East Timor during World War II

Newsweek reported "Bound together by Roman Catholicism and proximity, East Timorese fought alongside Australians in World War II, and Australia still suffers pangs of guilt for what followed..." (Australia's sense of loss in East Timor goes back decades, Sept. 20, 1999).

The other side of the coin is told by H.V. Quispel in his book entitled Dutch Indies in World War II. He states that the Japanese formed paramilitary units comprising "ill-natured" Chinese and indigenous Timorese to combat the allied guerrilla fighters. These units assaulted them constantly and betrayed their bases, resulting in air strikes by the Japanese. In many cases Timorese who applied themselves as carriers or guides turned out to be Japanese spies.

The militiamen were given a free hand to loot, torture, kill and rape women, which caused civil war. They burned villages surrounding the guerrilla bases to prevent them from getting shelter and food supplies from the people.

When the situation was most critical, Australia sent two corvettes and one destroyer to rescue the guerrilla fighters on the night of Nov. 30, 1942, but failed. The ships were bombed by the Japanese. One corvette was lost and the destroyer was heavily damaged. During the night of Dec. 10, 1942, under heavy rain and deep darkness they finally succeeded in evacuating them.

SUNARTO PRAWIROSUJANTO

Jakarta