Veterans and Heroes: The Militarised Male Elite in Timor-Leste

Abstract

The contemporary roles and relations of men in the nation of Timor-Leste (East Timor) are explored in this article, focusing on the construction of a hegemonic militarised masculinity in the post-conflict period. This construct is a cornerstone of contemporary society established during the twenty-four-year resistance to Indonesian occupation (1975–99) and the establishment of the new nation in 2002. Unsurprisingly, this society affords superior relations of power and privilege to the veterans and heroes who fought and suffered as part of the nationalist armed struggle for independence. This privileged, essentially male elite now reproduce relations of power that dominate less powerful men, women, and their respective concerns in the new state. While the most obvious negative impact of this social structure is the conflict between the male elites that led to violent conflict in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2015, the development implications include growing inequality in the new society. Living with rigid gender roles and expectations causes health and psychological problems for many Timorese across the gender spectrum. Local programs exist to combat these challenges but the women’s movement and its allies require much more assistance and solidarity to effectively challenge the status quo.

Keywords:

• Masculinity
• Gender Relations
• Timor-Leste
• Political Leadership
• Militarisation

ORCID

Sarah Niner http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2175-965X

Notes

1 Timor, Portuguese Timor, East Timor, Timor Loro’sae or Timor-Leste? There is debate about the name of the territory of East Timor. During the period of Portuguese colonisation it was usually referred to as ‘Portuguese Timor’ in English language contexts and, simply, ‘Timor’ in Portuguese. After the Indonesian invasion it was more often referred to as ‘East Timor’ in English language contexts, or as RDTL (the Republica Democratica Timor-Leste / the Democratic Republic of East Timor) by the independence movement in resistance and Portuguese contexts. It was widely referred to in Tetun as ‘Timor Loro’sae’ during the later resistance period. While this term fell by the wayside when the country was again declared RDTL in 2002, ‘Timor-Leste’ was also used, and ‘East Timor’ used to refer to the country in English. Some Timorese object to this, arguing that everyone should use the official name chosen after such a long struggle. English language editors do not agree, complying with stylistic conventions that the English translation should be used when writing in English. I have tried to use the appropriate term in each context.

2 A study carried out in 2000 documented that nearly all Timorese had experienced at least one traumatic event during the Indonesian occupation. Three-quarters had experienced combat and more than half had come close to death: 12 per cent had lost children to political violence; 57 per cent had been tortured; 22 per cent had witnessed the murder of relatives or friends. One-third was classified as having post-traumatic stress—someone in every family—and 20 per cent of people believed they would never recover (Modvig et al. 2000, 1763). The type of masculinities created and prevailing in a post-conflict environment such as Timor is the subject of discussion in this article.

3 This phrase and all other non-English terms in this article are in Tetun, the national language of Timor-Leste.

4 The national rate of MPI (multi-dimensional poverty index) is 68 per cent, as reported in the UNDP Human Development Report, but there is a great deal of variation in the poverty rate by district, the lowest being in the capital of Dili (Cornwell, Inder, and Datt 2016). The latter research paper provides comprehensive recent information on poverty in Timor-Leste.

5 In the 2013 Masculinity study (Niner, Cornwell, and Benevides 2015, 70–71) general principles of gender equity (women’s equal rights to study, work and respect) were agreed to by over 89 per cent of survey respondents, allowing us to project broad societal support. The acceptance of attitudes of gender inequality was concentrated in situations relating to men maintaining power and control within marital relationships. Although overwhelming agreement was expressed for young women's equal rights to education and work, this was not reflected in changes within the household that would enable women to study or work outside the home more easily.

6 These shocking statistics are from the Asia Foundation (2016) report Understanding Violence against Women and Children in Timor-Leste: Findings from the Nabilan Baseline Study – Summary Report. It continues: ‘Overall, three-quarters of women (72 per cent) and men in both sites (77−78 per cent) experienced at least one form of physical and/or sexual abuse before age 18. Nearly half of all women (49 per cent) and over one-third of men in both sites (36 per cent) had witnessed their mother experience physical violence from her male intimate partner’.

7 The Commission for Truth, Reception and Reconciliation (CAVR) final report, Chega!, presented to President Xanana and the parliament on 31 October 2005 estimated the total number of conflict-related deaths during the period 1975–99 between 102,800 and 183,000.

8 For a longer account, see Niner (2009, 227–233).

9 For background on Reinado, see Niner (2008).

10 Ruak's comments in the original Portuguese: ‘Uma das características dos militares é ser frontal demais, não ser diplomático. Isso cria embaraço. É um defeito meu. Agora estou a ter que aprender, mas antes de aprender os outros vão ter que levar, explicou entre risos’, in Lusa (Antonio Sampaio), Presidente timorense considera normal a tensão política e nega ataques pessoais (C/VÍDEO), 10 March 2017, Díli.

11 While much analysis about Timor-Leste has been gender-blind, there are studies focused on gender and others demonstrating an awareness of gender relations in their investigation of particular men, groups of men or masculinity that I draw upon heavily in this article. These studies include de Araujo (2004, 2005, 2012); The Asia Foundation (2016); Harrison (2016); Lotfali (2006); Myrttinen (2003, 2005, 2012); Scambary (2006, 2009, 2013); and Streicher (2008).