Sandra O'Malley and Rob Taylor – The Federal Government is neglecting regional security by backing the US in opposing an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, Labor warned today.
East Timor wants peacekeepers to remain past a May withdrawal deadline, a position shared by the UN.
On 18 February, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the establishment of an independent commission of three experts to review the progress made by judicial processes in Indonesia and East Timor towards accountability for serious violations of human rights committed in East Timor in 1999.
The United States and Australia today called for ending the United Nations peacekeeping mission in East Timor when its mandate expires in May, going against recommendations by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara) – The daily newspaper Radar Timor, owned by former governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osario Soares, was officially closed down on Friday due to financial problems.
United Nations – The United States said Monday it opposes Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendation for a one-year extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, saying there is no longer a threat to peace between the tiny country and its powerful neighbor Indonesia.
Reporter: Graeme Dobell
Hamish Robertson: A renewed effort is being made to end the diplomatic war of words between Australia and East Timor over oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea and the precise location of the boundary between the two countries.
Dili – The government, angered by published reports of famine deaths it denies, has severed relations with one of East Timor's two daily newspapers, "Suara Timor Lorosae".
David Nason, New York – The UN Mission of Support in East Timor looks certain to be extended, after Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned of continuing government corruption, police human rights abuses, judicial chaos and the danger of renewed hostilities on the fledgling's nation's undecided border with Indonesia.
Australia says the decision on a permanent seabed boundary with East Timor should be deferred for up to 100 years to allow oil and gas projects to go ahead. The timetable will be put to East Timor at boundary negotiations which will resume in Canberra in the second week of March.
Indonesian troops have cracked down on suspected militia members near the East Timor border, banning them from wearing camouflage uniforms as the UN sought an extension for peacekeeping forces in the fledgling nation.
New York – United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said here Wednesday the human rights violations that occurred in East Timor in 1999 following a UN-sponsored people's ballot were now not the concern of Indonessia and East Timor only but of the international community as well.
Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Justice is at the crossroads in East Timor, with the United Nations formally moving to check the impunity of those accused of war crimes committed during Indonesia's bloody withdrawal from the island in 1999 and Timorese and Indonesian leaders proposing that all such charges be dropped.
We, the undersigned citizens of Australia, address this letter to those representatives of our government who will negotiate with representatives of the government of East Timor about maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea.
All too frequently this nation has refused to come to terms with its past. The circumstances surrounding historical events remain blurred, the rhetoric that exalts heroes and condemns villains left untested.
Dili – East Timor will ask the United Nations Security Council to extend its peacekeeping mission in the fledgling nation, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday.
David Loyn, East Timor – Aprecio Guterres will be the last person to be tried by the war crimes court set up in East Timor.
After his case has been heard, the United Nations has ordered the court to close, as operations wind down ahead of the final UN pullout on 20 May. It has already stayed a year beyond its original mandate, and no further extension looks likely.
Tom Noble – In a small hospital in East Timor a father smiles. His once-blind son has seen the light, literally, after an operation by Australian doctors. It's a small miracle. A gift of sight.
Mark Forbes, Canberra – A Defence Department official deliberately cut the flow of military intelligence to troops in the field in East Timor. But the official's identity is being concealed while the department decides what action to take.
Ben Moxham – The East Timorese newspaper Suara Timor Lorosae reported on February 7 that at least 53 people had died of starvation in the village of Hatabuiliko since October. "There is absolutely nothing to eat," said Domingos de Araujo, the sub-district secretary, and "those still alive are looking for wild potatoes in the forest."
Sydney – Woodside Petroleum Ltd said the 5 billion AUD Greater Sunrise gas project in the Timor Sea is stalled but remains viable.
Woodside chief executive Don Voelte told an analyst briefing a decision to progress depends on the governments of East Timor and Australia reaching agreement.
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Ian Carnell says he has no doubt that Australian troops in East Timor have been deliberately cut off from top secret information.
The claims were first made by army whistleblower Lance Collins in a series of allegations he made about the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO).
Detikom, Muhammad Atqa – Indonesia's foreign minister, Hasan Wirayudha, clarified that the Truth and Friendship Commission [TFC] being formed by the Indonesian and East Timor governments will not include officials from either country, but will, however, include community leaders with high integrity.
Lisa Clausen – Built from scratch like so much of East Timor after the militia rampages in the wake of 1999's independence vote, the nation's justice system is now facing a critical setback.
Dili – East Timor's leaders want national consensus on how to deal with Indonesian atrocities committed in 1999, but will move to set up a Truth and Friendship Commission with Jakarta regardless of negative public reaction, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said Friday.
Jon Lamb – A 30-second television advertisement screened on January 26 during the Australian Open tennis tournament has returned to the limelight the theft of East Timor's oil and gas resources by PM John Howard's Coalition government. At prime time and to a record number of viewers, the message was very clear: stop stealing East Timor's oil and gas wealth.
Dili – The port authorities of the East Timorese and Portuguese capitals signed an accord Wednesday for broad bilateral cooperation.
The agreement was signed for Dili by the minister of transportation, communications and public works, Ovmdeo Amaral, and for Lisbon by Ambassador Joco Ramos Pinto.
Veronica Brooks – East Timor's bid to establish a viable oil and gas exploration industry has received robust early interest from multinational petroleum companies, according to the nation's top energy official.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was cautiously positive about reaching a deal with East Timor on how to share lucrative energy reserves beneath the Timor Sea.
Australia and East Timor have so far failed to reach agreement on how best to divide the estimated $A41 billion worth of oil and gas deposits lying beneath the sea between Australia and East Timor.
East Timor's new Catholic bishop has opposed a deal between Timorese and Indonesian leaders to drop trials over atrocities during the country's 1999 independence process, saying it lacks public support.
Sarah Crichton – The Federal Court has ruled it cannot hear a US oil company's multi-billion dollar compensation claim against the Commonwealth for loss of rights to vast oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.
Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda will host a meeting with his East Timor counterpart Ramos Horta to have talks on the planned establishment of the commission for truth and friendship, a foreign spokesman said Friday.
Adirito de Jesus Soares, Dili – Many people have commented about the first 100 days of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's presidency. One of his campaign promises, as we know, was to deal specifically with corruption – one of most acute problems facing Indonesia.
Dili – The United Nations should maintain a trimmed-down operation in East Timor after the scheduled withdrawal of its UNMISET mission in May, a Portuguese government official said Wednesday.
Melbourne – Tiny East Timor will open the door to a growing queue of foreign oil and gas explorers later this month when its parliament is due to pass the country's first petroleum laws.
Veronica Brooks, Canberra – East Timor is poised to formally accept Australia's invitation to resume negotiations on a permanent maritime boundary.
Julian Lee and Cynthia Banham – An advertising campaign accusing the Prime Minister of stealing billions of dollars in oil and gas revenues from East Timor has been branded "deceptive and misleading" by the Government.
The Government has gone on the defensive as it attempts to resume stalled talks over disputed maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea.
East Timor's charismatic president Xanana Gusmao today made an emotional visit to the Indonesian prison where he was held for four years as a rebel before his country was granted independence.
Jakarta – East Timor President Xanana Gusmao in a three-day visit here Friday sought to mend bilateral ties with Indonesia, hand humanitarian assistance to tsunami victims and express opposition against US military embargo.
Jakarta – Indonesia and Timor Leste (East Timor) have agreed to establish a permanent border crossing (PLB) for traditional communities that live on the border between the two countries to strengthen kinship ties and to preserve peace.
Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – The Timor Leste (East Timor) government has promised to lobby the US government in its congress, in February 2005 about withdrawing the embargo on Indonesian military requirements.
Julian Lee – The organisers of an advertising campaign that ambushed the Australian Open to highlight disputed maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea have pledged to dog John Howard at public events to further their cause.
Businessman Ian Melrose has recommenced his campaign of television commercials criticising the Australian Government's unfair treatment of East Timor, branding the $1.5 billion Australia has already taken in disputed oil and gas revenues from the Timor Sea as "Stolen Goods."
Veronica Brooks, Canberra – Australia is hopeful East Timor will in the next week or two accept its invitation to return to the negotiating table to settle ownership of vast oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea.
Dili – Former pro-Indonesian militiamen are gradually slipping back into East Timor and resorting to banditry, a military source in Dili told Lusa Friday.
The officer said the latest evidence of the infiltration from Indonesia West Timor came from an ex-militiaman captured by police after a firefight Tuesday.
Dili – Police in East Timor detained a man after an exchange of gunfire between security forces and an armed group near the border with Indonesian West Timor, officials said Wednesday.
Six armed men opened fire on a police patrol Tuesday after being spotted by patrolling officers in the district of Ermera, about 50 kms southwest of Dili, a police source told Lusa.
Jakarta – Former East Timor governor Abilio Soares vowed on Wednesday to continue his challenge against the retroactive application of the rights tribunal law despite his acquittal of all charges arising out the 1999 atrocities in the former Indonesian province.
The secretary of state for defence's visit to East Timor, due to start tomorrow (Tuesday 18 January), has been postponed until the end of the month. Jorge Neto is now expected to visit the country on 30 January, during which he will sign the Military-Technical Cooperation Programme for 2005 with the Timorese authorities.
Dili – Australia and East Timor will resume in March talks to resolve their dispute over shared maritime boundaries and the carving up of Timor Sea hydrocarbon revenues, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Monday.
Adam Gartrell – Buses donated to East Timor by the NSW Government in 2002 have never been used and sit in an empty parking lot, makeshift homes to a handful of Timor's poor.
Five of the 20-year-old Mercedes-Benz Mark Two buses, worth about $10,000 each, were shipped to East Timor, at an added cost of $70,000, by the Transport Department in January 2002.
Paul Dyer – The $7 billion Greater Sunrise gas project in the Timor Sea has been shelved by project operator Woodside Petroleum.
Woodside has halted funds and reassigned project employees because a border dispute between Australia and East Timor remains unresolved.