The CAVR and the 2006 Displacement Crisis in Timor-Leste: Reflections on Truth-Telling, Dialogue, and Durable Solutions

Luiz Vieira
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This paper considers the efforts of Timor-Leste’s Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation to address the forced displacement that occurred during the period of Indonesian occupation and in the post-Popular Consultation violence of 1999. It examines linkages between the work of the commission, which concluded in October 2005, and the government’s response to the 2006 displacement crisis. The paper argues that while the government and international community’s emphasis on dialogue and mediation during the 2006 crisis and return process was informed by and in keeping with the spirit of the commission’s Community Reconciliation Process (CRP), the two interventions differed significantly in practice. Despite these differences, by analyzing the commission’s impact on the durability of return and reconciliation, an assessment of the 2006 crisis can inform discussions about the work of the commission.