Constancio da ConceiçãoPinto was educated in the United States and received a Masters degree in International Relations from Columbia University. According to East Timor’s embassy in the US, “he has dedicated his life and energy to the freedom and self-determination of Timor-Leste (East Timor).” Before independence, he was persecuted, jailed and tortured by the Indonesian army. He was able to escape and organize a protest that led to the Santa Cruz massacre on November 12, 1991, in which more than 200 students were brutally murdered by the Indonesian military. In 1997, he received a US Congressional Achievement Award for his work towards social, political, and economic justice in East Timor.