East Timor may not seek a United Nations tribunal to try cases of militia atrocities three years ago even if Indonesia's human rights court fails to deliver justice according to its foreign minister.

[The East Timor government says unsuccessful asylum-seekers forced to return from Australia will be a burden on the country's fledgeling economy. A quirk of the former Portuguese colony's status meant the claims of some 1,700 asylum-seekers were not resolved after their arrival in the early 1990's, and they are now being asked to leave.

Dili – Violent clashes Monday between security forces and residents near East Timor's second city, Baucau, left two people injured, a police source said.

The violence erupted after about 20 inhabitants of Uailili, a village outside Baucau, created a road block and demanded cash from motorists wishing to pass, explained the source.

Helen Signy and Cynthia Banham – The Australian Government issued a secret directive that refugee applications from the East Timorese community should be put on hold, documents obtained by the Herald claim.

Andrew West – Under the threat of deportation, the Lay family celebrated the eighth anniversary of their arrival in Australia at their Fairfield home yesterday.

The Immigration Department has written to about 1,800 East Timorese asking them to show cause why they should be allowed to remain in Australia. Many of the refugees have been in Australia for up to 10 years.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – With the deadline for the closure of refugee camps here drawing near, 121 East Timorese families have registered for the government-sponsored resettlement program.

The head of the operation dealing with the refugees, Lt. Col. Pieter Lobo, said on Thursday the East Timorese families would be resettled on Sumba island in East Nusa Tenggara.

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – Armindo Soares Mariano, caretaker of UNTAS – an East Timorese refugee organization – disclosed here on Friday that East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao would not be granting amnesty to pro-Indonesia militiamen who fled to East Nusa Tenggara following the popular ballot in 1999.

Dili – The UN will respect its engagement with East Timor and has no plans for an anticipated reduction or withdrawal of its civilian team and peacekeeping forces, Dili's UN ambassador said Thursday in New York.

A lack of foreign investment rules has been highlighted as the main factor restricting economic growth in the newly independent East Timor.

East Timor's Australian-born First Lady, Kirsty Sword-Gusmao, says there have been plenty of enquiries from potential investors.

[East Timor has marked the eleventh anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre. Hundreds of people were killed in the Dili cemetery on November 12, 1991, when Indonesian forces opened fire on some 2,000 peaceful demonstrators. The East Timorese marked the day with a mass and flown the nation's flag at half mast.

Jason Koutsoukis – The $3.5 billion Bayu-Undan natural gas project between Australia and East Timor received a major boost yesterday when a joint federal parliamentary committee recommended ratification of a joint ownership treaty.

The treaty will give project operator Phillips Petroleum the required certainty to proceed with the second phase of the project.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Witnesses at East Timor's truth and reconciliation commission have described atrocities going back to 1975 involving Indonesian soldiers, militia groups – and the Fretilin Party that liberated the newly independent nation.

Dili – East Timorese students and human rights groups called Tuesday for an international court to judge those responsible for human rights abuses during the Indonesian occupation of Timor, on the anniversary of a massacre in which over 100 people died.

Dili – About 1,000 protesters Tuesday demanding that the Indonesian soldiers who shot to death 200 people at a rally 11 years ago be brought to justice.

The November 12, 1991, massacre at the Santa Cruz cemetery, in the capital, Dili, was secretly caught on video and broadcast around the world. It galvanized opposition to Indonesia's brutal rule of East Timor.

Dili – Australia is using East Timor's vulnerability as one of the world's poorest nations to gain leverage in negotiations on the carving up of oil resources in the Timor Sea, Dili's prime minister said Monday.

Jakarta – Prosecutors on Monday sought the minimum 10-year jail sentence for a former Indonesian army chief officer charged with crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – A United Nations prosecutor has hailed the indictment of two Indonesian officers for the 1999 murder of Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes as a turning point in East Timor war crimes charges.

Kupang – The people of the western half of Timor Island, East Nusa Tenggara, must also enjoy their traditional rights as owners of the Timor Sea, the site of oil and gas explorations known as the Timor Gap, and not merely receiving the impacts of damage of the ecosystem in the Timor Sea.

Jakarta – The government has agreed to hold a special repatriation program for East Timorese refugees who want to go home late this year, Antara reported.

East Nusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo said on Friday that the decision was conveyed by Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Yusuf Kalla in a letter sent to a group tasked to handle the refugees.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Investigators in East Timor have issued an indictment against two Indonesian military officers over the 1999 killing of a Dutch journalist around the time the territory voted to break from Jakarta's harsh rule.

A former militia chief has denied he had committed human rights abuses in East Timor three years ago and said he was a victim of the Indonesian government's desire to appease international criticism.

Dili – The leadership of East Timor's ruling Fretilin party met Thursday with its deputies in the Dili parliament to discuss recent revelations of high absenteeism among Fretilin MPs and threats by the party's chiefs to expel "rogue" members.

East Timor's first Portuguese-language newspaper in more than a quarter century will be formally launched in Dili Thursday.

Jakarta – Two Indonesian soldiers were among seven people indicted Wednesday in East Timor for killing a Dutch journalist and 19 others during the country's independence struggle in 1999, the UN said in a statement.

Dili – Defense force recruits attacked traffic police in the East Timorese capital Friday, in an apparent act of revenge, injuring at least two officers.

Dili – An average of 12 percent of lawmakers do not attend sittings of East Timor's parliament and only one in ten of these absentees offers a valid excuse for their non-appearance, a report commissioned by the Dili parliament reveals.

Jill Jolliffe, Atambua – East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao has called on the United Nations to lower its security rating for West Timor, which is now at a higher stage of alert than Afghanistan or Bali.

Dili – International donations were used to plug East Timor's USD 22 million budget deficit in the financial year 2001-2002, although the world's newest nation's state receipts were higher than anticipated in this period.

Jill Jolliffe, Kupang – President Jose "Xanana" Gusmao has led a delegation of more than 100 East Timorese, including parliamentarians, cabinet ministers, a football team and 16 entertainers, to West Timor in a new bid to empty refugee camps there.

Jill Jolliffe, Lacluta – In the remote south coast town of Lacluta, nine villagers accused of violence against their neighbours during 1999 militia attacks have faced their victims in the presence of the community.

Kupang – East Timorese president Xanana Gusmao told a sports stadium filled with East Timorese refugees Saturday that it was their decision whether or not to return home.

But Gusmao told the crowd of about 1,000 people that his country will welcome those who come back.

Kupang – The president of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Alexander "Xanana" Gusmao, arrived here on Friday morning, amid tight security, for a four-day official trip that will include visits to East Timorese refugee camps.

Sydney – Portuguese intelligence has warned of terrorist attacks against Australian, Portuguese and US interests in East Timor, the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) said yesterday.

President of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Francis Carroll, has written to the Minister for Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, the Hon Philip Ruddock, asking that 1800 East Timorese asylum seekers, who have been in Australia for at least eight years, be allowed to stay.

Dili – The East Timorese government is to undertake a review of its state budget plans after a fall in government receipts and delays in delivering aid funds have left the new nation with a deficit of about USD 1.9 million in the third quarter of this year.

Cindy Wooden, Vatican City – Catholics in East Timor held firmly to their faith during their struggle for independence, and now they must bring their Catholic values to bear on the new society they are building, Pope John Paul II said.

A court in East Timor has sentenced a former militia commander to five years in prison for crimes against humanity committed in 1999, the United Nations said.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – He didn't wear sack cloth, but Timorese President Xanana Gusmao sent a clear message on austerity when he unveiled a burnt-out building as his new headquarters yesterday, dubbing it the "Palace of Ashes".

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timor's President Jose "Xanana" Gusmao has repeated his opposition to trials for Indonesian officers accused of human rights violations in Dili, a stand supported by his Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Six Indonesians were wounded when a homemade bomb exploded at a traditional market in an East Timorese town near the border with East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), the military here said on Saturday.

Lisbon – The World Bank is studying, with a view to financing, a Portuguese publishing firm's proposal to produce 50,000 school books for use in East Timor's education system.

Jakarta – Suspected gross human rights violator in East Timor, Eurico Guterres, said he had felt neither guilt nor sorrow over what he did in the region before it separated as an independent country.

East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta says his country is ready to ratify the Timor Sea Treaty and the Australian Government will owe his people an explanation if it decides to delay proceedings.

President Xanana Gusmao defended Wednesday a dynamic of national reconciliation rather than the setting up of an international court to try human rights abuses committed in East Timor.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Hundreds of East Timorese refugees sheltering in Kupang and Belu regencies have refused to be repatriated, pending the disbursement of Christmas bonuses promised by the Indonesian government.

Jill Jolliffe, Balibo – The Victorian Government will establish a medical clinic in the East Timor house used by five Australian-based journalists whom Indonesian invaders killed.

The villagers of Balibo, where the journalists were killed in 1975, are enthusiastic about a State Government plan to build a memorial clinic there.

Sarah Stephen – The 168 East Timorese asylum seekers whose claims were rejected by the immigration department on September 25 are the first of almost 1700 asylum seekers who face the prospect of being forcibly returned to East Timor, despite many having lived in Australia for up to 10 years.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan issued a report on East Timor Thursday, stressing what he termed "the vital necessity" of continued UN aid for the world's youngest nation.

Lisbon – East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao says he would like to quit but will stay in the job to help his recently independent country grow. "If I could, I'd quit today," Gusmao said in an interview published Wednesday in daily paper Diario de Noticias.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Indonesia and East Timor agreed on Tuesday to convert Indonesian assets in East Timor, mostly corporate assets, into equity investment in the newly born state.

Concluding the first joint commission meeting on Tuesday, the delegations of both countries agreed to further discussions within the next six months.