Index: ASA 57/004/2011

On the 20th anniversary of the infamous massacre at Santa Cruz cemetery in Timor-Leste, the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) called for the US and other governments and the United Nations to commit to justice for the victims and their families.

John M. Miller, ETAN National Coordinator – On November 12, 1991, Indonesia troops carrying US supplied weapons gunned down peaceful East Timorese demonstration at Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery. And I can still recall vividly the tremor in Amy Goodman's voice in her first reports to Pacifica's WBAI radio here in New York, where she was News Director.

Charles Scheiner, Dili – Tonight, I'm honored to be with so many young Timorese people who believe in justice and independence. Twenty years ago, brave people just like you peacefully demonstrated against the Indonesian occupation of your country. Nobody paid them, or ordered them, or told them it would be safe or easy.

Manuel da Silva, Dili – Education Minister Joao Cancio Freitas has recognized that monthly salary payments are still being made to teachers who have died.

But he declined to reveal who was collecting the wages on behalf of the deceased. Mr Freitas said payments were made to dead teachers because there was no law to regulate them.

Flip Prior, Broome – East Timor's ambassador to Australia Abel Guterres flew into Broome last week for a whirlwind round of meetings with Broome Shire councillors and tourism and hospitality business owners before heading to CHOGM in Perth.

This is not the first time that Gareth Evans has recognised that his, and Australia's, policy on reforming ABRI (Later TNI) was mistaken. As he says, it is wise to learn from one's mistakes.

Gareth Evans – Noam Chomsky, in Sydney on 2 November, repeated his familiar attack on my handling, as Australia's foreign minister from 1988-96, of relations with Indonesia over East Timor. It is one that he, along with his fellow Sydney Peace Prize recipient John Pilger, has been making now over many years in many different forums around the world.

East Timor is mulling an investment firm based on Singapore's Temasek Holdings to invest part of the country's billions of dollars in petroleum revenues, President Jose Ramos-Horta said Friday.

China – Companies from China, Japan and South Korea has shown interest in oil and gas exploration in East Timor, but an agreement has yet to be signed, the Timorese minister for the Economy and Development, Joao Goncalves said Thursday in Macau.

Singapore – East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta said on Friday his compatriots who met the new Woodside CEO Peter Coleman were "positively impressed by him" and expressed hope that the two sides will be able to find a solution to develop a large gas project in the country.

Woodside Petroleum seems to be making progress with its stalled Sunrise project, saying its new chief executive Peter Coleman has held constructive talks with the Timor-Leste government.

Australian oil and gas firm Woodside Petroleum aims to hold further talks with the East Timor government on its stalled Sunrise LNG project, the company said, but analysts played down the chances of an easy breakthrough to resolve the lengthy dispute.

Dili – A new bill allowing more diversified investments by Timor-Leste's multi-billion dollar oil and natural gas sovereign fund, which underwrites the lion's share of the country's expenditure, has divided opinion, with some saying the step is necessary to maintain current levels of development spending and others calling the move risky.

On Tuesday 11 October at 08am, the General Secretary and the National Organizer of General Workers' Union including 17 workers were arrested by police while preparing for a peaceful protest in the office of Ministry of Justice.

Peter Ker – Woodside Petroleum has opened the door on East Timor's biggest-ever resource project, with the company agreeing to revisit the concept of processing gas from the "Greater Sunrise" gas field on East Timorese soil.

Robert Connolly – In 2009, I took a small film crew to East Timor to make the feature film Balibo, a story depicting the events surrounding the Indonesian invasion of this newly independent nation in 1975.

Jill Jolliffe – East Timorese hotel manager Alice Goncalves has survived many bad moments in the hospitality business.

Dili – Atoki Madeira says it started with threats and escalated into armed assaults. The 40-year-old Timorese NGO worker alleges the attacks stemmed from a dispute over a property she purchased in the Timorese capital, Dili, a decade ago.

Simon Caterson – For local journalists in East Timor, breaking the news could mean being broken themselves. Then there's the difficulty of grasping the complex political narratives of this newly democratic nation.

Hera – A cornerstone of the government's development plan is a promise to electrify every home in Timor-Leste within just a few years. But communities living in the shadow of the power plant supposed to jumpstart this transformation know little or nothing about its impact.

Philip Dorling – East Timor's parliament is "corrupt and ineffective", Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has an alcohol problem and former prime minister Mari Alkatiri is "arrogant and abusive", according to President Jose Ramos-Horta.

Mr Ramos-Horta's caustic observations have been revealed in leaked US embassy cables published by WikiLeaks.

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta saw his fledgling nation's parliament as corrupt and ineffective and believed himself both "above local politics" and indispensable, leaked US memos show.

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta today dismissed fears the country will see a return of turmoil and violence ahead of elections next year.

Ramos-Horta, 61, who has held his post since 2007, also said he was "reluctant" to seek a second term and was considering stepping aside.

East Timor's foreign minister Zacarias da Costa says his country is keen to work closely with Melanesian countries to assist them in economic development.

Stephen Coates – East Timor's fragile stability will be tested in coming months as the country's political and business elite manoeuvre ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections in 2012.

Some foreign businessmen are already talking quietly about quitting the country during the election build-up, amid widely held fears of turmoil and possible violence.

East Timor's opposition called Thursday for Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to step down as his cabinet faces scrutiny over corruption claims ahead of elections.

The anti-corruption commission said Monday it had handed six dossiers to the Attorney-General's Office, which has since called on two cabinet members for questioning.

Wendy Frew – A new documentary about East Timor has raised questions about a Gold Walkley-winning ABC TV program that led to the resignation of Mari Alkatiri as prime minister in 2006.

Breaking the News, directed by Nicholas Hansen, examines the relationship between local and foreign journalists in East Timor and examines the Four Corners program "Stoking the Fires".

The head of East Timor's armed forces stepped down last week, leading to speculation he may be preparing to run for President in nest year's elections.

Major General Taur Matan Ruak is a veteran of East Timor's independence struggles and a high profile military man.

Presenter: Liam Cochrane

Dili – The new monetary authority of East Timor will be called the East Timor Central Bank and will be inaugurated on 13 September, according to information published on the Central Banks of Portuguese-speaking Countries website.

Timor-Leste and international organizations today urged "the government of Timor-Leste to keep the nation debt-free and refrain from borrowing money from international lenders.... to protect its future generations."

The 6th of September is remembered as a day of national mourning to mark the Suai Church Massacre that was carried out by the Laksaur Militia with the support of the Indonesian military as part of an attack on and slaughter of civilians hiding in the Suai Church which resulted in the deaths of 3 priests and approximately 200 innocent civilians, as well as a large number of others wh

Dili, East Timor – The head of East Timor's armed forces, Major General Taur Matan Ruak, said Friday he had resigned, ahead of a possible run for the presidency in elections next year.

The veteran of East Timor's resistance struggle against Indonesia's occupation said that after three decades in the military he wanted to return to civilian life.

Manatutu, East Timor – For Pedro Damaeao, having a brother who was part of Falantil, the Timorese guerrilla group that fought Indonesia's army, meant endless harassment for his family throughout the occupation. So the day Indonesian soldiers detained and tortured his father seemed inevitable.

Guteriano Neves – Oil has different meanings for different societies. For developed societies like the United States, Japan, and Western Europe, oil is like an addictive drug that people only want more and more of. It enables them to go everywhere. It helps them cook and regulate the temperature of their dwellings.

Guido Goulart, Dili – A powerful earthquake hit waters off East Timor on Tuesday, but officials said it was too deep to trigger a tsunami. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

The US Geological Survey said the 6.8-magnitude quake struck 171 miles (276 kilometers) from the capital, Dili, and was centered 300 miles (465 kilometers) beneath the Banda Sea.

Simon Roughneen, Dili – Land, corruption and poverty are all on the table as Timor-Leste gets into political mode ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for 2012, with one controversial figure already throwing his hat into the ring.

Simon Roughneen, Dili – Across the city, banners and posters signal the new country's increasing integration with the world outside, heralding events such as Timor-Leste's hosting of the EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) regional conference on Aug. 25-27.

Mark Dodd – East Timor's small army will be supplied with Indonesian weapons after the signing of a ground-breaking agreement between the two countries that were once deadly enemies.

Klas Lundstrom – Blackouts remain a significant part of East Timor's capital, Dili, although Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has promised the country's thirteen districts electricity by the end of the year – a promise which Gusmao is to realise with money from the country's oil fund, a fund increasingly tainted by corruption scandals and the falling US dollar.

Dili, East Timor – The East Timor parliament Tuesday approved the first change to the country's Oil Fund Law to allow greater flexibility and return on investments.

The change to the law approved by 34 votes in favour, three against and two abstentions, according to the document for the change of law to which Portuguese news agency Lusa had access.

Jakarta – World Bank managing director Sri Mulyani Indrawati commended Timor Leste Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao for his administrative and financial reform policies during the former's visit to Dili on Thursday.

Dili, East Timor – East Timor continues to demand that the natural gas from the Sunrise field, in the Timor Sea, be processed in the country, East Timor's deputy Prime Minister, Jose Luis Guterres, said after a meeting in Dili with the new chairman of Australian oil company Woodside.

Manila, Philippines – The East Timor economy is expected to maintain growth of 10 percent this year, driven by a rise in oil prices and by public investment, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a report published Monday in Manila.

Dili, East Timor – East Timor on Saturday officially disbanded pro-independence armed unit Falintil who had fought against Indonesian occupation of the country for more than two decades.

Sara Everingham – East Timor's Council of Ministers has condemned recent violence in the country's south-west that left more than 100 families homeless.

A police officer was killed and the government said 79 houses were burnt or destroyed in the violence last Sunday in Kovalima district. The clashes involved members of martial arts groups, local media reported.

Peter Ker – The new Woodside Petroleum boss, Peter Coleman, will make a diplomatic mission to East Timor in a bid to revive hopes of building a major gas project in the waters between the tiny nation and Australia.

A friend in Dili tells ETAN that police recently broke up a demonstration in support of West Papua. As we get more information, we will post updates on ETAN's blog here.

Dili – Angry mobs of martial arts gang members set fire to dozens of homes Monday as they rampaged through an East Timorese town after one of their number was killed in a stabbing, police said.

More than 100 houses as well as vehicles caught fire in the unrest in Zumalai, on East Timor's southern coast, a police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Asulao Sare – Babies are plentiful in Timor Leste – almost seven per woman on average – and so too are health problems in a country where chronic malnutrition is rampant and access to effective healthcare remains a luxury.