Dili – Several thousand pro-independence supporters marched solemnly Thursday in East Timor's capital of Dili with the bodies of two activists who were slain in a clash.
Violence between rival groups has escalated in the former Portuguese colony since Indonesia offered last month to consider independence for the territory if the East Timorese reject an autonomy offer.
Dili – After being dogged by waves of conflict, East Timorese figures from both the pro-integration and pro-independence sides yesterday signed the Peace Declaration of the East Timorese for Peace Association (KOTBD) in Dili, witnessed by Tamrad Samuel, representing the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for East Timor, Jamsheed Marker.
Jakarta – Two pro-Indonesian East Timorese militia leaders Thursday sent a blunt warning to Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer threatening the lives of Australian diplomats and journalists.
Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – Australia and Indonesia now shared policy positions on the troubled territory of East Timor, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in Jakarta today.
Jakarta – Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he discussed with East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao ways to reduce the violence in the province.
Jakarta – East Timorese guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao will be allowed to leave the Jakarta residence where he is kept under house arrest for talks on the future of his bloodied homeland, an Indonesian official said on Wednesday.
[The following is a statement by the President of the CNRT, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Commander of Falintil on Indonesia orchestrated violence in East Timor.]
Jakarta – Once again we are being forced to shed tears of blood, but each drop of blood must motivate us to fight for peace!
[The following is a statement by Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta, on Indonesia orchestrated violence in East Timor.]
Nusa Dua – Indonesia has agreed to allow Australia to reopen a consulate in East Timor as part of a push to settle the future of the troubled territory, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Wednesday.
[The following is a translation by US based human rights activist, John Rossa, of reports from the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission in Dili, East Timor.]
Dili – Four people have been killed and five wounded in separate incidents in the East Timor districts of Maubara and Balibo, a top East Timorese resistance official told Lusa Tuesday.
Kasa – About 1,500 pro-Indonesian demonstrators rallied Monday in East Timor to voice their support for autonomy and rejection of independence for the troubled territory.
Tensions have been rising in the former Portuguese colony amid fears of an escalation in fighting between groups that want to stay part of Indonesia or break away from it.
Jakarta – Indonesia's minister of economy, industry and finance has clarified Jakarta's position on the Timor Gap, a potentially oil-rich offshore region, saying that "if East Timor chooses to separate from Indonesia, then the Gap region will automatically belong to East Timor".
Che Guevara once said that a crucial problem for armed guerrillas was the ability to survive and keep a check on their bevahiour. This humane aspect of the guerrilla struggle is an integral part of the 23 year struggle of the Falintil guerrillas.
Dili – At least 250 members of the People's Security (Kamra) force who have just completed their training will be posted in six police districts (Polres) in East Timor, a police spokesman said.
Stephen Vines, Hong Kong – Britain has offered to send troops and money to East Timor for a United Nations-sponsored peace-keeping force. The troops would be deployed in the event of an Indonesian withdrawal, which might take place by the end of this year.
Atika Shubert, Dili – Civil war, 23 years of Indonesian military occupation and more than 300 years of Portuguese colonialism have bequeathed an unexpected boon to the tiny territory of East Timor, and one that may be the key to its hotly debated independence: some of the world's most sought after coffee beans.
Jakarta – Indonesian police in the troubled province of East Timor will open registration for a second batch of 250 civilian militiamen to assist its operations there, the Antara news agency said Saturday.
The children of East Timor, far from being the hope for the future, may be the problem. Louise Williams travelled to a country suddenly on the verge of independence to find a generation schooled in violence.
Hong Kong – Nobel peace laureate Jose Ramos Horta said on Friday he had received commitments from Portugal and other Western nations to help finance East Timor's transition to independence.
Canberra – Australian diplomats in Indonesia have warned in a series of confidential diplomatic cables that an independent East Timor would collapse into chaos and violence, according to a newspaper report on Friday.
Balibo – Thousands of pro-Indonesian East Timorese vowed Friday to defend the troubled territory's integration with Indonesia.
"Integration for us is an independence that will lead the East Timor people to prosperity," said a declaration issued during the rally in Balibo, a town near Bobonaro, which is 165 kilometers west of the provincial capital of Dili.
Dan Murphy, Barro Pite – Martinho Fernandes stands four-square like an ageing middleweight, takes a pull on his beer and declares that he doesn't want to fight--but will if he feels he has to. And he may get that feeling. The 52-year-old civil servant leads a group of East Timorese who favour integration with Indonesia.
Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas on Wednesday assured investors they would not lose out if East Timor became independent and the Timor Gap oil agreement had to be renegotiated.
"If East Timor finally becomes independent, this matter would have to be renegotiated because the Timor Gap is just south of East Timor," Alatas told journalists at the state Palace.
[The following is a transcript of interview by ABC radio, Asia Pacific's Peter Mares.]
Evidence that Indonesian authorities are indeed honouring their pledge to allow jailed East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao free access to the international media.
Jakarta – A teenager died in a violent clash between pro-independence and pro-Indonesian youth groups in the troubled territory of East Timor, the second victim of such clashes there this week, a report said Wednesday.
Jakarta – The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said here Wednesday he had appealed to Indonesia to allow it to immediately step up its presence in East Timor, citing disturbing new tensions there.
Jakarta – Indonesia will sponsor East Timor as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) if the troubled territory opts for independence, a senior official said here Tuesday.
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, foreign affairs advisor to President B.J.Habibie said it would be "in Indonesia's interests" if the former Portuguese colony joined the regional grouping.
Jakarta – Some 50,000 people Tuesday attended the burial of a 25-year-old man shot dead during an incident between pro-independence and pro-Indonesian youths in the East Timorese capital of Dili, a report said.
Jakarta – The newly-launched Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) lashed out at President B.J. Habibie for calling East Timor "a burden" and called on the nation to let go of the troubled territory.
Patrisia Prakarsa, Jakarta – East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao said Friday dialogue was needed among all groups involved in East Timor to prevent the troubled territory descending into civil war.
Jakarta – The speed of Indonesia's change of heart over the future of East Timor, which could now become independent within months, has worried diplomats watching the troubled territory.
Officially other governments have welcomed President B.J. Habibie's statement Thursday that the former Portuguese colony of less than one million people could be independent by Janaury 1.
Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – Indonesia would be solely responsible should civil war break out in East Timor, a member of Indonesian President BJ Habibie's supreme advisory council said here today.
Former East Timor governor Mario Viegas Carrascalao also scorned criticisms that East Timor would be a burden on its neighbours, including Australia, should it become independent.
Don Greenlees – Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi yesterday signalled that a ban on Nobel peace prize winner Jose Ramos Horta from entering the country could be revoked to enable him to join in talks on the future status of East Timor.
By John McBeth in Jakarta and Dan Murphy in Dili – Antonio da Silva lost his left ear to pro-independence Fretilin fighters. He doesn't intend to lose anything else. That's why he's outside the office of Indonesia's military commander in East Timor, waiting his turn to ask for weapons.
Keith B.
Terry Friel, Jakarta – Nestled in a leafy Jakarta suburb, number 47 Jalan Percetakan Negara VII is an unlikely place to decide the fate of a nation.
The armed forces (ABRI) includes the army, navy, air force and police. All are involved in repression in East Timor, but the army is the most important. Note that the lack of a civilian police force has been blamed as the cause of human rights problems by various UN rapporteurs on East Timor.
Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – In a move which surprised both supporters and opponents, Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri declared late last month that she cannot accept a new Indonesian proposal to give independence to the internationally-disputed East Timor.
Jakarta – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Alatas, denied that an agreement between Indonesia and Portugal has been reached to settle the East Timor problem by means of a referendum.
"That is not true. Indonesia shall never agree in a referendum," the Minister told Kompas who spoke with him on a long distance line to New York, Monday evening (8/2).
Evelyn Leopold, United Nations – Indonesia apparently has agreed for the first time to a UN ballot in troubled East Timor as its foreign minister and his Portuguese counterpart mapped out steps that could lead to Jakarta's withdrawal from the territory by the end of the year, diplomats said.
Troubled Province's Release To enable RI To Concentrate on Development, Says President
Jakarta – If Timor is release from its fold, Indonesia will be able to concentrate on developing its remaining provinces toward the next millenium, President BJ Habibie said here Saturday.
Diarmid O'Sullivan, Dili – In the garden of a house in Dili, capital of East Timor, a hundred villagers are camping out in fear of their lives. They have fled from the district of Maubara, an hour's drive west along the coast, to escape a gang of young thugs, armed and encouraged by the Indonesian army.
[The following is a transcription from a recording of a live report by Jonathan Head in East Timor.]
East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao has pressed the Indonesian govt to disband the para-militaries in East Timor. He said their presence could trigger armed conflict, putting the lives of the people in danger.
Dili – In November 1998, 11 East Timorese were killed and 831 displaced in the sub-regency of Alas, Manufahi regency, due to acts of terror, intimidation, detainment, torture, and arson perpetrated by the Indonesian military (ABRI).
[The following statement by the national secretariat of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) was issued as a response to the Indonesian government's statement on autonomy and independence for East Timor.]
Jakarta - Amid escalating tension in East Timor, the Armed Forces (ABRI) has denied supplying ammunition to the province to terrorize pro-referendum East Timorese and to protect pro-integration forces. Instead it has accused separatist "disturbance groups" of being behind the recent killings and terror.
A pro-independence demo in Dili called on people to remain calm in welcoming the Indonesian govt's announcement about independence for Timor.
Greg Earl, Dili 00 It's about 500 metres from the squat Indonesian government architecture of the Dili port to the old Portuguese-style Motael church on the city's waterfront. For Dili's residents pondering the future of East Timor at the weekend, the contrast between the port and the church underlined the division in the city.