Pro-Indonesia militia

Graffiti in Tutuala with the word for “murderer” denounces the crimes initiated by Wanras in East Timor (1999)

Pro-Indonesia militias in East Timor, commonly known as Wanras (Indonesian: Perlawanan Rakyat), were active in the final years of the Indonesian occupation leading up to the 1999 independence referendum. They were groups of armed civilians trained by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) to maintain peace and order in their region on official orders. The Indonesian Constitution of 1945 and the Defence Law of 1988 stipulate that civilians have the right and duty to defend the state by receiving basic military training.[1]

  1. ^ Nurhayati, Desy (2016-01-07). "TNI 'should not deploy Wanra' for internal rows". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2024-06-19 – via Archive.org.