Indonesia's sham prosecutions, the need to strengthen the trial process in East Timor, and the imperative of UN

Hamish McDonald – Reality seems to have dawned this week on Eurico Guterres, the long-haired young firebrand who led one of the most violent pro-Jakarta militia groups in the campaign t

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – President Xanana Gusmao has attacked East Timor's politicians, condemning the inefficiency and corruption of the Fretilin-dominated government and demanding that t

Berlin – East Timor's foreign minister, Jose Ramos Horta, reacted angrily Friday to the latest round of acquittals by the Indonesian court trying human rights abuses committed in East T

The international community is the only hope East Timorese have of winning retribution for the crimes committed by Indonesia during its 24 years of occupation.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The 10-year jail term given to notorious militia leader Eurico Guterres for instigating attacks on pro-independence leaders during East Timor's bloody refere

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – In Dili, widespread shock and disbelief met Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo's announcement of his resignation.

The conviction yesterday of former East Timor militia leader Eurico Guterres for crimes against humanity and his sentence to ten years in prison has done nothing to dispel the widesprea

[In East Timor a tribunal has passed judgement on one of the most notorious militia leaders involved in the violence in the fledgling country three years ago.

Jakarta – The United Nations mission in East Timor said on Wednesday it had launched an investigation into the death of an East Timorese man hit by gunfire during a rally in front of a

[East Timor's spiritual leader and joint nobel peace prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo has announced that he'll step down as the Bishop of Dili, due to ill health.

East Timor's Nobel peace prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, a symbol of resistance during the years of Indonesian occupation, said he was resigning as bishop.

Ruth Ratcliffe, Darwin – "I'm here because I don't like injustice, and I don't like being ashamed of my country", declared Jack, one of the 250 people who attended a public meeting in s

[Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has returned to East Timor for the first time since the signing of the Timor Sea Treaty in May.

Jon Land – Pressure is mounting against the federal government's moves to deport 1600-1800 East Timorese asylum seekers, some of whom have been seeking refugee status for up to 10 years

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Bruce Hextall – The development of more than $10 billion of oil and gas projects in the Timor Sea moved a step closer yesterday as debate started in the East Timor Parliament to ratify

Atambua – More and more East Timorese refugees in the camps in Belu regency, East Nusa Tenggara, expressed their wish to return to their homeland of East Timor especially now on the occ

Baucau – A mob, including some former guerrilla fighters, ransacked police headquarters and damaged several vehicles in East Timor's second city, Baucau, Monday morning, before being ro

Rules making it more difficult for people to gain permanent residence in Australia have been necessary to stop an increasing flow of people, by no means all of them genuine refugees, wh

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timorese Police Commissioner Paulo Martins said yesterday authorities were worried about the security situation in Dili after a series of incidents in past we

Neil Sands, Sydney – Australia and East Timor are locked in a David and Goliath struggle over spoils from Timor Sea gas fields, which analysts warn could jeopardise the entire project.

Federal Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock knows how to kick a man when he's down.

Paul Toohey – Three Timorese men working in the Darwin-based Timor Gap Joint Authority have been suspended on full pay after they asked their Australian bosses why they were paid less t

Lisbon – Portugal will continue to support the reconstruction East Timor, "particularly in the areas of education and the promulgation of the Portuguese language", a senior Lisbon offic

The Senate has endorsed a motion recognising the plight of the East Timorese refugees and has called on the Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock to grant special visas on humanitarian gr

Jakarta – East Timor investigators have charged 12 people with committing murder just ahead of the territory's vote for independence at the end of August 1999, the United Nations Missio

Jakarta – Prosecutors at Indonesia's human rights court on Wednesday demanded 10-year jail sentences for the former police and military chiefs in the East Timor capital of Dili for fail

Sarah Stephen – Fatima is a widow and grandmother who has been in Australia for 10 years, living with her family who are financially supporting her.

East Timor may not seek a United Nations tribunal to try cases of militia atrocities three years ago even if Indonesia's human rights court fails to deliver justice according to its for

Dili – Violent clashes Monday between security forces and residents near East Timor's second city, Baucau, left two people injured, a police source said.

Helen Signy and Cynthia Banham – The Australian Government issued a secret directive that refugee applications from the East Timorese community should be put on hold, documents obtained

[The East Timor government says unsuccessful asylum-seekers forced to return from Australia will be a burden on the country's fledgeling economy.

Andrew West – Under the threat of deportation, the Lay family celebrated the eighth anniversary of their arrival in Australia at their Fairfield home yesterday.

Dili – The UN will respect its engagement with East Timor and has no plans for an anticipated reduction or withdrawal of its civilian team and peacekeeping forces, Dili's UN ambassador

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – Armindo Soares Mariano, caretaker of UNTAS – an East Timorese refugee organization – disclosed here on Friday that East Timorese President Xanana Gusmao wou

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – With the deadline for the closure of refugee camps here drawing near, 121 East Timorese families have registered for the government-sponsored resettlement prog

A lack of foreign investment rules has been highlighted as the main factor restricting economic growth in the newly independent East Timor.

[East Timor has marked the eleventh anniversary of the Santa Cruz massacre.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Witnesses at East Timor's truth and reconciliation commission have described atrocities going back to 1975 involving Indonesian soldiers, militia groups – and the

Dili – East Timorese students and human rights groups called Tuesday for an international court to judge those responsible for human rights abuses during the Indonesian occupation of Ti

Dili – About 1,000 protesters Tuesday demanding that the Indonesian soldiers who shot to death 200 people at a rally 11 years ago be brought to justice.

Jason Koutsoukis – The $3.5 billion Bayu-Undan natural gas project between Australia and East Timor received a major boost yesterday when a joint federal parliamentary committee recomme

Jakarta – Prosecutors on Monday sought the minimum 10-year jail sentence for a former Indonesian army chief officer charged with crimes against humanity in East Timor in 1999.

Dili – Australia is using East Timor's vulnerability as one of the world's poorest nations to gain leverage in negotiations on the carving up of oil resources in the Timor Sea, Dili's p

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – A United Nations prosecutor has hailed the indictment of two Indonesian officers for the 1999 murder of Dutch journalist Sander Thoenes as a turning point in East

Kupang – The people of the western half of Timor Island, East Nusa Tenggara, must also enjoy their traditional rights as owners of the Timor Sea, the site of oil and gas explorations kn

Jakarta – The government has agreed to hold a special repatriation program for East Timorese refugees who want to go home late this year, Antara reported.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Investigators in East Timor have issued an indictment against two Indonesian military officers over the 1999 killing of a Dutch journalist around the time the terr

A former militia chief has denied he had committed human rights abuses in East Timor three years ago and said he was a victim of the Indonesian government's desire to appease internatio