With a 21-gun salute, Indonesia's president was greeted in East Timor on a visit to bolster reconciliation between Jakarta and the territory it once occupied with brutal force.
National anthems of both countries were played at Dili's rudimentary airport after Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono arrived on a Garuda Indonesian flight direct from a tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Julian Lee – Channel Seven and SBS have refused to air an ad campaign condemning the Prime Minister, John Howard, for "stealing" billions of dollars of East Timorese oil and gas revenues, a stance that may trigger court action and highlights the thorny issue of freedom of expression.
On the sixth anniversary of the massacres at the Catholic Church in Liquica, East Timor, the East Timor Action Network (ETAN) urged the international community to heed East Timorese cries for justice.
"The international community must keep its commitment to the victims of this and other horrific crimes committed in East Timor," said John M.
In this episode of The Editors, we discuss the commission of truth and friendship set up after Indonesia's occupation of East Timor and deaths of up to 200,000 people. Grace Phan speaks to Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirayuda, and human rights lawyer, Adirito de Jesus Soares.
Hundreds of students and National Alliance for an International Tribunal members demonstrated Tuesday at Dili Airport to press a UN Commissions of Experts to seriously investigate abuses in East Timor in 1999.
The protesters underlined the lack of action on abuses perpetrated on East Timorese by wearing black gags emblazoned with "We need Justice" across their mouths.
Dili – Dozens of demonstrators demanding justice greeted the UN Commission of Experts on its arrival Tuesday in Dili to assess progress made by East Timor and Indonesia in trying those responsible for crimes against humanity in 1999 when the Timorese broke from Jakarta's occupation.
Australia wants a final decision on the boundary in the Timor sea to be deferred for up to 100 years so that oil and gas projects worth 40 billion dollars can go ahead, and has offered Dili $3 billion to put aside its concerns about sovereignty.
Alecia D. McKenzie, Siem Reap (Cambodia) – The first lady of the world's newest nation, East Timor, is sitting in the audience of an international meeting, listening to the prime minister of Cambodia give an impassioned speech. In her arms she cradles a cherubic-looking baby, who smiles frequently.
Mark Dodd – It caused outrage among East Timorese and Australian troops sent to protect them, raised tensions among UN peacekeepers to a deadly new level and caused senior UN staff to resign in disgust.
The deployment of Jordanian peacekeepers to East Timor was probably one of the most contentious UN decisions to follow the bloody independence ballot.
Channel 7 and SBS have announced that they will not be screening the latest television commercials about the Timor Sea dispute written and funded by Australian businessperson Ian Melrose.
Canberra – Australia's treatment of East Timor over oil and gas revenues has been compared to the actions of the late disgraced businessman Christopher Skase.
Melbourne businessman Ian Melrose has funded television advertisements, which will air over the Easter weekend, criticising Australia's position on talks with East Timor over sea boundaries.
Lisbon – Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral says Lisbon's new Socialist government intends to increase its cooperation with Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor, while simultaneously seeking a more dynamic role within the European Union.
Kupang – The Government of East Timor still did not have enough funds to reimburse the Indonesian government, state owned enterprises, and private Indonesian citizens for assets left behind in East Timor, following the 1999 ballot on independence.
The establishment of a Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) by the Indonesian and East Timorese governments has been severely criticised by a group of non-governmental organisations in East Timor and Indonesia.
They see this as a hasty move and suspect that it is the result of political deals struck between the two states.
Dili – "Lia Foun", East Timor's first fully bilingual newspaper, hit the streets Friday, with the weekly's director forecasting it will underline the importance of Portuguese to the country's cultural identity.
Bob Burton, Canberra – The Australian government has been accused of hypocrisy in its attempt to draw maritime boundaries with its neighbors. While setting a mid-point boundary with New Zealand, after ratifying a treaty, Canberra has refused to adopt the same standard with East Timor, which lays claim to rich oil and gas deposits beneath the Timor Sea.
Jon Lamb – "We went to East Timor to help those people, and now we are slapping them in the face and stealing their oil." This is what Chip Henriss-Anderssen, a former major in the Australian military who served with the International Force for East Timor, told reporters on March 7. "We thought we were doing something decent.
Yemris Fointuna and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government promised on Tuesday to provide free rice and labor-intensive jobs for people in several drought-stricken East Nusa Tenggara regencies.
The model for the proposed Commission of Truth & Friendship ("CTF") between Indonesia and Timor Leste was settled on 9 March 2005 when the respective governments signed its Terms of Reference ("ToR").
Sian Powell, Dili – Pigs nose about in the flooded playground of Rumpia primary school in Caecoli, a poor suburb of Dili. None of the classroom windows has any glass, some of the children have no shoes.
"Pity them," says teacher Carlota Morilius da Silva. "There are those families who can afford shoes and books, and there are those who can't."
A man who served as East Timor's temporary leader in 1975 before it was invaded by Indonesia resigned Monday from his country's legislature, citing the government's failure to attract foreign investment and saying he wants to prepare for 2007 elections.
Michael Richardson – The latest round of negotiations between Australia and Timor Leste – formerly known as East Timor – on how to share energy reserves in the Timor Sea ended this week with an agreement to hold more talks soon.
Canberra – Australia and East Timor have agreed on a framework for sharing US$30 billion in seabed oil and gas royalties, Australia's foreign minister said.
Negotiators representing one of the region's richest nations and one of the poorest met in Canberra for three days this week to discuss where their common maritime boundary should lie in the Timor Sea.
With the latest round of maritime boundary negotiations between Australia and East Timor coming to an end yesterday, an Australian lobby group claims the Australian Government's refusal to abide by current principles of International Law will impede any significant progress towards a just outcome to the dispute.
Rob Taylor – Australian companies exploiting huge oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea were destroying marine life and threatening its fragile environment, an Indonesian watchdog group said today.
Today in Bali, the Presidents of Indonesia and Timor-Leste (also known as East Timor) are expected to formally agree to form a joint Commission of Truth and Friendship.
A lot is riding on the outcome of the negotiations between the Australian and East Timorese Governments over the resource rich Timor Sea which concludes today. Not least the Australian Government's reputation.
Indonesia and East Timor have agreed to set up a commission to deal with atrocities surrounding East Timor's 1999 vote for independence, despite criticism led by the United Nations.
Human rights activists have accused East Timor of putting diplomacy before justice after the fledgling nation agreed to drop charges against accused war criminals under a deal signed with Indonesia.
The United Nations, which oversaw East Timor's violent break away from Indonesian rule six years ago, has also criticised the accord.
Roy Eccleston – Senior members of the US Congress have stepped up pressure on the Howard Government to settle the dispute with East Timor over the rights to billions of dollars worth of sub-sea oil and gas between the two countries.
Canberra – Canberra and Dili entered a new round of negotiations – the third so far in a year – as Australian and East Timorese officials on Monday again deliberated on how to divide up oil and gas deposits under the Timor Sea.
World War II veterans will appear in ads on Anzac Day aimed at embarrassing the federal government over the carve up of oil and gas reserves with East Timor.
East Timor has argued it is being cut out of billions of dollars through an incorrect understanding of the sea boundaries.
Reporter: Ian Melrose
Mark Colvin: Negotiations between Australia and East Timor on a seabed boundary resumed in Canberra this afternoon, with oil and gas reserves worth tens of billions of dollars at stake.
Australia is offering East Timor a cash-for-sovereignty deal – put aside a final boundary settlement and take an extra $3-billion.
Senior US senators and representatives today urged "Australia to move quickly and seriously to establish a fair, permanent maritime boundary with Timor-Leste," as the two countries prepared to resume negotiations on the issue.
Jakarta – The Constitutional Court's (MK) Panel of Judges have decided To reject a judicial review on the human rights court legislation proposed By the former governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osorio Soares. The Rejection was read out by the chairman of the Panel of Judges, Jimly Asshiddiqie, on Thursday (3 March) at the Constitutional Court House.
Dini Rahim, Washington – Food shortages in East Timor, two and half years after the territory achieved independence from Indonesia, are causing complaints that the government is paying too little attention to agriculture.
Australia's support for an end to the UN mission in East Timor reflected a desire to improve relations with Indonesia and extend its influence in the former Portuguese territory, a US thinktank says.
An analysis of Australia's support for an end to the United Nations operation which expires on June 30, was carried out by Stratfor, the private sector intelligence group.
The United States and Australia today called for ending the United Nations peacekeeping mission in East Timor when its mandate expires in May, going against recommendations by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Sandra O'Malley and Rob Taylor – The Federal Government is neglecting regional security by backing the US in opposing an extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, Labor warned today.
East Timor wants peacekeepers to remain past a May withdrawal deadline, a position shared by the UN.
On 18 February, the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the establishment of an independent commission of three experts to review the progress made by judicial processes in Indonesia and East Timor towards accountability for serious violations of human rights committed in East Timor in 1999.
United Nations – The United States said Monday it opposes Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendation for a one-year extension of the UN peacekeeping mission in East Timor, saying there is no longer a threat to peace between the tiny country and its powerful neighbor Indonesia.
Kupang (East Nusa Tenggara) – The daily newspaper Radar Timor, owned by former governor of East Timor, Abilio Jose Osario Soares, was officially closed down on Friday due to financial problems.
Reporter: Graeme Dobell
Hamish Robertson: A renewed effort is being made to end the diplomatic war of words between Australia and East Timor over oil and gas deposits in the Timor Sea and the precise location of the boundary between the two countries.
David Nason, New York – The UN Mission of Support in East Timor looks certain to be extended, after Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned of continuing government corruption, police human rights abuses, judicial chaos and the danger of renewed hostilities on the fledgling's nation's undecided border with Indonesia.
Dili – The government, angered by published reports of famine deaths it denies, has severed relations with one of East Timor's two daily newspapers, "Suara Timor Lorosae".
Indonesian troops have cracked down on suspected militia members near the East Timor border, banning them from wearing camouflage uniforms as the UN sought an extension for peacekeeping forces in the fledgling nation.
Australia says the decision on a permanent seabed boundary with East Timor should be deferred for up to 100 years to allow oil and gas projects to go ahead. The timetable will be put to East Timor at boundary negotiations which will resume in Canberra in the second week of March.
Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Justice is at the crossroads in East Timor, with the United Nations formally moving to check the impunity of those accused of war crimes committed during Indonesia's bloody withdrawal from the island in 1999 and Timorese and Indonesian leaders proposing that all such charges be dropped.
New York – United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said here Wednesday the human rights violations that occurred in East Timor in 1999 following a UN-sponsored people's ballot were now not the concern of Indonessia and East Timor only but of the international community as well.
All too frequently this nation has refused to come to terms with its past. The circumstances surrounding historical events remain blurred, the rhetoric that exalts heroes and condemns villains left untested.