Jakarta – Police suspect 11 victims found in a mass grave in East Timor were members an anti-independence militia group that has been accused of carrying out attacks and atrocities against civilians, a newspaper reported today.

Jakarta – 150 students who went to Timor ro assist in the reconciliation process were forced to return to Java following threats from Eurico Guterres, head of the Aitarak militia, demanding that all students should adopt a position of neutrality. "If they refuse, we will use "other means" to force them to do so," said Guterres.

Sydney – Reports that a document has been made public by Amnesty International which comes from a group called Red Blood Commando (Komando Darah Merah) saying they will "cleanse" Dili of pro-independence men, women and children.

It says that the document was circulating in Dili and the translation used the words, "Top Secret".

Simon Ingram, Bali – A leading activist for independence in East Timor has fled the territory with members of his family saying he intends to seek asylum in Australia.

In a statement issued on his behalf by his lawyer, Hendardi, chair of the PBHI, Xanana Gusmao, the president of the CNRT said that generally speaking, nothing new had emerged from the meeting between President Habibie and PM John Howard.

John McBeth, Jakarta – The flyer from the East Timor Pro-Integration Information Centre billed it as an "Invade Dili" rally.

Dili – Violence by militias has risen so sharply ahead of an August 8 vote on autonomy from Indonesia that a UN peacekeeping force is needed in East Timor, human rights groups said on Thursday.

Democratisation in Indonesia has forced president Suharto to end his 32 years of rule. International pressure, specifically by donor countries, have forced the Indonesian government to take steps which reflect its commitment to democracy. This concession to international pressure included an opening of democratic space in East Timor.

Cameron Stewart – The size of the planned UN observer force to East Timor next month may need to be increased because of unstable security in the territory, senior officials say.

UN planners will hold meetings in New York later this week to discuss the size and composition of the world body's presence in East Timor, which is expected to include up to 100 Australians.

[The following statement drafted by Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor is being circulated for endorsement. To add your name to the statement, please contact ASIET (details below).]

Peter Hartcher – John Howard's emergency summit today with the President of Indonesia is not the high-risk event as advertised - both men want the same thing.

Nusa Dua – Indonesian President B.J. Habibie said on Tuesday he fully accepted a UN-brokered autonomy package for troubled East Timor and that his government would sign it on May 5.

On Monday, 26 April, FOKUPERS received news from a resident of Liquisa that ABRI has threatened people living in the countryside, in places remote from the town of Liquisa, to move into the town. Those who remain behind are warned that they will be killed.

Mark Riley – It was promoted as a historic event, an agreement on self-determination for East Timor after 24 years of hostile occupation and the loss of more than 200,000 lives.

But there was no fanfare, no celebration at the United Nations on Friday. Just trepidation, suspicion and questions – lots of questions.

Dili – At least eight people and possibly as many as 100 have died in attacks by pro-Jakarta militias on pro-independence supporters in East Timor, a local priest told Reuters Friday.

The East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) is seriously concerned about the further acts of violence and the deaths of civilians in Dili, the capital city of East Timor, on Saturday, April 17. This most recent spate of acts of violence and killings occurred after a rally for pro-autonomy sympathisers had been organised by the Dili based Aitarak, led by Eurico Guterres.

Jakarta – The East Timor pro-independence movement on Thursday claimed that the Indonesian military had conducted attacks on bases of rebel forces in two districts, just a day after it committed itself to halt all violence in the troubled territory, a report said.

Dili – Leaders of warring factions in the troubled Indonesian territory of East Timor on Wednesday signed a peace pact witnessed by Indonesia's military chief and East Timor's two bishops.

In the document, signed at the residence of Dili Bishop Carlos Ximenes Felipe Belo, the groups pledged to "stop hatred, intimidation, and terror and try to help create peace."

The decision by the Habibie regime in 1998 to offer "the widest possible autonomy", including a separate electoral system, flag, and so on, was a retreat by the Habibie regime from the position of Suharto who refused any kind of autonomy.

Paul Kelly – Indonesia's President B. J. Habibie yesterday gave his personal word of honour that he was prepared to give East Timor independence.

Things are quiet in Dili. At a government rally in front of the governor's office, Dili Mayor Domingus Soares publicly announced that Eurico Guterres, the head of the Aitarak "death squad" and vice-commander of all Abri-sponsored death squads, will be in charge of security and stability in East Timor.

David Jenkins – As East Timor descends into a new round of violence and savagery the time has come for searching questions to be asked of President B. J. Habibie and his sometimes unfathomable Defence Minister, General Wiranto.

Hamish Mcdonald – Well-placed sources in Jakarta have supplied what could be the jigsaw pieces that make sense of the puzzling Indonesian policy on East Timor in recent months.

Human Rights Watch charged that the government of President Habibie could have prevented the violence in East Timor on Saturday by acting earlier to disarm pro-Indonesia militias.

ABRI commander General Wiranto said that East Timor is still part of Indonesia and that any violations of the law by either side are intolerable. Asked about the entry of UN forces, he said this would happen at the appropriate time, ie when a decision has been taken regarding the option that is being offered.

Mark Riley, New York – Indonesia is believed to have gutted the proposed statute of autonomy for East Timor, removing many of the major components and increasing the likelihood of continued clashes in the strife-torn region.

Jenny Grant – The Indonesian military not only turned a blind eye to Saturday's militia attacks in Dili but had prior knowledge of the planned targets at the most senior level, diplomatic sources claimed yesterday.

Jakarta – Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi and jailed East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao on Monday agreed there had been no call for war in the troubled territory against Jakarta.

Tommy Ardiansyah, Dili – Indonesia's military Sunday rejected the blame for bloody violence that killed dozens of people in the disputed territory of East Timor, accusing pro-independence groups instead.

[The following report was received today from Fortilos and posted on the conferences in Bahasa Indonesia: Translated by Tapol.]

Some 150 paramilitaries who were trained by ABRI in East Timor to attack pro-independence activists arrived in Jakarta by ship on Friday 16 April.

Diarmid O'Sullivan, Dili – Tensions are rising in the East Timorese capital, Dili, as thousands of pro-Indonesian militiamen pour in for a show of force today. At dusk yesterday the streets were empty as people hurried home to avoid militia patrols, some escorted by Indonesian soldiers.

"The Indonesian Government and Armed Forces (ABRI) are failing to protect East Timorese pro-independence supporters despite warnings of attacks by paramilitaries in East Timor, this weekend", Amnesty International said.

Peter Cole-Adams – No strategy is less flattering to a government than playing a waiting game. The appearance of impotence is unbecoming and, if the wait ends in failure, downright humiliating.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – A confidential Australian embassy report on the killing of East Timorese civilians in the town of Liquica concludes that allegations of a massacre are plausible and accuses the Indonesian military of colluding with militia forces in the lead-up to the incident.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The Portuguese colonialists who ruled East Timor for more than 400 years are fondly remembered for introducing Timorese to the art of the siesta.

Dili – They lay hugging the floor, screaming and weeping in terror as the shots and rocks blasted through the windows at the front of the house, trapped and unarmed.

Jakarta – The Nobel laureate Roman Catholic Bishop of Dili, Carlos Ximenes Felipe Belo, said Saturday he was scrapping a planned peace mass Sunday in the wake of a deadly rampage by pro-Indonesian militia in the East Timorese capital on Saturday.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The United Nations is planning a military-style operation to support its supervision of a scheduled July vote in violence-racked East Timor that includes the use of helicopters, aircraft, field hospitals and 70 four-wheel drive vehicles.

Dili – A clash between Indonesian soldiers and pro-independence guerrillas today left three people dead, including the brother of one of Indonesia's top diplomats and a key negotiator in East Timor's conflict, the military said.

[The following summarises a report from Yayasan HAK which was circulated in Bahasa by Fortilos.]

Dili – Armed pro-Indonesian militias are enforcing a reign of fear in the East Timorese capital Dili where terrified residents increasingly feel abandoned to their fate.

Christine Tjandraningsih, Jakarta – Indonesian military officials rejected claims Friday troops are planning to initiate violence in East Timor to scuttle a scheduled autonomy plebiscite for the territory and upcoming ministerial talks in New York.

Lindsay Murdoch and Mark Dodd, Jakarta – Pro-Indonesian forces vowed yesterday to stage an "invade Dili" rally in the East Timorese capital on Saturday after Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao refused to back away from a call for his supporters to take up arms to defend themselves.

John Aglionby, Dili – East Timorese paramilitaries loyal to the Indonesian government took their campaign of fear into the centre of the capital, Dili, for the first time yesterday as the civilian governor admitted that anarchy was "erupting everywhere" across the territory.

Emma Tinkler, Sydney – Provocateurs from within the ranks of the Indonesian military had incited violence in the nation's troubled provinces, Australian missionaries said today.

Dili – At least one person was killed and another seriously injured after a clash between hundreds of members of pro-independence and anti-independence groups in East Timor, police and local residents said Saturday.

Angela Tresnasari, Jakarta – Indonesia on Friday threatened to put East Timor guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao back in jail unless he retracted a call to arms within a week.

Justice Minister Muladi delivered the ultimatum four days after Gusmao, now under house arrest in Jakarta, called for an insurrection against Indonesian rule in his restive homeland.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Reports of the Liquica massacre in East Timor are beginning to overshadow resistance leader Xanana Gusmao's controversial statements earlier this week – which is just as well for the resistance leader's diplomatic standing.

United Nations - A senior UN official warned Friday amid escalating violence in East Timor that peace in the former Portuguese colony was a "prerequisite" for a UN-organized ballot.