ABSTRACT
The resistance against Indonesian occupation in Timor-Leste went through a complex development. This part provides an overview of the Resistance movement including its emergence during the period of Fretilin administration following the coup [attempt by the UDT party in the capital, Dili, in August 1975]; the effect of destruction of the Fretilin bases in 1978-79 by the Indonesian military including the loss of a number of Fretilin/Falintil leaders and the end of the protracted people’s war strategy; the regeneration of Falintil, the armed front of the Resistance, after 1987 and its structure and strategies until the referendum in 1999; and the structure and strategies of the clandestine front over the course of the occupation. The third front in the Resistance movement, the diplomatic front, is discussed in chapter 7.1: The Right to Self-Determination, and so is not considered in detail here. The Commission notes that this chapter is only a first step in understanding the complex history of this aspect of Timorese history and that there is considerable scope for further research in the future.
