Peter Job was an activist for East Timorese freedom and worked as part of the clandestine radio link between the resistance and Australian supporters in 1978. He has a PhD in international and political studies from the University of New South Wales and is author of A Narrative of Denial: Australia and the Indonesian violation of East Timor (2021).
In 1975, Indonesian dictator Suharto occupied East Timor. Despite the West’s support for Suharto, the people of East Timor won their independence 24 years later — and their struggle may be a precedent for Palestinian liberation today.
After East Timor declared independence from Portugal in 1975, Indonesian dictator Suharto ordered an invasion and tried to crush the national liberation movement. Australia knew Indonesian forces were carrying out massacres — and helped hide it from the world.