Dili – Prosecutors in East Timor on Tuesday charged 17 Indonesian and East Timorese members of the Indonesian army with murderous attacks on independence supporters and other civilians.

Leo Wahyudi S. – Forced evictions conducted by the city administration usually end in clashes between public order officers and the "illegal" occupants. People often end up in hospital due to their injuries; one even died in the last eviction in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

The Jakarta Post talked to some people on the use of violence by public order officers.

Tiarma Siboro, Surabaya – President Megawati Soekarnoputri pledged on Sunday to resolve the conflict in Aceh as quickly, wisely, and justly as possible but fell short of divulging any time frame or new ways of thinking about ending the rebellion there.

Tiarma Siboro and Andi Hajramurni, Surabaya/Makasar – President Megawati Soekarnoputri told the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Sunday to "build a bridge over the country's troubled water" resulting from various conflicts and competition among political interests, which have harmed the nation's integrity.

A. Junaidi and Indra Harsaputra, Jakarta/Surabaya – A team of 80 historians tasked with revising the national history book, are gathering new data and information on former president Soeharto's roles in a number of crucial events.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Military observers said on Friday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) had made some progress in reforming in the last 5 years, but pointed out other problems that it must improve to meet the nation's expectations and uphold democracy.

To celebrate its 58th anniversary, which falls on October 5, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has picked "Make the general election a success" as the commemoration's theme. The following is an excerpt of the question and answer session with TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, which was attended by The Jakarta Post's Tiarma Siboro.

Jakarta – The New Order regime [of former President Suharto] which was brought down by the wave of demands for reformasi in 1998, is returning to power though the 2004 general elections.

In Indonesia, one of the country's most respected journalists and intellectuals, Tempo-media group co-founder Gunawan Mohamad, has had his Jakarta home confiscated by the courts....Simultaneous moves to seize a key Tempo office have so far failed on grounds that the company doesn't own the building concerned.

Banda Aceh – Eight separatist rebels and three civilians have been killed in Aceh province where an anti-rebel campaign is in its fifth month, the Indonesian military said Friday.

The East Jakarta District Court on Monday issued an asset preservation order covering the home of Tempo magazine co-founder Goenawan Mohamad. This was followed by the issuance of a similar order against the editorial offices of the Koran Tempo daily by the South Jakarta District Court.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government pledged on Thursday to take stern measures against officials who misused humanitarian aid allocated by the state for Aceh but said the amount of losses was relatively small.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – More than 1,000 people became homeless in a forced eviction on Thursday at a 15-hectare plot of land in Tanjung Duren Selatan subdistrict, West Jakarta.

Makassar – Tension still engulfed the newly created regency of Mamasa, some 380 kilometers from the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, on Thursday after three deaths in attacks by rival villagers.

The attacks took place on Monday and Tuesday, and involved those supporting and those opposing the division of Polewali Mamasa (Polmas) into two regencies – Polewali and Mamasa.

Tiarma Siboro, Surabaya – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto called on soldiers on Thursday to uphold discipline as the armed forces were taking measures to restore their battered image.

Indonesia's military campaign to crush separatist rebels in Aceh province, now in its fifth month, has created a humanitarian crisis, a human rights group said in a report.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The planned revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) should focus on repressive articles and outdated laws, instead of criminalizing private matters, experts said.

Jakarta – The number of tourists visiting Indonesia fell in August, nearly a year after the Bali bomb blasts, while arrivals fell almost 20 percent in the first eight months of 2003, the statistics bureau said on Thursday.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A rights activist and a lawyer have expressed concern over a government proposal to criminalize extramarital sex and some sexual acts by minors, saying it would infringe citizens' basic rights.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Hundreds of students and East Timorese refugees continued their demonstrations on Tuesday at the East Nusa Tenggara legislative council following the reported misuse of funds intended for the refugees.

Kurniawan Hari and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Leaders of the House of Representatives (DPR) have instructed legislators deliberating the water resource bill to make several revisions on some contentious articles, Deputy Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno said on Tuesday.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Living in sin, committing adultery and practising black magic will be punished with long jail sentences under Indonesia's draft new criminal code.

The tough provisions in the code, intended to replace much of the criminal law left by Indonesia's former Dutch colonisers, include jail terms of up to 12 years for casual sex.

Jakarta – Indonesian lawyers have criticised plans by the Justice Ministry to criminalise sex outside of marriage and some sexual acts by minors, a report said yesterday.

The ministry is drafting an amendment to the criminal code to include acts not currently categorised as crimes but seen as immoral. These include living together and sex outside of marriage.

Singapore – Timor Leste President Xanana Gusmao said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad would make a two-day visit to the country beginning October 22.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Another survey has found that the public are disappointed with the performance of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration, with poor law enforcement the utmost cause of discontent.

Jakarta – A majority of Indonesians, fed up with what they see as ineffective government, prefer the autocracy of former President Suharto to the democratic rule of current leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, a survey showed.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) received on Tuesday an anonymous package containing 11 live bullets addressed to each of its members and a letter demanding that the Commission adopt certain specifications in the tender of ballot boxes for the elections next year.

Quinton Temby – As development of the rich oil and natural gas reserves in the Timor Sea near East Timor takes off, the Government hopes that investment by oil-industry giants will bring the petroleum onshore for processing. Ten thousand jobs could be created and untold billions of dollars added to the Gross Domestic Product.

Jakarta – Moody's Investors Service, an international rating agency, has upgraded Indonesia's sovereign rating by one notch, in light of the country's stronger external financial footing and falling government debts.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – The government has finally decided not to increase electricity rates for the October-December period this year, amid strong public opposition ahead of next year's general elections.

Jakarta -- It was hard to find any national flags being flown at half-mast on Tuesday, signaling that many Indonesians have forgotten about the shadowy September 30 incident.

From whatever side one looks at it, by any measure the chain of events that was set in motion by what happened around October 1, 1965, constitutes a human tragedy so huge it deserves to be remembered.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Army soldiers began a four-day military exercise in Biak Numfor regency, Papua, on Monday, but it immediately sparked protests from students and a human rights group in Jayapura, the capital of the troubled province.

Two extraordinary reports appeared in this newspaper, on its National page last week. The first contained a strong warning coming from respected Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid that only war and revolution to restore the reform movement could rescue Indonesia from bankruptcy.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Frustrated with the protracted economic crises, stalled reforms and poor law enforcement, the general public are now more inclined to look favorably at a regime akin to the military-backed New Order, posing a threat to the consolidation of democracy in the country, according to a survey.

Slamet Susanto & Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Yogyakarta/Jakarta – A number of people were injured during a clash between police and about 200 protesters who staged a rally against the water resources bill in Yogyakarta on Monday.

One of the protesters was admitted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

ID Nugroho and Ainur R. Sophiaan, Surabaya – As many as 4,000 workers of giant household equipment producer PT Maspion in the East Java town of Sidoarjo went on strike on Monday to protest a company policy on leave.

Jakarta – A group of Indonesian Muslims, handpicked by the US Embassy here for their moderate views, told an expert panel from Washington in plain terms last week why America is unloved in the Islamic world.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Schools are the new breeding grounds for violence in Indonesia if the murders and acts of brutality at colleges and universities over the last month are anything to go by.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A historian demanded on Monday that the government revise the historical accounts on the September 30, 1965 coup attempt, that has long been blamed on the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), as part of the nation's efforts to come to terms with the past.

Bambang Nurbianto and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Thousands of more families will soon be left homeless as the Jakarta Administration is set to continue its policy of evicting squatters living illegally on privately and state-owned land across the city.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Lawyers for the 11 military personnel accused of committing gross human rights violations in the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre questioned on Monday the legality of the ongoing trials against their clients, arguing that the families of the victims and the military had reached an out-of-court settlement in the case.

Singapore – East Timor, the world's youngest nation, is struggling to find ways to achieve economic survival and needs external investment, President Xanana Gusmao said Tuesday.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Casual sex, oral sex, cohabitation, homosexual sex and witchcraft will be outlawed if proposals by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to amend the Criminal Code (KUHP) are adopted.

By Teuku Samsul Bahri

A. Grassroots economic situation

Jakarta – The Ministry of Finance is currently drafting a new bill on the accountancy profession, which will replace the existing outdated law issued in the 1950s.

Jakarta – Money sent by Al-Qaeda to support the families of suspects arrested over the Bali bombings was used to finance the August 5 attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesian terror suspect Hambali has told investigators.

Bali – An Indonesian court on the resort island of Bali sentenced two men on Monday to 12 and 15 years in jail for their part in last year's nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, most of them young Western tourists.

Jakarta – Indonesian business confidence rose in the June and July period for the first time since September last year, in the belief that the economy will fare better during the period of August 2003 until January 2004, according to a Danareksa Research Institute survey.

The survey also revealed that the Business Sentiment Index (BSI) rose by 2.1 percent.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – About 150 members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) raided a number of nightspots in Cilincing area, Muara Baru and North Jakarta, early Sunday morning, ordering the venue's owners to shut down business within a week.