Jill Jolliffe, Atambua – The East Timorese presidential candidate Xanana Gusmao has joined forces with a former enemy soldier in an attempt to repatriate about 60,000 refugees trapped in militia camps in West Timor.

Batam – As many as 30 student representatives from four universities and colleges in Batam, Riau, have urged the local prosecutor's office to arrest all related parties involved in a Rp 28 billion scam.

The students also demanded that the development of the Batam Legislative Council's building be suspended until the investigation is completed into the alleged mark-up case.

Tim Dodd, Jakarta – Some think he should be in the dock himself but yesterday former Indonesian armed forces commander Wiranto appeared at the East Timor atrocity trial in Jakarta as a witness rather than as one of the 18 accused of crimes against humanity.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Efforts to break the circle of impunity in the country hit a snag on Thursday as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) further delayed the announcement of its response to an inquiry of three high profile violent incidents in Jakarta a few years ago.

Ian Timberlake – Former Indonesian armed forces commander General Wiranto testified yesterday that he took numerous steps to bring peace to East Timor in 1999 even though security was a police responsibility in the lead-up to the referendum on independence.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Part of the green zones in Jakarta's five municipalities are occupied by over 350 buildings owned by private enterprises, state-owned companies, the city police, street vendors and various youth organizations.

Jakarta – The government, through the Office of the State Ministry for State Enterprises, plans to sell or privatize 25 state enterprises this year, which include nine to be privatized in 2001, but carried over to 2002, and 16 new ones.

Jakarta – The UN authority in East Timor said on Friday it was "incredulous" at reported remarks by former Indonesian military chief Wiranto that bloodshed there in 1999 was allegedly sparked by an unfair independence ballot.

Dili – Nearly 2,000 refugees have already returned to East Timor from refugee camps in West Timor, Indonesia, during the first five days of this month, UN refugee officials said today.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Defendants from high profile cases like former president Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and ex-Bulog chief Rahardi Ramelan, who are currently being detained in prison, have reason to worry, as a senior health official revealed on Thursday that HIV/AIDS is spreading in the city's penitentiaries.

Kasparman, Padang – The Forestry and Plantation Agency in West Sumatra has secretly sold at least 17 truckloads of confiscated logs, which were being held at the agency's office compound on Jl. Raden Saleh in Padang.

Jakarta – Five people have been detained following a powerful blast this week that killed four people and wounded dozens of others in Indonesia's eastern city of Ambon, reports said Friday.

New York – The East Timor government and the United Nations on Wednesday launched an AIDS awareness campaign on television, radio and print media, hoping the country can avoid the explosion in HIV/AIDS seen elsewhere in the region.

Atambua – East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao on Thursday urged East Timorese refugees in Indonesia's West Timor to come home now, saying he guaranteed their safety.

Hamish McDonald – It will stand on a hill overlooking Dili, the capital of newly independent East Timor: a massive flagpole entwined with the trunk and branches of a symbolic banyan tree forged in steel.

On a plaque at the base of this $200,000 independence monument will be words of thanks to its corporate sponsor: a generous Australian company, it is hoped.

Amnesty International has condemned Indonesian security forces for "appalling" practices in Papua, Aceh and elsewhere and urged the United Nations Commission on Human Rights not to ignore the situation.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An Army general revealed on Wednesday that members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) believed to be involved in the killing of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay would probably be charged with insubordination.

Jakarta – Citing budgetary constraints, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has canceled a plan to meet in Bali from April 3 through April 7 to draft the amendments to the 1945 Constitution, which will be tabled during the annual MPR session in August, a report said.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Indonesia's political parties are self-centered, and ignore the public interest they claim to represent, resulting in a crisis over a loss of confidence, a new poll reveals.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia has introduced Islamic law in Aceh in an attempt to create the illusion that syariah is the cure for all of the province's political problems.

Acehnese observers point out that the demand for syariah came not from the Acehnese community, but originated in Jakarta during the Habibie government.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The Jakarta Prosecutor's Office questioned City Governor Sutiyoso on Wednesday as a witness in a graft case related to a controversial foreign trip involving city officials and councillors.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has come under fire from legislators for spending enormous amounts of money on the Indonesian military and even editors who accompanied her on a recent overseas trip.

Jakarta – Protesting Muslim students in favor of Palestinian solidarity tried to force their way into the US Embassy compound on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, prompting clashes with the police officers who tried to block them away, reports said.

Jakarta – Applicants to join the Indonesian police must pay bribes of up to 15 million rupiah (1,500 dollars) if they want to pass the selection process, a newspaper reported Thursday.

Simon Montlake, Kebon Cengkih – The Dutch sailors who arrived here 500 years ago to barter for spices have long-since abandoned Kebon Cengkih, a village named for the clove trees that still line its lush slopes.

Agus Maryono, Pekalongan – In a move to step up pressure on the government to revoke newly decreed fishing taxes, thousands of fishermen from Central Java have planned to storm the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries office in Jakarta on April 10.

More than 1,000 Muslims rallied in the Indonesian capital Jakarta to protest against Israeli attacks on Palestinians.

Geneva – Fresh peace talks between Indonesian government officials and Aceh separatists could resume in Geneva at the end of the month, a spokesman for the centre that mediates the discussions said on Thursday.

Jakarta – A key witness in the Tommy Suharto murder-and-firearms trial said police beat her up and threatened her family to force her to implicate the suspect.

Almost 50 people were injured in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon in the worst outbreak of violence since a Muslim-Christian peace agreement in February.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Several party factions in the City Council challenged on Tuesday the practice of corruption in the city administration. The issue was raised in their feedback over Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's 2001 budget speech, which was presented last week.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Poor law enforcement has allowed the sale of illegal narcotics to flourish in Medan, North Sumatra, causing a serious concerns for local residents, according to a prominent drugs analyst.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – One would expect applause for last week's announcement that Indonesia is planning to build a bridge linking Java with Bali, putting an end to the two-hour ferry crossing. Not so in Bali.

Yogyakarta – The relatives of Aan Yulianto, a bystander during last week's brawl in Yogyakarta who died on Sunday after being questioned by the authorities, said on Tuesday they will sue the local police for allegedly torturing him.

Jakarta – State Minister of Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin said on Tuesday that the government was carefully considering a plan to lay off unproductive civil servants.

Dili – Some members of East Timor's ruling party Fretilin were accused of waging a dirty tricks campaign to try to reduce the vote for independence hero Xanana Gusmao in this month's presidential election.

"We have received information from most of the districts documenting these allegations," said Milena Pires, Gusmao's campaign coordinator.

Jason Koutsoukis – Negotiations between the Australian Government and US-based Phillips Petroleum over the tax treatment of a gas project in the Timor Sea remained deadlocked last night amid concerns that further delays may scuttle the project.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's state-owned companies are being torn apart by internal rifts as employees fight against government attempts at privatisation.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Freedom from injustice as a result of political reform in the country has proven short-lived for Indonesian farmers, who are now facing tougher challenges in the form of a global regime, an activist said.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Street rallies slamming Israeli military actions against Palestinians hit at least three major Indonesian cities on Wednesday while a minister said Jakarta would not let local groups send fighters to join in the conflict.

Mike Steketee – East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta yesterday urged rich countries, including Australia, not to use artificial barriers such as quarantine restrictions to discriminate against exports from his and other poor nations.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – The Indonesian government and the United Nations Temporary Administration at East Timor (UNTAET) have yet to find an appropriate way of solving the problem of Indonesian assets in the soon-to-be independent nation – even though, until now, they have held six rounds of discussions.

Geneva – Amnesty International accused Indonesian forces on Wednesday of grave human rights violations in Papua, where the murder of the province's top independence leader last year remains unresolved.

Bandar Lampung – Around 300 part-time, non-contract doctors in Lampung ended their week-long strike on Tuesday after Minister of Health Achmad Suyudi promised them better pay and a clearer employment status.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Students, at the forefront of the reform movement in 1998, have been urged to take up their old role once more in the face of a political elite widely blamed for diverting the winds of change.

Jakarta – Indonesia's National Assembly Speaker Amien Rais on Tuesday accused police in the Philippines of engineering the arrest of three Indonesians on terrorist charges, a report said.

Rais said a friend of Tamsil Linrung – one of the three suspects detained by authorities in Manila – had told him that Philippine police were currently "creating a new charge" for them.

Andrew Trounson, Melbourne – East Timor Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta said Tuesday there will be no hitches to ratifying a treaty with Australia sharing potentially lucrative oil and gas production from the Timor Sea.

Darwin – The Australian government is under pressure to make public its draft agreement on Timor Sea energy reserves to prove the East Timorese were not signing away their legal rights.

Jakarta – Indonesia's highest Islamic authority is investigating reports that a boarding school is teaching a deviant version of the religion and is linked to a shadowy group campaigning for an Islamic state, an official said Tuesday.

Oyos Saroso, Bandar Lampung – More than 300 temporarily employed doctors in Lampung would continue striking this week to push their demand for a clear status and better payment, strike leaders said on Saturday.