Schooling for Revolution: The Role of Education in the Struggle for East Timor's Independence

Abstract

'SCHOOLING FOR REVOLUTION: THE STUDENT MOVEMENT IN TIMOR LESTE'

Ivo Mateus Goncalves

ABSTRACT

This brief summary of the PhD thesis 'Schooling for Revolution: The Role of Education in the Struggle for East Timor Independence'. The thesis argues that education for the Timorese served as an incubator for nationalist ideas. The thesis ranges from the Portuguese colonial period through the development of education during the Indonesian occupation and focuses on the role of students as active agents of revolution. This thesis is based on a large body of interviews with key student participants. Much of the thesis examines the formation, development and activities of two principal student organizations of the Indonesian period: OJETIL and RENETIL. It concludes with an examination of engagement of students from these organizations, as well as other youth, in the struggle that culminated in the United Nations sponsored referendum for East Timor's independence.