Members of an international crime scene investigation team exhume human remains in the Liquica ...

Members of an international crime scene investigation team exhume human remains in the Liquica district. Left to right: local East Timorese man; Senior Sergeant Lee Gage, Northern Territory Police; Corporal Wayne Fee, Australian Military Police; Warrant Officer Class 2 Lee Parker, Australian Military Police investigator; Matt Skinner, Assistant Forensic Anthropologist; and Dr Niriellage Chandrasiri, a forensic pathologist from Sri Lanka. In April 1999 up to 200 East Timorese were murdered at a Liquica catholic church by members of the pro-Indonesian militia, and Indonesian soldiers. After the massacre, many of the victim's bodies were moved from the church area, in an attempt to hide the scale of the atrocity. Following the overwhelming vote for independence by the East Timorese on 30 August 1999 in the United Nations (UN) sponsored referendum, the pro-Indonesian militia launched a campaign of destruction, arson and murder, killing approximately 1500 people and forcing 300 000 others into West Timor as refugees. On 15 September, the UN issued a resolution, calling for a multinational force to restore peace and security and facilitate humanitarian assistance operations. By 20 September 1999, the first coalition force began deploying to East Timor as part of Australian-led International Force for East Timor (INTERFET). Five months later in February 2000, INTERFET handed control of military operations over to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), who were to maintain security, establish an effective administration and develop civil and social services.