East Timor: A Memoir of the Negotiations for Independence

Following the end of the Salazar dictatorship and the establishment of democracy in Portugal in 1975, East Timor declared its independence from Portugal, but a failure to transfer power in an orderly manner lead to a terrible civil war and military intervention by Indonesia. The United Nations condemned Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor and called for an ＂＂exercise of the right of self-determination by the East Timorese.＂＂ Finally, on October 31, 1999, after years of fighting and the deaths of more than 200,000 East Timorese, the last Indonesian troops left the country. This is the memoir of Jamsheed Marker, Personal Representative of the secretary general of United Nations for East Timor, who was responsible for keeping the United Nations’ and Kofi Annan’s ideals at the forefront of the East Timor negotiations between Portugal and Indonesia. He tells the story, including all of the setbacks, false hopes, tragedies and silver linings, of the United Nations’ involvement in East Timor that brought about the international agreements enabling East Timor to go from being a colony to being an independent, democratic nation. He also shares the story of the remarkable people who have endured more than 300 years of neglectful and violent colonial occupation followed by 25 years of a neighboring country’s exploitative and brutal domination.

Jamsheed Marker, former special adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations in New York City and former diplomat-in-residence at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, is now retired. He divides his time between Karachi and New York.