east timor
A rough passage to independence

third edition
James Dunn

I can hardly think of anyone other than James Dunn in a position to undertake the long - duration history of our country.
Xanana Gusm�o, President, East Timor

For those wanting the most authoritative history of East Timor this book, with it's expert analysis and clarity of writing is widely regarded as the bible on the country.

'The luck of Timor is to be born in tears, to live in tears, and to die in tears,' wrote a visiting priest in the 1970s.

East Timor : A Rough Passage to Independence is a story of politics and the hidden world of international diplomatic deals. It is also the story of countless individuals, governments and international bodies who, ultimately, pulled together to change the luck of this tiny island.

From the days of the colonial Portuguese rule, through the tumultuous years of the Indonesian invasion, to the present day, this book is a disturbing portrayal of the complete failure of the international community to deal with the East Timor situation.

James Dunn highlights the disturbing gap between the noble rhetoric and the heartless reality of our international commitment and resolve.

More than the story of one tiny nation, East Timor reveals a great deal about 21st century world order and its weakness in relation to minorities and small states. However, there is a positive view: this book shows the strength of the United Nations when member nations fully support this world body- it is truly our best means to secure and maintain world peace.

The Author

James Dunn a leading authority on the Timorese situation. From 1962 to 1964 he was Australian consul in East Timor , after which he served at Australian missions in Western and Eastern Europe . In 1974 he returned to East Timor , this time on a fact-finding mission for the Whitlam government. In 1975, he returned again as leader of the Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA) team, which undertook relief work following the civil war between the UDT and Fretilin and sought to assess the longer term aid requirements of the Timorese people. From 1971 to 1985 he worked as Foreign Affairs advisor to the Federal Parliament of Australia.

After resigning from the Parliament in 1986 he worked on international human rights, in particular, a series of human rights congresses. In 1986 he was co-president of the Second World Congress on Human Rights at Dakar , Senegal . He became a member of the Federation des Droits de l'Homme , and was also founder president of the Human Rights Council of Australia.

The growing importance of international human rights and concern at the question of East Timor led James Dunn to address several European governments on the issue. He testified in favour of East Timor 's self-determination before a committee of the US Congress in 1977 and before the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly in the same year. In 1995 he gave the Coventry Peace Lecturer. In October 2001 he was commissioned to submit an expert's report on Crimes Against Humanity in East Timor , and appointed to help conduct a diplomacy course in Dili for potential diplomats.

For some years he has also been writing on general international relations as a foreign affairs columnist - first with the Bulletin, and more recently as a regular columnist with the Fairfax newspapers.

In 1999 he was awarded the ACFOA human rights award, in 2001 he was invested as a member of the Order of Australia (AM) and in 2002 he was conferred the honour of Grand Official of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator by Jorge Sampaio, the President of Portugal.

May 2003
Paperback: ISBN 1-920681-03-5
424 pages
230 x 150mm