An American Civpol officer stationed in Bobonaro District was stoned by a group of Timorese at the border area. The Indonesian Commander of the Border Security Task Force in West Timor, Lieutenant Colonel (Infantary) Magna Candra confirmed the incident.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The political party of East Timor's independence heroes, Fretilin, has been accused of using intimidation, threats and "Indonesian-style" campaigning ahead of next week's general election.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Those responsible for some of the worst atrocities committed in East Timor in 1999 are likely to escape prosecution by a special Indonesian war crimes tribunal, according to senior United Nations and Timorese human rights officials.

Canberra – Australia is unable to dictate a solution to a dispute between East Timor and a US-based oil company that has stalled construction of a key gas pipeline, the government said Wednesday.

Canberra – Australia said on Tuesday it would urge Phillips Petroleum Co chairman and chief executive Jim Mulva to talk tough with East Timor over tax proposals which are stalling a Timor Sea gas project.

East Timorese women's rights groups have gathered more than 10,000 signatures backing the inclusion of a "Women's Rights Charter" in the territory's future constitutiuon, activists announced Tuesday in Dili.

Joe Leahy, Dili – Something resembling a commercial bustle has returned to Dili, East Timor's capital. Beaten-up taxis cruise streets frequented by illegal money-changers. Stores here and there have re-opened. New cafes serve Australian steak sandwiches and cappuccinos to thousands of foreigners working for the United Nations and other organisations.

East Timor's UN Transition Administration (UNTAET) praised Monday the weapons collection campaign conducted last week by the Indonesian Armed Forces and targeting militias in Jakarta's western half of Timor island.

A UN spokesman in Dili said UNTAET chief Sergio Vieira de Mello "welcomed the efforts" of the Indonesians, adding that he hoped they would continue.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Apocalyptic predictions are rife in East Timor as the territory approaches political freedom after centuries of Portuguese colonial rule and a quarter century of Indonesian military repression.

United Nations civil police in the Suai region of East Timor have detained two people suspected of committing infractions of election campaign rules, a UN source told Lusa on Friday.

Mark Riley, New York – The Prime Minister has asked to meet with the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, as the UN comes under pressure to accelerate its withdrawal from East Timor and leave an even greater bill to Australia and its regional partners.

Mark Dodd, Dili – With an army of street kids recruited to plaster seafront coconut trees with stickers, and a UN vehicle pressed into service blaring raucous political messages, the Timorese Nationalist Party (PNT) kicked off its election campaign this week.

Aout 200 ex-Falintil members on Tuesday staged a one-day sit-in at UNTAET headquarters to demand that the United Nations fulfill its promises to the former freedom fighters.

Domingos da Silva, spokesperson for the ex-Falintil said the group of freedom fighters that did not meet the grade to enter the Timor Lorosae Defense Forces (FDTL) were in dire straits.

Mark Dodd, Dili – A former member of the independence movement Fretilin, Dr Abilio Araujo, expelled for his links with Indonesia, has returned to East Timor after 26 years' self-imposed exile in Portugal to contest the election on August 30.

[Source: RDP Antena 1 radio, Lisbon, in Portuguese. Excerpt from report by Portuguese radio on 14 August]

Joe Leahy – Antonio, a farmer in the arid highlands south of East Timor's capital Dili, points at a distant ridgeline. That is where his family's traditional houses were before Indonesia invaded in 1975.

Unidentified assailants have thrown stones at a vehicle carrying Democratic Party (PD) supporters on a campaign tour of the Liquiga district west of the East Timorese capital.

The incident, which took place early Monday evening, left one car window smashed but no-one hurt and was only reported to police on Tuesday.

[Source: RDP Antena 1 radio, Lisbon, in Portuguese]

Certain political parties have resorted to door knocking campaigns forcing people to vote for them. This was brought up at a dialogue session with the Democrat Party (PD) campaign manager who visited Aileu on Saturday.

Mark Dodd, Dili – His name is distinctive, and in coming months Australians may hear a lot more of the East Timorese independence leader LuOlo. The Department of Foreign Affairs certainly thinks so, and earlier this year he was flown to Canberra to meet ministry mandarins for talks and a chance for them to get to know the man and the policies he represents.

Thousands of people made their way to Dili on Saturday to take part in the UDT mammoth campaign. UDT supporters in buses and trucks toured the city shouting slogans and waving victory signs before they reached the Democracy field to hear UDT leaders and candidates speak. At the Democracy Field, supporters and on-lookers were entertained by the popular rock band Vi-Almaa-X.

Mark Dodd – An Australian-funded program teaching East Timorese to reject corruption hopes to make an impact on political parties competing in national elections this month for an 88-seat constituent assembly.

Nigel Wilson – For months there have been rumours of problems in the "co-operative" arrangement to develop more than 12 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Timor Sea. Yesterday those rumours were confirmed – with gusto.

Ian Timberlake, Jakarta – The Indonesian military directed a militia campaign of killings, terror and forced deportation against East Timorese civilians, according to a new book on the 1999 atrocities.

Warren Caragata, Dili – It's the road from nowhere, but it's surprisingly busy. Mafalda Florindo and Isabella Antonine walk along it, smiling betel-stained grins as they talk about cloth they had just bought for a good price. A little farther, Alicin Soares, a rice grower, maneuvers his truck along the dusty track.

Warren Caragata, Dili – The big UN Land Rover that carries Xanana Gusmao and his bodyguards from event to event should have a bumper sticker that says "I'd rather be doing practically anything else." Anyone who doubts that's the case should watch him when he has a camera in his hands.

Mark Dodd in Dili and Craig Skehan in Canberra – An East Timorese militia leader who served in the Indonesian Army's special forces and is on trial for war crimes – including the murder of a nun – says he was trained by Australian soldiers.

Mark Dodd, Maliana – Every day a group of women meet at the shop called Nove Nove (Nine Nine) in bustling Maliana market. They share a chilling legacy. In the ninth month of the 99th year they all lost their husbands during a frenzy of army and militia killings that followed the referendum for self-determination.

The Indonesian government has rejected a United Nations proposal for a land link between East Timor and its Oecussi enclave in West Timor, a report said Thursday.

The refusal of the proposal by the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) was based on security considerations, said East Nusa Tenggara province vice governor Yohanes Pake Pani.

Electoral officials in Dili said Thursday that final voters' lists for East Timor's August 30 constituent assembly elections contained 409,019 eligible voters, after additions made in corrections of faulty preliminary lists.

Kupang – Police forcibly evacuated some 500 former prointegration militiamen from East Timor on Tuesday. Grouped under the Indonesian Veterans Legion (LVRI), they demonstrated at the governor's office demanding that the Indonesian government pay greater attention to their future.

Jon Land – With elections to the country's first post-occupation Constituent Assembly due on August 30, East Timor's socialists are building up their support across the country and are confident of good results.

The Socialist Party of Timor is unique amongst all the parties contesting the elections: it's the only one running on an openly socialist and Marxist platform.

Mark Dodd – A court holding the territory's first war crimes trial heard graphic evidence yesterday about the torture and murder of a pro-independence guerilla by Indonesian special forces.

Vaudine England – Aid groups may be reluctant to return to refugee camps in West Timor with as many personnel as before, despite the UN giving the go-ahead for workers to go back.

[Excerpt from report by Asih Nurhayati by Indonesian Satunet news web site on 6 August.]

An East Timorese Jose Amaral (29) caught entering East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) claimed on Saturday said he was sent to spy on the activities of TNI/Polri Indonesian National Military Forces/Police and former pro-integrationist militia leaders in Belu district.

Mark Dodd – East Timorese officials have hailed President Megawati Sukarnoputri's decision to expand the terms of an Indonesian tribunal investigating violence in East Timor in 1999.

[Source: Kompas Cyber Media web site, Jakarta, Auguse 3]

Denpasar – If civilians refuse to surrender their weapons as ordered by security personnel, the military will not hesitate to shoot them. This statement was made by IX/Udayana Military Area Commander Maj-Gen Willem T da Costa on Thursday in Denpasar.

The United Nations is to reduce its presence in East Timor in spite of Security Council members' reservations about the new administration in Jakarta.

East Timor's transitional government on Thursday moved forward with a controversial plan to adopt Portuguese as the country's official language by announcing it would recruit 723 Portuguese language teachers.

On 6 and 7 June, the Indonesian government went ahead with controversial plans to register East Timorese refugees in West Timor and determine whether they wished to remain in Indonesia or return to East Timor.

Mark Dodd, Dili – In a surprise move, American company Phillips Petroleum and its joint venture partners have deferred indefinitely plans to build a $1.5 billion Timor Sea to Darwin natural gas pipeline.

In a letter sent to United Nations Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan on July 26, Phillips cited "critical legal and fiscal issues" as the reason for the deferment.

About 19,800 coffee farmers in Timor Lorosae have to swallow the bitter pill because of sharp falls in worldwide coffee prices. On 10 May the price of export quality coffee fetched US$0.6855 on the world markets. On 27 July, however, the price fell to US$0.5130.

Jon Land – As campaigning for the Constituent Assembly elections slowly gathers momentum across East Timor, the installation of Megawati Sukarnoputri as Indonesia's new president has drawn a mixed response from East Timor's political leaders and human rights groups.

An Indonesian military commander has ordered his troops to arrest East Timorese militiamen who are still operating from refugee camps in neighbouring West Timor, the official Antara news agency said Wednesday.

The United Nations Security Council yesterday decided to extend the presence of UNTAET in Timor Lorosae till early 2002. However, Indonesia warned that the extension of UNTAET's mandate must not have any hidden agenda that could affect Jakarta.

Ongoing corrections to preliminary voters lists in East Timor have included an additional 18,000 names and will bring the total electorate for August 30 constituent assembly elections to more than 400,000, electoral commission official Carlos Valenzuela said Monday.

UN transition administration officials acknowledged Monday that issues of justice and human rights in East Timor remain a problem but dismissed a negative Amnesty International report as "exaggerated".

Tapol today expressed dismay at a controversial decision on Wednesday by the Dili District Court to release Dr Sergio Lobo – a surgeon at the Dili Hospital and candidate in the forthcoming constituent assembly elections on 30 August – from detention in Becora prison and to place him under house detention until his forthcoming trial, while allowing him to go to the hospital each day

Sydney – Justice and human rights in East Timor are still not guaranteed even though a UN administration in the former Indonesian territory will end its mission there in a few months, Amnesty International said.

Mark Dodd, Kupang – In what will probably be the last refugee repatriation voyage, 179 East Timorese boarded the Patricia Anne Hotung this week homeward bound for Dili and a fresh start.