| Accession Number | P04315.060 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Black & white - Film original negative panorama |
| Maker |
Dupont, Stephen |
| Place made | East Timor |
| Date made | 2000 |
| Conflict |
East Timor, 1999-2013 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
| Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
Xanana Gusmao gazes out over Dili from the verandah of a seminary at Dare, East Timor. He is ...
Description
Xanana Gusmao gazes out over Dili from the verandah of a seminary at Dare, East Timor. He is attending the first National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) congress where he was elected president of CNRT by approximately 400 delegates. In the past, he had used the seminary as a refuge whilst hiding from Indonesian troops. After approximately seven years of house arrest, Xanana Gusmao, leader of the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), and its armed wing, the Armed Forces of National Liberation of East Timor (FALINTIL), was released on 7 September 1999, and fled to Australia. Following the announcement of the pro-independence ballot result in September 1999, pro-Indonesian militias launched a campaign of arson, murder and destruction across the territory. Xanana Gusmao returned when stability was restored by the Australian led International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). Rapid developments in the political process and the general international recognition of Gusmao’s statesmanship accorded him recognition as leader of the East Timorese people. In May 2002, Xanana Gusmao became President of an independent Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.