Detailed Praise

“Best war book l’ve read since Danger Close. Gripping from the first page to the last. Despite an awareness of the Timor situation, I was shocked how little the Australian public had been allowed to know. The reader experiences first hand the unfolding horror of the narrator who in fifteen days went from a starry eyed idealist to a shell shocked survivor. The reader lives each moment of terror along with the unarmed outnumbered UN peace keepers. A book to traumatise and provide nightmares for years to come. If it was a movie, it would be R18. Fully recommend to anyone seeking to understand Asia.”

– Raelene

“Pemper has an impressive command of language, a necessary skill for creating a sense of place in what could easily be a generic theatre of war. Woven into the background details is this lingering sense of danger and disturbance. It feels precarious.

Pemper uses a cinematic technique of panning the camera around and letting the observer discover the patterns and what’s out of place. We see more than guns and bloodshed. We see a panorama of the quiet everyday before being pierced once more by military aggression. We see beyond what is there. We see what is lost, and what is at stake.

The novel contains a respectable amount of technical detail. Pemper names all the various factions and splinter groups and military units, for all those war-history wonks out there. But more than that, the events have been crafted into the narrative arc of a pleasingly familiar three-act structure. Peter changes because he is affected by the events. We care about his journey. It is not like reading an officer’s log or a collection of newspaper clips. Despite half the chapter having headings that are dates, this doesn’t feel at all like journal entries.”

– Morgan Bell, author, technical writer, creative writing teacher, and editor.

“Pemper has concentrated on the nineteen days in 1999 that Peter Watt was with the UN Peacekeeping Force in East Timor. He arrived on 28th August (the eve of the Independence Referendum) and departed on the last flight carrying UN staff safely out of the country.

This was not Watt’s first role as a peacekeeper, so he knew both what was expected of him and the difficulties he faced as an unarmed civilian trying to keep separate factions hell-bent on the genocide off the Timorese….Mere existence became a constant battle of wits. UN compounds became safe havens for the persecuted Timorese despite there being no way to secure or defend the compounds…The collection of ballot boxes from outlying stations and securing them in the UN headquarters in Dili became a deadly game of cat-and-mouse….

The reaction of the militia on hearing (on 4th September) that 78% had voted for independence was to increase the tempo of their revenge killings and intimidations as the UN took steps to plan the evacuation of staff and a few Timorese. Some staff became dejected at the thought of abandoning the Timorese at the time they most needed their support. The tales of Indonesian atrocities and Timorese sufferings became more violent as the day of final evacuation (15^th September) approached…

Told through the eyes of Watt, the narrative moves non-stop at break-neck speed. His personal feelings and reactions to events complement the historical telling. There is an expansive array of coloured photographs of Aug-Sep 99, and another of Watt’s subsequent visits in the last 20 years. A concise epilogue encapsulates events from the insertion of the UN’s INTERFET force on 20th September 1999…”

– Neville Taylor, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)

“This book gives you a window into the dangerous days of the 1999 referendum in East Timor. It’s a fascinating read about political events that have happened in our lifetime and with our near neighbours Indonesia and Timor. This is a story of courageous people prepared to die for the slim chance they could create a democratic country of their own…

Tammy Pemper has recreated the events of 1999 clearly and concisely.  The book gives you a good understanding of the day to day operations of the peacekeepers and an insight into their relationship with the resourceful local Timorese people. Peter Watt shares his highs and lows and the frustrations of his UN mission where the future of East Timor lay on a knife’s edge. I wholeheartedly recommend this tremendous and valuable book.” 

– Mary Barber, Tamarind Book Club

“I am not the best reader of books but this book felt like I was watching a movie. I had goosebumps reading most of the way. Superbly written and gripping account of life before and after the vote in Timor. I wish that we all had of been sent to East Timor sooner to help Peter and the other brave UN peacekeepers. 5 stars isn’t enough.”

– Shannon French, East Timor Veteran 6RAR 2000 

“A powerful and well written account of the horrors experienced by the Timorese people seeking their independence and those who went to their aid – Police Peace Keepers – unarmed – it brought tears to my eyes.”

– Julie Walker

“I found this book very revealing of what the East Timorese suffered during the occupation. The bravery and courage of the UN police and military peacekeepers and the Timorese people is beyond belief. This true story is well worth reading for readers to have first hand knowledge of the reality of what the Timorese went through during this time of terror. I couldn’t put it down.” 

– Chris G.

“What an amazing read. The author not only depicts the cruelty, horrors and devastation of a small nation under siege, but also highlights the extraordinary courage and sheer bravery, not only of the peacekeepers, but also of the Timorese people. This is a part of history that should be told and never forgotten. I am not a big reader but once started, I could not put this book down. Tammy Pemper and Peter Watt have illustrated the horrific effects of gross cruelty and intimidation on an innocent nation and the heroic stand by the persecuted inhabitants. A great read.”

– Ted Weidner

“I received the book two days ago, and it has been read. I couldn’t put it down.

It triggered a lot of memories of a time that none of us who were there will forget. Those who were not there may gain some understanding of what happened but will never truly know the impact that it had on lives, Timorese lives, peacekeepers lives, electoral personnel’s lives. There were things we witnessed in total and absolute certainty that convinced us at the time that the people in charge of everything were professionals at turning a blind eye, putting a good face on, and in reality, lying to the world about the reality within which we were living. While I returned there 2000-2001 with UNTAET, it was good to see the healing that was happening, but there was that undercurrent of tension and horrific memories of the inhumanity which was suffered by the Timorese, a legacy which generations will have to deal with.

A compelling read. A must read.”

– Randy

“Scorched Earth by Tammy Pemper is a unique narrative-style biography that tells Peter Watt’s story of his service with UNAMET in East Timor between 28/8/99 to 15/9/99. Pemper uses Watt’s voice throughout the story. The effect of which elevates the tension and danger of Watt’s experiences. Through Watt’s eyes you get to feel the fear, anger and frustration he and his colleagues experienced. The increased level of verbal and non-verbal intimidation by the integrationist militia was unrelenting during that polling day and subsequent days and post the result. But nothing could stop the Timorese from casting their vote.

Scorched Earth is a very important re-examination of the birth of the fragile democracy that grew out of the referendum result. Pemper and Watt drag the reader into this conflict. Watt’s voice is strong and vulnerable. His fears and frustrations elicit a sense of hopelessness and admiration of, not only his effort and that of all those attached to the UN, but that of the Timorese who stood up to the militia and Indonesia to claim their island for themselves.”

– Ted Bassingthwaighte

“I just couldn’t put this book down and finished it over 5 nights of reading till I just HAD to get some sleep. It’s riveting but dramatic in its presentation and felt for the people so much that you thought you were there right alongside of them helping to fight their battles. But appreciate those that did as I know I would not ever be that brave.”

– Sue Clarke

“Tammy and Peter have made a most significant contribution to public awareness of the nature of service of our Aussie Police officers serving in international hotspots. Having served on many Army and AFP deployments myself , this is a gripping account of the stressors involved . It also speaks to the positive humanitarian contribution we are making in the service of peace. I look forward now to the next book and hearing more of their compassion in action response.”

– Gary Stone

“The book was so amazing to read! All I can say is just WOW! I was absolutely hooked from the start. The love the main character has for his Shayhara was so sweet and fairytale worthy. I can’t even tell you the last time I picked up a book, and I never thought I would again but the author has definitely changed that for me. And I am so very thankful for that. I really just want to know so much more. It’s like I’ve got the start of the movie paused and I need to see the rest of it, that’s how I feel. So excited. I can’t wait for the next book. I’ve read Scorched Earth through once and am starting on reading it again.”

– Talz W.

“The media release promised an unimaginable story of horror, violence and trauma, but also of extraordinary human spirit. Pemper delivered this in her story of Peter Watt’s first fortnight’s experience in East Timor during the time of the referendum and the violent uprisings in response to the result, before the evacuation of the UN ahead of INTERFET. This was a gripping book, full of detail and descriptions that at times made the stomach lurch. It opened with an explanation of the unwritten rules of peacekeeping, the first being neutrality, and how Watt couldn’t remain neutral in his drive to retain his humanity; a position the book didn’t shirk from holding. I thoroughly recommend it to all, but particularly to those of you teaching Australia’s Engagement with Asia in Year 12, or Movements for Peace and Security in Year 11.”

– Alycia Bermingham

“At times this book reads like a thriller. But you have to keep reminding yourself this is real. This is what the Timorese people went through to throw off Indonesian rule for the right to determine their own future. It’s a timely reminder of how we should value the freedom of self-determination.”

– Peter Masters, Military Books Australia

“As part of an UN Deployment, Peter Watts bore witness to the horror and violence enacted during the East Timor referendum. A powerful true story of the horrors experienced by the Timorese people and those who went to their aid. of UN sanctions.”

– Good Reading Magazine

“This book which tells the story of the great contribution of the UN police peacekeepers in the achievement of independence for East Timor is long overdue. It shows clearly the incredibly difficult and the life-threatening role that the peace-keepers played during the exercise. 

Sixty Australian police officers working under the auspices of the AFP participated in the UN CIVPOL police force for the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET) for the referendum. They were part of an international force of 271 police personnel from 27 countries that were deployed to UNAMET. The TNI had already wiped out about a third of the East Timorese population – over 200,000 according to Amnesty International and the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR).

When the post referendum violence took off, most foreigners left. However, a group of about 80 UN personnel remained. These people showed such incredible courage to assist the positive outcome for the East Timorese and their courage should never be forgotten. 

This book provides this missing piece of the history of that struggle and is a tribute to the courage and endurance of all those who assisted the East Timorese gain their independence under great adversity.

– Andy Alcock, Australia East Timor Friendship Association SA

“We’re given access into stories of people like Juvinal and Nikolai, local men who worked for the UN, and Esmeralda, a Catholic nun who repeatedly put her own life on the line in standing up for the East Timorese people.

In giving a ground level view of the events leading up to the INTERFET deployment in 1999, Scorched Earth conveys a strong sense of the confusion, uncertainty and, yes, impotence which Watt and other peace-keepers felt as well as the vividly painting a picture of the horrors the East Timorese faced in their struggle for independence.

But it also shows the resilience of spirit among the East Timorese and how, often at a cost to their own lives, they stood up to be counted despite the sustained campaign of terror – “scorched Earth” – waged against them, so they and their families could have a different future.”

– David Adams, Sight Magazine

“I am enjoying learning about something so recent and so close to home that I knew nothing of. This memoir from the perspective of a UN Peacekeeper presents the story of the historic vote for East Timorese independence from Indonesia. A bloody civil war had raged for decades, and this book captures the final moments of the desperation and struggle of a people who risk everything to cast their vote. This is a story we should all know more about.”

– Dylan Thomas

“A story of the forgotten Aussie heroes who faced down the military might of a neighboring giant. Peter’s story is a must for those who remember the turbulent days when Australia supported the drive for independence of East Timor. It was a dramatic story about the conditions that almost brought us into armed conflict with Indonesia within our life time.”

– Peter Watt, Bestselling Author

Scorched Earth is an exceptional book. It will definitely prove and fill the gap in our 24 years of horrific terror under Indonesian military occupation. This gap is now superbly covered.

This is a well-researched, well-written, and beautifully descriptive book. It is a must for all those who were there and are no longer able to speak for themselves, and for those who were not there but need to be told.

For those who know the true East Timor war stories it will bring back some powerful stirring memories of fast and heavy atrocities of the Indonesian military and their collaborators. They did horrendous things to the vulnerable women, children and men in East Timor.

– Bi-Hali Gusmao, Vice-President of Veterans Institution, East Timor

Tammy Pemper’s book paints a disturbingly vivid picture of how the East Timorese people defied unrelenting terrorism to win independence from a defiant and militant Indonesia. This is the inside story of how a people, who faced intimidation, torture and slaughter stood together and marched to freedom. A compelling read.  

– Wayne Miller, Walkley Award winner, formerly of the Herald Sun newspaper

The nuances of polite politics will never tell the story of UNAMET in the factual on-the-ground gritty and ugly things which were experienced by those few who came to be known as the Emera Turtles.  As a Vietnam veteran I am certain that I have never served with better people than the members of the Australian Police in a CivPol Mission which most people will never know about unless it is written about people like Peter Watt, who was there, and a person I was honored to serve with during that time.

– Randy Martinak, Oregon Dept. of Justice (ret), USA

History tells us that the UN supervised vote in East Timor was a betrayal of those who took part in it. The UN Peacekeepers, volunteers and others depicted in this heart-stopping account, went unarmed believing the Indonesian police and army were there to protect them. Anyone familiar with the previous 24 years of Indonesian occupation knew this was an act of faith beyond all reason. The very people assigned this protective role had perpetrated a genocide in East Timor second only to the Holocaust in the blood-soaked twentieth Century. Yet, against all odds the UN pulled off a credible vote in which the Timorese chose independence. The losers – the Indonesian military and their militia thugs – then turned on the population to kill them and burn their country to the ground. Most of the foreigners fled as soon as the violence began in earnest. But a rump of some 80 UN officials, volunteers and around 20 journalists, all of them armed only with moral courage and dignity, stayed to protect over 2000 Timorese refugees who had gathered for protection in Dili’s UN compound where the UN’s last stand took place over a tense 16 days in September 1999. Frustration and rage at the world’s political masters for allowing this situation to evolve as it did, are the emotions most often expressed in these pages. The heroism and raw honesty with which their story is told in SCORCHED EARTH, is a tribute not only to those brave UN volunteers, journalists and others but to the East Timorese themselves. This story of East Timor’s stand against betrayal by the world’s political masters shows the rest of us what true courage looks like.

– Gil Scrine

As a Timorese, I learned about the past contribution of fallen heroes and the history by the living legends themselves. In this book, Tammy exquisitely paints the horror of ‘99 from the eyes of an Australian Police officer, who witnessed the horrendous event, and shares courageous life accounts of everyday Timorese. It illustrates a turning point in Timor’s history from the personal stories of Australian and Timorese people from two neighboring countries that have a bitter sweet past. They came to Timor in the name of humanity, where their bond of friendship was formed until today.

It helps readers understand that every story contributed by a Timorese is counted, no matter how small and no matter who is telling it. A former political prisoner once told the November 12th survivors “if you don’t tell your story, then who will?” Thank you Tammy for including my story in your book. 

– Celio Alves, Timorese survivor

Australia’s major role in the UNAMET independence vote for East Timor was a crucial point in our history. It was the first such intervention by Australia in the countries comprising the so-called arc of instability to the north. This became a model for our future involvement in the region and an example of what soft power can and cannot achieve. Australian civilian police provided the lead security liaison in a drama that gripped global imagination as a people sought to free themselves of centuries of brutal foreign occupation. Democracy is not served well when we leave the telling of history to politicians with an agenda. This book is an important work giving many perspectives. It goes a long way to providing a balanced perspective on this twentieth anniversary of UNAMET.

– Wayne Sievers, former Australian police officer attached to UNAMET mission