It’s In The Echoes For Those Who Listen: Narratives Around East Timor & Palestine, and the Necessity of Resistance

For her human rights capstone, Lora Vachovska participated in HUMRTS 103: “Transitional Justice, Human Rights, and International Criminal Tribunals” and wrote a paper exploring the nuanced yet similar case studies of East Timor and Palestine. Vachovska argues that both cases represent local populations displaced by violent foreign interference, questions of state sovereignty, resistance movements, and highlight important, ongoing conversations about international human rights. Yet, both cases show how resistance and protest can fracture dominant ideology in different ways and move foreign states to enact international justice. East Timor’s successful independence struggle holds hope for Palestine, which is still being occupied by the Israeli military and government forces. Palestine’s freedom can be heard in East Timor’s echoes. The content of this capstone is only accessible to users who have a valid Stanford SUNet ID.