Jakarta - The Democratic Party has been accused of flirting with the Aceh Emergency Military Command by three Acehnese women's non-government organisations. They say that political party membership cards are being used as a replacement for the red-and-white identification cards.

The Indonesian military says it has stopped publishing figures for separatist rebels killed by its troops in Aceh province.

The military says the move is temporary and denied it is linked to criticism from rights activists.

Banda Aceh – During a military operation in the troubled province of Aceh on Friday, government troops discovered various types of weapons and logistic supplies belonging to the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), local military spokesman Lt Col Asep Sapari said in Lhokseumawe on Saturday.

Banda Aceh – The Emergency Military Commander in Aceh, Major General Endang Suwarya, has said that they are waiting to see what the government's decision will be on foreign observers in the 2004 election in Aceh.

Nani Farida, Lhokseumawe – Sawang district, Aceh province, is determined to see political parties campaigning for the upcoming general election, despite the fact that it is still classified as a "black zone" by the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Jakarta – The Indoenisan government on Thursday decided to allow foreigners to observe the conduct of general elections in troubled Aceh province under supervision of the local authorities.

The decision was taken at a cabinet session led by President Megawati Soekarnoputri here.

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) urged on Wednesday the two warring parties in Aceh to allow humanitarian workers to move around freely when carrying out their duties there.

Lhokseumawe – Concerns about the smooth running of the 2004 general elections in Aceh are becoming a reality. The Aceh Emergency Military Command has stated that it will restrict campaigns which involve large numbers of people in areas which are considered dangerous.

An Indonesian Red Cross medical team treating sick civilians in Aceh province was forced to withdraw after a gun battle between separatist rebels and troops, its leader said.

Indonesian troops shot and killed 18 suspected rebels in gunbattles across the restive province of Aceh, a military spokesman said yesterday.

The 18 members of the Free Aceh Movement were gunned down yesterday by government troops in separate shootouts, Lieutenant Colonel Asep Sapari said.

Banda Aceh – Government troops mounting an offensive against Aceh separatist rebels have killed six more guerrillas, the military said Friday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government claimed on Tuesday that in the ninth month of the military operation, the situation in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam was relatively safe and stable ahead of the general election, however, it had no plan to lift martial law.

Nani Farida and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – While the provincial government has predicted Aceh's elections will run successfully, many Acehnese are pessimistic they will be democratic or deliver a desired outcome.

Jakarta/Lhokseumawe/Banda Aceh – Two hostages were freed in Tungkah Gajah village in East Aceh regency on Thursday, exactly seven months after they were kidnapped by members of separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Wednesday it had put on ice its role in attempting to mediate the release of civilians being held hostage by Free Aceh Movement separatists.

Jakarta – A soldier shot and killed two civilians before turning his gun on himself, and eight other people have also been killed in separate incidents in the strife-torn province of Aceh.

An army spokesman said Chief Private Kun Hendrianto had killed two people when he fired at random in a street in Takengon, the capital of Central Aceh district, on Sunday night.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has set conditions for a temporary cease-fire in troubled Aceh to allow Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders to free all civilian hostages, including journalist Ferry Santoro.

Slamet Susanto and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Yogyakarta/Lhokseumawe – Eighty-nine convicted Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members arrived in Yogyakarta on Sunday from their home province in the second such transfer to prisons on the country's main island of Java.

Jakarta – Two human rights workers detained in Indonesia's Aceh province have reportedly been beaten up by security forces while in custody and may face further torture or ill treatment, Amnesty International said.

Indonesian troops have shot dead seven suspected separatist militants in Aceh province, the military said Monday.

Troops killed two men during clashes with guerrillas of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Bireuen and South Aceh districts on Sunday, said provincial military spokesman Asep Sapari.

Nani Farida and Suherdjoko, Banda Aceh/Semarang – Under a tight security escort 54 convicted Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members were transferred from Aceh on Thursday to prisons across Central Java to serve their sentences.

The group is the first batch of 143 prisoners who will do their jail time in exile across Java.

Banda Aceh – A German freelance journalist was arrested for illegally entering and reporting in war-torn Aceh province, a military spokesman said Saturday.

Cradow Cascha, 35 – who claimed he was working for the International Press Association – was detained late Friday while traveling on a public minivan in Central Aceh, said Lt. Col. Asep Sapari.

Pip Hinman – On January 14, the Aceh high court upheld the verdict of a lower court which last year convicted five Free Aceh Movement (GAM) negotiators of treason and terrorism and sentenced them to long prison terms. The maximum penalty is death.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – Maulidarrahmi and another 437 supposed former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members appeared relieved as they were finally allowed to return home on Sunday after attending a five-month ideological "reeducation" course in the war-town province.

Jakarta – The Indonesia Military (TNI) headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta has thwarted a possible bomb attack allegedly planned by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) as the man picked for the mission did not have the gumption to carry it out, an officer said.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – After the six-month extension of martial law in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, civilians have been mobilized to set up militia groups across the war-torn province to help crush separatist rebels.

Banda Aceh – Four people suspected to be members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) were killed during separate exchanges of fire with the military in several districts of Aceh province, the military said on Saturday.

Jerry Norton and Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – An Indonesian presidential candidate who once headed the country's armed forces said on Thursday that if elected he would move quickly to end an intensive military campaign against rebels in Aceh province.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian troops hunting separatist rebels in the restive province of Aceh mistakenly shot dead a teenager and wounded his younger brother, the victims' mother said yesterday.

Mrs Darwati, from Leubu Lapehan in Bireuen district, said her oldest son Muntasir, 17, was shot dead by troops on Wednesday and a younger son, Harmadi, 14, was wounded.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – Two anti-separatist groups in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam held rallies in separate towns, demanding the government help with the relese of all people abducted by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Rachel Harvey, Jakarta – Journalists covering events in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province have faced a particularly difficult task since martial law was declared last year.

Their movements are severely restricted and local reporters are officially forbidden from contacting separatist rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (Gam).

John Roberts – For more than seven months, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) have been waging a war of repression in the province of Aceh, aimed at crushing the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and intimidating the population as a whole.

Pulo Aceh – Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah said the people of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) province should be brave and act against separatist rebels in order to restore security.

Jakarta – Separatist rebels in war-torn Aceh province said Wednesday they were willing to release 80 captives including a television cameraman in return for a two-day ceasefire.

"That's a condition that we have put forth," said the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commander for East Aceh district, Ishak Dawood.

Separatist rebels and the military in Indonesia's Aceh province have accused each other of responsibility for a bombing which killed 11 people at a New Year's Eve concert in the province.

A'an Suryana, Meulaboh – Even during the most desperate hour of need, there are those who still think only of themselves.

"Poltak" alit from a government ambulance loaded with medicines and food aid from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

Woro Swasti, Jakarta – The death of RCTI Television journalist Ersa Siregar remains a puzzle to this day. In order that there can be an independent investigation, international institutions are urged to be involved in the investigation of the case.

Jakarta – Indonesia said Saturday it will withdraw controversial British-made Scorpion light tanks from Aceh province and replace them with a locally-produced model.

Jakarta – Aceh rebels used a kidnapped television reporter as a human shield during a gunfight with Indonesian soldiers that led to his death early this week, the military claimed on Wednesday.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – The problem of security is not the only stumbling block to holding the 2004 general elections in Aceh. Public apathy is also expected to be a major problem.

International and local journalist groups have called for an independent investigation into the killing by Indonesian troops of a television reporter in Aceh province, six months after he was kidnapped by separatist rebels.

Banda Aceh – Rebels in Indonesia's Aceh accused the military on Tuesday of executing a local television reporter who was found shot dead in the troubled province following a clash between separatists and marines.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – A local reporter working for SCTV private television station, Muhammad Nasier, filed a complaint on Friday with the Aceh Military Operation Command in Lhokseumawe, North Aceh, after a soldier slapped him across the face the previous day.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) has escalated its security crackdown on rebels of the Free Aceh Movement with the dispatch on Christmas of three battalions of the newly-formed elite Raiders Unit to the troubled province.

Kanis Dursin, Jakarta – Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirayuda unleashed the first-ever scathing criticism by any Indonesian official on the invasion and occupation of Iraq in early December, almost nine months after allied forces, led by the world's lone superpower, the United States, dropped their first bombs at selected targets across Iraq in March.

Banda Aceh – The Indonesian military on Friday accused separatist rebels in Aceh province of kidnapping eight civilians, including three village chiefs.

Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members seized the three chiefs at Pante Bidari in East Aceh on Thursday, said provincial military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Jakarta/Lhokseumawe/Medan – Indonesian media have failed to help resolve the Aceh conflict, as their coverage of the impact of martial law in the war-torn province has been inconsistent, a watchdog says.

The Information Flow Study Institute (ISAI) said the media here has no clear agenda on the Aceh issue, let alone helping to find a settlement to the war.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government has eased its restrictions against foreigners in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam by allowing five international organizations to resume their humanitarian activities in the war-ravaged province.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military said yesterday it had killed 128 Aceh separatist rebels in the month since martial law over the province was controversially extended.

The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members were killed between November 20 and December 21, said provincial military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Jakarta – Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Wednesday the Swedish government will send a team of prosecutors and police officers to Indonesia to interview a number of separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) figures.

"They haven't set the exact date," Wirayuda said after a meeting with President Megawati Soekarnoputri at the State Palace.