João da Costa Tavares

João da Costa Tavares (6 April 1931 – 8 June 2009) was the Commander-in-Chief of the pro-Indonesian Militia in East Timor. He was also a pro-integration militiamen.

Biography Tavares came from a wealthy family.

He was part of the conservative Timorese Democratic Union (UDT). When the UDT was defeated by the left wing Fretilin in the East Timorese civil war in 1975, Tavares fled to Atambua, West Timor, part of Indonesian Nusa Tenggara Timur. With Indonesia's annexation of East Timor, he returned and supported the Indonesians in the fight against the FRETILIN.

When the East Timorese voted for independence in the 1999 independence referendum and Indonesia withdrew from East Timor, Tavares left the country and moved to Atambua. There he worked as a consultant for the Union of Timor Aswain (UNTAS), a political organization of the former pro-Indonesian militias in East Timor. He was buried at Seroja Heroes Cemetery, Atambua, Belu Regency.