[Marxism] Aussies in E Timor, WW2

["Tom O'Lincoln" <suarsos@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greg wrote:
>>Calvin is correct about the fond feeling for the East Timorese felt by
many  Australian servicemen who were forever grateful for their help
when they  operated behind Japanese lines in WW11. Many believed they
owed their survival to  the East Timorese. <<

I accept these sentiments are genuine, but perhaps this is  an
opportunity to challenge the standard history according to which the
East Timorese and Australian troops were all great mates ? an account
which meshes into the wider Pollyanna narrative about World War II being
a just war. I?m relying on Christopher Wray?s book ?Timor 1942?. I
understand other sources back this all up but I haven?t got to them yet.

Firstly, since much is made of Axis powers invading neutral countries,
it?s worth nothing that Australian and Dutch troops entered  - invaded ?
East Timor in violation of Portuguese neutrality. The Portuguese
Governor sent a telegram of protest to the Australian Prime Minister
calling it ?aggression absoutely contrary to the principles of law?. (p.
29) We can?t make too much out of this, of course, since Portuguese rule
was itself an imperialist denial of the rights of the East Timorese

Regarding villagers? support or otherwise for Australian troops, Wray
tell us that ?at first the natives were suspicious? of the Australians,
but then they were alienated by Japanese behaviour and ?started
assisting the Australians?. (p.101) Meanwhile ?several skirmishes took
place between Dutch patrols and parties of natives?. p. 109

In August 1942 the Australians were attacked by a ?group of natives,
apparently from Dutch Timor and allied with the Japanese?. (p. 119) At
one point these Timorese had shown signs of wanting to use captured
Australian corporal Hodgson for ?spear practice?. (120)

August was the point when the Japanese took the offensive, whereupon the
Australians ?faced the increasing hostility of the Timorese. Those in
frontier areas were decidedly pro-Japanese, or, perhaps more accurately,
anti-European.? Elsewhere they were ?no longer as ready to support the
Australians as they had been before when the 2/2 Independent Company had
had the run of Portuguese Timor?. (p.124) Moreover ?screens of
pro-Japanese natives made it hard to strike at vital parts of enemy
columns? (p. 126) and by 23 August, despite Japanese retreat, ?The
increasing restlessness of the natives was a worrying and potentially
dangerous phenomenon.? (p. 126)

This is partly because the Australian-Japanese conflict intersected with
villagers? revolts against the Portuguese administrators. A diary kept
by Australian troops records: ?The private local war, Portuguese versus
native, still  goes on in its bloodthirsty way, and provides some humour
for sub units. One of our patrols near Mape, out hunting the Jap,
encountered a Portuguese patrol out hunting some natives, they exchanged
compliments and went their various ways.? (p. 132)

Wray tells us: ?Some of the natives who helped the Australians did so in
the mistaken belief the Australians would eventually help them to
overthrow the Portuguese?.(p. 131) Obviously this hope was baseless.
Australians asked Portuguese officials to stay in their posts to
?maintain order among the natives? (p. 146) and also led friendly
Timorese in raids on anti-Australian villages. ?During the raids a
number of villages were burned out, about 150 huts being destroyed?. (p.
149) Shades of Vietnam! The book includes a photo of Australians burning
the village, which I will get from the Australian War Memorial
collection in due course.

My guess is that a lot of villagers were ?friendly? when the Australians
had the upper hand in fighting, but soon became ?unfriendly? when the
Japanese looked like winning. Why would you be great mates with people
who acted like this:

?Many times a native would pull into an Aussie camp, proudly produce a
surat [letter of IOU used to secure provisions] on which someone had
written: ?Give the bastard a kick in the arse and send the useless
bugger on his way.? It added to the general enjoyment of the hard dull
work of the days? patrolling.? (p. 88)


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