On August 30, 1999, in a United Nations-sponsored ballot, East
Timor voted for independence from Indonesia and for an end to a
brutal military occupation. Upon the announcement of the result,
Indonesian troops and their paramilitary proxies launched a wave of
terror that, over three weeks, resulted in the murder of more than
1,000 people, the rape of untold numbers of women and girls, the
razing of 70 percent of the country's buildings and infrastructure,
and the forcible deportation of 250,000 people. In recounting these
horrible acts and the preceding events, Joseph Nevins shows that
what took place was only the final scene in more than two decades
of atrocities. More than 200,000 people, about a third of the
population, lost their lives due to Indonesia's 1975 invasion and
subsequent occupation, making the East Timorese case
proportionately one of the worst episodes of genocide since World
War II. In A Not-So-Distant Horror, Nevins reveals the
international complicity at the center of the East Timor tragedy.
In his view, much if not all of the horror that plagued East Timor
in 1999 and in the 24 preceding years could have been avoided had
countries like Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and especially
the United States, not provided Indonesia with valuable political,
economic, and military assistance, as well as diplomatic cover. The
author explores issues of accountability for East Timor's plight
and probes the meaning of what took place in terms of international
institutions and law. Examining issues such as violence, the
geography of memory, and social power, Nevins makes clear that the
case of East Timor has much to tell us about the contemporary world
order.
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