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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

ASA 57/002/2009

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.

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.

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

1 September 2009

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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