DILI, 9 november 2021 (TATOLI) – The 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, Timor-Leste will commemorate the day honoring the life, death, and eternal life of Timorese hero, Max Stahl and hundreds of young people who sacrificed themselves at the Santa Cruz cemetery, in 1991.
As the preparation went on, the Director of the 12th November Committee, Gregorio Saldanha, called all entities to honor and value the contribution of the young people during the 24-year resistance for Timor-Leste’s self-determination.
“We share the story of the Santa Cruz Massacre with our young generation, which will motivate them to contribute to the national development of the nation. Contributing to the national development is part of honoring the struggle of young people back in 1991,” Saldanha told TATOLI, in Dili, on saturday (6/10).
He said the 12th November Committee would keep motivating the new generation to contribute to the nation’s stability to produce more human resources, including doctors, engineers, pastors, nuns, police officers, etc.
The 12th November Committee is a small organization, which made up of many young people who were involved directly in the Santa Cruz Massacre, in 1991.
“I call on young people, particularly the young generation to keep studying to make your dreams come true to develop this beloved country. As well as for those who already got a job to work professionally to move Timor-Leste forward,” he said.
He hoped that with the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre, the Government will ratify the ‘International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,’ adding the ratification of the convention will pave ways for the negotiation of both nations (Indonesia and Timor-Leste) to find the remained of those who were killed during the 24-year resistance.
The Santa Cruz Massacre was a watershed moment for Timor-Leste’s independence movement.
During the weeks leading up to the massacre, tensions between the Indonesian military and pro-independence Timorese were on the rise, with the Indonesian military threatening to kill anyone who spoke out against Indonesia.
On November 12, 1991, the Indonesian military shot and killed over 250 Timorese citizens in the Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili,Timor-Leste’s capital. The event is known as the Santa Cruz massacre. The victims were part of a memorial procession in honor of Sebastio Gomez, a pro-independence supporter killed by the Indonesian military near Motael Catholic Church just weeks earlier on October 28
Thousands joined as the funeral procession made its way through the streets of Dili, with many carrying Timor-Leste flags and signs in favor of Timorese independence and the Catholic Church. Under Indonesian occupation, the Catholic Church had become one of the only places where Timorese could congregate and thus became central to the country’s independence movement.
While the procession remained orderly, the Indonesian military viewed it as a pro-independence demonstration and as such, a demonstration against Indonesia. As the procession reached the Santa Cruz cemetery, hundreds of Indonesian soldiers opened fire on the peaceful protesters.
The Santa Cruz Massacre was filmed and documented by British and Timorese filmmaker and journalist, Max Stahl, who arrived in East Timor (now Timor-Leste) in 1991.
Stahl died from cancer in a hospital in Brisbane, Australia, on Wednesday (28/10).
Jornalista : Arminda Fonseca
Editór : Cancio Ximenes
Translation: Filomeno Martins
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
