Abstract
Reconciliation is accepted and promoted by the former colonial powers and national leaders, but to some degree rejected at the grassroots level because it is seen as an act of undermining accountability and justice. The inability of the United Nations to establish a transitional justice mechanism for the trials of the Indonesian generals and other perpetrators residing outside of Indonesia, who committed violence and crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste from 1975 to 1999, shall substantiate this argument. Impunity and a sense of injustice remains in the community, which continues to live under the shadow of past conflicts. This chapter addresses such reconciliation efforts as a delicate political process, and seeks to provide trade-offs and perspectives for a possible new society.
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da Silva, A.B. (2022). Transitional Justice: A Dispute Over Reconciliation and Justice. In: Khoo, Y.H., da Silva, A.B., Tam, T.N.T.P. (eds) Rethinking Human Rights and Peace in Post-Independence Timor-Leste Through Local Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan Studies on Human Rights in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-3779-7_2
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