2 Remembering the Martyrs of National Liberation in Timor-Leste

Abstract

This chapter examines the way martyrs of the independence struggle are remembered in the independent nation of Timor-Leste. It examines the changing nature of definitions of martyrdom during the Portuguese and Indonesian colonial eras, and beyond independence, through an examination of changing patterns of memorialisation, commemoration, and cultural heritage. It also examines how the concept of martyrdom has becomes a site of struggles for official recognition in the postindependence state, with frequently strong distinctions between the type of state recognition afforded to military resistance veterans, and to civilian victims of human rights abuses.