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Sometimes I Must Speak Out Strongly
The Bishop of East Timor
| Length: | 52 min |
| Released: | 1998 |
| Ages: |
College Adult |
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In 1975, Indonesia, the fifth largest nation in the world, invaded tiny East Timor, claiming it as their 27th province. There began a campaign of terror in which around a third of the population died. In the fear and isolation of the long occupation only the church, directly ruled from Rome, has maintained some independence. Its bishop has been awarded the Nobel prize for his courageous stand against the occupation.
Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo treads a fine line, caught between the Vatican's desire for political neutrality and the Indonesians' relentless oppression. As a Nobel Laureate, he was able to focus world attention on the plight of the East Timorese who have suffered brutality in their own country.
This film is the story of the Timorese people and the crisis that engulfs them. It is also the story of a man of the church and his struggle with conflicting imperatives in the face of a holocaust.
Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo treads a fine line, caught between the Vatican's desire for political neutrality and the Indonesians' relentless oppression. As a Nobel Laureate, he was able to focus world attention on the plight of the East Timorese who have suffered brutality in their own country.
This film is the story of the Timorese people and the crisis that engulfs them. It is also the story of a man of the church and his struggle with conflicting imperatives in the face of a holocaust.
"The stature of the man represented in this portrait transcends that of the heroic. The film offers a lesson to western democracies who grant authority to immoral politicians." Asian Educational Media Service
Association for Asian Studies, 1998
