Justus M. van der Kroef

The Problem of Portuguese Timor

for NEARLY a year, one of the more remote corners of insular Southeast Asia, the eastern half of the island of Timor, has been torn by violent clashes among rival political factions contesting the political future of the territory. The Portuguese colonial administration, weakened by the uncertainties and instability of government in distant Lisbon, has lost its precarious hold in the wake of an Indonesian military invasion in early December. Timors civil war has been a particular concern to the security-conscious regime of President Suharto in Indonesia; and because of Indonesias expanding military involvement in the struggle, the future of the territory has now become an international problem. This essay seeks to describe the origins and course of the Timor crisis.