Izaak Huru Doko

Doko was born in Sabu, Kupang, Timor, on 20 November, 1913. He completed his primary education at Dutch-run schools in Kupang before going to Bandung, West Java, to study at a school for teachers. There he met Herman Johannes, with whom he established the organisation Timorsche Jongeren (Young Timorese).[1]

During the Japanese occupation, following the overthrow of the Dutch colonial government, Doko wrote extensively on the condition of the Timorese people; he also represented his people in a Japanese-run local government. On 17 August, 1945, following Japan's defeat in the Pacific, Indonesia proclaimed its independence. During the ensuing revolution Doko organised Timorese youth to put up an armed struggle against the invading Dutch forces.[1]

After the Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence in 1949, Doko organised the Indonesian Democracy Party (Partai Demokrasi Indonesia) and spoke out extensively against the formation of an independent State of East Indonesia. He also helped establish Udayana University in Denpasar, Bali, and the University of Nusa Cendana in Kupang.[1] He served as a school supervisor in Timor from the 1950s and worked at building educational infrastructure in that area. For this, he spent eight months in Australia in 1958, learning about different school systems which could be used.[2] In the 1970s he was head of the Timorese office of the Ministry of Education and Culture.[2]

Doko died on 29 July, 1985. On 3 November, 2006 he was granted the title National Hero of Indonesia by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.[1] A street in Kupang is named after him.[1]

• Aco Manafe; Paul J. A. Doko. Pahlawan Nasional I.H. Doko: Berjuang Hingga Akhir [National Hero I.H. Doko: Fighting to the End] (in Indonesian). Artha Wacana Press.