National Commemorative Service - 25th Anniversary of Australian Service in Timor-Leste

AUSTRALIAN PEACEKEEPING MEMORIAL, CANBERRA

I begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal peoples as the traditional custodians of the land we are meeting on and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

I also pay my respects to all those who have served our nation in the past and continue to do so today.

Members of the Diplomatic Corps,

Federal and state parliamentary colleagues,

Leaders of the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Public Service,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On this day, twenty-five years ago, Australian troops peered from a C-130 Hercules for their first glimpse of Dili.

A pall of smoke hung over the capital, and there was little sign of life in the streets.

As night fell, Lieutenant General Mark Evans saw hundreds of small fires dotting the surrounding hills.

They looked, he said, “like a band of stars”.

Around those fires were the people of Dili, seeking what warmth and security they could find, having fled the violence in the city.

Thousands of East Timorese were hoping and praying for peace and security to be restored to their country, and the chance to chart a path to an independent future.

The peoples of Australia and Timor-Leste have been neighbours for millennia.

Long ties of custom, culture and community bind us together, including Australian service in the Second World War.

But 25 years ago, Australia became part of the national story of the modern state of Timor-Leste.

And Timor-Leste became part of the national story of Australia…

… with our largest military deployment since the Vietnam War and the largest peacekeeping effort ever undertaken by Australians .

Today we stand together to mark this important anniversary.

The International Force East Timor – or INTERFET as it became known - was formed on 15 September 1999.

In less than a week, service personnel from 22 nations, under Australian command, arrived on the island to restore peace.

INTERFET and the subsequent UN missions brought stability and humanitarian aid.

They created the climate for Timor-Leste to formally declare the restoration of its independence in May 2002.

While today marks the 25th anniversary of INTERFET’s deployment, we should also remember that Australians served in Timor-Leste before and after INTERFET’s arrival and departure.

We acknowledge the service of Australian Federal Police (AFP), deployed in June 1999 with the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET).

Along with staff and volunteers from the United Nations and the Australian Electoral Commission, they helped to arrange and oversee a Popular Consultation on East Timor’s independence.

AFP officers ensured polling places stayed open despite militia attacks, and when violence broke out, they bravely defended the Timorese, in many cases using their own bodies as shields.

Then in 2006, ADF and AFP personnel serving as part of Operations Astute and Serene helped restore law and order and kept the conflict from the cities.

Both ADF and AFP personnel served in Timor-Leste alongside civilians on staff with Australian Government Agencies.

They worked together, supporting each other and supporting the mission, putting their own safety on the line to see peace and security restored.

Six Australians died during, or as a result of, peace operations in East Timor.

• Lance Corporal Russell Eisenhuth, 
• Sergeant Andrew Emmerton,
• Corporal Stuart Jones,
• Private Ashley Baker,
• Craftsman Beau Pridue, and
• Sergeant Brett Kinloch of the Australian Federal Police.

We hold their families and their loved ones close to our hearts today.

Australians are rightly proud of the role we played in the birth of the modern nation of Timor-Leste.

Last week in Dili I met with the Australian and New Zealand veterans who had returned to the country to mark this 25th anniversary.

The people of Timor-Leste welcomed them with open arms; forging another link in the bonds that bind our nations together.

But even as we celebrate the bonds between our personnel and the resilient Timorese people, we must also recognise that it came at a price.

We solemnly acknowledge the profound and enduring injuries, both physical and mental, borne by many who served in Timor-Leste.

We pay our respects to the families and the loved ones of those who served…

…who bore the uncertainty and anxiety that comes with a loved one deployed, and the family days and holidays missed as a result.

Australians helped make a difference in Timor-Leste.

For 25 years, East Timorese children have come of age in a peaceful and independent nation.

Australia is proud to have played a part in that journey.

The Timor-Leste I visited last week has made enormous progress since 1999.

We are thankful for the service and sacrifice of the Australian personnel who made it possible.

And we renew our commitment to the friendship between Australia and Timor-Leste. 

Thank you.

END

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