The Alas region in East Timor, mid-November 1998. Charred houses, corpses, survivors fleeing into the forest. The Indonesian army has struck once more. Just one more operation in its war with the Timor Liberation Front. Still more victims to add to the list that is already 200 000 names long (=25% of the present population). This part of the archipelago has been at war for 23 years, ever since the Portuguese left. The Indonesian authorities, which annexed East Timor in 1976, have outlawed filming in Timor, which they are determined to colonise by all available means. When the Suharto regime collapsed in May 1998, the Church, human rights organisations and the guerrillas saw a flicker of hope. The road to independence is long and rocky.