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Anarchism in Timor-Leste
Anarchism in Timor-Leste has its roots in the country's history as a penal colony, when many anarchists were deported there. The movement eventually evolved into an anti-colonial struggle against succeeding occupying powers: first the Portuguese Empire, then the Japanese Empire and the Indonesian New Order, before the country finally achieved independence in 2002.
Throughout the 1890s, anarchists made a series of assassination attempts against government officials and the royal family of Portugal. In response, the government introduced a law that would deport convicts to the Empire's overseas colonies after already having served their sentence, passing the new law on February 13, 1896. The Portuguese government subsequently began expelling anarchists to the colonies, including the island of Timor.
On September 14, 1896, a group of anarchists were deported to Timor, many of them died from infections such as malaria and yellow fever, while those that survived had to endure dire living conditions. Other anarchists were deported to Timor from Macau in January 1908 for having organized a militant group in the colony. However, this policy of deportation was not able to prevent the Lisbon Regicide, orchestrated in part by the anarchist Alfredo Luís da Costa, which saw the assassination of the King Carlos I and the crown prince Luís Filipe. This act of propaganda of the deed led to a destabilization of the Portuguese monarchist government, eventually resulting in the 5 October 1910 revolution, which overthrew the Kingdom of Portugal and established the First Portuguese Republic. The fall of the monarchy allowed for the return of many anarchists to Portugal, though a number of exiled anarchists had adapted to Timorese life, finding work and starting families in the colony.
The amnesty brought by the republican period was cut short by the 28 May 1926 coup d'état, which established a military dictatorship in Portugal. Another wave of political repression followed, seeing the arrest of left-wing activists and the deportation of detainees to Timor once again. Many workers and artisans, accused of belonging to the Red Legion, were deported on April 14, 1927. Some were taken to Cape Verde, others to Guinea and Mozambique, before eventually 75 deportees arrived at the Timorese port of Aipelo on September 25, 1927. One of these deportees was Manuel Viegas Carrascalão, a journalist from São Brás de Alportel and the general secretary of the Syndicalist Youth Federation (FJS). Of his own accord, the governor of Portuguese Timor Teófilo Duarte decided to put the deportees to work, organizing the construction of public works in the colony and giving the workers some freedoms and means of subsistence, although this lenient policy was reversed by the succeeding colonial governors.
After the Flour Uprising in February 1931 and the Madeira uprising in April 1931, the National Dictatorship intensified its repression of the opposition. 90 more people were deported to Timor on June 28, 1931, with a further 271 civilians and 87 military personnel being deported there on September 2, 1931. The deportees were placed in concentration camps in Oecusse and Atauro, where they were held for many months. Due to the deplorable conditions of the camps, a group of military veterans, some of whom were in the camps themselves, appealed to the government for the release of deportees from the camps. The military government obliged, releasing most of the prisoners from the camps and resettling them throughout the colony.
A number of anarchists among these deportees subsequently began to organize underground resistance to Portuguese colonial rule. The governor's palace was hit by an arson attack, in an attempt on the governor's life. Anarchists also established the Timor Libertarian Alliance (ALT), affiliated with the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI), and began publishing a Timorese anarchist newsletter from prison.
The anti-nationalist character of Timorese anarchist activism drew the attention of the new Estado Novo regime, which accused the anarchists of having a "harmful influence" on the Timorese population and of supporting riots by the native Timorese people. The Timor Libertarian Alliance was eventually discovered and repressed by the government, which confiscated the group's materials and sent some of its activists to Atauro, where they were forced to work in a limestone mine. Manuel Viegas Carrascalão was himself deported there with his family, with his son Manuel being born in captivity on the island.
When the government granted amnesty to political deportees in the colonies, it explicitly excluded many anarchists and trade unionists, whom it considered to be terrorists. The anarchists who remained in Timor experienced continued persecution, with the government ordering an investigation into their activities.
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Anarchism in Timor-Leste
Anarchism in Timor-Leste has its roots in the country's history as a penal colony, when many anarchists were deported there. The movement eventually evolved into an anti-colonial struggle against succeeding occupying powers: first the Portuguese Empire, then the Japanese Empire and the Indonesian New Order, before the country finally achieved independence in 2002.
Throughout the 1890s, anarchists made a series of assassination attempts against government officials and the royal family of Portugal. In response, the government introduced a law that would deport convicts to the Empire's overseas colonies after already having served their sentence, passing the new law on February 13, 1896. The Portuguese government subsequently began expelling anarchists to the colonies, including the island of Timor.
On September 14, 1896, a group of anarchists were deported to Timor, many of them died from infections such as malaria and yellow fever, while those that survived had to endure dire living conditions. Other anarchists were deported to Timor from Macau in January 1908 for having organized a militant group in the colony. However, this policy of deportation was not able to prevent the Lisbon Regicide, orchestrated in part by the anarchist Alfredo Luís da Costa, which saw the assassination of the King Carlos I and the crown prince Luís Filipe. This act of propaganda of the deed led to a destabilization of the Portuguese monarchist government, eventually resulting in the 5 October 1910 revolution, which overthrew the Kingdom of Portugal and established the First Portuguese Republic. The fall of the monarchy allowed for the return of many anarchists to Portugal, though a number of exiled anarchists had adapted to Timorese life, finding work and starting families in the colony.
The amnesty brought by the republican period was cut short by the 28 May 1926 coup d'état, which established a military dictatorship in Portugal. Another wave of political repression followed, seeing the arrest of left-wing activists and the deportation of detainees to Timor once again. Many workers and artisans, accused of belonging to the Red Legion, were deported on April 14, 1927. Some were taken to Cape Verde, others to Guinea and Mozambique, before eventually 75 deportees arrived at the Timorese port of Aipelo on September 25, 1927. One of these deportees was Manuel Viegas Carrascalão, a journalist from São Brás de Alportel and the general secretary of the Syndicalist Youth Federation (FJS). Of his own accord, the governor of Portuguese Timor Teófilo Duarte decided to put the deportees to work, organizing the construction of public works in the colony and giving the workers some freedoms and means of subsistence, although this lenient policy was reversed by the succeeding colonial governors.
After the Flour Uprising in February 1931 and the Madeira uprising in April 1931, the National Dictatorship intensified its repression of the opposition. 90 more people were deported to Timor on June 28, 1931, with a further 271 civilians and 87 military personnel being deported there on September 2, 1931. The deportees were placed in concentration camps in Oecusse and Atauro, where they were held for many months. Due to the deplorable conditions of the camps, a group of military veterans, some of whom were in the camps themselves, appealed to the government for the release of deportees from the camps. The military government obliged, releasing most of the prisoners from the camps and resettling them throughout the colony.
A number of anarchists among these deportees subsequently began to organize underground resistance to Portuguese colonial rule. The governor's palace was hit by an arson attack, in an attempt on the governor's life. Anarchists also established the Timor Libertarian Alliance (ALT), affiliated with the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI), and began publishing a Timorese anarchist newsletter from prison.
The anti-nationalist character of Timorese anarchist activism drew the attention of the new Estado Novo regime, which accused the anarchists of having a "harmful influence" on the Timorese population and of supporting riots by the native Timorese people. The Timor Libertarian Alliance was eventually discovered and repressed by the government, which confiscated the group's materials and sent some of its activists to Atauro, where they were forced to work in a limestone mine. Manuel Viegas Carrascalão was himself deported there with his family, with his son Manuel being born in captivity on the island.
When the government granted amnesty to political deportees in the colonies, it explicitly excluded many anarchists and trade unionists, whom it considered to be terrorists. The anarchists who remained in Timor experienced continued persecution, with the government ordering an investigation into their activities.