- -
Bella Union, Trades Hall
Corner of Lygon, Russell and Victoria Streets
Carlton, Victoria
‘Xanana: Leader of the Struggle for Independent Timor-Leste’ by Sara Niner
To be launched by Terry Bracks.
Timorese and World Music by Zelda Da.
Sara Niner’s new book is the political biography of Xanana Gusmão, leader of the East Timorese struggle for self-determination and first President of the new nation of Timor-Leste.
Twenty-four years of warfare with Indonesia transformed Xanana from an apolitical outsider into a tough guerrilla commander and, ultimately, the central unifying figure of East Timorese nationalism.
In 1999, upon his bittersweet homecoming after years of imprisonment in Indonesia, Xanana faced the unenviable task of leading a traumatised people out of the terrifying violence and destruction that ended the Indonesian occupation. Today, the politics of East Timor remain volatile and complex, and many challenges still exist for this tiny new nation.
This is the story of a remarkable man and gifted leader.
Dr Sara Niner is a writer, research consultant and Honorary Research Associate with the School of Political and Social Inquiry where she has recently finished a Post-Doctoral Fellowship focussing on women, handcrafts and development in Timor-Leste. She is the editor of To Resist is to Win: the Autobiography of Xanana Gusmão with selected letters and speeches (2000).
Xanana: Leader of the Struggle for Independent Timor-Leste is published by Australian Scholarly Publishing.
