 In 1994 Princen flew to Geneva to testify before the United Nations Commission on Human Rights about the use of torture by Indonesian forces in East Timor and Aceh – one of the peak moments of his involvement in the brutal struggle going on in both places.Princen stood out from other Indonesian reformers and dissidents in his early stand in support of East Timorese self-determination, a cause which was for long taboo even in the most progressive circles in Indonesia, where nationalism reigned supreme.His sympathy for the rebellious Timorese was due to much the same reasons which led him in youth to oppose German occupation of the Netherlands and later to renounce his Dutch homeland and throw in his lot with the Indonesian rebels.