Joanna Jolly, Dili – The first contingent of 24 Japanese military engineers arrived Monday to join a U.N.

Mark Baker, Manila – Burma's military regime has sparked a rift within the Association of South-East Asian Nations by blocking moves towards East Timor joining the regional grouping aft

Dili – The people of East Timor this week once again displayed intense interest and enthusiasm in the democratic process as more than 80 public consultations in all districts on the fin

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Udayana Military Commander Maj. Gen. Wellem T.

Jakarta – A cemetery for Indonesian servicemen in East Timor's capital Dili has been converted to a cassava farm, Indonesia's state-run news agency Antara said Friday.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Thousands of East Timorese refugees have begun to use violence and terror against local villagers in a bid to survive in East Nusa Tenggara province following

Manila – Myanmar has objected to a proposal to grant East Timor observer status to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Philippine officials said Thursday.

Achara Ashayagachat – East Timor needs 10 years to prepare for joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, de facto Foreign Minister Ramos Horta said.

Yemris Fointuna – The East Timor Commission for Truth, Reception and Reconciliation is planning to question several proindependence leaders, including Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, fo

Dili – The General Prosecutor of East Timor issued an indictment today charging militia commander Bernadino da Costa – also known as "Mata Satu" – with nine counts of Crimes Against Hum

Dili – A preliminary government report that indicates 41 per cent of East Timor's population live in poverty and 48 per cent are illiterate was presented today to the Council of Ministe

Indonesia's recent indictment of seven military officers for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999 does not alleviate concerns that Indonesian courts can provide justi

Nusa Dua – Tens of thousands of East Timorese refugees who are still reluctant to return are testing the patience of their compatriots back home, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta has s

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Around 128,000 East Timorese people staying in numerous refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara Province are facing starvation as their food supply is nearly exhau

Jill Jolliffe – It is 11am on a weekday and people are queueing at Dili's Chinese Buddhist temple.

Joanna Jolly, Dili – Independence leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao, a potent symbol of East Timor's resistance during decades of Indonesian rule, on Saturday officially declared hi

Jill Jolliffe, Oecussi – East Timor's revolutionary hero, Xanana Gusmao, was met by enthusiastic village crowds this week as the stage was set for him to become president of the 21st ce

Two international human rights groups questioned Indonesia's determination to bring offenders in East Timor to justice despite its indictment of seven suspects in the murderous army-bac

Tertiani ZB Simandjuntak and Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Human rights activists urged the government on Wednesday to extradite 17 former militia members and military personnel indicte

Indonesian prosecutors indicted seven senior officials including the ex-governor of East Timor for crimes including genocide in the territory in 1999.

Dili – UNTAET and the East Timorese government met for the first time today to discuss a joint strategy to address the domestic violence problem and ensure that different government dep

An agreement between the United Nations and Indonesia to pursue those responsible for the gross abuse of human rights in East Timor appears close to collapse.

Dili – Independence leader Xanana Gusmao and Dili Bishop Filipe Ximenes Belo urged the Constituent Assembly today not to rush passage of East Timor's first Constitution, saying more tim

Jakarta – The Indonesian government had a moral obligation to surrender 17 military men and former militiamen to the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), w

Dili – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, a Deputy Speaker of the Constituent Assembly, received a second nomination today for president.

East Timor's transition government, with little more than three months left before independence, insists that international donors cover its budget deficit over the next three years, es

Geoff Elliott – Telstra will withdraw its services from East Timor, prompting a stinging attack from East Timor foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Militia leader Eurico Guterres today said he would answer charges of crimes against humanity in Indonesia but not in his native East Timor for his role in ant

Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – Indonesian officials said they would not hand over 17 men indicted by prosecutors in East Timor on Monday for alleged crimes against humanity, saying that

Joanna Jolly, Dili – International prosecutors on Monday indicted 17 pro-Jakarta militiamen and Indonesian soldiers for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during East Timor's v

Christopher Hitchens – In a few weeks, East Timor will be able to celebrate both its independence as a country and its status as a democracy.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The government has extended its deadline for 128,000 (sic) Timorese to vacate refugee camps in West Timor until June 20, allowing them more time to decide on t

Daniel Nelson – After 25 years of brutal occupation, culminating in Indonesian-organized murder and mayhem against a referendum on independence, the world's newest country is turning th

How much did the Australian Government know about plans for an attack by Indonesian forces which would result in the death of five Australian-based newsmen?

Independence leader Xanana Gusmao said Wednesday he had not yet decided whether he would run for the presidency of East Timor in April 14 elections, adding that he would not bow to "pre

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – In another step towards nationhood, East Timor's constituent assembly has approved a draft of a constitution guaranteeing basic civil liberties and a mixed economy

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Possible clashes are looming between East Timorese refugees and Indonesian farmers seeking to reclaim land used to accommodate the refugees on the border of We

Darwin – Less than a year after Australia rejected Royal Dutch/Shell Group's bid for Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the government may cite the same national interest argument to sink Shell's

Dili – As East Timor prepares for full independence in May, voters lack information about the draft of the country's new constitution, according to a survey released Thursday.

Dili – Representatives of UNTAET and the Government of East Timor today held a press conference in Dili as part of an ongoing campaign to eradicate domestic violence.

Francisco Xavier do Amaral, the vice-president of East Timor's Constituent Assembly, has registered formally as the first candidate in the territory's April 14 presidential election, el

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Despite the cancellation of humanitarian assistance as of January 1, 2002, the remaining 128,000 or so East Timorese people taking refuge in West Timor has bec

East Timor is due to become officially and fully independent on 20 May 2002.

New York – East Timor will have to face up to atrocities committed by the liberation movement during the 25-year independence campaign if the new nation hopes for true reconciliation an

Prime Minister John Howard today urged the United Nations to maintain its support for East Timor and not to skimp on resources for the new nation after it achieved independence.

United Nations – The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to extend its peacekeeping and nation-building operation in East Timor until the former Portuguese colony declares

Dili – The Constituent Assembly voted today to transform itself into East Timor's first legislature upon final approval of the Constitution.

Protestant and Catholic leaders in East Timor have proposed ten alterations to the text of the draft Constitution currently being discussed by the Constituent Assembly in Dili.

Yemris Fointuna, Jakarta – Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office have begun questioning two army officers as part of their investigation into the 1999 murder of a Dutch journal

Jakarta – Economic factors and not intimidation are now the main reason why many East Timorese refugees are reluctant to go home from Indonesia, the UN refugee agency said Monday.