Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)

Despite its devastating impact on the population, the 1977–1979 famine in East Timor scarcely features in global studies of hunger. This article traces how the famine was dealt with in international politics during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999), and in Timor-Leste during the United Nations a...

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Main Author: Hearman, Vannessa
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis 2022
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/SR200201031
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89201
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author Hearman, Vannessa
author_facet Hearman, Vannessa
author_sort Hearman, Vannessa
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Despite its devastating impact on the population, the 1977–1979 famine in East Timor scarcely features in global studies of hunger. This article traces how the famine was dealt with in international politics during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999), and in Timor-Leste during the United Nations administration and as an independent nation-state. The East Timor case extends our knowledge of the workings of conflict-induced famines, provides insights into the attempts by transnational activists and diasporic actors to mobilise international action on crises such as famine, and examines the options for dealing with famine and its community-wide legacies in post-conflict societies including under a transitional justice model. By analysing the activities of the country’s transitional justice institution, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Comissão de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliação, CAVR) and its successor, the Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), as well as grassroots initiatives, the article outlines some of the challenges of delivering justice for famine victims and survivors in post-conflict societies.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-892012024-10-08T04:25:18Z Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979) Hearman, Vannessa Despite its devastating impact on the population, the 1977–1979 famine in East Timor scarcely features in global studies of hunger. This article traces how the famine was dealt with in international politics during the Indonesian occupation (1975–1999), and in Timor-Leste during the United Nations administration and as an independent nation-state. The East Timor case extends our knowledge of the workings of conflict-induced famines, provides insights into the attempts by transnational activists and diasporic actors to mobilise international action on crises such as famine, and examines the options for dealing with famine and its community-wide legacies in post-conflict societies including under a transitional justice model. By analysing the activities of the country’s transitional justice institution, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Comissão de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliação, CAVR) and its successor, the Centro Nacional Chega! (CNC), as well as grassroots initiatives, the article outlines some of the challenges of delivering justice for famine victims and survivors in post-conflict societies. 2022 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89201 10.1080/01436597.2022.2108782 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/SR200201031 Taylor & Francis fulltext
spellingShingle Hearman, Vannessa
Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)
title Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)
title_full Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)
title_fullStr Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)
title_full_unstemmed Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)
title_short Challenges in the pursuit of justice for East Timor’s Great Famine (1977–1979)
title_sort challenges in the pursuit of justice for east timor’s great famine (1977–1979)
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/SR200201031
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/89201