Guido Guilart, Dili – The Indonesian military systematically forced dozens of East Timorese women to become sex slaves for officers during its 24-year occupation of the half-island, a f

Nigel Wilson – Negotiations are going ahead on the terms that will secure long-term gas supplies for Bayu Undan's $1.8 billion liquefied natural gas plant planned for Darwin.

New York – The United Nations Security Council has approved a one-year extension of the UN mission in East Timor, while diplomatic sources caution that the new nation could experience m

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – More than 500 East Timorese people still taking refuge in West Timor held a protest recently in front of the East Nusa Tenggara provincial legislative council,

For the first time, the East Timorese Government has begun taking control from the United Nations over its border with Indonesia.

New York – The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss a one-year extension of the UN mission in East Timor, a recommendation by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Jakarta – Two international human rights groups have strongly criticised a United Nations commission, saying it failed to demand justice for victims of atrocities in East Timor.

The Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) and TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, have condemned the UN Commission on Human Rights for failing to ensure that the

Dili – A moral and spiritual "darkness" still haunts East Timor's Catholics, the bishop of Dili said at the Easter Vigil service.

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) strongly criticized the UN Commission on Human Rights for turning its back on the East Timorese people and jeopardizing current and future UN missio

In East Timor, continuing militia infilitration has put a spotlight on the United Nations failure to properly secure the border.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Activists have urged the international community to ensure that justice is served against all perpetrators of the gross human rights violations in East

Dili – The head of the United Nations' civil police department urged East Timor Thursday to rapidly draft and approve legislation for its police forces.

Jakarta – People in the East Timor regency of Belu expressed disappointment over the country's recent ruling to impose a US$25 visa on visitors from Indonesia, which it borders.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite the decision of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) to drop from its agenda human rights abuses in East Timor, the opportunity to reopen

Next month – our northern neighbour is celebrating it's first birthday as a free country. But while there's much to celebrate – the country's justice system is struggling.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The chance to bring justice to the victims of the 1999 human rights violations in East Timor has vanished, after the United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Dili – The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (CAVR) has already heard over 2,000 statements on human rights violations committed during the 25-year indepe

Megan Saunders – Ami is only six, but she knows her family is at crisis point.

The head of Indonesia's Supreme Court has hit out at Amnesty International for describing trials of suspects in the 1999 East Timor violence as "not honest, truthful or fair." "That gro

Elcid Li, Kupang – The reunion took place in no-man's-land.

Three and half years after East Timor voted for independence, 1500 East Timorese asylum seekers are still in Australia.

Mari Alkatiri – As the world watched events unfold in the Middle East, we heard talk of the territorial integrity of the nation of Iraq.

An investigation into allegations of unlawful killing and brutality by Australian special forces in East Timor led to a soldier being charged with kicking a militiaman's corpse after an

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – A human rights activist has expressed doubts that Indonesia and East Timor are serious about resolving the question of human rights abuses in the former

Amnesty International slammed Indonesia's trials of suspects in the 1999 East Timor violence as "not honest, truthful or fair" and urged the United Nations to consider setting up a trib

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors yesterday demanded that a former military chief in East Timor be jailed for 10 years for failing to stop violence leading up to the territory's vote to

Megan Saunders – Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock has rejected a plea by the East Timor President, Xanana Gusmao, to allow up to 1600 temporary visa holders to remain in Australia be

Dili – Police in East Timor have launched a crackdown on prostitution, raiding two massage parlors in the past month and arresting four people, an officer said Friday.

The Federal Government has been accused of leaving East Timorese asylum seekers to starve by cutting off their welfare payments while they wait to hear if they are allowed to stay in Au

Human rights activists and legal experts in East Timor have condemned proposed moves to limit the freedom of foreigners.

Dili (Agencies) – Prosecutors in East Timor said on Wednesday they have indicted 16 people including eight Indonesian army officers for crimes against humanity before and after the terr

William Birnbauer – A benign attitude to his country's tormentors is not widely understood, but East Timor's "Mandela" wants to move on. William Birnbauer reports.

As East Timor prepares to mark its first anniversary of independence, the nation's opposition parties have united to present a strong alternative to the government.

Cynthia Banham – Refugee groups are claiming the Federal Government is close to making a decision on the fate of East Timorese asylum seekers that would prolong their limbo status for t

President Xanana Gusmao concedes security will be a concern when United Nations peacekeepers pull out of East Timor.

Dili – Most of East Timor's opposition parties signed a so-called "national unity platform" Monday, bitterly criticizing Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's cabinet and demanding the formati

Ellen Nakashima, Jakarta – On a recent day in a weathered courthouse in Jakarta sat defendant Tono Suratman, an army brigadier general accused of failing to prevent two massacres in Eas

Reuters in Melbourne – Corruption poses the biggest risk to the future of East Timor, says its president, Xanana Gusmao.

Jakarta – United Nations peacekeepers have arrested two former East Timorese militiamen for alleged involvement in crimes against humanity during East Timor's bloody breakaway from Jaka

Dili – An East Timorese court on Saturday sentenced a senior militia leader to 12 years in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the country's bloody break from Indonesia

David Rood – East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao said yesterday he opposed Australia's involvement in the US-led war on Iraq.

Kalinga Seneviratne, Sydney – Australia's international profile, already hurt by criticism against its role in the US-led invasion of Iraq, is under fire for is its desire to boot out E

Paul Kelly – Iraq is not the only humanitarian issue facing the Howard Government today.

Dili – An East Timor-Australia treaty that serves as the basis for the development of the major oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea between the two countries came into force Wednesday

East Timor became a fully independent republic on May 20, following approximately 2½ years under the authority of the U.N. Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET).

Jakarta – East Timor has formed a new border patrol unit to replace international peacekeepers, the UN said Friday – a sign that the military is assuming greater responsibility for secu

Nigel Wilson – The Timor Sea Treaty will formally come into effect next Tuesday with an exchange of notes between Australia and East Timor in Dili.

East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao has urged Canberra to allow 1,600 of his compatriots who fled to Australia about a decade ago, in the bloody years before independence, to stay.

East Timor's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation has been up and running for over three months now and has accepted over 100 minor political criminals back into their vil