Stories about Timor-Leste from August, 2009
East Timor: Tour de Timor
Tour de Timor has 300 registered competitors, 50 International volunteers and thousands of Timorese volunteers. The race was organized to promote peace.
East Timor: “Happy Day” of freedom vote
Timorese bloggers have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum which led to the territory's formal independence. One commemorates the "happy day", another recalls his determination to drive out the Indonesian military occupiers, and yet another uses the day to question the current moment in Timor.
East Timor: Abe Barreto Soares’ Poetry for Nation Building
He calls himself a “wanderer like anyone else” but Abe Barreto Soares is also a poet, a translator and an active blogger. In this interview, he talks about Timorese nationalism, language and poetry.
East Timor: Celebrating Global Solidarity for Freedom
Ten years after the referendum, global voices are again spreading the word for East Timor, but this time celebrating the strong international solidarity that back then culminated in the country's recognized self-determination.
East Timor: A Film about Peace 10 years after the Referendum
Visual artist David Palazón has recently released online the trailer from his experimental documentary Hanesan Maibe Ketak-Ketak | Same same but Different, filmed at the end of 2008 in East Timor. The film focuses on peace building activities and opinions around the country while showcasing Nobel Peace Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta....
East Timor: Ricegate scandal
Responding to a looming food and rice shortage last year, East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao awarded 17 companies with contracts to import rice. These contracts are now being questioned by the opposition after Radio Australia News exposed that one of the companies is partly owned by the Prime Minister’s daughter.
