| Accession Number | P03605.239 |
|---|---|
| Collection type | Photograph |
| Object type | Negative |
| Maker |
Immig, John |
| Place made | East Timor: Dili |
| Date made | 15 January 2000 |
| Conflict |
East Timor, 1999-2013 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|
An Italian peacekeeper serving with the Australian-led International Force East Timor (INTERFET), ...
Description
An Italian peacekeeper serving with the Australian-led International Force East Timor (INTERFET), drives a truck labelled 'Carabinieri Paracadutisti' (police paratroopers) to a riot outside the Dili Basketball Gymnasium. The United nations (UN) had made an offer of employment for 700 local people, registration taking place inside the stadium . Approximately 3000 unemployed people arrived and were forced to wait in hot cramped conditions in a small square outside. Part way through the proceedings a UN official informed the crowd that only those people with computer skills and good English and Portuguese language skills would be considered for the jobs. Members of the waiting crowd rioted and Jose Ramos-Horta, who recently returned form exile, was called in to help calm the crowd. As a co-founder and former member of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), Ramos-Horta had served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975 to 1999).