the boundaries of collaboration and apparent cooperation for the protection of its own people were obvious. The East Timorese resistance also found partial support here. The son of Siprianu and the last ruler of Atsabe, Dom Guilherme Maria Gonçalves became a co-founder of the pro-Indonesian party, Timorese Popular Democratic Association (APODETI) in 1974, which called for the support of East Timor to Indonesia. During the Indonesian occupation, Dom Guilherme was the Governor of Indonesian Timor Timur from 1978 to 1982. Later, he distanced himself from Indonesia and went into Portuguese exile. After the East Timorese people had spoken in a 1999 referendum for an independence from Indonesia, pro-Indonesian militias attacked family members and allies of the former koronel bote (meaning "rulers"). The reason was due to the suspect that the former ruler supported the independence movement. Other Kemak communities In the spring of 1867, the Kemak people from Lermean (today the municipality of Ermera District) under the supremacy of Maubara rose up against the Portuguese colonial masters. Governor Francisco Teixeira da Silva defeated the opposition in an unequal fight. In the decisive battle, which lasted for 48 hours, the rebels had to defend themselves against a superior fire power. Fifteen villages were taken and burnt down. The number of victims among the Timorese is not known, while the Portuguese counted their own losses with two dead and eight wounded. The territory of Lermeans was divided into the neighboring kingdoms. In 1868, the Portuguese sent a military force to Suco Sanirin (Sanir / Saniry) whose liurai (ruler) refused to pay taxes, and a fort in Suco Batugade was made to serve as a center for military operations. The Kemak people of Suco Sanirin were officially Balibo Subdistrict tributary under Batugade military command. Between 1894 and 1897, several empires rebelled in the west of the Portuguese colony. In the Portuguese punitive action, several Kemak empires such as Sanirin, Cotubaba and Deribate were practically wiped out. Thousands of residents fled to West Timor of the Dutch East Indies and settled there in Belu. More followed in the years between 1900 and 1912. Investigations assume at least 12,000 refugees. Religion and social structure Like the other ethnic groups of East Timor, the Kemak people today are largely adherents of the Catholic faith. Thus, in the Atsabe Administrative Post almost all inhabitants are Catholics. It spread particularly during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975–1999)