Jayapura – Suspected Free Papua Movement (OPM) rebels on Wednesday seized a rifle from a police officer patrolling near the Kurilik police post, some 300 meters from the town of Mulia in Puncak Jaya.

A display of individual commitment to peace by millions of Acehnese is what we are likely to see in the near future, following Monday's elections and the announcement of early unofficial results.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A petition presented by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) lawmakers to the House of Representatives calling for the curtailing of the Constitutional Court's powers received support Tuesday from legal experts and politicians.

Jakarta – Tens of youths from Papua demonstrated in front of the Gedung Plaza 89 in Kuningan, South Jakarta, where PT Freeport Indonesia's Jakarta office is located on Wednesday to demand the closure of the company's operations in Timika.

The youths from the West Papua People's Struggle Unity Front (Front Pepera PB) carried posters and banners containing their demands.

Ian Timberlake, Banda Aceh – Civilians in Indonesia's Aceh province show levels of combat-related stress, depression and anxiety comparable with those in Afghanistan and Bosnia, researchers say.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) conducted the study with Harvard Medical School's Department of Social Medicine and Aceh's University of Syiah Kuala.

Jakarta – New Zealand has restored defence cooperation by inviting Indonesian officers to join a military training in the New Zealand Defense Force's Staff and Command Academy, a press release said.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Microfinance programs led by women tend to be better run and more successful than those controlled by men, according to a report from an anti-poverty group.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Women's crisis centers in Indonesia are in dire need of financial support, say women's rights activists.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The central government brushed off worries Tuesday about the likely victory of a former rebel leader in the landmark Aceh gubernatorial election, saying whoever won would deserve the top post in the provincial administration.

Mark Forbes, Banda Aceh – Voters in Aceh have delivered a massive rebuff to Jakarta, overwhelmingly endorsing a radical rebel candidate as their first elected governor and demonstrating that resentment against Indonesian rule still burns bright.

The timing could not have been worse. On the eve of the International Human Rights Day, the Constitutional Court last week annulled the legislation establishing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, thus dashing the hopes of the many victims of human rights abuses for justice and some form of compensation.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The North Sumatra provincial administration has seen the number of people living below the poverty line in the province increase progressively from 14.93 percent in 2004 to 15.66 percent in 2006, out of a total population of 12.6 million, an official said Monday.

One bad article in the newly passed Civil Registration Law spoils the whole legislation. The article, requiring citizens to provide their religion on legal documents, will worsen the discrimination faced by minority groups in the country.

Tanja Vestergaard – The elections constitute the culmination of the peace process initiated in 2005 between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government, following a drawn-out separatist struggle

Elistiawaty, Jakarta – Not satisfied with the Constitutional Court's decision of only abolishing the articles on insulting the president, former political prisoners are demanding that the articles on insulting the government also be abolished.

Banda Aceh – Thieves could have their hands amputated in Indonesia's Aceh province under a proposed Islamic law that may alarm rights activists and Western governments.

Jakarta – A group of non-governmental organizations hailed Monday the Constitutional Court's decision to remove articles dealing with defamation from the Criminal Code.

The National Alliance for Criminal Code Reform also urged the government not to include similar articles that ban insulting the president in the revision of the code.

Jakarta – Elections in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province have swept a former rebel leader to victory, unofficial results show as officials tot up the ballots.

The polls, consolidating a peace accord after nearly three decades of war, were hailed by UN chief Kofi Annan as "historic" and by the European Union.

Nani Afrida and Ati Nurbaiti, Banda Aceh – Former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Irwandi Yusuf is leading with over 39 percent in unofficial results from the landmark gubernatorial election in Aceh.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta/Bandung – Prominent women activists threw their weight over the weekend behind the government's plan to expand the ban on polygamy. The activists suggested that the government make polygamy a crime punishable by law.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Sex discrimination in the home is dangerous to the health and prosperity of the family, according to a new report.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) finds in its 2007 Report on the State of the World's Children that gender equity and the well-being of children are inextricably linked.

Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesians commemorated Human Rights Day by highlighting cases of unresolved rights abuses Sunday.

In Jakarta activists representing a number of organizations held a street rally to mark the day.

Ian Timberlake, Banda Aceh – Former separatist rebels have no alternative but to follow the political path after laying down their weapons, a key candidate backed by ex-combatants has said ahead of elections in the tsunami-ravaged Indonesian province.

East Timor activists are calling on Australian authorities to cooperate with an inquiry into the deaths of five journalists in Timor more than 30 years ago.

Robin McDowell, Banda Aceh – A former rebel leader appeared headed to easy victory Monday in the first elections in Aceh province since the government and the separatists signed a peace deal in the tsunami-ravaged region last year, according to a sampling of votes tallied by two respected local pollsters.

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, Padang – Even though the West Sumatra Prosecutor's Office is considered a pioneer in investigating graft cases in Indonesia, in reality however, the office has not been serious about fighting corruption this year, says a Padang lawyer.

Nur Raihan, Banda Aceh - Around 100 Aceh activist held a demonstration in front of the Aceh Independent Election Commission (KIP) offices on Monday December 10.

Aside from commemorating International Human Rights Day that falls today, they also called on the government to solve past cases of human rights crimes and violations in Aceh.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed that a transitional period is needed in order to synchronize all related laws before soldiers stand civilian trials for non-military crimes, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Sunday.

Semarang – Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin has said his organization has no connection with a new political party called the National Sun Party (PMB) which was established by its young activists.

"Muhammadiyah has no links with any political party," Din was quoted by Antara as saying Saturday in Semarang, Central Java.

Activists say sharia law bodes ill for their rights as province today elects governor, writes Fabio Scarpello

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Public trust in the government's efforts to fight corruption has plummeted from 81 percent last year to 29 percent this year, a survey has found.

Dili – The political leaders of unrest-plagued East Timor on Sunday pledged to work together to return peace and order to the fledgling nation.

Achmad Sukarsono, Meunasah Bak'you – Teungku Sobirin lost his seven children and home to the tsunami that devastated Indonesia's Aceh province two years ago, but he believes there was a lesson in it for the war-weary province.

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament has passed a controversial law requiring citizens to state their faith on official documents despite objections from a major political party.

Kompas newspaper said the civil registrations bill required citizens to declare one of the six official religions on their identity cards.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – More than 30 women have died after being the victims of violence in Central Java during the past year, an activist said Friday.

Yogyakarta – Dozens of students from Yogyakarta Muhammadiyah University staged a protest against polygamy Friday by distributing pamphlets to motorists at a busy intersection, asking them to join their call for a ban on polygamy.

The protesters also staged street theater performances that showed a family with two wives.

Ary Hermawan and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Rights activists have condemned the government for its lack of commitment to settling unresolved human rights abuse cases and urged it to set a clear-cut agenda.

Jakarta – Two people including an Indonesian military officer were killed in a clash between security forces and separatists in the remote eastern province of Papua, a military official said on Saturday.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A leading environmental group has urged the Jakarta administration to stop converting green areas into industrial and residential zones to help prevent further environmental damage.

Five young Australians were executed on the orders of Indonesian military chiefs, according to sensational evidence omitted from official government reports.

The statement by a top lawyer, George Brownbill, contradicts the official line that the five men, all journalists, were caught in a crossfire in Balibo while covering Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The end of the Truth and Reconciliation (KKR) law raises further questions about the government's commitment to the human rights section of the Aceh peace agreement signed in Helsinki last year.

Jakarta – State oil and gas company PT Pertamina said Friday it had discovered that tens of thousands of liters of kerosene designated for household use were being hoarded at a number of fuel depots in Depok and Bogor.

It was the first such finding since kerosene shortages hit Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi last month, causing panic buying among households.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Aceh was like a wild horse in need of a brave jockey to tame it, the former rebel leader making a strong run for governor in the Indonesian province's first democratic elections said yesterday.

Multa Fidrus, Banten – Hundreds of high school and university students took to the streets Thursday in Serang, Banten. They were not there to protest but to help prosecutors circulate mug shots of 14 fugitive corruption suspects.

Canberra – New evidence claiming five journalists were executed by Indonesian troops in 1975 while working for Australian media was hearsay and might not be accepted in court, says an Indonesia expert.

Hamish McDonald – A dramatic new lead into the deaths of five Australia-based newsmen in Balibo, East Timor, 31 years ago suggests they were captured and executed on the orders of Indonesian generals.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The Lebanese poet Kahil Gibran once said "Your children are not your children" – that is, they are the property only of God, not their parents.

In Indonesia, however, children are still seen as objects, facing a range of abuses, often at the hands of their families and the state.

Jakarta – The government's plan to extend the ban on polygamy is being blown out of proportion by those who oppose it, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says.

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara – Hundreds of angry people surrounded the office of the Timor Tengah Selatan regent Wednesday to protest marble mining he authorized near their village.

The protesters from Fatumnasi village decided to seal off the office after they were unable to meet Regent Daniel Banunaek, who gave the green light to the operation.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court scrapped Thursday an 2004 law mandating the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) because judges said it made no sense.

The surprising ruling further sets back the chances of victims of human rights violations to have their cases resolved and receive compensation.