| Abstract | As health care professionals, the authors of the article consider the lessons from the report issued by East Timor's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (CAVR), and the ability of such commissions to help healing at the personal and social levels. After the report was submitted to parliament in 2005, President Xanana Gusmao objected to the call for an international war crimes tribunal. After independence, East Timor attempted to deal with war-time human rights violations through its legal system. Serious crimes were brought to trial. For other offenses, workers at CAVR led workshops in an effort to reintegrate the perpetrators into the communities. The workers were not mental health professionals. The authors question the practice of opening wounds during truth and reconciliation processes.
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