Tifa Asrianti, Bekasi – Five churches in North Bekasi held Sunday services from Permata Jijau Permai housing estate despite a rumor members of the Cooperating Bureau of Mosques and Praying Rooms (Musholla) would stage large protests against their efforts.

Ken Yunita, Jakarta – Three protest actions will take place in Jakarta and neighboring Bekasi on Monday March 10. One of the demonstrations will be held at the Singapore Embassy on Jl. HR Rasuna Said in South Jakarta.

The demonstration the embassy is being organised by students from the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front (KAMMI) and will start at 2pm.

Jakarta – The Golkar Party has drawn criticism for proposing only political groups winning at least 30 percent of national votes in the 2009 legislative election should be allowed to nominate presidential candidates.

The National Awakening Party (PKB) patron and former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid was positive about his prospects in the upcoming 2009 presidential elections, after his recent nomination.

A month on from the shooting of East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta, the BBC's Lucy Williamson reports on the government's handling of the crisis.

The camp holding the rebel soldiers is being run with military precision The road into the camp looks like any other – a wide, dusty road dotted with scrub.

Bribery issues filled public spaces last week, following the dramatic arrest of a top prosecutor by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The media made it headlines, the people incessantly talked about it, and it should now lead to something bigger: reform in our law enforcement agencies.

Jakarta – A lack of knowledge about Saudi Arabia's legal system and culture is partly to blame for the imprisonment of many Indonesians working in the Islamic state, a non-governmental organization says.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A women's alliance has called the campaign against HIV/AIDS infection in Papua ineffective, citing the steep rise in cases in the last several years.

A number of Papuan women of the Women's Challenge Alliance held a demonstration to observe World Women's Day in Abepura on Saturday.

Washington, D.C.

Lilian Budianto, Jakarta – Hanifah, 23, carried her two-year-old daughter to join a crowd at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle here Saturday, as part of activities marking International Women's Day.

Jakarta – The commemoration of International Women's Day (IWD) was marked by the accumulation of bitter gifts in the form of the soaring price of basic commodities and soybean, the bacteria infection of powdered milk products and the high cost of education and healthcare. All of which has been added to the long list of violations against women in Indonesia.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Growing demands for a self-determination referendum show the Papuan people are fed up with corruption caused by the province's "special autonomy" status, an academic and informal leader said.

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – The clock reads 10:15 p.m. as Evi, a shop attendant at a perfume store, walks out of Plaza Senayan in South Jakarta. The 30-year-old woman is not alone, as hundreds of other female employees exit behind her.

[Sukarno and the Indonesian Coup: The Untold Story by Helen-Louise Hunter. Praeger Security International (May 30, 2007). ISBN-10: 0275974383. Price US$75, 216 pages. Reviewed by Andrew Symon.]

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – The National Commission of Human Rights has found human rights abuses in the prolonged land dispute between the Sakai tribe and forestry company PT Arara Abadi in Riau, Sumatra.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – At least five people, including three aged under five, died recently from malnutrition in Rote Ndao, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), following government "financial difficulties".

Head of the Rote Ndao health office Jonathan Lenggu said the victims suffered from complications such as diarrhea, tuberculosis and high fever that led to their deaths.

Agustina Wayansari, Jakarta – Five Indonesian businessmen, including pulp and paper tycoon Sukanto Tanoto, are among the 1,125 wealthiest people in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

Djoko Tjiptono, Jakarta – Cloudy weather and the threat of rain will not be enough to deter protesters, with at least four protest actions planned for capital city today.

Jakarta – Violence against women has steadily increased after nearly a decade of political reform, with state institutions both in central and regional governments among the main perpetrators through their discriminatory regulations, the National Commission for Women's Protection says.

Tifa Asrianti, Jakarta – Despite rises in the number of female workers, legal protection of their rights remains weak, female activists say.

Ari Sunarijati, director of the women and children bureau at the Indonesian Labor Federation-Reform, said many businessmen only employed single females.

Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) is gathering public support in its ambitious goal of winning 65 percent of the vote in the 2009 legislative elections.

"We must be optimistic about winning 65 percent of the vote in the legislative elections," PKB leader Muhaimin Iskandar told a seminar jointly organized by the Constitutional Court on Friday.

[The full text of this report is available at http://www.usindo.org/publications/briefs/2008/Rembering_Suharto_03-07-2008.pdf.]

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – Indonesian women still face substantial challenges in regard to access to education, protection from domestic violence and increasing fundamentalism in society, which has lead to laws restricting women, observers and activists say.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Prevention is the key to combating Indonesia's widespread corruption, as eradication efforts rely too heavily on repressive measures, law experts say.

Fery Firmansyah, Jakarta – In the lead up to the extended long-weekend holiday, Jakarta will be rocked by nine protest actions on Thursday March 6. Road users are advised to be careful or better still to avoid stretches of road being used for actions it they don't wish to be caught in traffic.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Compared to the executive and legislative branches of power, the judiciary is less cooperative when it comes to reporting wealth, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) says.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – The "only" courageous move taken by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during his 3.5 years in office was his recent policy to broadly accommodate corporate greed, camouflaging itself as a policy of protection for the country's forests.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – In a bid to prevent open-pit mining in protected forests, the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) is fund-raising to "rent" forests so that major mining companies cannot.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Central Java Governor Ali Mufiz has urged the central government to postpone a plan for the construction of a nuclear power plant near Mount Muria at Balong village in Kembang district, Jepara regency.

Novia D. Rulistia, Jakarta – Labor unions have agreed to support the final draft of a new severance pay regulation, in the hope that employers will stop evading the termination-of-work payment altogether.

Jakarta – A coalition of human rights groups will highlight the threat to freedom of religion in Indonesia during the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council plenary meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bob Howarth – The independent daily Timor Post newspaper has had two formal apologies from senior government officials over violence against one of its editors during Dili's emergency curfew.

The curfew was imposed after assassination attempts against President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao. Horta is recovering from bullet wounds in a Darwin hospital.

Erick P. Hardi, Bandung – Scores of students and workers from the National Student Front (FMN) demonstrated in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung today to commemorate International Women's Day which falls on Saturday March 8.

Biak – After having meetings with the DPRP, the MRP and the Papuan provisional government, a team from Komnas HAM visited Biak Numfor to seek opinions from local people about views for and against the satellite launch project.

Following the attack on East Timor president Jose Ramos Hortes, Carole Reckinger and Sara Gonzalez Devant report on the complexities surrounding the current crisis.

Ramadhian Fadillah, Jakarta – Eight protest actions will rock Jakarta today, Wednesday March 5. So be on the lookout for traffic jams near points such as Jl. Gatot Subroto.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Three years after the Aceh peace agreement, many former rebels of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are still serving their jail sentences in prisons in Sumatra and Java. Following the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and GAM in Helsinki on Aug.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The media should not highlight Muslim hardliners who take the law into their hands in the name of religion, academics said Tuesday during a discussion organized by the German Embassy called Islam, Democracy and Media Freedom.

Jayapura – Two Papuan students detained after a pro-Papuan independence demonstration were released after paying bail to the local police.

Zakaria Horota, chairman of the National Front of Papuan Students (FNMPP), said here Tuesday that Marthen Manggaprow and Frangky Inekep were released with a letter of summons.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The government will issue an emergency government regulation within the next two months to justify the formation of West Papua province, which has been a source of tension between Jakarta and Papua for the last five years.

Jakarta – Major political parties emerged the winner in the tug-of-war that preceded the House of Representatives' endorsement Monday of the election bill.

The bill secured major parties' interests after lawmakers voted to settle the dispute over the allocation of residual seats in the 2009 elections.

Jayapura, Papua – Papuan members of the West Papua National Authority gathered Monday to demand the government hold a referendum, claiming that special autonomy has failed to raise the welfare of local people.

The group said a referendum is needed because any dialogue between the Papuan people and the government always ended in deadlock.

Ramdhan Muhaimin, Jakarta – Four protest actions will enliven activities in the capital today, Tuesday March 4. Based on information from the Metro Jaya regional police Traffic Management Center, demonstrations will be taking place at four different points in the city at almost the same time.

Jakarta – Former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief A. M. Hendropriyono missed his first questioning session by the National Commission for Human Rights (Komnas HAM) over his alleged involvement in human rights violations in Talangsari, Lampung.

Debnath Guharoy, Consultant – If knowledge is power, then Indonesia has a long way to go. This is not to cast aspersions on the country, but to highlight an opportunity for investors. When all the facts are considered, it makes a lot more sense to invest in a school than in another shopping mall.

Purwokerto, Central Java – Teachers from hundreds of junior high schools in Banyumas protested on Monday to the regency's alms charity agency over the "compulsory" collection of alms from school students.

Jakarta – Attorney General Hendarman Supandji came close to breaking down at news one of his prosecutors handling corruption cases was charged by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with allegedly accepting bribes.

Jakarta – Current global economic conditions have raised concerns whether the market will be receptive to the government's 2008 privatization plan.

Surabaya – Coalitions between political parties in the direct election of regional heads in Indonesia are very fluid in character. They tend not to be based on a clear ideological platform, but formed according to narrow pragmatic interests.

Paul Toohey – The East Timorese rebel leader widely suspected of being the man who shot President Jose Ramos Horta has surrendered, handing in his gun as Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao looked on.