DILI, 09 november 2021 (TATOLI)-The President of National Committee 12 november, (NC12), Gregorio Saldanha requested the government of Timor-Leste to inter the ashes of the late Max Stahl at the Santa Cruz Cemetery Dili.
“Max Stahl is a true hero, this year we are commemorating November 12 without him. Thus we want his ashes to be interred in Santa Cruz,” said Gregorio Saldanha after attending the National Seminar on the Tragedy of November 12 organized by the Aquito Tanque da Guerra Foundation in Aimutin, Monday.
According to Saldanha, Max is a part of TL history that must be appreciated for his struggles and as one of those who participated, NC12 feels lost to someone very important because he was a part of the Santa Cruz Tragedy.
Timor-Leste fighter and British journalist Max Sthal, died on 28 October at around 4:30 pm at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane – Australia after a battle with cancer.
On 12 November 1991 Max Stahl photographed the Dili funeral procession which turned into a peaceful demonstration against the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.
The Indonesian army eventually used violence against East Timorese protesters at the Santa Cruz cemetery. At least 271 people died and another 270 disappeared. Wenner filmed the incident. One of his photos, showing a wounded Leví Bucar Côrte-Real in the arms of another man, served as a model for the memorial to the Santa Cruz massacre in Dili.
Max Stahl’s report made the world public aware of the forgotten war in East Timor. The publication caused great outrage around the world.
In 1999 Wenner returned to work in Timor – Leste when the country voted for independence from Indonesia in a referendum and the latest wave of violence swept the country.
Max Stahl’s report on the killings and expulsions was one of the reasons the UN sent the international intervention force INTERFET and took over East Timor.
Max Stahl is still known today as Max Stahl in Timor Leste. Wenner has lived in East Timor since 2003, where he has his own production company, Centro Audiovisual Max Stahl Timor-Leste (CAMSTL), and continues to work as a journalist.
With 3500 hours of film material, CAMSTL also serves as an archive of the Timor-Leste history and a training center for Timor-Leste filmmakers. The archives of the independence of Timor – Leste were included by UNESCO in 2013 as a world heritage document.
On 22 November 2019 Max Sthal received the highest award the Collar of the Ordem de Timor-Leste from the President of the Republic of Timor – Leste Francisco Guterres. On 9 December 2019, the national parliament of Timor – Leste also granted citizenship to Max Sthal.
Journalist: José Belarmino De Sá
Editor: Nelia Borges Rosario
