Bob Muntz, a Melbourne based activist, died suddenly May 27, 2024, following a fall and coma from which he did not recover. He leaves behind his wife, MaryCon, and their two children, Alice and Julian.
Bob was born in 1947 in Colac, Victoria, where his father was a school master. He studied science at Monash and Melbourne Universities.
In East Timor, Bob Muntz is best known as a witness and near casualty of the Santa Cruz massacre in Dili on November 12, 1991.
Bob observed the rally with Kamal Bamadhaj and other visitors in the belief that a foreign presence would protect the protestors. It didn’t make any difference. The military shot and killed many Timorese and Kamal, and fired at Bob. He escaped by running down back streets, clambering over fences and being given shelter by a Timorese man who fetched the Red Cross to rescue him. During his flight he suffered a flesh wound to his arm but did not know whether it was from being shot at or from tearing his skin on a fence. A few days later, he described the protest and the terrifying experience of the massacre at a press conference in Melbourne. His account is also notable for its forceful rejection of false Indonesian claims that the protest justified their deadly response. Though advised by specialists to share the experience, Bob found it very difficult to discuss his trauma in later life.
For a transcript of Bob’s press conference, see https://timorarchives.wordpress.com/2021/08/10/docs-santa-cruz-30-years/
His flight from lethal danger in Dili was not the first time Bob had fled from danger. During his time at Monash University he joined the anti-Vietnam War protest and refused to serve as a conscript in the Australian military. He was a founding member of the Draft Resisters Union. His anti-war activities landed him in Pentridge prison for 7 days, got him sacked from the Victorian public service, and forced him underground for most of 1972 to evade police arrest. On the run, he stayed in numerous houses and avoided going out during the day. One kind lady who also did his washing told him she pegged his clothes out in the middle of hers so that the neighbours would not notice anything strange. Such was the sorry vibe of the time.
Bob spent the rest of his life in action on social issues. His work included engaging with community and occupational health and, over 14 years, with social justice in South East Asia. As program manager for Oxfam Australia, he took responsibility for community development projects in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Reflecting later on his work in Indonesia, he wrote: “I first encountered development work in Indonesia during the Suharto period, and found the government controls on the work and thinking of NGOs overwhelmingly suffocating. Innovative work and the effective pursuit of social justice were extraordinarily difficult’. In 2005, he wrote a critical autobiographical reflection on international development entitled Partnership or Pretence that required the wisdom of Solomon.
I think he was visiting East Timor in 1991, following Suharto’s so-called ‘opening up’ of 1989, to explore the possibility of Oxfam Australia establishing a program presence. Being on the ground would allow Oxfam Australia, a key member of ACFOA with a history of commitment to East Timor that included the strong personal commitment of its founding director David Scott, to monitor the situation. Santa Cruz event meant that had to be shelved.
Bob Muntz served on the Board of Inside Indonesia and wrote for the magazine. My last encounter with him was in January 2024 at the magazine’s simple 40th anniversary dinner at Pondok Rempah in Melbourne. Helen Pausacker’s retrospective shows a photo of Bob stuffing envelopes. In 2006, he edited a special issue of the magazine (#86) on Indonesian workers and contributed a piece on a performing group who used workers’ theatre to educate Indonesian kampung dwellers on worker rights. Once a member of Victorian Labor, he stood for the Greens in the 2007 federal elections.
Behind that soft voice and respectful gentle manner was a formidable person of tested principle who cared deeply about society and the role and capacity of so-called ordinary people. Australia will be poorer for Bob’s premature passing.
Pat Walsh padiwalsh@gmail.com
With thanks to Helen Pausacker and Gerry van Klinken
28 May, 2024
