Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – More than 6,000 families that fell victim to the tsunami in Aceh are living still in temporary shelters because many newly built houses were not yet equipped with proper facilities, including sanitation.

Imran, North Aceh – Residents of the Mee village in the sub-district of Syamtalira Aron, North Aceh, have discovered the remains of what they believe to be part of a skeleton of a person killed during the period of conflict. The bones were found in the area of the Surplus Control Project of the Supply Chain Department at Exxon Mobil Indonesia Cluster I on Wednesday June 20.

Jakarta – Many people in Indonesia's Aceh province remain traumatised two years after a peace deal ended almost three decades of war and if left untreated could trigger violence, a report said on Friday.

Jakarta – Civilians in Indonesia's Aceh, which was wracked by a long-running civil conflict, suffer high rates of mental trauma that could trigger more violence, a report said Friday.

Banda Aceh – Angry residents in Indonesia's Aceh have disabled a tsunami warning system after a false alarm spread panic in a province still traumatized by the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, an official said on Thursday.

Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has begun to initiate steps to form a local political party. The idea was revealed during a meeting between GAM leaders, the entire staff of the Aceh Transitional Committee (KPA) and activists from the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), which took place at the Asrama Haji in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Monday June 4.

James Balowski, Jakarta – On May 20, a group of women activists in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh declared the formation of a new local political party – the Acehnese People's Alliance Party for Women's Concern (PARAPP).

Former Aceh Monitoring Mission chief Pieter Feith recently made his first visit to Jakarta and Banda Aceh since the mission's mandate expired in December 2006. He spoke with The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland on Saturday about the progress of peace in Aceh, before flying out to the province on Sunday morning.

Dara, Banda Aceh – A number of women's activists that are concerned about the fate of women have declared a new local political party that has been given the name the Acehnese People's Alliance Party for Women's Concern (Partai Aliansi Rakyat Aceh Peduli Perempuan, PARAPP).

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – An alliance of activists and human rights abuse victims in Aceh have completed a draft on the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission, which they plan to propose to the government.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Post-tsunami reconstruction works in Aceh are contributing to deforestation as reconstruction agencies use timber from illegal logging activities, an environmental organization has alleged.

Banda Aceh – The Acehnese People's Party (PRA), the first local political party to be established in Aceh, is appealing to the public to remain calm and not be provoked by the by the recent string of grenade and bomb attacks on the homes of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders and regional government officials in Aceh.

Jakarta – Experts on peace, women and religious affairs said Tuesday that women's roles in peace negotiations, and even in day-to-day activities, are still not recognized, especially for women living in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.

Dara, Banda Aceh – International Labour Day, which is known as May Day, was also commemorated in Aceh on May 1. Hundreds of representatives of labour organisations in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh held a peaceful rally on the grounds of the Acehnese Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and at the Simpang Lima roundabout.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A grenade exploded at the residence of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Sofyan Dawood in Muara Dua district, Lhokseumawe, early Sunday morning.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Aceh has accused the central government of breaking the law and betraying its promise to the Acehnese people to share more of the province's oil and gas revenues, as required by the 2006 Aceh Governance Law.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – More than two years after Banda Aceh was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, the agency handling much of the rehabilitation in the province has completed 44 percent of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam's road repairs – but residents are still unhappy.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Less than two years after the signing of the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM), residents of Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam have been terrorized by two grenade attacks.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Southeast Aceh regency was tense Monday evening after the installation of Marthin Desky as acting regent, replacing Rajidin, by Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Irwandi Yusuf earlier in the day.

Both residents and officials at the regency administration strongly opposed the installation, held in Aceh's capital Banda Aceh.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf warned the government Friday against issuing regulations that may contradict the 2006 Aceh Administration Law without consulting the Aceh provincial administration.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A member of Aceh's sharia police was caught with a teenage girl in a Banda Aceh public bathroom on Thursday night.

Andi Haswidi, Banda Aceh – Aceh is a province that is blessed by abundant natural resources and wealth that have long lain undeveloped due to a 32-year insurgency that only recently came to an end.

Sunil Jagtiani, Banda Aceh – Brightly coloured new homes now dot the Indonesian province of Aceh as it slowly rebuilds after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but some lie empty pointing to the next big hurdle in the reconstruction effort.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A majority of Acehnese people no longer believe in the effectiveness of the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) and are calling for its chief to step down, a new survey has found.

The survey was conducted by Greenomics Indonesia in March and timed with the second anniversary of the government-backed reconstruction agency.

Jakarta – Acehnese cultural experts are calling for the revival of traditional and religious culture in Aceh, saying that local customs were strong prior to their erosion by the region's long history of conflict.

Seth Mydans, Bireuen – The little green car accelerated around a mountain curve and flashed through a village here in Aceh Province, scattering chickens, children, dust and pebbles. It swerved past potholes, skidding precisely to the edge of the road before speeding ahead.

Blessed with abundant resources, Aceh is now struggle to put almost three decades of armed conflict and the devastating tsunami behind it. It is taking bold steps into the future under the watchful eyes of the international community, with the province's first democratically-elected governor, Irwandi Yusuf, leading the way.

Jakarta, Sandy Indra Pratama – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf has said that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will set up a local party. However, according to Irwandi, GAM has not yet decided either the name or the form of the party.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Nanggroe Aceh Darussalem administration and the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) announced their partnership Friday in an all-out battle against corruption in the resource-rich province.

The central government has issued Government Regulation Number 20/2007 on Local Political Parties in Aceh. The decision was announced at the State Palace yesterday. The following is a summary by Aceh Kita's editors of the government regulation that so many have been waiting for.

Definition of a local political party

Article 1

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam provincial administration is set to declare a moratorium on the logging of forested regions in the province. Aceh governor Irwandi Yusuf said Thursday that both legal and illegal logging had caused severe environmental destruction in the province, which posed a threat to the lives of the people there.

Armia AM, Lhokseumawe – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has declared its commitment to fight for cases of past human rights cases. In addition to this, GAM has also admitted that it will continue to seek amendments to Law Number 11/2006 on Aceh Governance.

Banda Aceh – While waiting to officially declare the party, the Acehnese People's Party (PRA) – the first local political party in Aceh – is currently in process of establishing a party leadership board. This was conveyed by PRA General Chairperson Thamren Ananda in Banda Aceh on Monday March 5.

Banda Aceh – Aguswandi BR and Thamrin Ananda have been elected by acclaim as the general chairperson and secretary general of the Acehnese People's Party for the next five year period.

Banda Aceh – Around 75 participants attending a conference of the Preparatory Committee for the Acehnese People's Party (KP-PRA) are being treated at the Zainoel Abidin Public Hospital for poisoning after consuming food. Twenty three are still being treated in hospital.

The left-wing Acehnese Peoples Party (PRA) will be holding its founding congress in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh at the end of February. Sydney University Southeast Asian Studies lecturer Max Lane spoke to Thamrin Ananda, chairperson of the Preparatory Committee of the PRA.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – While a presidential decree on local political parties is still being worked out, Aceh's first-ever local party is being born this week.

The preparation committee for the establishment of the Aceh People's Party (PRA) launched its first congress in Banda Aceh on Tuesday.

Banda Aceh – The chairperson of the Preparatory Committee for the Acehnese People's Party (KP-PRA) is urging the government to immediately ratify the Draft Government Regulation on Local Political Parties in Aceh.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – The Preparatory Committee for the Acehnese People's Party (Komite Persiapan Partai Rakyat Aceh, KP-PRA) will hold its first congress between February 27 and March 2. Following the congress, the party will be declared as the first local political party in Aceh.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Aceh needs at least 100 more judges to fully implement sharia across the province, with many sharia courts operating with only three to five judges.

Fabio Scarpello – When former rebel Irwandi Yusuf was sworn in on Thursday as the first directly elected governor of Indonesia's Aceh province, the ceremony capped one of Southeast Asia's most extraordinary democratic transitions.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – After surviving Aceh's long struggle and even being jailed in 2003, former rebel leader Irwandi Yusuf has been installed as governor of the once-defiant province.

Putting decades of armed conflict and the devastating tsunami behind it, Aceh will embark on a new era when the new governor takes office Thursday. Outgoing acting governor Mustafa Abubakar talked to The Jakarta Post's Dwi Atmanta recently about the legacy of his administration and the landmark transfer of power, which he expects to lead the province to prosperity.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The government is drafting a regulation that would likely shackle local political parties in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Jakarta – Aceh Governor-elect Irwandi Yusuf met Monday with Army chief of staff Gen. Djoko Santoso to seek support in leading the province.

Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Ricardo Siahaan said that in the 30-minute meeting, Irwandi stressed that support from the military, especially the Army, would be indispensable in helping Aceh's recovery.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Clad in a white dress and scarf, 20-year-old Liza Wahyuni binti Sulaiman kneeled on the platform. Two wilatatulhisbah, or religious police officers, stood next to her. She was about to be caned, and in public.

Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – The Acehnese government will continue to struggle for the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) even though the Constitutional Court has put the law on the formation of the commission on ice.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – ExxonMobil must respond to a lawsuit alleging Indonesian soldiers under its control at a natural gas plant in Aceh province abused and murdered local people, a US appeals court has ruled.

Simon Montlake, Pidie – With her payments book and bundle of patterned sarongs, blouses, and head scarves, Juayriah bin Abdurani is rural Aceh's equivalent of the Avon Lady. Every week, she hops on a motorbike and makes the rounds of nearby villages to show off her wares and collect payments from her customers, who are happy to pay a dollar a week for a new dress.

Jakarta – A former separatist rebel elected governor of the Indonesian province of Aceh on Thursday said he would not push for independence for the province while in power.