Jose Luis Guterres

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's censors have banned "Balibo," an Australian-made film about five foreign journalists who were killed by Indonesian troops during the 1975 invasion of East Timor. The killing of the so-called Balibo Five -- two Australians, a New Zealand national, and two Britons -- has been a point of friction between Jakarta and Canberra for years. The men's families campaigned for the Indonesian officers alleged to be responsible to face justice, with no success, even after East Timor eventually won independence and Indonesia pulled out its troops a decade ago. Relations between the two countries soured in September when the Australian Federal ... Read Full Story

VIQUEQUE, Timor-Leste, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The United Nations has returned control of the largest district in Timor-Leste to the country's police force, officials said Saturday. Atul Khare, special representative of the secretary-general for Timor-Leste, and Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres spoke at the handover ceremony in Viqueque. Khare emphasized accountability for the Policia Nacional de Timor-Leste, saying it can be guaranteed only through Khare praised the government for its commitment to punish police officers who break laws and regulations. he said. The U.N. Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste took over police responsibilities in 2006 after a police strike led to violence that left ... Read Full Story

Timor-LesteThe United Nations should hand over formal control of the Timor-Leste police as soon as possible. A protracted process that began in May has taken a bureaucratic approach to assessing whether they are ready to take charge, but the reality on the ground is that the Timorese police have long operated under their own command, according to the International Crisis Group. Without an agreed plan for reforming the country’s police after the 2006 crisis, the UN and the government have made a poor team for institutional development. A longer handover may further damage relations between the UN’s third-largest policing mission and the Timor-Leste government, ... Read Full Story

The Culture section of Suai Media Space is not ‘curated’ with the idea to provide an opportunity to explore the meaning of ‘friendship’ or to sell art or create cultural tourism. The writer is not a scholar of Timorese culture. The inclusion of particular works and forms has come about through friendships rather than curatorial research and scholarship. Cultural exchange is being facilitated by the documentary-maker to facilitate access to those outside East Timor , (especially for the people of Port Phillip , who are attempting a community to community friendship with the people of Cova Lima , Suai ), to cultural and artistic ... Read Full Story

East Timor's deputy prime minister abused his power by securing a plum United Nations job for his wife in which she was overpaid thousands of dollars, a leaked ombudsman's report alleges. The July 9 report by East Timor's Ombudsman Sebastiao Ximenes, obtained by AFP, recommends an investigation be opened into Jose Luis Guterres over allegations that he improperly gave his wife, Ana Maria Valerio, a job as counsel to the UN ambassador in New York in 2006. Guterres's actions were "an abuse of power, and breached the applicable laws resulting in irregularities and prejudice to the state in favour of the family," the report ... Read Full Story