teaching east timor in international studies: andrew masterton, caulfield grammar school our role in...
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Teaching East Timor in International Studies:
Andrew Masterton, Caulfield Grammar School
Our role in International Studies, I believe, is not to sanitise and not to dramatise the issue, but to be objective in relaying what can and should be, an emotive case study for our students.
In analysing East Timor it is important to understand, but not to judge the people for the state of their land.
•What is a state?
•How does the world create a new state?
•Colonialism/ Decolonisation
•The Cold War
•Human Rights
•Refugees
•Culture
•History
•The people – their stories
•The viability of small states
•Fascism/ Communism / Socialism
•Grassroots Action
•Neo-colononial / Neo-imperial
Teaching East Timor: A brainstorm
What an amazing set of concepts we can teach using this case study.•Where is East Timor?
•Why does East Timor exist?
•Indonesia
•The Dutch / Portuguese
•The United Nations
•Power
•The national interest
•Sovereignty
•Security
•Nationalism
•Sacrifice
•The Cold War
Five key stagesFive key stages
1600’s1600’s A Portuguese colony.A Portuguese colony. 1975 1975 The Indonesian The Indonesian invasion.invasion.
1975-1999 Indonesian occupation1975-1999 Indonesian occupation 1999 1999 The gaining of The gaining of independenceindependence
2006 2006 Political difficulties.Political difficulties.
How did East Timor succeed in becoming an independent
state?
3 FACTORS:
•The armed resistance
•The civil resistance
•The international diplomatic front
http://www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au/cartoon_47.html
http://www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au/cartoon_2077.html
Country profile: East Timor Country profile: East Timor
East Timor's road to East Timor's road to independence - independence - achieved on 20 May achieved on 20 May 2002 - was long and 2002 - was long and traumatic. traumatic. The people of the The people of the first new nation of first new nation of the century suffered the century suffered some of the worst some of the worst atrocities of modern atrocities of modern times. times. An independent report An independent report has said at least has said at least 100,000 Timorese died 100,000 Timorese died as a result of as a result of Indonesia's 25-year Indonesia's 25-year occupation, which occupation, which ended in 1999. ended in 1999.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1508119.stm
Timeline: East Timor A chronology of key events:
1600s - Portuguese invade Timor, set up trading post and use island as source of sandalwood.
1942 - Japanese invade, fighting battles with Australian troops. Up to 60,000 East Timorese are killed. Japan in control until 1945.
1974 - Anti-Fascist revolution in Portugal leads to promise to free colonies, encouraging parties to prepare for new future.
1975 December - Indonesia invades, using its fight against communism as a pretext. It annexes territory as its 27th province, a move not recognised by the UN. Strong resistance to Indonesian rule followed by repression and famine in which 200,000 people are thought to have died.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1504243.stm
Inside Indonesia – www.insideindonesia.org
A special issue on East Timor No. 71 July-Sept 2002.
Some of the articles include:
•Timor's women: After the brutal occupation, gender violence remains a reality
•Born in the wrong era: Amidst globalisation, can East Timor still be a people's alternative?
•The forgotten of West Timor: Poverty, refugees, militias, and too many soldiers
RESOURCES ON THE NET
http://www.timorseajustice.org/
The campaignNewsTake actionFAQsBackgroundResources in disputeInternational lawPress releases Media CoverageContactsLinksEvents
US calls
for fai
r Timor
deal
By Nigel
Wilson,
March 11
, 2004
The Timor Sea Treaty: Are the Issues Resolved?
Dr Stephen SherlockForeign Affairs, Defence and
Trade Group18 June 2002
Empathy piece:
Imagine the following scenario. It is December 1999 and the United Nations international peacekeeping force, INTERFET, has been in East Timor since September. The UN has also set up an interim government, UNTAET, to administer East Timor until it has set up its own government. Time magazine has flown over two of its best journalists to report on the situation. Each journalist must report on a different aspect of the conflict. Their briefs are as follows:
Journalist One:Focus on the background to the conflict in East Timor. This report must provide a brief summary of East Timor's history from around 1520 onwards. It should pay particular attention to the years 1974 to 1976 and should explain the aims of the East Timorese political parties which were formed during this time.
Journalist Two: Focus on the involvement of the United Nations and the INTERFET Force. Our readers will be particularly interested in the guidelines INTERFET are supposed to follow and in the governing role played by the United Nations. This will include information on the temporary administration, UNTAET, set up by the UN.
http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/archives/secondary/casestud/east-timor/1/history-in-making-1.html
International Politics –
Throughout Units 1 and 4, it is possible for East Timor to be the key case study from which many concepts are researched and compared from the vantage point of the struggle of a nation over the last 30 years.
Unit 1: Politics, power and people
This unit introduces students to the study of politics by considering key concepts and ideas including representation, citizenship, power and democracy.
Unit 1: Politics, power and people
AREA OF STUDY 1
Democracies and dictatorships
In researching East Timor as a democracy students will realise how fragile a concept and reality it actually is. That it takes time, effort and unity to keep an impoverished state together. What makes East Timor so special in the international community? Students would learn the underlying values, ideologies, political structures and processes that define nation states. They would need to consider the historical, social and political context of each system, structures of government, the means of exercising power, representation and the extent of popular participation.
Students could compare East Timor with the military dictatorship of Burma (Myanmar)
Unit 1: Politics, power and people
AREA OF STUDY 2
Leading people
Students are to consider the impact of a political leader. Xanana Gusmao comes immediately to mind. Students would consider his contribution to national and international political life, and would develop an understanding of the context in which he has been able to exercise power. They would analyse factors that have contributed to promoting or undermining his power and influence: for example, social movements, popular support and the military. Xanana’s struggle for East Timor’s independence and the current crisis would provide plenty of material.
Compare the leadership of Aung Sang Sui Kyi and her struggle to lead her nation.
Unit 2: The global picture
This unit focuses on the nature of contemporary international relations and the events that shaped them. There is an opportunity to look at the role of the United Nations, globalisation, refugees, human rights Other concepts include power
AREA OF STUDY 2The international community
Students have the opportunity to analyse the way in which the international community works together … or not. How did to bring peace and independence to East Timor. How did it manage the conflict and instability. The issue of the UN, the UNSC, peacekepers, human rights, NGOs and refugees are raised. The role of ASEAN brings the concept of regions and organisations.
Compare this with the War Against Terror and the situation in Iraq or the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan.
International StudiesUnit 3: Global issues and conflicts
•AREA OF STUDY 1Globalisation and internationalism
While East Timor would not be a major case study, references to human rights, the UN, peacekeepers and the way in which internationalism proposes to resolve instability allows for students to have concrete examples.
Unit 4: International relations•AREA OF STUDY 2
Australian foreign policyAustralia’s relations with both Indonesia and East Timor can be a significant case study in this Unit. What was Australia’s response in 1975 and why? What events lead to Australia’s shift in 1999? And consequently, Australia’s response in 2006. An investigation into Australia’s economic negotiations with East Timor over the oil and gas adds another dimension to a student’s understanding of how Australia moves within the region.
East Timor allows the students to understand the way in which foreign policy changes over time while the foundation of foreign policy does not – the pursuit of a state’s national interest.
For a student that has followed units 1 through to 4, a course that has significantly used East Timor and related comparisons as a case study clearly allows these students to gain a sold appreciation, not just for a significant state in our region, but for the major concepts of International Politics.
Thank you
For a copy of this powerpoint please email:
http://www.gtav.asn.au/Materials/e_timor.htm