Clinton Fernandes – In April 2007 I applied to the National Archives of Australia for access to records of the Defence Intelligence Organisation relating to Indonesia and East Timor in 1975.

Karlis Salna – East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta has dismissed suggestions Australian forces should remain in the fledgling nation beyond a planned 2012 withdrawal.

Karlis Salna – East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta says a plan for a regional processing centre to be built in his country has not been on his agenda for months despite Prime Minister Julia Gillard insisting negotiations have been ongoing.

Rowan Callick – Australia should maintain troops in East Timor beyond their planned withdrawal after next year's elections, says the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

The Timor Defence Force would need assistance until 2020, "not least to ensure" it remained focused on defence and not "political activities" and policing, the institute says in a new report.

Adam Gartrell – Australia should maintain a military presence in East Timor as late as 2020, a new report recommends.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute says many of the problems that led to Timor's near-collapse in 2006 – and the subsequent Australia-led military intervention – remain potent.

Sara Everingham and staff – East Timor's deputy prime minister has confirmed his country has rejected Australia's proposal to establish a refugee processing centre on Timor's soil.

Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says he does not accept reports East Timor is not in favour of housing a regional processing centre for asylum seekers.

Matt Brown – More cold water has been poured on plans to establish an asylum seeker processing centre in East Timor, with the UN refugee agency saying the country has not approached it about the idea.

Karlis Salna – East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has given his strongest indication yet that he is opposed to the idea of a refugee processing centre being built on his country's soil.

Tom Allard and Kirsty Needham – East Timor has reaffirmed its hostility to a refugee processing centre on its territory, even as the Gillard government insists it will still proceed with negotiations with the fledgling country over a plan labelled an embarrassing farce by the opposition.

Karlis Salna – Prime Minister Julia Gillard plans to pursue an agreement with East Timor over her proposal for a regional refugee processing centre despite the fledgling nation all but rejecting the idea.

Brian Padden – Indonesia's unreserved support for East Timor's membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reinforces the growing ties between two countries that were on opposite sides of a struggle for independence, a little more than a decade ago. Economic interests, democratic development and geopolitical realities have helped both countries overcome the past.

Damien Kingsbury – The government's East Timor asylum seeker solution is dying a death of a thousand cuts. It is a slow and painful process and unedifying to watch it writhe in agony. The plan has not yet been killed outright, but only an unreconstructed optimist would now suggest its fate is other than sealed.

Tom Allard and Kirsty Needham – East Timor has dismissed Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's proposal for a refugee processing centre on its soil on the eve of a multinational summit on people smuggling.

Dylan Welch – The veil of secrecy obscuring what Australia knew about Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor will be pulled back a little, after a successful court challenge against the censorship of secret intelligence briefings.

Karlis Salna – East Timor remains open to discussing Australia's plan for a regional refugee processing centre to be built on its territory but would like to delay the negotiations.

Jeremy Thompson – Immigration Minister Chris Bowen says an agreement for an offshore immigration centre on East Timor will not be reached at a regional meeting in Bali this week.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.