19 OCTOBER 2019
Australia urged to return $5bn to Timor-Leste and launch royal commission
Australia’s negotiations with Timor-Leste should be the subject of a royal commission, and the government should return $5bn unfairly taken from the impoverished nation, a parliamentary inquiry has been told
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/19/australia-urged-to-return-5bn-to-timor-leste-and-launch-royal-commission
28 SEPTEMBER 2019
Timor-Leste’s ASEAN membership limbo
Another year, another rejection. Once again, ASEAN did not discuss Timor-Leste’s application for membership in its annual meeting. This delay is puzzling since Timor-Leste has made significant progress in meeting ASEAN’s requirements and current geostrategic trends necessitate greater ASEAN solidarity. Ultimately, Timor-Leste’s membership limbo says more about what ASEAN has become than about Timor-Leste’s ‘fitness’ for membership
https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2019/09/28/timor-lestes-asean-membership-limbo/#more-207587
12 SEPTEMBER 2019
Emotional footage emerges of BJ Habibie, Xanana Gusmao saying farewell
Following the death of former Indonesian president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, footage has emerged of an emotional hospital visit from former Timor-Leste president and prime minister Xanana Gusmao
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/emotional-footage-emerges-of-bj-habibie-xanana-gusmao-saying-farewell
https://www.watoday.com.au/world/asia/touching-farewell-for-the-man-who-gave-east-timor-freedom-20190912-p52qts.html
23 AUGUST 2019
East Timor’s China friendship won’t compromise its national interests: foreign minister
Sceptics of East Timor’s relations with China should know it is not a “new, fragile country” that can be easily swayed by others, its foreign minister said, citing how the nation handled its border dispute with larger neighbour Australia
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3023934/east-timors-china-friendship-wont-compromise-its-national
29 JULY 2019
Australia Ratifies Maritime Boundaries with East Timor
Australia passed a legislation that sets down maritime boundaries with East Timor on Monday, providing a framework for the two countries to split revenue from the offshore Greater Sunrise natural gas field
https://www.newdelhitimes.com/australia-ratifies-maritime-boundaries-with-east-timor/
30 JULY 2018
Julie Bishop’s new Timor-Leste chapter
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop arrived in Timor-Leste at the weekend, on her first official visit and the first by any Australian minister to the country in five years. Bishop arrived with the promise of a beatific “new chapter” in the two nations’ previously fraught relationship
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/julie-bishops-new-timor-leste-chapter
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/bishop-rejects-timor-leste-bullying-suggestions
10 JUNE 2018
Facing death, losing family and achieving freedom: Timor-Leste’s Jose Ramos-Horta goes On the Record
“I thought I was going to die. I lost four litres of blood, but my concern was whether the country would slide into a civil war,” says Jose Ramos-Horta as we talk about the attempt to assassinate him in 2008
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/jose-ramos-horta-former-president-timor-leste-on-the-record-10407940
6 JUNE 2018
Timor-Leste is no failing state
29 MAY 2018
Xanana Gusmao’s coalition gets majority in parliament
The Alliance of Change for Progress (AMP) won 49.6 per cent of the vote and 34 out of 65 seats. Outgoing Fretilin Prime Minister Alkatiri won 34.2 per cent. The latest election sought to end months of political and constitutional deadlock
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Xanana-Gusmao%26rsquo%3Bs-coalition-gets-majority-in-parliament-44016.html
13 MAY 2018
With opposition victory, Timor-Leste election resolves political stalemate
Preliminary results from Timor-Leste’s general election on Saturday indicate that an opposition coalition has clinched victory, winning enough seats to form a majority government and end the country’s political stalemate
http://www.atimes.com/article/timor-leste-election-resolves-political-stalemate/
http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/05/13/561582/East-Timor-opposition-election-violence-parliament-oil-and-gas
12 MAY 2018
East Timorese vote in second election in less than a year
Thousands of East Timorese lined up to cast votes in a general election on Saturday, in a bid to end months of political deadlock in the tiny Southeast Asian nation’s parliament
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/east-timorese-vote-in-second-election-in-less-than-a-year-17404
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/east-timor-elections-vote-year-180512124553214.html
17 APRIL 2018
Nobel laureate blasts East Timor’s failure against poverty
https://www.chinadailyasia.com/articles/46/222/208/1523934200133.html
7 MARCH 2018
Australia and East Timor sign historic maritime border deal
Timor Leste and Australia have signed a treaty at the United Nations in New York to resolve a long-running dispute over their maritime border and struck a deal on how to share billions in revenue from oil and gas reserves in the Timor Sea
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-43296488
http://www.todayonline.com/world/un-east-timor-and-australia-sign-deal-maritime-border
3 MARCH 2018
Early elections test Timor Leste’s hard-earned stability
Timor Leste will go to the polls on May 12 for the second time in less than a year, with the country’s politicians calling upon voters to break a stalemate that ended almost a decade of hard-earned political stability
http://www.atimes.com/early-elections-test-timor-lestes-hard-earned-stability/
26 FEBRUARY 2018
Australia and East Timor agree on maritime border, ‘pathway’ to develop gas field
East Timor and Australia have reached an agreement for a treaty on their disputed maritime border and on a “pathway” to develop the giant Greater Sunrise offshore gas fields, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague says
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-26/australia-and-east-timor-agree-on-maritime-border/9486752?section=world
26 JANUARY 2018
East Timor president calls for new election amid political impasse
East Timor President Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres said on Friday he would dissolve parliament and call new elections in a bid to end a prolonged political impasse in the tiny country since polls last year
https://www.trtworld.com/asia/east-timor-president-calls-for-new-election-amid-political-impasse-14621
http://www.smh.com.au/world/east-timor-dissolves-parliament-in-effort-to-solve-political-standoff-20180126-p4yyx3.html
26 DECEMBER 2017
Timor-Leste’s precarious position after 2017
Timor-Leste ends 2017 with great uncertainty over the future of the Greater Sunrise gas field, over the stability of its government and over its ambitions to become a member of ASEAN
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/12/26/timor-lestes-precarious-position-after-2017/
7 DECEMBER 2017
Jose Ramos-Horta: East Timor will survive as oil ends
East Timor, one of the world’s poorest countries, could still be an economic success story despite reports its main oil and gas fields will run dry by 2022 and it will go bankrupt by 2027, according to its former leader
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/jose-ramos-horta-east-timor-survive-oil-ends-171206204731242.html
14 SEPTEMBER 2017
East Timor President says to swear in Mari Alkatiri as PM
“Today I announce to all the people that the president of the republic … has nominated Dr. Mari Alkatiri to become the prime minister,” President Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres told a news conference
http://www.chinadailyasia.com/articles/179/203/224/1505384911173.html
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2111149/mari-alkatiri-gets-second-shot-east-timors-prime-minister
2 SEPTEMBER 2017
Australia and East Timor strike historic deal to end maritime dispute
Australia and East Timor have struck a deal to end a contentious dispute over maritime borders that cut through lucrative oil and gas fields
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/2109465/australia-and-east-timor-strike-deal-end-maritime-dispute
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/09/02/timor-sea-dispute-australia-and-timor-leste-achieve-historic-deal
4 AUGUST 2017
East Timor’s Gusmao quits as party leader
Independence leader Xanana Gusmao has resigned as president of his party following their recent election loss, reportedly saying the East Timorese people had lost faith in them
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/08/05/east-timors-gusmao-quits-party-leader
25 JULY 2017
After Timor-Leste’s Election, a Young Democracy Looks Forward
From blogs, Facebook, public forums, and community spaces across Timor-Leste, the public sphere has been vibrant and dynamic during the election season. This is an indication of a popular interest in Timorese politics among its people. Public discourse is now much more important in the country than it was during the past
http://thediplomat.com/2017/07/after-timor-lestes-election-a-young-democracy-looks-forward/
22 JULY 2017
East Timor goes to the polls
People in East Timor, Southeast Asia’s youngest parliamentary democracy, are voting to elect a new parliament. Candidates from 21 parties are competing for 65 seats, with official results expected by August 6
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/east-timorese-form-long-lines-to-vote-in-parliamentary-election-9054658
http://www.dw.com/en/east-timor-goes-to-the-polls/g-39787205
8 JUNE 2017
Timor-Leste president Francisco ‘Lu’Olo’ Guterres: a product of war now pushing for peace
Before becoming the fourth president of one of the world’s youngest countries, Francisco “Lu’Olo” Guterres spent almost a quarter of a century in the Timorese resistance against Indonesian occupation
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/08/timor-leste-president-francisco-luolo-guterres-a-product-of-war-now-pushing-for-peace
1st JUNE 2017
East Timor reporters cleared of PM defamation charge
Two East Timor journalists accused of defaming the prime minister were found not guilty by a Dili court on Thursday, in a case that had sparked alarm among press freedom campaigners
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/06/01/east-timor-reporters-cleared-pm-defamation-charge
20 MAY 2017
Francisco ‘Lu Olo’ Guterres has been formally inaugurated as Timor-Leste’s new president
The 62-year-old is a former guerrilla fighter who fought in the country’s long struggle to gain independence first from Portugal and then Indonesia
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/05/20/new-president-timor-leste
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/20/much-to-be-done-new-president-brings-timor-leste-hope-for-a-better-future
http://sea-globe.com/francisco-lu-olo-guterres/
5 MAY 2017
Jose Ramos-Horta warns gas dispute with Australia risks pushing East Timor closer to China
East Timor’s former president Jose Ramos-Horta has issued a blunt warning to Australia that the gas dispute between the two countries risks pushing Timor closer to China
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-05/ramos-horta-china/8502370?section=world
20 MARCH 2017
East Timor holds first presidential election since UN peacekeepers left
Asia’s youngest democracy is choosing a new president in its first such election since a UN peacekeeping mission left the country in 2012. The vote is a political preliminary for July’s vote for a prime minister
http://www.dw.com/en/east-timor-holds-first-presidential-election-since-un-peacekeepers-left/a-38017195
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/20/timor-leste-presidential-election-revolutionary-hero-v-a-new-generation
24 JANUARY 2017
Timor-Leste drops espionage claims against Australia in maritime border dispute
Timor-Leste has withdrawn its Australian espionage claims in the permanent court of arbitration as a “confidence-building measure”, as the two countries continue to negotiate over their maritime border
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/24/timor-leste-drops-espionage-claims-against-australia-in-maritime-border-dispute
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-24/east-timor-drops-its-spying-case-against-australia/8209400?section=world
9 JANUARY 2017
Australia and Timor-Leste to negotiate permanent maritime boundary
Australia and Timor-Leste have agreed to begin negotiations on a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries, potentially ending years of dispute over the lucrative oil-rich Timor Gap and closing a chapter of mistrust and enmity between the two neighbours
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/09/australia-and-timor-leste-to-negotiate-permanent-maritime-boundary
http://www.chinadailyasia.com/asia/2017-01/09/content_15554015.html
6 OCTOBER 2016
East Timor journalists face defamation trial after story on Prime Minister Rui Aria de Araujo
Two East Timorese journalists are going on trial in a criminal defamation case brought by the country’s prime minister that has alarmed press freedom groups
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-06/east-timor-journalists-face-defamation-trial/7910892?section=world
28 SEPTEMBER 2016
East Timor takes maritime dispute with Australia to UN Court
East Timor has accused Australia of being a bully as the International Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands prepares to hear a decade-long dispute over the sharing of oil and mineral wealth in the Timor Sea
http://www.voanews.com/a/east-timor-takes-maritime-dispute-with-australia-in-un-court/3528236.html
29 AUGUST 2017
Timor Leste urges Australia ‘not to turn its back on law’ over maritime boundary
Timor-Leste has urged Australia not to “turn its back on the law” and to negotiate over the Timor Sea maritime boundary, but Australia has claimed the commission it has been brought before has no jurisdiction to hear the matter and said that any decision it makes will be not be binding on Australia.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/29/timor-leste-urges-australia-not-to-turn-its-back-on-law-over-maritime-boundary
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/29/on-timor-australia-looks-like-its-denying-an-impoverished-neighbour-its-birthright
11 APRIL 2016
East Timor-Australia maritime border to be negotiated before United Nations after protests
East Timor is taking Australia to the United Nations to solve the dispute over its maritime border under international maritime law.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2016-04-11/east-timoraustralia-maritime-border-to-be-negotiated-before-united-nations-after-protests/1568096
15 MARCH 2016
Japan, E. Timor fear China is trying to change balance of power
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with East Timor’s President Taur Matan Ruak in Tokyo on March 15 to share concerns over China’s growing maritime presence in Southeast Asia.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201603160025
25 FEBRUARY 2016
Rape of East Timor
Secret documents found in the Australian National Archives provide a glimpse of how one of the greatest crimes of the 20th century was executed and covered up. They also help us understand how and for whom the world is run
http://www.fairobserver.com/region/asia_pacific/the-rape-of-east-timor-43456/
30 DECEMBER 2016
The battle for Timor-Leste’s past
In 1975, Indonesian forces invaded Timor-Leste, heralding an occupation that lasted 24 years and claimed the lives of up to a third of the population. Forty years later, another clash is underway: an internal “history war” over the official narrative of the country’s turbulent past
http://sea-globe.com/battle-for-timor-leste-past/
27 AUGUST 2015
Indonesia, Timor Leste agree to resolve border problems, boost ties
Indonesia and Timor Leste agreed on Wednesday to begin negotiating unresolved land and maritime border issues and enhance bilateral ties, particularly on trade and investment.The commitment was made during a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Timor Leste Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araújo at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday 26
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/08/27/ri-timor-leste-agree-resolve-border-problems-boost-ties.html
3 JUNE 2015
East Timor ‘reactivates’ bid for new maritime boundary with Australia
An espionage operation by Australia’s foreign spy service underpins a new bid by East Timor to establish a maritime boundary between the two countries and gain a bigger share of the lucrative Timor Sea oil and gas fields.
http://worldaffairsjournal.org/content/east-timor-reactivates-bid-new-maritime-boundary-australia
16 FEBRUARY 2015
East Timor swears in Rui Araujo as new prime minister
Rui Araujo, a former health minister, took the oath of office on Monday along with 37 cabinet ministers, the AP news agency said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-31492776
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/timor-leste-swears-in-new/1662832.html
10 FEBRUAY 2015
Ex-health minister named E. Timor PM
East Timor’s President Taur Matan Ruak on Tuesday endorsed the leading political party’s decision to nominate former Health Minister Rui Araujo as the tiny nation’s next prime minister, replacing Xanana Gusmao who resigned Friday
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/471368/ex-health-minister-named-e-timor-pm
6 FEBRUARY 2015
East Timor PM Xanana Gusmao offers resignation
East Timor resistance hero Xanana Gusmao has submitted his resignation as prime minister, the government said Friday, after more than a decade leading the half-island nation during the fraught early years of its independence
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/02/east-timor-pm-xanana-gusmao-offers-resignation-150206040048689.html
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/468246/e-timor-resistance-hero-pm-resigns
12 DECEMBER 2014
From poet to despot: The changing face of Xanana Gusmao
As foreign media recasts Timor-Leste’s Xanana Gusmao from darling of democracy to potential despot, it’s time to re-examine the myth surrounding the ‘poet’ politician, write Angie Bexley and Maj Nygaard-Christensen.
http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2014/12/12/from-poet-to-despot-the-changing-face-of-xanana-gusmao/
25 OCTOBER 2014
No good time for Xanana Gusmão to let go
Timor-Leste’s prime minister, Xanana Gusmão, has deferred his decision to step down as his country’s leader until April 2015. He had announced earlier this year that he intended to leave office firstly in September, then in October. He has since said that he wishes to stay on to oversee negotiations with Australia over a resolution to the Timor Sea dispute.
http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/10/25/no-good-time-for-xanana-gusmao-to-let-go/
26 AUGUST 2014
Timor-Leste Success
Why It Won’t be the Next Failed State
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141938/agio-pereira/timor-leste-success
23 MAY 2014
Timor-Leste: Lessons of a Failing State?
Despite record international goodwill and generosity, Timor-Leste is a basket case
http://www.asiasentinel.com/society/timor-leste-lessons-failing-state/
1 NOVEMBER 2013
Can East Timor dodge the ‘resource curse’?
Despite oil and gas riches, signs of wealth remain scarce in the impoverished country.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/10/can-east-timor-dodge-resource-curse-201310211384898341.html
20 FEBRUARY 2013
East Timor risks all in oil dispute
East Timor appears ready to roll the dice in its dispute with Woodside Petroleum over construction of a liquefied natural gas plant. If East Timor’s move backfires, it could potentially spoil its resource sharing agreements in the Timor Sea with Australia, redraw maritime boundaries and cast doubts over the ability of East Timor’s capital city of Dili to keep its word. http://thediplomat.com/asean-beat/2013/02/20/east-timor-risks-all-in-oil-dispute/?goback=%2Egde_160896_member_216136614
31 DECEMBER 2012
East Timor: UN ends peacekeeping mission
UN forces have been pulling out since October when East Timorese security forces took over responsibility for maintaining law and order. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20873267 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/12/2012123173256112503.html
17 DECEMBER 2012
ASEAN’s Time to Invest in Timor-Leste
As Brunei assumes ASEAN’s chairmanship for 2013, one major question it faces is Timor-Leste’s bid for membership in the group. Despite some ASEAN members’ previous resistance to Timor-Leste’s entrance, the country’s sustained political and economic development over the last year and a half reflect a maturing nation poised for ascension to ASEAN. Brunei has a genuine opportunity to build ASEAN’s inclusiveness and invest in a nation that will pay dividends in the future.
http://cogitasia.com/asean%E2%80%99s-time-to-invest-in-timor-leste/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cogitasia%2FZCwV+%28cogitASIA+Posts%29&goback=%2Egde_134242_member_197275829
23 OCTOBER 2012
Timor Leste to take over policing as UN withdraws
UN peacekeepers will hand over full responsibility for policing to Timor Leste next week as they begin withdrawing in earnest from Asia’s youngest nation, a UN official said Tuesday 23.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1233014/1/.html
16 JULY 2012
Violence erupts in East Timor over new government
Police in East Timor say protesters angry that their party was shut out of the incoming government have thrown stones at officers, burned or destroyed 58 cars and damaged some houses. The protesters are believed to be supporters of the Fretilin party, which finished second to Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao’s party in July 7 parliamentary elections.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/85899/violence-erupts-in-east-timor-over-new-government/
9 JULY 2012
East Timor poll: Xanana Gusmao’s party wins most seats
East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao is set for a new term of coalition government after his party won parliamentary elections – but without an overall majority. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1212317/1/.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18759085
16 APRIL 2012
Second round of presidential election.
Taur Matan Ruak is elected with 61 % of the votes
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/04/2012416233543425697.html
18 MARCH 2012
East Timor’s president fails to make election run-off
East Timor’s President Jose Ramos-Horta on Sunday failed to make the run-off in the country’s presidential election, preliminary poll results indicated. The second-round vote will likely see Francisco Guterres face off against Taur Matan Ruak.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-03-18/427228
http://www.france24.com/en/20120318-east-timor-president-fails-make-election-run-off-jose-ramos-horta
17 MARCH 2012
East Timor in test vote
East Timor voted Saturday 17 in the country’s second presidential election as a free nation, seen as a key test for a young democracy taking charge of its own security as UN forces prepare to leave http://www.france24.com/en/20120317-east-timor-test-vote-presidential-election-timor-leste
13 MARCH 2012
Race to the top in East Timor
Timorese voters will go to the polls twice this year to elect the nation’s president and parliament for the third time since achieving independence in 2001. The elections, scheduled respectively for March and June, promise to be the most significant to date for Timor Leste, also known as East Timor
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NC14Ae01.html