The Liquiçá Church massacre was a mass-killing that occurred in April 1999, during

East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...

's bid for independence. It was the first case to be heard by the Second Special Panel.

Events and Aftermath

During the event, up to some 200 East Timorese people were murdered at the Liquica priest's house next to the local Catholic church. The event left many witnesses, including the local Catholic Priest,

Raphael dos Santos Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

. The total number of victims at the hands of

pro-Indonesia militia During the East Timor independence referendum in 1999, pro-Indonesia militias refers to paramilitary militias in East Timor that were loyal to the Indonesian government. They operated during the final years of the Indonesian occupation of East Ti ...

s (primarily the

Besi Merah Putih Besi Merah Putih (also known as BMP), meaning ' red and white iron' in Indonesian, is the official name of an East Timor pro-Indonesia militia operating in the district of Liquiçá, and originating in the village of Maubara. Acts of murder, tortu ...

) and Indonesian soldiers and police in Liquica has never been fully determined, ranging from a low of five claimed by

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, to more than 200 by local sources. The crime was first investigated by Australian diplomats at the invitation of the Indonesian Government, but the report wasn't released until 2001.East Timor in Transition: An Australian Policy Challenge, DFAT, 2001, pp185-9 Later it was investigated by a team of

International Police The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

which became known as the

UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment The UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment was the common title for an elite investigative unit created in the war-torn and newly liberated country of East Timor in November 1999, under the direction of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East ...

, serving under the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

and representing the countries of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, as well as

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear recon ...

Crime Scene Specialists A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcemen ...

. The unit was initially commanded by police officer Steve Minhinett, of Great Britain. It was later commanded by American police officer Karl Clark, and relied heavily on American intelligence officer Allen Williams. This investigation led to a large number of

exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s of the dead, witness statements taken, and ultimately charges of assassination, torture, forced deportation and murder being filed against 21 Indonesian Officers, and pro-Indonesian East Timorese Militia. The Liquiçá Church massacre and the attack at

Manuel Carrascalão Manuel Guterres Viegas Carrascalão (Atauro, 16 December 1933 – Dili, 11 July 2009) was an Indonesian parliamentarian and prominent East Timorese independence leader. The Carrascalão family is of mestiço ancestry; On May 22, 1952, at the ag ...

's house were two of the ten priority investigations of the

Serious Crimes Unit The Serious Crimes Unit was the official title given to an elite unit of International Police investigators during the United Nations 1999 to 2004 mission in East Timor. The unit ultimately took over the investigation of Human Rights violations ...

. This case was the first of several indictments arising from these investigations to reach trial. The very first trial was to be heard by the Second Special Panel, consisting of Judge Benfeito Mosso Ramos (

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

) presiding, Judge

Antero Luís Antero is a Finnish given name and the Spanish version of the Latin name Anterus. It may refer to: * Antero Abreu (1927–2017), Angolan author and poet * Antero Alli (1952–), Finnish astrologer * Ántero Asto, Peruvian politician * Antero de ...

(

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

) and Judge

António Helder Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

(

). The hearing was conducted in five languages:

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

Tetum , nativename=Tetun , states= Indonesia East Timor , speakers=, mostly in Indonesia , date=2010–2011 , ref=e18 , speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor , familycolor=Austronesian , fam2=Malayo-Polynesian , fam3= Central–East ...

and

Tokodede Tokodede (also known as Tukude, Tocodede, Tokodé, and Tocod) is one of the languages of East Timor, spoken by about 39,000 people in the municipality of Liquiçá, especially the administrative posts of Maubara and Liquiçá along the northe ...

, the local language of the

Liquiçá Liquiçá (Tetum: ''Likisá'') is a coastal city in East Timor, 32 km to the west of Dili, the national capital. Liquiçá is the capital of Liquiçá District. The city has a population of 5,005 inhabitants. History A part of the coloni ...

area. The court heard detailed

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

from the accused about involvement in the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, including a

ceremony in which they were allegedly forced to drink a cocktail of alcohol, animal blood and drugs before killing, as a part of the attack on the Liquiçá Church. Testimony implicated the direct participation in the attacks by Indonesian soldiers, who were allegedly dressed in civilian clothes to look like militia members. Leoneto Martins,

Tomé Diogo Tomé () is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is bordered by Coelemu to the north, Ránquil and Florida to the east, Penco to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The local economy is based mainly on textile ma ...

Eurico Guterres Eurico Barros Gomes Guterres (born in Waitame, Uatolari, Viqueque, Portuguese Timor, 4 July 1969) is a pro-Indonesian, anti-Timorese independence militiaman recruited by the Indonesian military during East Timor's bid for independence between 1 ...

and

João da Silva Tavares João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

were the primary suspects and leading figures during the

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

, all were East Timorese.

References

External links

Sydney Herald, Williams and Other Investigators Estimates

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20150924021358/http://www.gendercide.org/case_timor.html Genocide Watch, Besi Merah Puti - Alan Williams
Health Alliance International website
- More information on health projects in East Timor by HAI
Jornal Nacional - Semanário
(Portuguese)
Links to Timor Leste government sites

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation

Suara Timor Lorosae
- (Tetum and Indonesian)
CIA World Factbook on East Timor

- Extensive links on East Timor
Governo Timor Leste
- Official governmental site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liquica Church Massacre 1999 in Christianity Massacres in 1999 Indonesian occupation of East Timor Massacres in East Timor 1999 in East Timor Massacres in religious buildings and structures April 1999 events in Asia Attacks on churches in Asia

Events and Aftermath

See also

References

External links