Michael McKenna – Allegations of corruption against East Timor's Government were largely unfounded and based on rumour, according to its Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta.

The Aceh peace accord was signed in the Finnish capital of Helsinki on Monday, the culmination of six months of tough negotiations. The accord could not be more timely as Indonesia celebrates its 60th year of independence on Wednesday.

For Australians, August 15 is the date World War II finally ended. In years to come, it may also mark the day one of Asia's longest-running wars ended.

Indonesia as a nation reaches a milestone today with the celebration of 60 years of independence. There is every reason to rejoice at this achievement: we have survived as one nation in spite of the many forces that constantly threaten to divide us. In spite of our diversity, we have overcome trials and tribulations, and come out intact as one nation.

Michael Casey, Jakarta – Indonesia will prosecute 10 companies – eight of them Malaysian – for illegally lighting fires on Sumatra Island that have enveloped much of Malaysia with smoke.

The widespread haze, which appeared on Aug. 2, has forced the closure of schools and workplaces and dramatically increased respiratory ailments.

Jakarta/Medan – The choking haze from forest fires on Sumatra island has spread to more areas on Sunday, including Medan and Pontianak, threatening public health and disrupting transportation.

Jakarta – Thousands of supporters of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) continued their protests on Sunday against a court ruling annulled the victory of Nur Nahmudi Ismail and his running mate Yuyun Wirasaputra in the Depok mayoral election.

Jakarta – Internal conflict within the National Mandate Party (PAN) has risen to new level with the resignation of co-founder and current legislator Fuad Bawazier.

Fuad, who helped found PAN in 1998, said over the weekend he was considering a jump to the up-and-coming Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) or the establishment of a new party, Antara reported.

Jakarta – Rights activists Usman Hamid and Rachland Nashidik have been named suspects arising out of a defamation complaint filed with the police by former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) director A.M. Hendropriyono.

Tiarma Siboro and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – An atmosphere of peace prevailed in Aceh ahead of an historic day that many hope will mark an end to almost three decades of bloodshed.

Associated Press in Banda Aceh – As a ship carrying hundreds of troops leaves Aceh's port, soldiers and police wonder if an accord being signed by the Indonesian government and separatist rebels today will bring lasting peace to the province.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The gunfire that marked 30 years of bitter secessionist fighting in Aceh has given way to another sound – the beating of 114 traditional rapai drums during a ceremony abandoned during the years of fighting.

Banda Aceh – Separatist guerrillas in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh will respect a peace pact to be signed with the government, one of their top spokesmen said.

Helsinki – The Indonesian government and Muslim Aceh rebels signed a historic peace accord aimed at ending decades of bloodshed in a region devastated by last year's tsunami.

All hostilities were to end with the signing of the agreement, under which the separatists dropped their long-held demands for independence and agreed to disarm and demobilise their soldiers.

AK-17, Banda Aceh - A day before the signing of the peace agreement, the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has protested the continued presence of TNI (armed forces) controlled militia in Aceh. This was conveyed by GAM's spokesperson Bachtiar Abdullah in a press release received by Aceh Kita on Sunday August 14.

Allan Nairn – Today (August 15, 2005) the Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) will sign a deal with the government of Indonesia under which they agree to disarm and accept amnesty, money and farmland.

Jakarta – The Hizbut Tahir Indonesia (HTI) activists staged a peaceful rally with about 5,000 Indonesian Muslims against what they called "the conspiracy of colonizers in Aceh and Papua" here Sunday.

The rally was held at the Hotel Indonesia Circle, Central Jakarta, for four hours, starting from 8 a.m local time, the HTI Coordinator Irwan Saifullah said.

Banda Aceh – Hopes are high that a peace deal to be signed Monday will finally end decades of bloodshed between troops and separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province, but analysts warn the road to lasting peace will not be smooth.

Stockholm – Rebel leaders from Aceh accused the Indonesian government of failing to disarm militias in the province, a day before both sides are to sign a landmark peace deal in Helsinki.

Michael Casey, Jakarta – A militant cleric jailed for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings will be among 53,000 inmates receiving sentence reductions to mark Indonesia's independence day, authorities and media reports said Saturday.

Jakarta – Not everybody is impressed by the nationwide campaign for the use of condoms to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Among those who are apparently opposed to the campaign is State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault.

Jakarta/Medan – The authorities say they are trying to identify companies responsible for the current forest fires in the Sumatra region which have caused choking haze in neighboring Malaysia.

How often we are reminded. How quickly we forget. Like a recurring bad dream that is cyclical in nature, nations in Southeast Asia are again clouded by thick haze from out-of-control wildfires in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Environmentalists have criticized a draft presidential regulation on forest use as not providing protection for forests because of its outright "pro-business agenda".

Friends of the Earth Indonesia executive director Chalid Muhammad said that the draft regulation did nothing to prevent further deforestation.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – At least 10,000 Papuans stormed into the office of the Papua provincial legislative council in Jayapura on Friday, demanding the government to review its Special Autonomy Law.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – With the Helsinki peace deal only a few days away, some Acehnese figures urged the government on Thursday to prepare the technicalities for a plan to grant amnesty to former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) members and return them to the community.

Alan Sipress, Lhok Bubon – The massive tsunami that crashed into Sumatra island in December ripped Ibu Yusniar's home from its concrete foundation. But while the stout woman survived, wrapping her arms around a column in a nearby mosque to ride out the surging waters, nature was not through.

John McBeth, Jakarta – Indonesian officials can be excused for feeling just a little outraged over the US House of Representatives passing legislation that implicitly questions the status of the resource-rich province of Papua.

Jakarta – People in war-torn Aceh province are cautiously optimistic that three decades of fighting will come to an end when the Indonesian government signs a peace agreement with separatist rebels early next week.

Almost all have lost family members – either to the long-running conflict or to last year's tsunami – and want to see an end to their suffering.

The Free Aceh movement or GAM and the Indonesian government will sign an agreement in Helsinki next Monday designed to bring an end to hostilities in Aceh province.

Melbourne academic Dr Damien Kingsbury is political adviser to GAM. He spoke to Sen Lam at London's Heathrow airport, enroute to Helsinki.

Sweden – After a mere five meetings, The Free Acheh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian government is scheduled to sign a historic agreement on August 15 in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. Though the full details of the agreement have yet to be disclosed, the substantial points of the draft have been widely analysed and published in the media.

Jakarta – The South Jakarta District Court ruled on Wednesday that last year's dismissal of chief welfare minister Alwi Shihab as the National Awakening Party (PKB) leader was legitimate.

"We refuse the plaintiff's request and declare that his dismissal as the PKB leader was legal," judge I Wayan Rena Wardhana told the court.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Multa Fidrus, Jakarta – Condemning Garuda Indonesia management's move to close the offices of the Association of Garuda Flight Attendants (Ikagi), labor unions threw their full support behind the employees' planned strike this weekend.

Jakarta – Controversy over the issue of special autonomy for Papua has shifted to allegations of the misuse of Rp 5.6 trillion (US$577.3 million) in the government's autonomy fund allocated for the region.

Washington – As a peace deal nears in a 29-year war in Aceh, US lawmakers are seeking support for an independence movement in another Indonesian province: West Papua, also the site of a long-simmering rebellion.

Aguswandi, Jakarta – A greater devolution of power to the regions in Indonesia than that accommodated by present autonomy law provisions should be an option in peace building.

Denpasar – The leaders of Indonesia and East Timor launched a truth commission into the violence that marred the push for independence in what is now the world's youngest nation.

No endeavor will succeed if it does not have the genuine support and blessings of the primary stakeholders in the process. No matter how ingenuous the initiative, the effort put into it will be indicative of the confidence in its benefit and eventual success.

Hon Alexander Downer MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

11 August 2005

Dear Mr. Downer,

I am writing to you concerning the increasing tension in West Papua.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government will not ban the teachings of the Indonesian Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) nor dissolve the group, but will let the government-sanctioned Indonesia Ulema Council (MUI) decide whether it will file such a request with the court, a senior minister says.

Jakarta – Thousands of workers at state oil and gas company Pertamina say they will hold a nationwide strike on Wednesday in protest against a plan for massive layoffs.

Pertamina president Widya Purnama recently signed a decision aimed at terminating some 4,015 contract workers in the company.

Jakarta – Efforts to end three decades of bloodshed in Aceh received a major boost on Tuesday as the government secured full support from the House of Representatives for its peace agreement with the rebels in the province.

The following is abridged from a July 27 article by Thamrin Ananda, the chairperson of the Acehnese Popular Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA).

The negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to resolve the Aceh question peacefully, which concluded on July 17 in Helsinki, are not the first to be mediated by a foreign institution.

The trial over the murder of Indonesia's top human rights campaigner has been criticised by activists who doubt that it will reveal the truth behind a case that has grabbed international attention.

Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted a Garuda pilot for murdering pro-democracy champion Munir Thalib, who died on a flight to Amsterdam last September.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – The trial of a Garuda pilot accused of poisoning Indonesia's leading human rights campaigner is becoming a key test for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as investigators and activists claim the case is covering up a conspiracy that goes right to the top.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto stood trial at the Central Jakarta District Court on Tuesday on charges of masterminding and executing the murder of top human rights campaigner Munir last year.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – United Nations and rudimentary SOS flags were unfurled during a ceremony commemorating International Indigenous Day on Tuesday morning in Jayapura.

The trial of Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto for the murder last September of Indonesia's foremost human rights activist Munir, which commenced in Jakarta today, is clearly designed to detract attention from the real reasons for the crime which brought to a tragic end the life of a man who had shown outstanding courage in exposing atrocities and human rights violations perpetrated by

A former Indonesian minister, who during his career in the government was deeply involved in handling rebellious provinces, has reportedly told President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono that Papua will become the next major headache for Indonesia if the government fails to take a lesson from the decision of the majority of people in the predominantly Catholic territory of East Timor to sep

The Secretary of State
The Honorable Dr. Condoleezza Rice

Dear Madam Secretary:

The West Papua Advocacy Team at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Center wishes to call to your attention the accelerating deterioration of the human and civil rights environment in West Papua.