Last modified: 2023-06-03 by 
zachary harden
Keywords: star: 5 points (white on black) | fretilin | freitilin | error | variant | star: 5 points (black on white) | ojetil | student | pen | hoe |
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image by António Martins, 10 December 1997
According to a political analyst (Adelino Gomes: “A Força da Bandeira e os Desafios da Vitória” Público 2001.09.07: 3), Fretilin «organized the fight against the [Indonesian] invasion. Fretilin leaders were the first resistants and the first occupation victims. Fretilin’s members and sympathizers, while others still trusted the invader’s good will, were the first experiencing war, death, torture, famine. It was Fretilin who endured almost alone the bloody initial phase of the occupation.»
Fretilin got 208 531 votes in the 2001.08.30 elections (57,37%), receiving 55 of 88 seats in the parliament (the second party most voted for, P.D., got only 8,72%).
António Martins, 24 September 2001
In the 2007.06.02 elections Fretilin got
120 592 votes (29.02%), receiving 21 of 65 seats in the parliament.
António Martins, 07 September 2007
This is the flag of Fretilin (Frente Revolucionária
de Timor-Leste Independente - Revolutionary Front of
Independent East Timor), one of the revolutionary and
anti-Indonesian resistance groups of post-1975 East Timor.
Being its main and original proponent, this flag resembles
the one of the Democratic Republic of
East Timor.
António Martins, 10 December 1997
The name of the party also commonly appears
on the central stripe in black capitals.
Vincent Morley, 12 December 1997
After a lot of flag sightings, seems now clear that the preferred version of the Fretilin flag has indeed a (slightly) narrower yellow stripe and lettering is always present. The stripes seems to be 6+5+6, and not 2+1+2 nor 3+2+3, as reported earlier; the lettering is always in black centered capitals, though face family varies: serif is common, but sans seems to be official. The star points apparently to the upper fly, though it is often shown pointing down.
Variants absolutely missing in photos and footage shot and shown during
the 2001.08.30 elections include
blue-for-black flags, equal sized
stripes, no lettering, and stars pointing up — or at
least I saw none.
António Martins, 24 September 2001
image by António Martins, 22 February 2000
It seems that flags with equal stripes are more modern.
Jorge Candeias, 27 October 1999
image by António Martins, 22 February 2000
I have often seen a variant of this flag with the yellow
stripe slightly narrower than the others — approximately 3:2:3,
I would say.
Vincent Morley, 12 December 1997
I saw some pictures of Xanana Gusmão in the very beginning
of his reorganization of the guerilla in the mountains (I think
in the beginning of the ’80s). In one of these pictures he had
the flag of the FRETILIN behind him, and it had unequal stripes,
red-yellow-red with witdhs 2:1:2 (and the rest as we know). It
also had no writing (good!). It seems that
this design was used in older flags while the one with equal
stripes is more modern (unfortunately including somethimes the
sigla FRETILIN on the central stripe).
Jorge Candeias, 27 October 1999
image by António Martins, 22 February 2000
Like the flag of East Timor itself,
I’ve seen this flag also with a dark blue stripe at the hoist,
instead of black.
Jorge Candeias, 10 December 1997
image by António Martins, 03 July 2003
I received my copy of The Flag Bulletin 206 (July-August
2002). Smith’s article [smi02k]
(p. 135) shows the Fretilin flag with the (large!) inscription reading
"FREITILIN".
Santiago Dotor, 11 December 2002
image by António Martins, 29 June 2007
A 1976 article in czech vex. magazine Vexilologie 18
p. 235-236, 231 “Nové vlajky : Východní Timor”
[mry76], by Jaroslav Martykán
(“- jm -”) (on
line) reports i.a. the then newly created flag of Fretilin. It adds
to the number of incorrect reports and variant depictions, for the white and
black colors are swaped both in the image (black and white line draw but the
star, upright, is filled solid) and in the text ("ji
bílý svislý pruh u žerdi s černou
pěticípou hvězdou a tři vodorovné pruhy
(červený, žlutý a červený)").
António Martins, 29 June 2007
image by António Martins, 22 February 2000
I’ve also seen another, similar flag,
[with two stripes only on the fly, yellow over red, and]
with the star in white.
James Dignan, 03 October 1995
A youth organization of the timorese resistance, the OJETIL, the
Organization of Youngsters and Students of East Timor
(Organização de Jovens e Estudantes de Timor Leste).
The symbol in lower hoist consists of two scrolls
above and below a hoe and a pen, crossed. The upper scroll
has the inscription "SABER PARA SEMPRE" ("knowledge —
or to know — for ever") and the lower scroll has the motto
of the CNRT/FALINTIL "PATRIA POVO".
Jorge Candeias, 04 January 2000
Photos taken locally in 1998, from
this website, show
people with the six-colored flag design on shirts as well
as a large three-colored flag proeminently hoisted.
J. Patrick Fischer, 17 February 2006,
and António Martins, 18 February 2006
image by Jorge Candeias and António Martins, 18 February 2006
The three-color variant, shown proeminently hoisted in
photos taken
locally in 1998, is fully
FRETILIN/DRET
(no CNRT/FALINTIL
elements) and might be the original design, since OJETIL started out as
a section of FRETILIN.
António Martins, 18 February 2006
Narrow central yellow stripe and is not something new when it comes
to Fretilin flag variations. The downpointing star,
on the other hand, agrees with the actual Fretilin flag,
while the six-color version not so.
António Martins, 18 February 2006
image by Jorge Candeias, 04 January 2000
This flag of Ojetil was seen in every
demonstration that happened in Portugal. It consists
of two fields, the first occupying the hoist 1/3 and
the second occupying the fly 2/3rds. The first field is
divided horizontally in black, yellow and red bands
with a white star centered in the black band and a
complex device centered on the other two. The second
field is divided into 3 horizontal stripes in light blue,
white and green and the initials of the organization
(OJETIL) are written in black capitals across the white
stripe.
This flag is obviously a fusion of the flags of the
CNRT/FALINTIL
and of the
FRETILIN/DRET.
Jorge Candeias, 04 January 2000
A photo from
this website shows people with the six-colored flag design on shirts.
(Photos were taken locally in 1998.)
António Martins, 18 February 2006
