Pante Macassar (also known as
Pante Makasar) is a city on the north coast of
East Timor, 281 km to the west of
Dili, the nation's capital. It has a population of 4,730 (Stand 2006). It is the capital of the
Oecussi-Ambeno exclave.
The name literally means "beach of Makasar," alluding to the erstwhile trade with Makasar in Sulawesi (Celebes). Locally Pante Macassar is known also as "Oecussi," which literally means "water cannon," and was the name of one of the two original kingdoms that form the enclave. The other was Ambeno. During the Portuguese colonization, the city was also known as Vila Taveiro.
Due to its distance from the remainder of East Timor, Oecussi-Ambeno, and specifically Pante Macassar, became the first territory occupied by Indonesia on November 29, 1975.
In 1999, in the tumult that accompanied the referendum for independence, Pante Macassar was particularly affected by the destruction of the pro-integration militias, supported by the Indonesian army. Sixty-five civilian supporters of independence were hanged, and 90 percent of the buildings were burned down.
