TOUR OF DUTY (1999)
After the people of East Timor voted in a referendum in 1998 for independence from Indonesia, their part of the island descended into an orgy of violence. In order to restore order, the international peacekeeping force INTERFET was formed. Australia provided the leadership, a task that the country was obliged to conscientiously fulfill as a former British colony, in the view of Matthew Sleeth. But above all else, the mission was a promotion campaign. From distributing teddy bears to organizing a benefit concert with Kylie Minogue, Australia pulled out all the stops to put themselves in the best possible light. No real contribution to solving East Timor’s problems was ever forthcoming, according to TOUR OF DUTY (1999).
