Abstract: This paper provides a critical analysis of the role played by Portugal at different moments in the long struggle for independence in East Timor. The first part concentrates on the stance adopted by Portugal in the late 1970s and early 1980s: a political and diplomatic position characterised by passivity and ambivalence. During this period, the main support for East Timor in the international arena came from the PALOP (Países Africanos de Lingua Oficial Portuguesa--the Lusophone countries in Africa). The second part explores the circumstances under which the election of Mário Soares as Prime Minister, and Portugal's entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986, brought about a shift towards more active diplomatic intervention. The third and final part of the paper focuses on the culminating phase of the East-Timorese struggle for independence and on the factors that contributed to the Portuguese "awakening" in the aftermath of the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre in Dili, the capital of East Timor.

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