East Timor in Chaos: Governor Flees Amid Civil War
Governor Mario Lemos Pires fled the East Timorese capital of Dili on August 11, 1975, as fighting erupted between the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the Fretilin independence movement. Portugal, which had ruled East Timor for over 400 years, was itself in the throes of a revolution following the 1974 Carnation Revolution and had neither the will nor the resources to manage the decolonization process. The power vacuum created by Portugal's withdrawal gave Indonesia the pretext it needed. On December 7, 1975, Indonesian forces invaded East Timor, beginning a 24-year occupation that killed an estimated 100,000 to 180,000 Timorese through violence, famine, and disease, roughly a quarter of the population.
August 11, 1975
51 years ago
Key Figures & Places
East Timor
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Mário Lemos Pires
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Portuguese Timor
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Dili
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Timorese Democratic Union
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Fretilin
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Fretilin
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Timor-Leste
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Mário Lemos Pires
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Portuguese Timor
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Dili
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Timorese Democratic Union
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Fretilin
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Bürgerkrieg in Osttimor 1975
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