[The following statement was issued by the HAK Association, Haburas Foundation, Oxfam Australia, Alola Foundation, La'o Hamutuk (East Timor Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis), East Timor Community Radio Association (ARKTL), the Mirror of the People (Labeh), Forum Tau Matan (FTM) and the East Timor Students Association.]

Reporter: Anne Barker

Mark Colvin: A few short years ago East Timor lost hundreds of thousands of people to death and deportation in the militia-led violence of 1999. But today there's a remarkable turnaround. Results from the first national census show a population heading for one million by next year - one of the fastest growing populations in the world.

East Timor's leaders will seek public support against moves to establish an international tribunal over alleged human rights violations during Indonesia's 24-year occupation, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday.

Last week was the fifth anniversary of the independence vote in East Timor and the Indonesian atrocities that followed. At the time of the killings there was an international uproar and some confidence that the perpetrators would be prosecuted. That confidence has now turned to dust. As promised, Indonesia put its own military on trial.

East Timor's foreign minister reaffirmed his opposition to an international rights tribunal Wednesday, telling parliament that the country's economic future depended on good relations with its former occupier.

Semarang – Some 25 former residents of East Timor descended upon the Central Java provincial administration on Monday, demanding that the Indonesian government pay the compensation promised to them after they fled East Timor in 1999.

The East Timorese relocated to Indonesia, mostly to areas in Central Java, after East Timor claimed independence in 1999.

Lisbon – East Timor's religious leader, Catholic Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, is optimistic over efforts, backed by Portugal, to re-introduce the use of Portuguese in his newly independent country.

Jonathan Head, East Timor – Five years ago the people of East Timor had their first opportunity to choose their own future and a staggering 98% of registered voters turned out to cast their ballots in favour of independence.

What do people have a right to expect five years after winning a Titanic struggle for independence?

A labor dispute in Timor-Leste (East Timor) is putting the World Bank's "dream [of] a world free of poverty" to the test.

The dispute challenges the Bank to apply to itself the standards the institution claims to promote, including a commitment to rule of law, poverty elimination, fundamental labor rights and sustainable development.

Dennis Shanahan – A gas revenue deal worth $5 billion for the infant nation of East Timor is expected to go ahead despite the election campaign clashing with scheduled negotiations next month.

The last federal cabinet meeting before the Coalition goes into election "caretaker" mode cleared the way yesterday for a deal on gas revenues from the Timor Sea.

It's been five years since the referendum in East Timor which lead to its independence. On August 30 1999, the people voted overwhelmingly to break away from 25 years of repressive – even brutal rule by Indonesia. But the jubililation turned to terror as violence and bloodshed, organised by pro Jakarta militia left a trail of destruction during and after the ballot.

Dili – Five years after his tiny nation voted in a UN referendum to end 24 years of Indonesian occupation, East Timor's president warned on Monday that the poverty-stricken country still faced major challenges.

Jakarta – Indonesian foreign affairs department spokesman Marty Natalegawa has said that the Indonesian government will not allow the United Nations Expert Commission to enter Indonesia as it would be highly inappropriate to authorize a third party institution to evaluate and monitor a legal process that still prevails in a sovereign country.

Janaki Kremmer, Sydney – Not so long ago, Australians were being feted for helping tiny East Timor, their northern neighbor, gain independence from Indonesia.

East Timor urged the United Nations not to be hasty in withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from the fledgling nation, after the world body said it was considering further cutting back the mission.

Nelson Santos, the secretary-general of East Timor's foreign ministry, said that security along the country's border with Indonesia had improved but remained fragile.

New York – Although East Timor continues to make progress towards self-sufficiency, it still requires international assistance for the foreseeable future, a senior United Nations official has told the Security Council.

New York – A number of countries have expressed concern about the trial of gross human rights violations in East Timor carried out in Indonesia and in East Timor by the Serious Crime Unit of the UN Mission for Support in East Timor (UNMISET).

Jakarta – East Timor urged the United Nations on Wednesday not to be hasty in withdrawing its peacekeeping forces from the fledgling nation, after the world body said it was considering further cutbacks to the mission.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has no comment to make on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's report to the UN Security Council in which he expressed dissapointment about the outcome of Indonesian court trials of human right violations in East Timor in 1999, a spokesman said. .

New York – As the United Nations readies next year's withdrawal of its mission to East Timor, Dili is making significant progress towards running its own affairs, UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan says in a new report debated by the Security Council on Tuesday.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – After a month in hiding, the guerilla hero known as L-7 has made a triumphal return to the East Timorese capital and supported claims that police shot at him and other demonstrators on July 20.

New York – United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan has expressed dissatisfaction over the result of the trials conducted by Indonesia's ad-hoc court for human rights violations in East Timor.

Vannessa Hearman – Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, the Melbourne-born wife of East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao and chairperson of the Alola Foundation for women and children of East Timor, has condemned the stance taken by the Howard government on the Timor Sea oil and gas negotiations.

Vannessa Hearman – On August 11, East Timorese foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta and Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer agreed on a "framework" for a Timor Sea agreement. According to Downer, an agreement could be reached by Christmas.

Jon Lamb – On August 5, the ad hoc human rights court in Indonesia accepted an appeal, and acquitted four generals of any involvement in the killing of at least 1500 East Timorese during the 1999 terror campaign that was orchestrated by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).

Four martial arts gangs, armed with machetes and swords, fought pitched battles in the streets of East Timor over the weekend, leaving a police commander dead and dozens of houses burned to the ground, police said Monday.

Denpasar – The East Timorese government has stated its commitment to prevent the establishment of an UN Expert Commission, aimed at investigating human rights violations in East Timor following the 1999 ballot.

A sensible, if imperfect, compromise appears to have retrieved relations with East Timor.

The people of East Timor are under no illusions about how much they owe Australia for its help in winning independence from Indonesia. So when East Timor recently accused Australia of bullying and stealing oil revenue this signalled a serious dispute.

Timothy Mapes and Patrick Barta, Jakarta – Australia and East Timor have worked out the broad outlines of a possible compromise that could help end a bruising two-year dispute over control of giant oil and natural-gas fields in the Timor Sea, officials familiar with the talks said.

US-based rights groups called for a UN inquiry to bring to justice Indonesian security officers let off the hook for atrocities during East Timor's 1999 violence-marred independence vote.

David Gollust, State Department – The United States Monday expressed dismay over an Indonesian appeals court ruling overturning convictions of security officials for crimes against humanity in the 1999 violence in East Timor. The State Department called the Indonesian legal process "seriously flawed."

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – East Timor urged its friends on Monday not to push for a U.N tribunal for Indonesian forces accused of abuses during its bloody 1999 vote for independence, saying such a court would not help the fledgling state.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – A UN prosecutor and human rights groups called for international action yesterday after an Indonesian appeal court quashed the four outstanding convictions of members of the country's security forces prosecuted for their alleged involvement in violence in East Timor in 1999.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Three Indonesian soldiers and a police officer have won their appeals against convictions for gross human rights abuses in East Timor, in a decision that means all Indonesian security force personnel have now been cleared of the violence that resulted in the deaths of about 1600 people.

Jakarta – Foreign rights groups Saturday demanded the establishment of an international tribunal to punish Indonesian security officers implicated in the 1999 violence in East Timor after an appeals court overturned four earlier convictions.

Andrew Burrell, Jakarta – The only four Indonesians found guilty of the wave of killings and destruction in East Timor in 1999 have all had their convictions and jail terms overturned by a Jakarta appeals court.

The High Court verdict almost certainly means that no Indonesian will ever be punished for the East Timor atrocities that shocked the world five years ago.

New York – US-based rights groups called for a UN inquiry to bring to justice Indonesian security officers let off the hook for atrocities during East Timor's 1999 violence-marred independence vote.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – "I saw seven police firing their pistols at L-7, a volley of bullets directed at his legs. It would be surprising if he hadn't been hit."

Melbourne – East Timor's first lady today accused the federal government of making the Timor Sea oil negotiations a political football.

Melbourne-born Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, the wife of East Timorese president Xanana Gusmao, was in Melbourne today to call on the Australian public to lobby for a fairer deal for East Timor in the maritime boundary negotiations.

East Timor's first lady, Kirsty Sword Gusmao has called on the Alkatiri government to listen to the needs and demands of rebel Cornelio Gama or L-7. The disgruntled war veteran recently lead a demonstration in Dili in which 26 people were arrested after riot police fired tear gas to break up the protest

Presenter/Interviewer: Claudette Werden

Evelyn Rusli, Jakarta – An Indonesian appeals court has overturned the convictions of three army officers and one policeman for crimes against humanity during violence in 1999 over East Timor's independence that left some 1,500 people dead.

Oil wealth was always expected to play an important role in rebuilding East Timor after independence. Two years on, thanks to the stubbornness of neighbouring Australia, there is still much uncertainty over whether the bulk of that wealth will ever be made available to the government of the struggling new country.

Jon Lamb – Australian Labor Party federal leader Mark Latham's comments on July 22 that a government led by him would start new negotiations with East Timor over the maritime boundary in the Timor Sea has provoked a threat from Prime Minister John Howard's government to cancel the next round of talks between Canberra and Dili scheduled for September.

Sydney – The Australian-born first lady of East Timor, Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, Monday appealed to Canberra not to force her country beg for a "fair share" of the Timor Sea oil and gas reserves.

Brad Howarth – The East Timorese and Australian Governments have agreed to proceed with negotiations over the Timor Sea oil and gas fields without discussing permanent seabed boundaries.

Rowan Callick – The Timor gap is getting wider. And both Australia and East Timor are set to delay or lose substantial income as a result.

Australia's row with East Timor over the oil- and gas-rich sea bed between the countries has inevitably turned into a domestic debate, too, as the election approaches, clouding the issues.

Nigel Wilson – The Howard Government has told East Timor it will get no revenue from the Bayu Undan and Greater Sunrise gas fields if it pursues its claim for a maritime boundary set at the median point between the two countries.

Darwin – Federal and state mining ministers have shot down a proposal to include East Timor in their talks on the exploitation of oil and gas resources.

Sarah Boyd – The United Nation's special representative in East Timor, Sukehiro Hasekawa, has been thinking about the O J Simpson trial. "The relatives of the victim and those of the accused needed to look each other in the eye and acknowledge what actually happened. That trial went on for a year and cost a lot of money, but perhaps they never did that."

Dennis Shanahan and Nigel Wilson – Mark Latham's pledge to start new boundary talks with East Timor is threatening the tiny country's economic future, with owners of a $5 billion gas project saying they will stop development plans if present arrangements are not honoured.