Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A Working Group for Aceh called for a revision of the special autonomy for the troubled province, arguing that it had failed to address the roots of the problems.

Banda Aceh – In the lead up to the anniversary of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) security forces in Aceh have forbidden people from joining in the celebrations. If any civilians or GAM members are seen raising the Red Crescent Moon flag, GAM's symbol, they will be shot on sight. Journalists have who cover such activities will not be tolerated.

James Balowski, Jakarta – The new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has barely been in office one month but has already broken a key election promises – to seek a peaceful solution to the prolonged conflict in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh.

Jakarta – A conflict over palm oil business interests is suspected to have been the trigger behind the armed clash between TNI (armed forces) troops and the Mobile Brigade (Brimob) in the village of Seuneubok Bace in East Aceh on Thursday November 25.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – An intensive peace process should follow the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, or else local people will lose trust in the new administration, observers say.

Admitting to hailing from Demak, this woman was charged with being the commander of Inong Balee and sentenced to 18 years in prison by a special tribunal. The drama began on the side of the road in Lamno, Aceh Jaya, in early March.

Arin Widiyanti, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is to be sued by 4.1 million Acehnese people on the grounds that his broke his campaign promise by extending the civil emergency in Aceh. The suit is be registered with the Central Jakarta State Court by the People's Lawyers Union (Serikat Pengacara Rakyat, SPR).

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told the Acehnese on Friday that special autonomy was the best way to resolve the Aceh conflict, signaling that there would be no policy changes in dealing with the secessionist movement there.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a flying visit to the blood-soaked province of Aceh yesterday, demonstrating his resolve to come to grips with a conflict that has claimed as many as 13,000 lives since 1976.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's President yesterday pitched his proposal for an amnesty for separatist rebels to bring peace to Aceh during a one-day trip to the oil- and gas-rich region, his first since taking office.

Imran MA, Lhokseumawe – The body of a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) officer from a Brimob post in the village of Seuneubok Aceh in the Idi Rayeuk sub-district of East Aceh who was killed in an attack by TNI (armed forces) troops from the Karma Bhakti Infantry Battalion 111, Rifle Company B, in East Aceh on Friday November 26, has been returned to his home in Palembang South Sumatra.

Imran MA, Jakarta – As many as 25 TNI (armed forces) officers from the Karma Bhakti Infantry Battalion, Rifle Company B in East Aceh have been found to have violated the code of discipline. They have been in detention at the Iskandar Muda military headquarters in Lhokseumawe since Friday November 26.

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says that the extension of the civil emergency in Aceh is necessary if only to maintain continuity and to provide space for a just and dignified resolution to the Aceh problem.

Banda Aceh – The civil state of emergency authority in Aceh has decided to open five regencies for foreigners wishing to enter Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has vowed to end the decades-long conflict in Aceh province, made his first visit there against a backdrop of continued violence.

Jakarta – A number of noted Acehnese figures urged the government on Wednesday to reopen dialog with the Free Aceh Movement to help settle the prolonged conflict amicably.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – Activists from the People's Solidarity Movement for Aceh (Gerakan Rakyat Untuk Aceh, SEGERA) held a demonstrated at the offices of the ministry of political, legal and security affairs on Wednesday November 24. They were protesting the extension of the state of civil emergency in Aceh and calling on the government to review the decision.

Banda Aceh, Jakarta – Citing better security conditions in Aceh after six months under a state of civil emergency, the provincial authorities have decided to lift its travel ban on foreigners in three regencies.

Jakarta – Soldiers shot and killed eight suspected rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province, the military said Monday, in the worst violence in the rebellious region for weeks.

The killings occurred during a gunbattle Sunday in the northern village of Krueng Aji, military spokesman Ari Mulya Asnawi said. Troops recovered four assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Aceh police chief Insp. Gen. Bahrumsyah Kasman has been appointed head of the Aceh Civil Emergency replacing Governor Abdullah Puteh, who has to answer a summons by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over corruption charges. The Jakarta Post's Nani Farida talked with Bahrumsyah for two hours about the weaknesses of the previous civil emergency and his future plans.

Blontank Poer, Nusakambangan, Central Java – It rained at dawn on Idul Fitri and 188 inmates at the Permisan penitentiary on Nusakambangan island were forced to crowd into the mosque to perform their Ied prayers.

After the prayers, 31 of them, aged from 25 to 40, hugged each other, some shedding tears. It was their first time to observe Idul Fitri without their families.

Hopes that an end was in sight to nearly three decades of conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh are fading. There was more violence over the weekend, just after the Indonesian president had announced a six month extension of the civil emergency in the province.

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta – The extension of the civil emergency in Aceh will not resolve the problems in the province. On the contrary it is an a-historical policy.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono issued a regulation on Thursday to extend the state of civil emergency in Aceh for another six months. Criticism loomed even before the decision was taken, with many questioning the new government's commitment to a more comprehensive solution to the long-standing problems in the natural resource-rich province.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The acting civil emergency administrator in Aceh has asked the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to verify reports of malfeasance in the use of Rp 6 trillion (US$6.8 billion) in state funds allocated for the first six months of the state of civil emergency in the province.

Jakarta – Non-government organisations (NGOs) say that the policy decision by the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to extend the state of civil emergency in Aceh is disappointing.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Acehnese responded coldly to the government's decision on Thursday to extend the state of civil emergency in the province, complaining that they were not involved in the process that led to the decision.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ruled out on Thursday a foreign role in Aceh, while also offering amnesty to rebels who gave up their armed struggle.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – The extension of the state of civil emergency in Aceh by the government though Presidential Decree Number 2/2004 has been condemned by three non-government organisations (NGOs) who believe that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) has broken his promise to resolve the conflict in Aceh peacefully.

Indonesia on Thursday offered amnesty to separatist leaders in Aceh and promised to help redevelop the province if rebels drop their bid for independence, but a spokesman for the rebels rejected the offer.

The Free Aceh Movement spokesman said the group would continue its fight for an independent homeland on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Thursday the civil state of emergency in Aceh will be extended for up to six months effective Friday, but he vowed to solve the conflict in the troubled province without foreign intervention.

Tangerang – The government has officially decided to maintain the state of civil emergency in Aceh which should have ended today. The civil emergency which has limited much of the Acehnese people's daily lives will be extended for a maximum of six months.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The extension of the civil emergency in the troubled province of Aceh is now a foregone conclusion as the House of Representatives has thrown its support behind the government.

James Balowski, Jakarta – The new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono faces a staggering array of problems – rampant corruption, continuing human rights abuses by the military, massive unemployment, crumbling infrastructure, and a judicial and law enforcement system that is little more than a legalised mafia.

Sian Powell – Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, although regarded as one of Indonesia's most effective peacemakers, says he will never allow foreign nations to interfere in peace negotiations for the warring province of Aceh.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government has extended the state of civil emergency in Aceh, but is still undecided for how long the extension will last and what areas of the province will be included in the order.

Tiarma Siboro and Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – As the November 19 deadline for the end of the civil emergency draws near in the troubled province of Aceh, the new government is urged to return to an inclusive dialog with all representatives of the people.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has barred all foreign journalists from the troubled provinces of Aceh and Papua, the first such ban for at least four years.

Jakarta – It is hoped that the government can resolve the conflict in Aceh peacefully in the lead up to the end of the period of civil emergency on November 18. Furthermore the government is being asked to reduce the state of civil emergency in Aceh to one of a civil authority.

Ramidi, Jakarta – Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) says the policy of implementing a state of civil emergency in Aceh has failed. The policy has only succeeded in creating a regime which is militaristic, corrupt and which has no respect for human rights and a system of democracy.

Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Widodo AS, has admitted that the operation to restore security in Aceh, as one of five programs which make up the integrated operation under the state of civil emergency, has not been able to fully overcome the problems of separatism in the region.

Dear President Yudhoyono,

We write to congratulate you on your electoral victory and recent inauguration as the first president ever to be chosen directly by the Indonesian people. We wish you every success in the complex and important undertaking ahead of you.

Nur Raihan, Banda aceh – The commander of the Iskandar Muda Territorial Military Command, Endang Suwarya, says that Aceh needs to remain under a state of civil emergency when the current period ends on November 18. Basically, the security situation which has begun to improve may deteriorate if the status is reduced.

Jakarta – Indonesian soldiers killed seven suspected rebels in two gun battles in restive Aceh province, a military spokesman said Friday.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Two anti-corruption activists in Aceh were grilled on Tuesday by local authorities, two days after they made harsh comments over the allegedly rampant corruption in the war-torn province.

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh – The raging armed conflict in Aceh has left behind a huge trauma for the Acehnese people. As a result, some 80 per cent of people suffering mental disorders are because they had witnessed incidents of violence first hand.

Jakarta – The Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Affairs, Widodo Adi Sutjipto, says that his office is in the process of putting together a recommendation on Aceh when the state of civil emergency ends on November 18.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top Security Minister said yesterday that the new government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would make no deals with separatist guerillas in troubled Aceh and urged the rebels to surrender.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government must abandon its security approach and open dialog with civilian figures to settle the Aceh conflict once and for all, a discussion has concluded.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top security minister called on rebels in Aceh province Tuesday to disarm and "rejoin the nation," but didn't say whether fighters who surrendered would be given an amnesty, nor whether fresh peace talks were planned.