In 1999, East Timor (now known as Timor-Leste) voted for independence after a period of intense violence and unrest which displaced thousands and devastated communities.
In response to the growing crisis, on 15 September 1999, the United Nations sanctioned the formation of the International Force East Timor (INTERFET) to intervene and restore peace and security to East Timor. This Australian-led multinational force had 22 contributing nations, including the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. In addition to restoring peace and security, INTERFET was tasked with assisting in its transition to an independent and democratic country.
Less than a week later, on 20 September 1999, INTERFET arrived in East Timor.
Under the command of Major General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the INTERFET forces achieved their mission to restore peace and security, to safeguard and support additional United Nations peace operations, and to distribute humanitarian aid.
Australia’s contribution to INTERFET was about 5,500 Australian service personnel, including elements of all three armed services, as well as police and members of other civilian agencies. It marked the largest deployment of Australian forces since the Vietnam War, and the first time Australia played a central role in forming and leading an international coalition force.
In the words of General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK AC (Mil) CVO MC (Ret’d), ‘the members of INTERFET came to Timor-Leste and saw not just the suffering of the people, but also their courage – the deployed were inspired by the nation, the people they came to help.’
Australia’s role in helping the people of East Timor build their nation and find a pathway to peace laid a cornerstone for the foundation of an enduring friendship between our two nations.
INTERFET completed its operational duties on 23 February 2000, with a formal handover of military command and control to the Headquarters of the UN Peacekeeping Force, which was part of the United Nations transitional administration in East Timor. But this was not the end of Australia’s commitment to Timor-Leste’s security, as Australians continued serving in East Timor with further UN peace operations and a stabilization force right up until 2013.
More than 18,000 Australians served in East Timor/Timor-Leste between 1999 and 2013. Tragically, six Australians (five members of the Australian Defence Force and one member of the Australian Federal Police) died during deployment or as a result of their service in East Timor/Timor-Leste.
On 20 September, we remember all Australians who served in Timor-Leste including with INTERFET and all other peace and stability operations. We honour their service, their fortitude under challenging conditions, and their dedication to stabilising and maintaining peace in the region.
Lest we forget.
To learn more about Australian peacekeepers in East Timor, visit Australian peacekeepers in East Timor (Timor Leste) from 1999 to 2013 - Anzac Portal.
A crowd of Timorese gathered around Captain Smith (wearing a red cross armband), a female medic as she points to her eye, trying to communicate with a Timorese patient in a medical clinic run from the back of an Australian Army land rover in the village of Memo (Memo, Maliana District, East Timor. 17 November 1999).
Image courtesy of the Australian War Memorial.