for the ongoing Palestinian struggle for self-determination.
About the Talk:
Timor-Leste fought for 24 years for its right of self-determination and ultimately succeeded in becoming an independent nation-state after a UN-supervised referendum in 1999. It was a struggle that, for many years, seemed to be a lost cause. A much larger nation-state, Indonesia, had annexed it in 1976. While the UN recognized Timor-Leste’s right to self-determination, the United States and other Western countries nullified international law by supporting Indonesia’s occupation of the country — an occupation that caused a genocide. How did beleaguered Timor-Leste become independent when arrayed against these powerful forces? What are the implications of this experience for the Palestinian struggle for self-determination? Now that Timor-Leste is independent, how are its government and civil society working to support the Palestinians whose right to self-determination remains unfulfilled?
Speakers:
John Roosa, Professor of History, University of British Columbia
David Webster, Professor of History and Global Studies, Bishop’s University
Berta Tilman, writer and feminist in Timor-Leste
