News stories by Matt Crook, page 2

After three years behind bars as a political prisoner in Indonesia, British human rights campaigner Carmel Budiardjo saw firsthand the viciousness of former President Suharto’s military dictatorship. Expelled from the country in 1971, Budiardjo knew there would be suffering when the Indonesian military invaded East Timor in 1975.

After a string of corruption allegations were levelled against Xanana Gusmao’s coalition government, a civil society organization in East Timor Thursday launched an anti-corruption campaign it says will help tackle East Timor's endemic corruption head on.

Women in East Timor are being wooed to participate in the local council elections, likely to be held in September.

Getting around isn’t easy for Jose Noronha. With minimal use of his legs, he has opted for a red wheelchair-bicycle hybrid that he pedals with his hands, a common sight in Dili, East Timor’s capital.

Pressure to resign is mounting on East Timor’s Prime Minster, Xanana Gusamo, amid claims that he misused authority when he signed-off on a multi-million dollar government contract last year to a company his daughter has ties with.

Journalists in East Timor are anxiously waiting for a set of media laws to be revised after a negative reaction to a draft that was circulated in March.

Yahiya Lambert won’t leave East Timor until he’s set up the country’s first art academy. He’s been here for 28 years, so a few more won’t be a problem for the 37-year-old Indonesian, a native of the Maluku Islands.

Residents in East Timor’s capital used to suffer from daily power blackouts last year, sometimes occurring two or three times a day.

East Timor’s new prosecutor general, Ana Pessoa, says that she is ready to 'strengthen’’ her office through ‘’first of all trying to understand why there are so many pending cases'.

The decision to appoint East Timor’s prosecutor general as chief of the country’s police force is being criticised by analysts who say the move is politically motivated and threatens to stunt the institution as the handover of power from the UN Police (Unpol) begins.