Rubuta ci gaba don wannan sakin layi - Shugaban APODETI na farko shi ne Arnaldo dos Reis Araújo, wani manomin shanu mai shekaru 60 da haihuwa wanda ya yi aiki tare da sojojin mamaye Japan
a lokacin Yaƙin Duniya na II. Araujo ya shafe watanni da yawa a Jakarta a cikin 1974, inda ya sadu da jami'an gwamnati waɗanda suka nemi hanyoyin tallafawa ƙungiyarsa da sauri. Daga baya, ya zama gwamnan farko na East Timor a ƙarƙashin mulkin Indonesiya. Mataimakin shugaban jam'iyyar na farko shi ne Hermenegildo Martins, mai gonar kofi. Wani babban shugaban APODETI tsohon malamin makaranta ne mai suna José Abílio Osório Soares. Da yake maimaita ra'ayin cewa East Timor ba za ta iya rayuwa a matsayin ƙasa mai zaman kanta ba, ya furta cikakken imani game da shirye-shiryen Indonesiya don taimakawa. A 1975 ya ce: "Ba mu buƙatar mulkin mallaka, kawai wasu iko daga Indonesia; kuma idan muna buƙatar wasu abubuwa watakila za mu iya samun su daga Indonesia".