Tense time in Timor
In 1999 the Air Force took part in operations in East Timor as the country’s independence was put to a vote. In the lead-up to the fifth anniversary of those momentous events, David Wilson recalls our contribution.

FLGOFF Paul Dawe, an air traffic controller from RAAF Base Tindal, awaits the last flight of the day at Cakung Airport, near Baucau in East Timor. In the background sit three Caribou aircraft.

Photo by SGT Bill Guthrie

Airfields in East Timor were at Baucau and at Comoro (near Dili).

DURING June 12 to September 6, 1999, Operation Concord flights transported UN volunteers, police and military liaison officers to East Timor to assist with the independence poll.

RAAF Base Darwin handled 68 aircraft, despatched 965 passengers and 650,755 pounds of freight to East Timor and received 682 passengers and 70,805 pounds of cargo.

On June 14, the public information campaign was launched to explain the issues and processes involved in the ballot that would decide the political future of East Timor.

Although a code of conduct to enable parties to campaign freely had been signed between the political factions, security in East Timor remained inadequate.

Pro-integration militia harassed independence rallies and violence continued between both political persuasions.

The security situation became so alarming that the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) requested assistance to remove non-essential staff.

A Joint Special Operations Air Component (JSOAC) had been formed at RAAF Base Tindal under the command of Group Captain Grahame Carroll, commander of No. 86 Wing.

On September 6 – the day before martial law was declared in East Timor – JSOAC mounted Operation Spitfire to evacuate UN and foreign nationals from East Timor.

Three C-130H aircraft – flown by Flight Lieutenant Bruce Walker, Flight Lieutenant Glen MacKenzie and Flight Lieutenant Gavin Nicholson – participated.

The mission was led by Squadron Leader Paul Nicholas, who flew with FLTLT Walker’s special operations crew. GPCAPT Carroll headed a total of 46 personnel inserted into Comoro.

All carried helmets and flak jackets. Protective armour was fitted to all the aircraft and crews wore protective clothing while on the ground. Two SASR troops provided further security.

A medical attendant was on hand. Although the Australians were confined to the relative quite of the airport terminal, the militia presence in Dili was obvious.

A roadblock had been established several hundred metres up the road from the airfield, from where sporadic gunfire was heard throughout the day. This, combined with the operational requirements to keep the engines of the Hercules running, made for a tense, noisy sojourn.

Even though small convoys of evacuees were given an Indonesian military escort, delays still occurred by the actions of militia members manning roadblocks. In the five Hercules sorties flown, 303 Australian nationals and UNAMET personnel were transported to Darwin.

Flight Lieutenant Jim Turley recalled that “it was great to be doing something but it was frustrating that we appeared to be leaving the East Timorese to their own defences”.

By mid-afternoon, the team had arrived back at Tindal where JSOAC began planning for operations to Dili and Baucau.

A Hercules takes off as Black Hawks bring in troops for the Interfet insertion into Balibo.

Photo by CAPT Al Green

Next day, buildings were burning and the airmen heard reports of looting in the city and the discharge of firearms within 200 metres of the airfield. International personnel were being harassed and threatened.

East Timorese locals were being forced to leave their homes and Dili. Due to instability in the city, potential evacuees had great difficulty in reaching the Comoro airport. The two Hercules aircraft, flown by Flight Lieutenant Paul Bowler and FLTLT Nicholson, evacuated only 29 people.

Flight Lieutenant Tony Rae was tasked with the evacuation of refugees from Baucau. FLTLT Turley and his ground evacuation team were forced to “set up a small desk in the glar-ing sunshine in the middle of a noisy tarmac” to process the evacuees as they were denied access to the airport terminal.

Matters became sensitive when Indonesian officials recognised Bishop Carlos Belo among the refugees and refused permission for him to board the aircraft.

After difficult negotiating between the Australians, interpreters and the senior Indonesian military officer at Baucau, permission was finally given for the Bishop and a single aide to be evacuated.

However, as the aircraft taxied for departure, the Indonesian military authorities reversed their decision and a truck loaded with armed men was despatched to block the runway.

After 10 minutes of negotiation the truck was withdrawn and the Hercules, loaded with 128 evacuees, allowed to depart. The situation was further complicated by the appearance of 60 East Timorese nationals at the airfield.

Motivated by the fear that, as UN employees, their families were potential militia terrorist targets, the group agitated, with the support of several UN staff members, for evacuation.

Flight Lieutenant David Lawler had been diverted into Baucau to withdraw FLTLT Turley and his evacuee handling centre personnel and the threatened indigenous UN employees.

Although FLTLT Lawler had recently received verbal approval to evacuate the UN employees, the Indonesian authorities threatened to kill any if they attempted to board the aircraft. The presence of two UN helicopters enabled a compromise to be made.

The 60 East Timorese were flown to Dili in these aircraft and FLTLT Turley and his team, six UN staff members and the luggage abandoned by the passengers on FLTLT Rae’s aircraft, flew to Tindal in the Hercules. Two aircraft landed at Dili . on September 8, the third day of the operation.

A third Hercules, flown by FLTLT Bowler, aborted the mission. The day was completed with FLTLT Walker and Flight Lieutenant Andrew Elliott flying only four Australian consulate staff to Australia.

No aerial operations were mounted on September 9. Next day, Indonesian military authorities guaranteed safe passage for those who wished to escape from Comoro.

Four hundred and eighty-one passengers were flown to Darwin. One UNAMET military observer was flown to Tindal. The day also marked the start of No. 40 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) operations, when they extracted GPCAPT Carroll’s evacuation team from Dili. Activity peaked on September 14.

Permission had been granted to enable East Timorese nationals to be evacuated and the JSOAC planned for at least 10 sorties to be flown from Dili. GPCAPT Carroll and the team faced a crowd of desperate East Timorese.

The press of humanity made crowd control difficult. Language differences frustrated communication aimed at reassuring people that the aircraft that had just departed was not their last avenue of escape.

At the end of the day, the Air Force had flown nine sorties. Flight Lieutenant Graeme Biggs, an Air Force pilot serving on exchange with No. 40 Squadron RNZAF, flew a 10th. Officially, 1522 personnel were transported to Darwin.

GPCAPT Carroll’s team were at Tindal by mid-afternoon. During September 6-14 , the RAAF and RNZAF evacuated 2478 Australian consular officials and IDPs whose lives were in immediate and mortal danger.

The JSOAC moved to Northern Command Headquarters at Darwin. It became the Combined Air Operations Centre of the air component of Headquarters JTF645, the organisation charged with planning Operation Warden, the Australian commitment to the UN involvement in East Timor.

David Wilson is the Executive Officer, RAAF Historical, Air Power Development Centre.

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