His most famous success was his role in helping to broker peace in Cambodia , in 1991 , which ended the war with the Khmer Rouge . " Alatas brokered the historic 1991 peace settlement at the Paris International Conference to end the war with the Khmer Rouge , though he had to share some of the glory with France , " The Guardian wrote , calling the settlement his " greatest triumph . " His obituary by Reuters said Alatas " was a widely respected figure in the region tipped at one stage to be a possible United Nations secretary-general " but that his later career was " haunted by the Suharto era and the turmoil in East Timor , " the former Portuguese colony that voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999 . Alatas recounted his role in the diplomatic controversy over Indonesia 's annexation of East Timor in 1975 and the events leading to independence in '' The pebble in the shoe : The diplomatic struggle for East Timor '' . His obituary in '' The Guardian '' argued that a 1991 massacre of anti-Indonesian demonstrators at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili , East Timor 's capital , probably prevented Alatas from taking charge of the UN . " International outrage over the deaths may have cost Alatas the top UN job , for which he was in the running in the late 1990s , " '' The Guardian '' wrote . " Suharto reportedly vetoed his candidacy as he believed the role would have highlighted such abuses . " Alatas later termed the Santa Cruz massacre a " turning point " for Indonesia in East Timor
Santa Cruz massacre
Santa Cruz massacre
Ali Alatas