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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Mark Dodd – The first act in the birth of the world's newest nation – its 1999 vote for independence – began for me before daybreak in East Timor's western border town of Maliana.

Geoff Thompson, Indonesia – As East Timor celebrates a decade of self-rule, President Jose Ramos-Horta has called for an end to all United Nations-led investigations into the serious crimes committed along the nation's road to independence.

But it is a controversial stance, and a victim of the violence in 1999 says she is now ashamed of her country's head of state.

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.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – The President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, has called on the United Nations to stop gathering evidence against the killers of hundreds of Timorese, saying his people must put the past behind them.

Dili – An Indonesian man allegedly involved in crimes against humanity in East Timor when the country voted for independence has been released from a Dili prison, the United Nations said.

East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta is out of touch with the people over his refusal to accept an international tribunal to try perpetrators of past atrocities, the opposition said Monday.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – East Timor is under pressure to release an Indonesian citizen accused of leading one of the country's worst massacres, as hundreds of East Timorese attended a ceremony yesterday remembering those who died in the fight for independence.

Yemris Fointuna – On Saturday, Dili's main streets and spotless government office complexes overlooking the touristy Dili beach were awash with colorful flags and banners. Cars roamed the streets with small fluttering Timor Leste flags.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – After 10 years of independence, two presidents and two prime ministers, Timor Leste has not changed much, at least on the surface.

Except for the new construction of the president's office and national parliament, almost all government buildings are still housed in the structures left by Indonesian and Portuguese rule.

A decade after the devastation that surrounded the vote for independence, there are some promising signs.

Sunanda Creagh, Dili – As a student activist in Jakarta, Avelino Coelho da Silva sought refuge in the Austrian embassy to avoid capture by Indonesian troops. Now as East Timor's Secretary of State for Energy Policy, he installs solar power in villages.

Ten years after voting for independence, the Timorese have little to show for supposed freedom. Lindsay Murdoch paid a visit.

Joe Kelly – Ten years ago East Timor voted for its independence, triggering a contentious Australian military intervention that transformed the nation's regional profile and provoked hostility from Indonesia.

Australia is still atoning for East Timor's suffering 10 years after the independence vote. No nation has paid a higher price for independence than East Timor.

Ten years ago tomorrow, the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia in a popular referendum sanctioned by the United Nations.

Ezki Suyanto – History might show that for more than two decades, the fates of East Timor and its giant neighbor Indonesia were inextricably woven together, but for many from both nations, that history has two opposing faces.

Ezki Suyanto – As East Timorese celebrate the 10th anniversary of the referendum that led to the country's independence, the Jakarta Globe presents contributor Ezki Suyanto's interview with the nation's first prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, 59, at his residence in Farol, Dili, at the end of last month.

Sara Everingham, Dili – East Timor's President says Australia should spend more of its aid money helping educate East Timorese.

Sara Everingham – Thousands of refugees in East Timor displaced during the 2006 military crisis have been moving back to their communities, with only a few remaining in makeshift camps around Dili.

John Aglion, Dili – Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor's president, has called for those responsible for the death of Sander Thoenes, the Financial Times journalist killed during 1999 violence in the territory, to be brought to justice.

Matt Crook, Dili – After three years behind bars as a political prisoner in Indonesia, British human rights campaigner Carmel Budiardjo saw firsthand the viciousness of former President Suharto's military dictatorship.

Expelled from the country in 1971, Budiardjo knew there would be suffering when the Indonesian military invaded East Timor in 1975.

The United Nations is preparing for a gradual withdrawal from East Timor early next year and expects Australia will begin to reduce its troop numbers at the same time.

Sara Everingham – East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta has dismissed calls by Amnesty International to establish a war crimes tribunal to investigate human rights violations there during 24 years of Indonesian rule.

Meredyth Tamsyn – The day, like most others in East Timor, started very early. But it was not the chickens or motorbikes that woke us that day, it was heart-pounding excitement.

East Timor's stability is threatened by the failure to prosecute those behind the 1999 violence.

Adam Gartrell – The failure to pursue and prosecute most of those responsible for the violence that marred East Timor's 1999 independence vote poses a continuing threat to the country's stability, a new report warns.

Long-term development in East Timor – which celebrates the tenth anniversary of its vote for independence on Sunday 29 August 2009 – will be "seriously hindered" if justice for past crimes remains undelivered, the international development agency Progressio has warned.

Sunanda Creagh, Jakarta – The United Nations Security council should set up an international criminal tribunal to investigate abuses in East Timor both under Indonesian rule and in the vote for independence, a rights group said on Thursday.

Havana – The National Parliament of the Democratic Republic of East Timor has passed a resolution to constitute the Parliamentarian Solidarity with Cuba Group.

This Group will have among its goals the promotion of parliamentary dialogue between the two states and the exchange of experiences between deputies.

A decade after Timor-Leste voted for independence, a culture of impunity continues to haunt the country's people.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – A solidarity network for Timor Leste will hold a conference in Dili from Aug. 27-29 to rally international support for poverty alleviation and programs to fight injustice in the tiny country.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Madalena is 16 but weighs just 13 kilograms, her arms and legs thin and twisted. If she could speak, she would say how happy she is to see Sister Florencia. You can see that in her bulging eyes.

Mark Dodd – East Timor has called for an end to delays over the development of the oil and gas-rich Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea after new interest from investors in Malaysia, China and South Korea.

Dili – Ten years after East Timor's historic independence referendum, victims are still waiting for justice for crimes and rights abuses committed during Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation.