The federal government will attempt to rally support for a regional asylum seeker processing centre in East Timor during a meeting in Bali this week.
But details of the proposed centre are unlikely to be nutted out. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and Immigration Minister Chris Bowen will use the March 29-30 meeting in Bali to garner support for a centre on East Timor.
Dili – United Nations police have returned full control of East Timor to the national force, more than four years after bloody clashes threatened to push the country into civil war.
Karlis Salna – Indonesia says the Bali Process remains the best forum for achieving a regional agreement on how best to deal with asylum seekers.
As pressure mounts on Prime Minister Julia Gillard over her asylum seeker policy, Indonesia on Tuesday affirmed it wanted a solution that deals with the issue in terms of the countries of origin, transit and destination.
Camelia Pasandaran – Indonesia has agreed to step up cooperation in solving border problems with East Timor, its former territory, an Indonesian presidential spokesman said on Tuesday.
Camelia Pasandaran – Indonesia and East Timor on Tuesday agreed to step up cooperation in solving border problems, said an Indonesian presidential spokesman.
Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor has discussed the so-called East Timor solution with Indonesian officials as Australia prepares to make its case for the plan at the Bali Process meeting in less than two weeks.
A treaty between Australia and East Timor covering the Greater Sunrise liquefied natural gas development is at risk, according to a report in The Australian, with East Timor threatening to cancel the treaty unless the Woodside Petroleum Ltd-led joint venture agrees to local processing.
Australia sees no need to intervene in the dispute between oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd and East Timor over how to develop the vast Greater Sunrise gas field, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson told Reuters.
"These matters get resolved over time,' Mr Ferguson said in an interview.
The young nation's application to join Asean should be approved despite the problems it may cause to the grouping's integration plan
Finally East Timor has officially applied to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) – in the words of Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa "as soon as possible".
Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The government has said that Indonesia would support Timor Leste's full membership in ASEAN – despite opposition from other countries.
Experts have agreed with the move, saying admitting Timor Leste into the bloc would reflect ASEAN's maturity and show that ASEAN belongs to all Southeast Asian nations, despite economic differences.
Jakarta, Indonesia – East Timor has applied for a membership in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations. Its application was submitted Friday by East Timor's foreign minister.
Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono voiced support Thursday for East Timor's bid to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, his spokesman said.
"The President has asserted that Indonesia will make diplomatic efforts and ensure that at the right time, East Timor can become a member of ASEAN," presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said.
Adam Gartrell – Malaysia's support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard's proposed East Timor asylum seeker processing centre could hinge on who's expected to pay for it.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Thursday said his government would be as cooperative as possible in working with Australia and the region to combat people smuggling.
Karlis Salna – East Timor's main opposition party has reaffirmed its objections to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's regional refugee processing centre plan, vowing to make it a key issue at possible elections later this year.
Canberra – Malaysia's prime minister said Thursday he remained undecided on supporting Australia's plan to make East Timor a regional hub for processing asylum seekers, adding that cost as well as the wishes of the East Timorese would be major factors in his final decision.
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – The United Nations Security Council has urged East Timor to stop granting impunity for serious crimes as it extended the stay of the UN mission in the country.
The council also called on East Timor to strengthen the "credibility" of its police force following its collapse amid violence in 2006.
Drew Ambrose, Dili – The United Nations has said it will extend its mandate for peacekeepers in East Timor for another year.
Since gaining independence from Indonesia more than a decade ago, the fledgling country has struggled to look after its own security.
United Nations – The UN Security Council on Thursday called on East Timor to take action to strengthen the "credibility" of its police force as it extended the stay of the UN mission in the fledgling Asian nation.
New York – The Security Council today extended the mandate of the United Nations mission in Timor-Leste for another year so that it can continue to assist the fledgling nation consolidate peace, democracy and the rule of law, as well as support the preparations for the parliamentary and presidential elections planned for 2012.
AI Index: ASA 57/001/2011
Amnesty International and the Judicial System Monitoring Programme (JSMP) expressed their disappointment about the decision of Timor-Leste's Parliament to postpone debate on two laws designed to address past human rights violations.
Yemris Fointuna – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who led the 774/Satya Yudha Bakti (SYB) infantry battalion from 1986 to 1988, appeared moved when he briefed some 1,000 soldiers packing the battalion's hall in Atambua, East Nusa Tenggara.
Mark Dodd – East Timor's defence chief has blasted Australia for its tardy response in helping the half-island state develop a patrol boat fleet to tackle people-smuggling.
The criticism follows Dili's acceptance of a South Korean offer of two free patrol boats whose mission includes intercepting asylum-seeker vessels.
A coalition of groups in Timor-Leste is urging the United Nations Security Council "to take concrete, effective actions to end impunity for those who directed and committed crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste" during Indonesia's invasion and occupation.
8 February 2011
Excellencies, Members of the United Nations Security Council
United Nations, New York, New York, 10017 USA
Dalih Sembiring – East Timor, officially known as Timor-Leste, is experiencing an economic boom. The problem is that it's only happening in the country's capital, Dili, and it's only benefiting a small number of people.
Paul Maley and Peter Alford – Failed asylum-seekers processed under Julia Gillard's East Timor plan would be transferred to partner countries who would then swap them for prospective refugees whose claims had yet to be processed.
Erik Jensen – East Timor would be responsible for the legal processing and resettlement of asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia, using its laws and diplomatic relationships, according to leaked documents prepared by the federal government.
Adam Gartrell – The federal government's plan for an asylum seeker processing centre in East Timor has come under fresh attack after a document outlining details of the proposal leaked to the media.
Jakarta – Twenty five families or 67 people of Indonesian citizens from East Timor who had lived in East Nusa Tenggara for 11 years had left for Timor Leste under the repatriation program.
East Timor is seeking to become the 11th member of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations.
The country plans to submit an official letter of application to the Asean Secretariat in Indonesia next month, according to Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor – Julia Gillard's proposal for a regional refugee processing centre in East Timor has been dealt a crippling blow by Malaysia's Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, who says he has no knowledge of the plan.
Lindsay Murdoch – A Victorian charity has hired architects to design a hotel in the ruins of the centuries-old Balibo fort in East Timor – where five Australian-based journalists were killed – before obtaining final approval for the project.
Sara Everingham – A bitter dispute between East Timor's Government and the Australian-based oil and gas company Woodside is continuing.
Woodside and East Timor can't agree on how to process gas from the Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea.
Sydney – East Timor has again rebuffed Canberra's proposal that it host an immigration detention centre where asylum seekers arriving in Australia could be held while their applications for Australian visas were processed, news reports said Monday.
Lindsay Murdoch – Another senior East Timor leader has questioned Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plan to build a regional centre to process asylum seekers in East Timor, suggesting Australia would be a better place.
Dili, East Timor – East Timorese police evicted more than 1,000 long-term squatters from a former Indonesian barracks in Dili Thursday, sparking a rowdy protest.
Poor families had been living in almost 120 houses in the Bairro-Pite district of West Dili since Indonesian security forces evacuated the capital in the aftermath of a bloody independence referendum in 1999.
Jia You – Many things could come to mind when one imagines a hospital; but could livestock be one of them?
Matt Crook, Lautem – The nuns were creating an almighty din. In one room there was a sister getting down with a keyboard, while in another there were a couple of nuns bashing out chords on guitars.
The East Timorese government has hit out at the United Nations Development Program saying it's culturally insensitive about issues in the country.
The comments are in response to a UNDP draft report that is highly critical of the government for failing to address rising poverty and joblessness.
Presenter: Claudette Werden
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – A proposal has emerged for Woodside to supply gas for East Timor's domestic consumption as a way to break a deadlock in negotiations over the multibillion-dollar Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea.
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – East Timor's leaders have objected to large sections of a crucial United Nations agency report on the country only weeks before the UN Security Council reconsiders its $200 million a year mission in Dili.
Rory Callinan – Australia should set a date for withdrawing its forces from East Timor as the situation has improved and Dili is disregarding UN advice.
Rory Callinan – Indonesian soldiers have been linked to the alleged trafficking of crystal methamphetamine and other illegal drugs into East Timor.
The troops have been involved in a smuggling operation using remote bush tracks along the two nations' border, according to a local security-monitoring NGO.
Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao wants Australia's 400 troops deployed in his country to leave.
Mr Gusmao told police and military leaders in Dili that the tiny island nation, with a population of 1 million, was now capable of resolving its own problems, according to Timorese media reports.
Greg Roberts – Life in East Timor is as good as it's ever been but that does not mean Australian troops should leave, according to an expert on the tiny island nation.
The Australian Defence Force says the security environment in East Timor has been calm for the past two years and that has allowed troop numbers to be reduced.
But any discussion about the future of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in East Timor would need to take place between the governments of East Timor, Australia and New Zealand, defence said.
The opposition has called on the federal government to release the details of its proposal for a regional processing centre in East Timor.
Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison said no details of the plan had been made public since Prime Minister Julia Gillard first announced the idea more than five months ago.
Philip Dorling and Nick McKenzie – The Australian government has quietly blacklisted a prominent Indonesian political figure implicated in the Balibo Five killings while working with Indonesian authorities to manage the fallout from the scandal.
Sydney – The United Nations should cut the number of foreign police in East Timor to encourage one of world's newest countries to manage its own affairs, an influential security think tank said Thursday.
Dili/Brussels – The size of the policing contingent of the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) should be sharply reduced to prepare for the peace operation's eventual end and encourage the country to assume full responsibility for ensuring its own security and future stability.