Charles Scheiner of the Timor-Leste Institute for Reconstruction Monitoring and Analysis (La'o Hamutuk) argues that the next UN mission is being designed in an emergency atmosphere. Although immediate humanitarian and security concerns must be dealt with, there are deeper-seated causes of the current problems, and crises will recur if they are not addressed. The millennium's...

What, asks Ian Hunter, can we learn from the fact that on 30 May 2006, acting in his capacity East Timor’s President and head of state, Xanana Gusmao declared a state of emergency, assuming sole direction of the country’s armed forces and police, with the power to restrict freedom of assembly and movement? At the...

Richard Tanter argues that since the dominant characteristic of the coverage of East Timor in the past two weeks has been utter confusion, both inside and outside the country, this is really a time for a little humility amongst the foreign pundits and experts. He asks ten questions to which we need some substantial answers...

20 May 2006 marks the sixth anniversary of Timorese independence. In this e-brief Susan Harris-Rimmer and Effi Tomaras give a brief summary of the transitional justice mechanisms employed in the case of Timor and the results so far.

This brief provides an overview of the current predicament in which approximately 1650 East Timorese who sought protection from Australia in early 1990s now find themselves.