Australia allowed invasion of East Timor: Records show Canberra had 3 days' warning but did nothing

Australia knew in advance of the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor and stood by for three days while Jakarta's troops prepared for the attack, secret documents released yesterday by the government revealed. Memos, cables and letters sent and received by Australia's foreign department...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Guardian (London)
Main Author Andrea Hopkins in Canberra
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 13.09.2000
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Summary:Australia knew in advance of the 1975 Indonesian invasion of East Timor and stood by for three days while Jakarta's troops prepared for the attack, secret documents released yesterday by the government revealed. Memos, cables and letters sent and received by Australia's foreign department between 1974 and 1976 confirmed that Australia gave tacit approval to Jakarta to annex the former Portuguese colony. Australia's two main political parties have come under fire for their actions at the time. Mr [Gough Whitlam]'s Labour party was in office when Indonesia's then president Suharto ordered the invasion, and Malcolm Fraser's Liberal/National coalition was in power by the time Indonesia annexed East Timor in 1976.
ISSN:0261-3077
1756-3224