TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Speaking out: Addressing past human rights violations in Aceh and Timor-Leste
Asia Justice and Rights recently launched two animated documentary shorts, “Konta-Sai” and “8:45”, giving two survivors the chance to speak out.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
A still from “8:45”. (AJAR/Courtesy of AJAR and KontraS Aceh)
“One day, around 11 in the morning, a commander of the armed group came into the house and threatened the aunties to keep silent. And the commander raped me. I was afraid. I cried, but I couldn’t make any sound.”
These are the words of Maria Isabel, a survivor of sexual violence in Timor Leste, and the first sentences of the animated documentary short “Konta-Sai” (Speak Out), one of two films commissioned by Jakarta-based non-profit organization Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR) as part of a project called Making the Right to Truth Tangible.
In close collaboration with the Aceh branch of the Commission for Missing Persons and the Victims of Violence (KontraS Aceh) and Asosiasaun Chega! Ba Ita (ACbit) in Timor-Leste, AJAR aims to document the stories of survivors, facilitate dialogue and engage with local authorities to address past human rights violations.
“It is our moral obligation to continue recognizing and acknowledging the survivors and to help them achieve truth and justice,” said Indria Fernida, regional program coordinator for AJAR. “We still have a long way to go, but I believe we are walking on the right path. Through the animation, we wanted to describe a difficult situation in a way that was easily understandable, so it could perhaps encourage the younger generation to follow and not forget the issue, as well and preserve the memory.”
Maria Isabel, usually referred to as Mana Isa, is one of thousands of East Timorese women who were tortured and raped by Indonesian security forces during the Indonesian invasion and occupation of Timor-Leste (1975-1999).
This period was also marked by other human rights violations. Estimates say that more than 100,000 East Timorese died during the occupation. It was only in August 1999, under former president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, that the government held a referendum and a majority in Timor-Leste voted to form an independent and sovereign country.
