Decisions about immigration policy must be made independently from concerns about our relationship with Indonesia.

Peter Boyle – Among the cynical circles of Australian foreign policy "experts" committed to Australia playing a neo-colonial role in the Asia-Pacific region, there are some differing views on the Howard government's military intervention in the East Timor crisis.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the firebrand Islamic cleric accused of inspiring the first Bali bombings, has walked free from Jakarta's main prison and into the arms of hundreds of jubilant militant supporters.

Lifting his hands in the air an otherwise subdued Bashir muttered "I thank Allah" as he was mobbed by adoring fans, many in black "mujahidin" jackets.

Robin McDowell, Jakarta – A reputed top leader of an al-Qaida-linked terror group that has been blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and other deadly attacks walked free from prison Wednesday to cries of "God is great" from cheering supporters.

Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been released from a Jakarta prison, where he served two years for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings. Bashir is viewed by the West as the spiritual leader of the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiah. He has now been taken back to his home town of Solo in West Java.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Jakarta Military Commander's recent remark that the House of Representatives has been infiltrated by sympathizers of the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) was not politically motivated, Army Chief Gen. Djoko Santoso says.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Concerned by the creeping Islamization of the country's secular state, 56 national legislators are urging President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to abolish sharia-based bylaws already in place or risk the country's disintegration.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives should drop its deliberations of the controversial pornography bill because it is dividing the country, says a coalition of activists against the legislation.

Jakarta - A number of non-government organisations from the Aceh Working Group (AWG) are urging the Aceh Rehabilitation Agency (BRA) to give greater focus to its task and initial role as mandated in Section 3.2 of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on the stages of the reintegration process.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The country's state-owned-enterprise (SOE) sector is still in poor shape, with its overall financial performance in 2005 only showing a slight improvement over the previous year.

Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta – Most regencies and municipalities are still lagging in creating attractive investment conditions five years after the regional autonomy law gave them greater power to manage their economic affairs.

The World Bank, the coordinator of the Consultative Group on Indonesia (CGI), has again reminded the government of the vital importance of reform for the generating of sustainably high economic growth.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Non-government organisations (NGOs) are urging the government to immediately acknowledge the existence of militia groups in Aceh. Without such an acknowledgement, the reintegration process in Aceh will be obstructed.

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court ruled Monday that a decision to drop graft charges against former president Soeharto was invalid, and ordered the case reopened.

"I hereby declare that the decision of the Attorney General's Office in stopping the prosecution of the case against Haji Muhammad Soeharto on May 11 is illegitimate," Judge Andi Samsan Nganro decreed.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Last week was a rough one for jihadis in Indonesia. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's administration launched a long-overdue comprehensive campaign against violent Islamic extremists.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – Despite the declared wide-ranging crackdown on corruption, Indonesia remains a haven for money launderers lured by rampant opportunities.

Weak law enforcement, a notoriously slack bureaucracy and the recent slowdown in the drive against money laundering have contributed to a rise in the number of suspicious financial transactions.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – As a world heavyweight in corruption, Indonesia may be a haven for novice corruptors and white-collar criminals around the world to learn how to launder money derived from illicit sources.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The uncovering last year of suspicious financial transactions involving the bank accounts of 15 police officers is believed to be only the tip of a corruption iceberg of monumental proportions that is slowly sinking whatever credibility the national force retains.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Soccer fans glued to televisions, anxiously awaiting the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica received an unexpected shock Friday night, when former president Soeharto's daughter Titiek appeared as the show's host.

Natalie O'Brien – The scheduled release this week of Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged spiritual leader of the extremist group Jemaah Islamiah, could spark a fresh round of terror strikes.

Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Terrorism and Political Violence Research, said the early release of Bashir on Wednesday would send a dangerous message to terror groups.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – The Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) continues to be criticised with its poor performance considered to be threatening the peace process.

Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – Yesterday (11/6), the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) resigned from the committee of the Aceh Reintegration Board (BRA), the organization for Aceh reintegration, which was part of the peace agreement in Helsinki.

Jakarta – In a rally attended by thousands of people, religious leaders reaffirmed their allegiance to the state ideology Pancasila in a show of solidarity to counter a growing Islamic radicalism.

Jakarta – An Indonesian judge has ruled that the dropping of a long-running corruption case against former dictator Suharto was illegal and ordered the case reopened.

Makassar – Former president Megawati Soekarnoputri challenged critics Saturday to prove accusations that the political party she leads, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), had been infiltrated by communists.

Estevao Cabral and Julie Wark – At a panel on the state of the world's media hosted by Columbia University in New York last April, the veteran journalist Robert Fisk expressed outrage at the semantic distortion that bedevils understanding of events that affect us all and, worse, affect a great many people in ways that are unimaginable, (thanks to media versions) in homes where the m

Tom Hyland – Listen carefully: that scratching you hear is the scribbling of commentators, furiously re-writing history. And if you look closely, you might glimpse a hint of schadenfreude among those who argued all along that East Timor could never be free and are now saying: we told you so.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The government and legislators have agreed to revise the 1985 law on the freedom to organize to allow the disbanding of hard-line organizations deemed to have disrupted security and public order, the home minister said Friday.

Sudimoro – Cramped in a single tent sheltering 41 people, survivors of last month's Indonesian earthquake at this hamlet complain they receive only one meal a day with assistance still slow to fully flow here two weeks after the disaster.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Most governors, mayors and regents who have come to power in direct regional elections across the country received less than 50 percent of the popular vote, a recent study says.

Jakarta – Citing the 1979 Iranian Revolution as a model for change, a group of opposition politicians has launched a national movement to counter what it believes is increasing foreign influence in national politics.

Annemarie Evans – Australian armoured vehicles patrol the streets of East Timor's capital, Dili, amid the burned-out shells of houses and food warehouses looted by marauding gangs, who for weeks have laid waste to neighbourhoods and forced tens of thousands of terrified civilians into refugee camps.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – House of Representatives lawmakers are unhappy with the performance of the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR).

It is no secret that public trust toward police has been falling, and the recent threats and the version of terrorism carried out by groups claiming to represent certain ethnicities and religions have apparently made things worse.

A hero's welcome awaits Australia's nemesis, Abu Bakar Bashir, the cleric convicted for blessing the Bali bombing, when he is freed on Wednesday after 251/2 months in an Indonesian jail.

Veronica Kusuma, Jakarta – The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva is scheduled to begin its session on June 19. This session will mark an important step in the human rights struggle around the world.

Nani Afrida, Takengon (Central Aceh) – "These are the best times I've experienced in my whole life," said Aman Masnah, 70, a resident of Keunawat village, Lut Tawar district in Central Aceh regency.

When the former prime minister Paul Keating produced a bilateral security treaty with Indonesia in 1995, his conservative opponents thought he had gone troppo.

Brendan Nicholson – A new security treaty with Jakarta will include an assurance that Australia respects Indonesia's integrity – including its ownership of West Papua – says Prime Minister John Howard.

RR Ariyani, Jakarta – It is estimated that the growth of the real sector will remain stagnant this year. In addition to the continuing high interest rate, there is not yet internal restructuring from the real sector itself.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Environmentalists say the removal of six billboards, which welcomed visitors to the "city of pollution", comes as a major setback for the Jakarta administration's clean air campaign.

Councillor Mukhayar, who is also deputy chairman of Commission D for environmental affairs, said he felt let down by the city administration.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government has issued a warning to members of hard-line groups in the country: You will face the full weight of the law if you promote unruly radicalism or are involved in acts of terror.

Jakarta – The second edition of Indonesian Playboy, which hit the streets Wednesday, is not opposed by the nation's Press Council but hard-line Islamic groups are threatening street demonstrations until the magazine is shut down for good.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Human rights activists called on the government Wednesday to publicly account for its six-month security operation in conflict-scarred Central Sulawesi, which will end this month.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Papuan tribal leaders oppose a plan by local councillors to meet PT Freeport Indonesia bosses in the United States city of New Orleans to renegotiate the company's much-criticized working contract.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Life was already difficult for residents of the two remote hamlets in the parched hills of Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta, but it took a turn for the worse on May 27.

Jakarta – Six billboards that welcomed visitors to the "city of pollution" were removed by officials Wednesday, just days after they were put up for World Environment Day on Monday.

Benget Simbolon Tnb., Jakarta – Businesspeople normally state that the quality of local governance and institutions is the principal factor that helps determine whether they will invest in a particular region.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Most Indonesians know little about the State Ministry for the Environment and about a fifth are unaware such an office even exists, a recent survey shows.

Bandung – Thousands of people from 40 Muslim organizations grouped in the Alliance of Muslim Followers rallied in the West Java provincial capital Bandung on Tuesday in support of the controversial pornography bill.