An expert on the genocide in Cambodia has drawn parallels with Indonesia's policies in East Timor. History Professor Ben Kiernan says both Cambodia and East Timor suffered civil war – then genocidal policies from 1975 to 1980 – and ultimately intervention by the United Nations.
Transcript:
Jill Jolliffe – An Australian businessman is facing six years' imprisonment in East Timor on petty theft charges laid after a complaint by the brother of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.
East Timor's most senior judge has ruled the new nation's legal system should be based on Portuguese law, not Indonesian law. The controversial statement was made during his verdict on an appeal of a Timorese militiaman convicted on involvement in murders and a massacre during the 1999 vote for independence.
Presenter/Interviewer: Anita Barraud
Dili – East Timorese police have evicted former governor Mario Carrascalao from his home of 22 years, in what he described as an act of political persecution.
Atambua – The reconciliation meeting among East Timorese on the border between Indonesia's East Nusa Tenggara province and East Timor continues to reach an agreement on a peaceful life.
Jill Jolliffe, Darwin – A ruling by East Timor's only Supreme Court judge that national law should be based on Portuguese, not Indonesian, law threatens to plunge the legal system into chaos.
Dili – In a case observers say could have future impact on foreign investment in East Timor, an Australian construction company launched an appeal Thursday against a judgement ordering it to pay compensation to a former Timorese business partner.
Robyn Waite, Dili – More than a year after East Timor's labour code came into effect on May 1, 2002, three of the boards required to implement it – the Minimum Wages Board, the Labour Relations Board (an arbitration body) and the National Labour Board (a policy advisory body) – have yet to be appointed.
Marwaan Macan-Markar, Bangkok – Ivete Oliveira refuses to let the past be buried, especially the past of women who were sexually abused by Indonesian soldiers during East Timor's struggle for independence.
Dili – An East Timorese court Wednesday sentenced two pro-Indonesian militia leaders to eight and 12 years in prison for murdering five independence supporters during the country's bloody break from Jakarta rule in 1999.
James Eyers – East Timor's Foreign Affairs Minister, Jose Ramos-Horta, has reassured investors that Timor is happy with the treaty on sharing the Timor Sea's oil wealth with Australia, despite claims by a cabinet colleague last month that it was unfair.
Liz Minchin – Australia and the United States should stop warning travellers that East Timor is a possible terrorist target because they are harming the country's fledgling economy, East Timorese Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said yesterday.
Brad Collis – When Sipriano Martins was in high school he had a code name to hide his identity. It was Saruntu, which means "fight like a crazy man". That was back in the mid-1990s when Sipriano was risking his life as a courier for East Timor's Falintil guerillas fighting to free the country from Indonesian occupation.
Jill Jolliffe, Fatumaca – On a sentimental journey to an unusual former guerilla support base, East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao has paid homage to two priests who dedicated their lives to his country's freedom.
Dili – Prosecutors in East Timor Thursday indicted 57 people, including 17 Indonesian military officers and four former pro-Jakarta militia leaders, for their part in deadly violence during the country's 1999 independence bid.
Jill Jolliffe, Dili – A new tactic by East Timorese prosecutors to bring war crimes suspects to trial has resulted in nine Interpol arrest warrants being issued.
The new UN police chief in East Timor says one of her top priorities is to provide training to the local police force to take over policing of the young nation. UNPOL Commissioner Sandra Peisley is an Australian, who formerly served with the Australian Federal Police.
Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam
Makassar – Hundreds of East Timorese, currently under the care of the Al Anshar Foundation here, and other refugees and students have refused to go back to East Timor.
Jill Jolliffe, Dili – A United Nations official has confirmed that an investigation is under way in East Timor into prostitution and allegations of human trafficking. The probe follows claims by the Portuguese newspaper Expresso of a growing problem involving UN staff.
Dili – East Timor's prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, criticized Tuesday the earlier pronouncement by Dili's Court of Appeal that a draft immigration and asylum bill is unconstitutional. The Appeal Court ruled Monday that parts of the draft bill which limit political rights for foreign citizens in Timor are "unconstitutional".
Jakarta – A general on trial before a human rights court on Tuesday rejected allegations that troops fuelled the 1999 atrocities in East Timor as "fantasy."
Major-General Adam Damiri is the last and highest-ranking official to appear before the court, accused of crimes against humanity during East Timor's bloody breakaway from Jakarta's rule.
An international rights group criticised East Timor's new police force for arbitrary detentions, beating some detainees and a trigger-happy response to last December's riots in which three people died.
Nothing fades as fast as an international crisis that seems to be settled, as proved by the almost complete disappearance of East Timor from Australian newspapers and television screens. James Dunn's updating of his history to cover its foundation as an independent nation reminds us of its continuing importance to international politics.
Marianne Kearney – One year after formal independence and almost four years after East Timorese voted in a United Nations-backed referendum to split from its former occupier Indonesia, the world's newest nation is still dirt poor.
Vannessa Hearman – On the eve of an official visit to Jakarta, Timorese PM Mari Alkatiri on May 30 called for an international tribunal in a "neutral country" to try those responsible for serious crimes in his country in 1999. He likened the current Indonesian trials to "a piece of theatre".
East Timor won huge goodwill as it launched into independence. But Asia-Pacific editor Rowan Callick has discovered, in investigating a deeply troubled Australian venture there, that the tasks of winning business confidence and creating the rule of law are, for now, proving too hard.
Macau – Dili's foreign minister, Josi Ramos Horta, said Monday that East Timor would likely be admitted to ASEAN's Regional Forum security structure next year, with hopes of obtaining formal observer's status in ASEAN by 2006.
Mark Baker, Phnom Penh – Australia has chided regional governments for stalling moves to admit East Timor to their annual security talks with the United States, Japan and China.
The 23-member ASEAN regional forum voted on Wednesday to defer a decision on membership applications from East Timor, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Sydney – Prime Minister John Howard on Thursday gave East Timor an open-ended commitment of military support. He said Australian troops might stay on in the world's newest country "for years". Of the 2,800 United Nations peacekeepers in the former Portuguese colony around 1,000 are Australian.
Dili – At least one person is dead and about 600 people are homeless after torrential rain lashed parts of East Timor at the weekend, the United Nations Dili mission announced Wednesday.
The heavy rain, unusual for June, hit three districts south and southeast of Dili, destroying homes, crops, roads and left large numbers of cattle dead.
More than 600 people in East Timor have been made homeless by severe monsoonal flooding.
Anne Barker reports one person has died and two more are missing. The United Nations says unseasonal rains in East Timor's south have caused widespread damage to crops, livestock, houses and roads.
East Timor is open for business, the world's newest nation said today. The nation was aiming to attract foreign investment in agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, tourism and the petroleum support industry as it struggles to achieve financial independence, East Timor Secretary of State for Investment Jose Teixiera said today.
Lisbon – East Timor, one of the world's poorest countries, on Monday called on rich nations to boost international aid and reduce their trade barriers in order to help lift developing countries out of poverty.
Asad Latif – Indonesia has shown real statesmanship in its dealings with Timor Leste, the latter's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said during a visit to Singapore.
M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – East Timor has called on Indonesians to invest in the country, saying there are a number of business opportunities open to investors.
East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said on Thursday that tourism, trade and manufacturing were among the sectors that could be attractive to Indonesian investors.
Jakarta – East Timor's prime minister, Mari Alkatiri, called Thursday for an amnesty for prisoners currently serving sentences in Timorese jails for crimes committed around the time of the territory's 1999 bloody independence ballot.
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – East Timor foreign minister Jose Ramos Horta reiterated here on Wednesday that his government did not intend to pursue an international tribunal against Indonesian military officials charged with rights abuses in East Timor.
Jill Joliff – East Timor's prime minister drew fire from Jakarta yesterday after resuming his call for an international tribunal to try Indonesian officers for alleged human rights abuses during his country's bloody fight for independence.
Jakarta – Top level government delegations from East Timor and Indonesia signed an agreement Wednesday to control border traffic between the two halves of Timor island. The accord came after two hours of talks led by Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who is on his first official visit to Timor's former occupying power.
Jill Jolliffe, Darwin – East Timor Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri is aiming to turn former bitter enemies into best friends and neighbours during his first official visit to Indonesia since his nation became independent.
Gillian Davey – Immigration minister Philip Ruddock's June 3 decision to grant 379 East Timorese asylum seekers permanent residency in Australia is a decision that all supporters of refugees' right should welcome. The decision ends more than a decade of waiting for the 379 people concerned.
Vannessa Hearman, Melbourne – Fernando de Araujo heads the Democratic Party (PD) in East Timor, the second-largest party in the country's parliament. He also leads an eight-party parliamentary opposition to the Fretilin government. The opposition coalition includes parties from a diverse range of political perspectives.
Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timorese Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri leads a high-powered delegation to Indonesia on Tuesday in a bid to turn former bitter enemies into good friends and neighbors.
Karen Campbell-Nelson – It is important the women of Timor Leste tell what they know about past violations, to balance the tendency for men to dominate the documentation of history, and to remind social, political, and religious leaders of Timor Leste what is required of an inclusive reconciliation process.
This is how Beatriz Guterres begins telling us what she knows.
Dili – East Timor's prime minister drew fire from Jakarta Tuesday after resuming his call for an international tribunal to try Indonesian officers for alleged rights abuses during the country's bloody fight for independence.
Jakarta – An East Timorese court sentenced a pro-Indonesia militia leader to seven years in jail Monday for the 1999 killing of an independence supporter after the country voted to end 24 years of Indonesian occupation.
Deborah Snow – Misconduct allegations against Australian troops during their 1999 deployment to East Timor included a claim of "unnecessary amputation" of a suspected militia member's arm, and suspicions about the reasons for the suicide of an Australian soldier.
Deborah Snow – "The downer was having to pick up two corpses (very smelly) We placed them inside our Land Rover Discovery and it was putrid ... In the evening I was called to see a detainee ... very agitated and trying to escape by any means, including self-harm. I therefore sedated him ... I confess I do not like being involved in the detention of people.'
Major-General Adam Damiri was commander of the Bali-based military area, which included East Timor.
Natasha Bita, Florence and John Kerin – Starving East Timorese may be forced to eat rats, cats and dogs unless they receive food aid within six months, the UN warned in its first report on the food crisis on Australia's doorstep.