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Books & Research

Remembering My Beloved, Remembering My Pain: Victims of Atrocities Collect Photographs and Stories to Push for Change

For a quarter-century, the people of Aceh and East Timor experienced massive human rights violations at the hands of the same Indonesian military, police, and intelligence institutions. The fall of President Suharto in 1998 brought change to the two conflict zones leading to independence for the new nation of Timor-Leste, and an eventual end to the war in Aceh, which remained within Indonesia but with greater autonomy.

Peace has come, but both regions continue to struggle to deal with the burden of the past. In Timor-Leste, the recommendations of two official truth commissions have not been implemented. In Aceh, the central and local governments have abandoned a commitment to establish a truth and reconciliation commission.

This report tells the victims’ stories in their own words and provided an analysis of what victims in Aceh and East Timor now need to achieve some sort of satisfaction and what resources they have drawn on to enable them to deal with the past. It also contains recommendations both to the relevant governments and victims for actions to take in the future.