Towards Independence
Timorese groups fought a campaign of resistance against Indonesian forces for the independence of East Timor, during which many atrocities and human rights violations by the Indonesian army were reported. The Indonesian army is reported to have trained and supplied militias imported from Indonesia to terrorise the population. Foreign powers such as the Australian government, concerned to maintain good relations with Indonesia, had been consistently reluctant to assist a push for independence (despite popular sympathy for the East Timorese cause among many in the Australian electorate). However, the departure of President Suharto and a shift in Australian policy by the Howard Government in 1998 precipitated a proposal for a referendum on the question of independence. Ongoing lobbying by the Portuguese government also provided impetus.
Read more about this topic: History Of East Timor
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“Our treatment of both older people and children reflects the value we place on independence and autonomy. We do our best to make our children independent from birth. We leave them all alone in rooms with the lights out and tell them, “Go to sleep by yourselves.” And the old people we respect most are the ones who will fight for their independence, who would sooner starve to death than ask for help.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)
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—Charles Louis de Secondat Montesquieu (1689–1755)