Flag of the National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRT)

The National Council of Maubere Resistance (Portuguese: Conselho Nacional da Resistência Maubere, or CNRM) was an umbrella organisation of

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-west ...

ese individuals and organisations dedicated to resisting the Indonesian occupation of 1975–1999. In March 1986,

Fretilin The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor ( pt, Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a centre-left political party in East Timor. They presently hold 23 of 65 seats in the National Parliam ...

and the

Timorese Democratic Union The Timorese Democratic Union ( pt, União Democrática Timorense, UDT) is a conservative political party in East Timor. It was the first party to be established in the country on May 11, 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. ...

(UDT) announced the formation of a coalition. In a re-organisation of the resistance structure, resistance leader

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from ...

declared the resistance force

Falintil The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (, FALINTIL) originally began as the military wing of the political party FRETILIN of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to FRETILIN's political conflict wit ...

to be a non-partisan 'national' army. In 1988, he relinquished membership of Fretilin, believing the fight for a free East Timor transcended political loyalties. He established the National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRM) and was declared leader.

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 Minister of For ...

became external spokesperson. The term Maubere was coined by Ramos-Horta in the 1970s. Initially used by the Portuguese to describe illiterate members of the Mambai, one of the largest ethnic groups of East Timor, it was reinvented as a badge of national pride by Fretilin. In April 1998, all Timorese political parties gathered in Peniche, Portugal and agreed to join the CNRM under a new name. Accordingly, it was renamed the National Council of Timorese Resistance (Portuguese: Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense), or CNRT. In May 1998, Indonesian president Suharto stepped down and his successor B. J. Habibie offered East Timor "special autonomy." The CNRT rejected the proposal on 11 August 1998, calling instead for a referendum on independence and the release of Xanana Gusmão from prison. The

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

agreed to hold a referendum allowing the Timorese to choose autonomy (represented on the ballot paper by the Indonesian flag) or independence (represented on the ballot paper by the CNRT flag). 78.5% opted for independence. After mass violence blamed on pro-Indonesian militias, the UN took over administration and accepted the CNRT as its Timorese counterpart organization.Geoffrey Robinson, If You Leave Us Here We Will Die In 2000, the CNRT held its first congress inside East Timor, in Dili. With independence slated for 2002, the CNRT dissolved in 2001 to allow for a multi-party democracy.

References

Bibliography

* Dunn, James. ''Timor: A People Betrayed''. Sydney:

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

, 1996. . * Gusmao, Xanana ''To Resist is to Win: The Autobiography of Xanana Gusmao, with selected letters & speeches' ' Edited by Sarah Niner, Melbourne: urora Books 2000. . Separatism in Indonesia Indonesian occupation of East Timor National liberation movements Political organizations based in East Timor {{EastTimor-poli-stub