Abilio Jose Osorio Soares

Abilio Jose Osorio Soares (June 2, 1947 Vila de Ourique, Manatuto district, Portuguese Timor – June 17, 2007 Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia) was the last governor of the Indonesian province of East Timor before the country's independence.

Soares served as governor of East Timor between 1994 and 1999. He is a highly controversial figure in the history of East Timor. Soares was a supporter of the Indonesian government as well as its annexation and the "East Timorese integretion" of the country into Indonesia. Likewise, he was an opponent of the separatist movement which eventually succeeded, leading to the independence of East Timor. Many East Timorese accuse Soares of human rights violations and other atrocities while in power.

Soares died in Kupang of cancer on June 17, 2007 after being in a coma for four days. Despite Timorese objections he was given a state heroes funeral by the Indonesian government. Frans Leburaya, the deputy governor of East Nusa Tenggara province laid a wreath sent by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who did not personally attend the funeral. Other important dignitaries who attended the funeral included several highly controversial figures from the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, including retired Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto, retired Indonesian Major General Zacky Anwar Makarim, former deputy army chief of staff Kiki Shanakri, as well as West Papua Governor Abraham Octavianus Ataruri.

Soares, who was 60 when he died, is survived by his wife, Maria Angela Correia de Lemos Osorio Soares, and their four children, as well as his 86 year old mother, Beatris Osorio Soares. All of the family members attended the funeral.

Soares was buried in Dharma Loka Heroes` Cemetery in Kupang.

External Links and References

* [http://www.etan.org/et2007/june/23/19asoares.htm#sbt Ex-East Timor governor given hero's burial] (Accessed on July 12, 2007)
* [http://english.people.com.cn/200706/20/eng20070620_386074.html People's Daily Online:Ex-East Timor governor given hero's burial] (Accessed on July 12, 2007)
* [http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch/profile/db/facts/jose-abilio-osorio_soares_242.html Trial Watch: Jose Abilio Osorio Soares]