East Timorese ethno-nationalism: search for an identity - cultural and political self-determination

Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the development of ethnic, cultural and national identity among the East Timor people reaching Australia after the East Timor civil war of August 1975. In the introduction I argue that ethnic and national identity, or ethno-nationalism, is not a natural phenomenon and that it can emerge at any moment in time owing to specific historical, socio-economic or political circumstances. I argue that during the 1974-1975 period the Portuguese- Timorese mestieo (racially mixed) elite of East Timer, principally those of Dili, of which the refugees are representative, began developing specific ethnic and nationalist ideologies in response to new political circumstances offering the people the opportunity to assert an all-embracing East Timorese identity. The chapters which follow present data and analysis in support of the initial argument and are directed to show that a combination of theoretical approaches offer a better rationale for the understanding of identity creation and development. In Chapters 2 and 3 I describe the refugees' historical, socio-economic and political background and assert that history is important for an understanding of the selective representation of myths, symbols, ideologies and instrumental tactics. In Chapters 4, 5 and 6 I examine the development of III identity against the interplay of social order, power and conflict. I direct the analysis towards the notion of negotiation of an identity within global and local political and social parameters. I examine political issues, contextual problems, personal and group motives and the re-creation and presentation of symbols, myths, ideas and beliefs. Chapter 7 shows how the search for the legitimization of an identity and political claims by nationalist individuals and the group are directed by the intelligentsia 1 s manipulation through the artistic media of specific nationalist ideologies aimed at resolving the problems of the present. In Chapter 8 I discuss the role of the Catholic Church in the politics of identity building, its position in relation to the people's demands of historical and cultural obligations, the dilemmas experienced by the Church in the face of its own tenets and the institutionalized order, and the people's teleological use of religion as techniques of political resistance. I conclude by reasserting that refugee populations such as the East Timorese in having to re-stablish their lives in an alien context would normally strive to function socially according to their perceptions of priority needs, creating in the process new subjective understandings. I stress that this also demonstrates that it is paramount to direct the analysis of ethno-nationalism through a combination of diverse theoretical approaches and that in this form one can better understand the whole set of the people's strategies for identity survival. Show more