The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (, Falintil) originally began as the military wing of the
Fretilin party of
East Timor
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to
Fretilin's political conflict with the
Timorese Democratic Union (UDT).
Indonesian invasion
Falintil gained most of its initial military units when most of the former
Portuguese garrison forces in the territory switched allegiance to it in August 1975 after the Portuguese withdrew following the 1974
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...
.
At the time of the
Indonesian invasion of East Timor
The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus (), began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to overthrow the Fre ...
in 1975, Falintil consisted of 2,500 regular troops, 7,000 with some
Portuguese military training, and 10,000 who had attended short military instruction courses, for a total of 20,000.
The first commander of Falintil was
Nicolau Lobato, who was killed during a battle with the
Indonesian Armed Forces
The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (''TNI-AD''), Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Air Force (''TNI-AU''). The President of Indonesia is the Supreme ...
in 1978.
Xanana Gusmão
José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
was elected as his replacement during a secret national conference in
Lacluta, Viqueque in 1981.
This meeting also saw the formation of the Revolutionary Council of National Resistance (, CRRN), which was the first step in uniting the different resistance movement factions under one organisation.
Resistance struggle

Throughout the 1980s, Gusmão led both Falintil and the CRRN, gradually distancing himself from the Fretilin party. He began efforts to make Falintil
non-partisan
Nonpartisanship, also known as nonpartisanism, is a lack of affiliation with a political party and a lack of political bias.
While an ''Oxford English Dictionary'' definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., ...
and transform it into the armed wing of a unified resistance movement. On 12 May 1983 Gusmão proclaimed the convergence of all nationalists in their struggle against Indonesian occupation, and by April 1984, Gusmão had proclaimed the ideological independence of Fretilin from the overall resistance movement and began to re-structure the
armed resistance
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable ...
movement.
In the first week of August 1983, Falintil fighters attacked an
Indonesian Army
The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...
engineering unit, resulting in the deaths of 16 soldiers. On 31 August 1983, the Indonesian Army began military operations around
Viqueque, about from
Dili
Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...
. A spokesman for the
Indonesian Embassy in Canberra said about 3,200 troops in four
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
s, including special forces, were deployed with tanks and troop transport aircraft.
On 5 May 1985 Gusmão sent the Fretilin central committee, operating in exile, a message informing them of the structure of the CRRN and assuming the title of
Commander-in-Chief of Falintil. A significant step in the unification of the resistance movement occurred in March 1986 when Fretilin and UDT agreed to establish the "nationalist convergence". Meanwhile, the Falintil
guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
force continued to launch attacks against Indonesian soldiers. In June 1986, diplomats in
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
acknowledged losing between 20 and 35 soldiers in a Falintil ambush.
On 20 June 1988, the
National Resistance of East Timorese Students (, RENETIL) was created in Indonesia, reporting directly to Falintil and Gusmão. On 31 December 1988, Gusmão officially announced that Falintil was now the non-partisan armed resistance wing of the unified resistance movement, which was to be known as the
National Council of Maubere Resistance (, CNRM).
Between 23 and 28 May 1990, the CNRM held an extraordinary meeting to restructure the resistance movement. During the conference Gusmão officially resigned from Fretilin while remaining Commander-in-Chief of Falintil and President of the CNRM. This meeting also saw the formation of the Clandestine Front (), which came about from the recognition that Falintil, the armed resistance, had been significantly weakened by many years of guerrilla activity against the Indonesian military. The formation of the Clandestine Front was part of a strategy to organize the population against the
occupying forces. These events led to an upsurge in activity against the resistance movement by the occupiers, which led many resistance leaders to flee to the mountains or overseas and led to the arrest of Gusmão on 20 November 1992.
Ma'Huno Bulerek Karathayano, a member of Fretilin's central committee, became the leader of the resistance only to be arrested himself on 5 April 1993.
Nino Konis Santana replaced Karathayano as leader on 25 April 1993, and by September, all factions of the resistance had accepted Santana as the movement's leader.
Taur Matan Ruak was appointed Commander of Falintil. Under Santana's leadership, the restructuring started by Gusmão was further reinforced under the CNRM umbrella with Santana as leader of the Executive Council of the "Struggle", Ruak in charge of Falintil, and Keri Laran Sabalae (i.e. Pedro Nunes) taking charge of the Clandestine Front.
Throughout the 1990s, the occupying Indonesian forces stepped up their actions against the resistance, and factional troubles between Fretilin and other resistance organizations plagued the CNRM, with Fretilin members signing a document against the leadership of Santana. Sabalae was captured near
Gleno by Indonesia on 1 June 1995. Gusmão remained the leader of the CNRM and Commander-in-Chief of Falintil despite being incarcerated in an Indonesian prison. On 31 May 1997, the East Timorese guerrillas killed 16 policemen and 1 soldier in an ambush near
Quelicai, southeast of
Baucau
Baucau (, ) is the second-largest city in Timor-Leste, after Dili, the capital, which lies to its west.
Baucau has about 16,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Baucau municipality, located in the eastern part of the country. In the time ...
. In 1998, Santana died in an accident, and the Falintil commander, Ruak, was elected as leader of the "Struggle", while also remaining operational commander of Falintil. In April 1998 during the National Convention of East Timorese Living Abroad being held in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, the National Council of Timorese Resistance (, CNRT) was formed, replacing the CNRM and reinforcing the previous attempts to unify all the factions of the resistance struggle against Indonesia.
Towards independence
Changes in the
Indonesian government
The term Government of the Republic of Indonesia (, GOI, sometimes also referred to as Government of Indonesia or the Central Government () especially in laws) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively ...
, together with growing international pressure, resulted in the
President of Indonesia
The president of the Republic of Indonesia () is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Indonesia. The president is the leader of the executive branch of the Indonesian government and the commander-in-chief of the ...
,
B. J. Habibie
Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian politician, engineer and scientist who served as the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh ...
, announcing a referendum for the East Timorese people to vote on
autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
. The Indonesians also announced that if autonomy were rejected, it would open the door for
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
. The Indonesian military provided arms to
pro-Indonesia militias to coerce the population to vote in favour of autonomy. On 10 August 1999, Gusmão ordered Falintil to remain in their
cantonment
A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...
s, resist all provocations of the Indonesian military and the armed militias, and not get involved in the civil unrest orchestrated by the Indonesian military. These orders were generally complied with by Falintil, with the fighters remaining in their secret camps during the referendum process. On 30 August, the referendum took place with a 98% turnout of registered voters. By 4 September, the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
announced that 78.5% had voted against autonomy, therefore beginning the independence process. The following day the Indonesian military and pro-Indonesia militias, in response to the referendum result, started a massive campaign of
looting
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
and violence against the East Timorese people. Gusmão and the CNRT leadership maintained that Falintil needed to resist the urge to join the fight and remain in their cantonments. On 20 September, the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
-led, UN-sanctioned
International Force East Timor (INTERFET) landed in East Timor to counter the activities of the armed militias and attempt to restore peace. One of INTERFET's mandates was to disarm all the factions in the country, including Falintil. Under advice from the recently released Gusmão, INTERFET and the UN allowed Falintil to remain armed but required them to stay in their cantonments until peace was restored, at which time they would hand over their arms.
East Timorese Defence Force
On 1 February 2001 Falintil was officially dissolved, only to be almost immediately resurrected as the official armed force of the newly independent country, the
East Timorese Defence Force (, F-FDTL), with the duty under the
Constitution of East Timor to "guarantee the independence of the nation, its territorial integrity, and the freedom and safety of the population against aggression, which does not respect the constitutional order."
Ruak became the first Commander of the F-FDTL and assumed the rank of
brigadier general.
Falintil veterans make up a significant portion of the membership of the "politico-criminal" armed groups operating in East Timor, such as Sagrada Familia, CPD-RDTL, and Colimau 2000.
See also
*
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...
*
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War (), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the Portuguese Empire, former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan War of Independence, Angolan, Guinea-Bissau War of Independence ...
References
* East Timorese Resistance Museum, ''Resistencia Timorensia Arkivu ho Muzeu''
{{reflist
Separatism in Indonesia
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Military of Timor-Leste
National liberation armies
Rebel groups in Indonesia