Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Hundreds of non-government organisations in Dili have backed the United Nations' condemnation of East Timor's release of an Indonesian man accused of crimes against humanity.

A leading press freedom group has urged Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to resist Indonesian "blackmail" over a war crimes probe into the 1975 deaths of five Australia-based journalists.

A new report finds East Timor is still lagging in efforts to prosecute human rights violations that occurred under Indonesian rule and during its turbulent transition to independence.

Sydney – An Australian investigation into the deaths of five Australian-based journalists in East Timor will not undermine anti-terrorism links with Indonesia, Australia's Counter Terrorism Ambassador says.

Dennis Shanahan and Stephen Fitzpatrick – Kevin Rudd has been forced to make plans with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to avoid any diplomatic rupture caused by the Australian Federal Police's inquiry into possible war crimes in East Timor.

Tiny East Timor on Wednesday signed a UN treaty to protect the Earth's fragile ozone layer, making it the first environmental pact to achieve backing from all 196 member states, the United Nations said.

Dili – Dili's gleaming new Presidential Palace and Foreign Ministry, gifts from China, stand in stark contrast to nearby burned-out buildings and are symbols of how the energy-hungry superpower is growing closer to tiny, oil-rich East Timor.

Pandaya, Dili – Anyone looking for a model for the promotion of gender equality should look to Timor Leste.

In this 10-year-old democracy, gender equality is not only written into the Constitution, but is also practiced in reality, even though most women still have much to learn about political ropes. No matter: NGOs and the UN are eager and willing to help.

Germany reminds us that human rights and justice have no time limits.

Tom Hyland – Two types of justice, related to atrocious events that happened far away and long ago, were on show in Germany last week.

Paul Daley – The former Coalition government had a vastly different idea of how independent our near neighbour should be than what eventuated.

Pandaya, Dili – A man dropped a pale brown book onto my lap, startling me and interrupting my interview with human rights activist Lita Sarmento in the hall of the CAVR (Timor Leste Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation) offices in an eastern suburb of Dili.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The Indonesian government may prohibit the Balibo movie being screened here as it may be deemed "offensive".

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said Friday that neither he nor any other government officials had seen the film but, based on media reports about the controversial film, it was likely to offend the public.

Joint statement on the release of Martenus Bere – indicted for crimes against humanity in Timor-Leste

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The government is considering banning an Australian film that tells the story of five foreign journalists who were killed by Indonesian soldiers during the invasion of East Timor in 1975, calling the film "offensive".

Sara Everingham – The author of a book on the Balibo Five says the Australian Federal Police's decision to open an investigation into the deaths of five Australian-based newsmen in East Timor in 1975 will be viewed with great interest in East Timor.

Jill Jolliffe wrote the book Cover Up, which was used as the basis for the recent film Balibo.

The Australian Federal Police's decision to investigate the "Balibo Five" incident in East Timor in 1975 is a backwards step that could harm relations between Australia and Indonesia, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Thursday.

Tom Allard Jakarta and Brendan Nicholson – Indonesia has warned that its relations with Australia will be harmed by an Australian Federal Police war crimes investigation into the 1975 slaying of five journalists in East Timor.

Philip Dorling – The Federal Government has conceded an East Timorese man may leave Australia before the Federal Police have finalised an investigation of his alleged involvement in torture and war crimes during Indonesia's occupation of Timor Leste.

Emily Bourke – Australian Federal Police investigators face a formidable task if they want to mount a successful war crimes prosecution in the case of the Balibo Five, legal experts warn.

It has been 34 years coming, but the AFP has confirmed it has started a war crimes investigation into the deaths of the five Australian newsmen killed in East Timor.

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – East Timor's government has designated land to be developed into a regional petrochemicals hub, its top resources official said Thursday, in the latest push to bring disputed offshore oil and gas to its coast rather than to Australia.

The differing priorities of Australia and East Timor have come to the fore, at a major oil and gas industry conference.

Debate centres on the Greater Sunrise gas field in the Timor Sea, which is being jointly explored under a treaty between the Australian and East Timorese Governments.

Australia-Indonesia relations are being tested as the Australian Federal Police conduct a war crimes investigation into the deaths of five Australian journalists killed at Balibo in 1975 and now there's pressure over the case of Guy Campos, accused for crimes carried out in East Timor in the 1990s.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Heru Andriyanto – Indonesia on Wednesday rejected an Australian Federal Police war-crimes investigation into the deaths of five foreign journalists allegedly killed by Indonesian troops in East Timor in 1975.

Kristen Gelineau, Sydney – Australia has launched a war crimes investigation into the 1975 killing of five Australian-based journalists during an attack by Indonesian forces in East Timor.

The probe announced Wednesday comes two years after an Australian coroner investigating the deaths found they were deliberate and probably ordered by senior Indonesian officers.

Ed Johnson – Australian police have begun a war crimes investigation into the deaths of five journalists in East Timor in 1975 after a coroner ruled they were deliberately killed by Indonesian soldiers.

Brendan Nicholson, Canberra – Thirty-four years after the event, Australia's national police force has launched a war crimes investigation into the murders of five Australian newsmen at Balibo, East Timor, allegedly by Indonesian troops.

Adam Gartrell – The Balibo Five case is closed and should remain closed, the Indonesian Government says.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) today announced it had begun a formal war crimes investigation into the deaths of the five Australia-based newsmen, who were killed in the East Timor border town of Balibo in October 1975.

Britt Smith – Some relatives of the Balibo Five journalists say they are optimistic about a new investigation into the murders, but others remain cynical it will result in justice.

The Australian Federal Police on Wednesday launched a war crimes investigation into the 1975 killing of the Australia-based newsmen in East Timor.

Havana – The President of East Timor's National Parliament, Fernando La Sama de Araujo, ratified on Tuesday his country's opposition to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the US government against Cuba.

Dili – A decision by East Timor's government to release a militant wanted for an infamous 1999 church massacre a decade ago this week has sparked angry protests by human rights groups and members of parliament.

Vannessa Hearman – I was angry that Timorese president and peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta used the 10-year anniversary of the United Nations-supervised ballot in East Timor on August 30 to declare: "There will be no international tribunal."

On this same day in 1999, the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia – their brutal occupier for 24 years.

Pandaya, Dili – Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta's refusal of demand for an international tribunal to try perpetrators of serious crimes against humanity in East Timor between 1975 and 1999 has further complicated the long, painful search for justice.

Damien Kingsbury – It is hardly novel that a politician looking back at the glory days of office will want to ensure that their political legacy looks as positive as possible. And for whatever faults one might find with John Howard's period as prime minister, he was a politically-successful prime minister.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – East Timor's release of an Indonesian citizen accused of crimes against humanity violates the country's own constitution, the top United Nations human rights official has claimed.

Hundreds of people lit candles and held prayers in East Timor on Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of one of the worst massacres in the country's history.

Paul Kelly, Editor-at-large – The Howard government decided in early 1999 to work for East Timor's independence but concealed this from the Indonesian government, John Howard and Alexander Downer have revealed.

Peter Quiddington – Soon after East Timor voted for independence in 1999, Cuba marshalled its forces and sent hundreds of medical instructors to the tiny country, while preparing to receive many more Timorese for training back in Cuba.

From 2004, the Cubans launched the second stage of their grassroots assault – a national adult literacy campaign.

[Excerpted from "The March of Patriots" by Paul Kelly, Melbourne University Press, to be published next week]

ASA 57/002/2009

Anthony Deutsch, Dili – A decade after tiny East Timor broke from Indonesia and prompted one of the most expensive UN-led nation-building projects in history, there is little to show for the billions spent.

Dili – Indonesia's and Timor Leste's military chiefs agreed here on Thursday to step up cooperation between the two countries' armed forces.

The agreement was reached when Indonesian National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander General Djoko Santoso met with his Timor Leste counterpart, Brigadier General Taur Matan Ruak, at the latter's headquarters in Tositolu, Dili.

President Jose Ramos-Horta On East Timor, genocide, & why President Clinton is "One of my favorite politicians in the world"

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – The President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, has called for the killers of five journalists at Balibo in 1975 to be brought to justice.

Sara Everingham – East Timorese Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has defended himself against allegations he broke his country's laws by signing a contract with a company his daughter had a stake in.

Dili – The United Nations condemned Tuesday the reported release of an Indonesian former militia leader accused of taking part in a massacre of civilians in East Timor in 1999.

The filmmakers behind the political thriller Balibo have been awarded East Timor's Presidential Medal of Merit in recognition for their contribution to the country.

To Ex. Dr. Longuinos Monteiro,
General Commander of the Timor-Leste National Police

1 September 2009

Maris Beck, Dili – In East Timor's notorious Balide prison, the walls are scrawled with the hatred of the past. Graffiti left by the prison guards says: "Die or Live with Indonesia", and "Don't forget to pray".

Balide prison was once a place of brutality. For the 30 years that Indonesia occupied East Timor, it was a place of torture, rape, imprisonment, and death.

The kiosks at the Mercado Market tell the whole story: almost everything here, from toothpaste and household appliances, to clothing to seasoning commodities like turmeric, comes from Indonesia.

Pandaya and Yemris Fointuna, Dili – Timor Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta asked Indonesia on Sunday to return the remains of its independence fighters who died in Indonesia.