The CNRT campaign for independence

Abstract

‘The CNRT campaign for independence’ is a personal account by a nationalist student leader of the struggle for independence focusing on the National Council of East Timorese Resistance’s campaign in East Timor. The work focuses on the organisation of the CNRT campaign and its strategies: to work through the youth focusing on health and education; to spread the word to remote regions; to form the Commission for Campaign Planning and Co-ordination (CPCC); to allocate responsibilities and tasks for the campaign; to promote the cause through a door-to-door campaign, and to raise awareness of the campaign symbol through the CNRT flag and through whatever media opportunities were available. This informal campaign structure followed the model of clandestine work that had been adhered to for more than 10 years. At great personal expense and danger, the campaigners continued to work up to and beyond the referendum.