James Stanley Dunn (6 January 1928 – 31 January 2020) was an Australian public servant and

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

. He was Australia's consul in

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in th ...

from 1962 to 1964. In 1977 Dunn's report on war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Indonesian troops in East Timor was released, prompting international attention. He alleged that American weapons had been used in the

Indonesian invasion of East Timor The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus ( id, Operasi Seroja), began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to ...

in 1975. He also argued that Australia's policy related to East Timor was inadequate. His book ''Timor: A People Betrayed'' (published 1983) was a tribute to the tragedy of the Timorese. The book was launched by

Gordon McIntosh Gordon Douglas McIntosh (29 May 1925 – 10 March 2019) was a Scottish-born Australian politician. Early life Born in Glasgow, he was a toolmaker and served in the Royal Air Force from 1946 to 1948. Having moved to Australia, he was preside ...

at the Lakeside Hotel in Canberra. In a review published in ''Woroni'', Dunn was praised for his sincere tone. J.A.C. Mackie, writing for ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

'' wrote that the book was "disappointingly unconvincing". In the 2001 Queen's Birthday Honours, Dunn was made a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for "service to humanity as an advocate for the rights of the East Timorese." In 2002 he was awarded the rank of Grand Officer of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

(GOIH) by the

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

. On 30 August 2009, Dunn was presented with the award of the Medal of the

Order of Timor-Leste The Order of Timor-Leste ( pt, Ordem de Timor-Leste) is the highest honour currently awarded by East Timor. Established in 2009, the order was created after the original honours granted by East Timor. It is of a more general and broader nature t ...

by the President,

José Ramos-Horta José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Ministry of Fore ...

. He died on 31 January 2020;

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

and former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of East Timor,

Taur Matan Ruak José Maria Vasconcelos (born 10 October 1956), popularly known as Taur Matan Ruak (Tetum for "Two Sharp Eyes"), is an East Timorese politician who has served as the prime minister of East Timor since 22 June 2018. He was also President of Ea ...

, praised him as "one of the greatest international advocates for Timor Leste's self-determination".Taur Matan Ruak, Primeiro-Ministro de Timor-Leste

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, 4 February 2020

Works

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References

External links

* 1928 births 2020 deaths Ambassadors of Australia to East Timor Members of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste Grand Officers of the Order of Prince Henry {{Australia-diplomat-stub