People might have been surprised to learn that martial arts groups have been banned, at least until November, in Timor Leste.

Martial arts groups are one of the legacies of the Indonesia occupation of East Timor – Timor Leste. Currently, there are 15-20 active martial arts groups in Timor Leste.

As James Scambary writes, the martial arts groups “would not have achieved their current scale and level of organisation if not for the Indonesian occupation. Although these groups only recently gained international notoriety for their violence during the intense communal conflict of 2006-2007, their rivalry has plagued East Timor for most of the independence period.”

Prabowo Subianto’s involvement

Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, who takes office as President of the Republic of Indonesia on 20 October, 2024, was the son-in law former President of Indonesia Suharto, was also, the former military commander.

He and served mainly in the Special Forces (Kopassus) before being appointed to the Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) in 1981. In 1998 he was appointed leader of the Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).

Prabowo has a poor human rights record. He was involved in the organisation of the pro-Indonesian militias in East Timor that inflicted much suffering on the people following the plebiscite in 1999 that revealed overwhelming support for independence, .

One tactic of the occupiers was to attempt to engage the youth in pro-Indonesian bodies. They established hundreds of youth groups, supplying them with sports equipment and organizing competitions.

An overview of Prabowo’s Human Rights Record in East Timor

Witnesses of his time serving with the special forces unit accuse him of committing atrocities.

• He developed an anti-Resistance strategy that fostered covert proxy wars by pitting locals against each other.
• Prabowo used Kopassus, an elite Indonesian military unit, to train and direct militias and create ‘ninja’ gangs that terrorized Timorese communities¹².

Other actions

• He commanded a unit that killed East Timor’s legendary leader, Nicolau Lobato, in 1978.
• He undermined peace processes and is accused of massacres in Kraras in 1983.
• Prabowo groomed some of East Timor’s most violent offenders and associated with stealing Timorese children³.

I have met at least one of the children who was taken to by an officer and kept as a house slave in Karangasem, Bali, until he escaped and, as an adult, made his way back to Timor Leste.

Prabowo’s record in Indonesia

In Indonesia Prabowo’s role has also been a cause for concern.

It is alleged that he commanded a unit responsible for abducting and torturing democracy activists during the last days of the Suharto regime in the late 1990s.

He is accused of instigating anti-Chinese riots in 1998 when President Suharto was forced from power. These riots originated in Medan and spread to other parts of the country, leaving more than 1,000 people dead. Prabowo was discharged from the military in August 1998 [the year before the plebescite in East Timor] but has always denied stirring up racial unrest in the country. His role during that period remains a contentious issue, and it continues to be a topic of discussion in Indonesia’s history2. The point is he was available to assist in organising irregular groups in Indonesia.

Listen to my stories:

• The Campaign Procession
• The General Election, and
• Unspoken Realities,

for background on that period.