Wilson da Silva

By Wilson da SilvaINSIDE AN OLD courthouse  in the dusty tropical town of Dili, an exhibition documents the history of East Timor’s resistance to Indonesian occupation. Next to a grainy black-and-white photo of a youthful man in a beard, a…

By Wilson da Silva in DILIWith the Indonesian military gone and independence looming, East Timor’s journalists can now report freely. But it’s not an easy task when your country is still a smoking ruin.Being a media baron in East Timor actually costs…

BUSINESS REVIEW WEEKLYHundreds of Australian companies are expected to compete for contracts as the United Nations gets on with its mammoth reconstruction task. By Wilson da Silva in Dili.THE FIRST waves of reconstruction are sweeping East…

EAST TIMOREast Timor may won the war for independence, but its women have another battle ahead – against their men. By Wilson da SilvaTHEY FOUGHT  in the jungles as guerrillas, they worked as agents in the clandestine underground. During…

By Wilson da Silva, DiliAN IMPOST on coffee exports in East Timor, among tax measures to be announced by the governing United Nations authority this week, was introduced at the insistence of the International Monetary Fund, despite…

THE WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE It began with a hurried flight on a small, chartered twin-engine Cessna from Dili to Darwin on December 4, 1975. It ended with another flight, this time on a white United Nations Hercules that left from Darwin to Dili…

By Wilson da SilvaSYDNEY – José Ramos Horta is an exile. He has no home, no furniture, no car, no driver’s license. His bed is a sofa or a guest room in the homes of friends around the world, or an economy-class seat on an intercontinental flight.His…

WILSON da SILVA profiles the man who has devoted his life to the cause of East Timor.IT’S a hell of a way to run a resistance movement, from a suitcase. But watching Jose’ Ramos Horta pack his bags - thoughtfully, meticulously - you realise that this…

By WILSON da SILVA The surprising intervention of South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela in the issue of East Timor had the tacit approval of Indonesia’s President Suharto, Timorese independence activist José Ramos Horta said.Mr Ramos Horta,…

By Wilson da SilvaTHE surprise intervention of South African President Nelson Mandela into the East Timor conflict had the tacit approval of Indonesia’s President Suharto, Timorese independence activist José Ramos Horta said.Mr Ramos Horta, who was…

by Wilson da SilvaAmerican Reporter CorrespondentSYDNEY, Australia – José Ramos Horta is an exile. He has no home, no furniture, no car, no driver’s licence. His bed is a sofa or a guest room in the homes of friends around the world, or an…

AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW MAGAZINE The differing experiences of two recently honoured Nobel laureates show that the prizes, far from rising above the political fray, have now become a part of it. By Wilson da Silva THIS IS A TALE of two Australian…

by Wilson da SilvaAmerican Reporter Correspondent SYDNEY, Australia – An Indonesian embassy official has sought political asylum in South Africa, claiming to have classified documents detailing official corruption in his country and evidence of…

By Wilson da SilvaAN Indonesian embassy official has sought political asylum in South Africa, claiming to have classified documents detailing official corruption in his country and evidence of human rights violations in Indonesian-ruled East…

by Wilson da SilvaOSLO, Norway – Timorese resistance leader Jose Ramos-Horta, who received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in Norway last week, has been the target of renewed death threats, with resistance sources inside the Indonesian-occupied…

by Wilson da SilvaAmerican Reporter CorrespondentOSLO, Norway – It was, at the very least, a break with tradition. For the first time in the 100 years since the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish industrialist whose will established the Nobel Peace…

by Wilson da SilvaAmerican Reporter Correspondent OSLO, Norway – This year’s winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, East Timor’s Catholic Bishop Carlos Belo and Timorese resistance leader Jose Ramos Horta, struck a note of conciliation in their…

by Wilson da SilvaAmerican Reporter CorrespondentOSLO, Norway – Timorese resistance leader José Ramos-Horta, who will on Tuesday receive this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in Norway, has been the target of renewed death threats, with resistance sources…

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW MAGAZINE With new blood revitalising the East Timorese indepndence movement, Jakarta has little hope of pacifying the unwilling 27th province of Indonesia. By Wilson da Silva THREE ANCIENT Portuguese cannon stare out…

Noam Chomsky’s ground-breaking research on linguistics has spawned a scientific revolution, but his geopolitical polemics have created an army of critics. By Wilson da Silva HE IS A TARGET for critics. Even his supporters sometimes temper their…