ABSTRACT
In the wake of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974, which overthrew the Salazar-Caetano regime, several East Timorese political parties emerged as Portugal’s Armed Forces Movement announced a rapid decolonisation agenda1 Founded on 11 May 1974 the UDT initially favoured an ongoing confederation with Portugal: a position then being advanced by the new Portuguese President
General Spínola. The UDT later modified their position by early 1975 to one supporting independence, but with an extended decolonisation period under Portugal. The second party, the ASDT, founded on 20 May 1974, advocated a rapid transition to independence and a suite of moderate left-leaning social democratic and developmental policies. Arising from a short-lived Committee for the Defence of Labour (CIET 1974: 2), ASDT founders included Jose Ramos-Horta, Nicolau Lobato and Mari Alkatiri, with clear links to the earlier assimilado ‘anticolonial’ group.
