East Timor shares the island of Timor with Indonesia. In 1975 it unilaterally declared independence from its colonial ruler, Portugal, whereupon Indonesian military forces invaded and took over the island. The Indonesian occupation lasted for twenty-four years. The early years of the occupation were rife with genocidal actions. As many as 200,000 East Timorese died in mass shootings, reprisal killings, and from disease and starvation resulting from the occupation.

Indonesia banned the teaching of Tetum (the language of East Timor) or of Portuguese, a form of cultural genocide.
In August 1999, Indonesia permitted a plebiscite under the supervision of the United Nations, where 78.5% of the East Timorese rejected integration with Indonesia. The results led to a new round of intense military suppression, where more than 1,500 independence supporters were killed, 250,000 were deported to West Timor, and 73% of buildings and houses were destroyed.

The image features in the foreground a pro-independence East Timorese draped in the national flag of East Timor, and in the background container ships within which Indonesian troops were hidden as they prepared to invade the island.

Full independence for East Timor was achieved in September 1999.