Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Papua People's Council (MRP) proposed two ordinances in this week's plenary session to strengthen indigenous Papuans' basic rights and the principal of indigenous Papuan cultural unity, which have come under pressure from Papua's rapid economic progress and its open stance towards migrants.

Medan – The North Sumatra Union for the Politics of the Poor Front (FPPRM) believes that the administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has failed. Because of this therefore, they are opposing the 2009 general elections.

Palu, Central Sulawesi – On April 5, scores of activists from the Central Sulawesi Union for the Politics of the Poor (PPRM Sulteng) declared their opposition to the 2009 general elections saying they are undemocratic and only involve the wealthy elite.

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Nationalist-oriented parties tend to turn a blind eye to polygamy as a women's group found in a recent study showing they endorsed legislative candidates who publicly admitted to taking more than one wife.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) denounced a report alleging its members and the Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) group were undermining moderate Islam in the country, retorting it had never tolerated radicalism and was trying to win the hearts of the people to build a democracy in line with the Constitution.

Medan – On April 5 scores of people from the North Sumatra Union for the Politics of the Poor Front (FPPRM-SU) held a protest action at the Mejestik roundabout in the North Sumatra city of Medan opposing the April 9 legislative elections.

Jakarta – With Indonesia lurching uncertainly towards national legislative elections next week, the shabby beer bars and brothels of Rawa Malang may seem like an unlikely spot for a bit of civic engagement.

Sitting in a dust-blasted corner of town near Jakarta's port, the area is a warren of dens ringed by shipping containers, a mountain of rubbish and empty lots.

Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta – Motorcycle gunmen fatally shot a rebel-turned-politician in Indonesia's Aceh province, officials said Sunday, raising fresh fears of violence during parliamentary elections this week.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Certain circles in Aceh have remained pessimistic that female politicians contending in the legislative election have the capacity to improve the life of women in the post-conflict era.

Up to fifteen people were arrested near Jayapura after police raided the office of the Papuan Customary Council and in Wamena three people including one junior high school student were arrested after participating in a rally.

Balongsari, Indonesia - Ponari was just like any other kid in Indonesia until he was struck by lightning. When he awoke, the story goes, he found a gray stone on his head with magical 'healing' powers.

On 4 April 2009, more than 200 people gathered in the town of Liquisa, Timor-Leste. Under a banner "Reflections about Ten Years since the Massacre 5-6 April 1999 in the Liquisa Church" the contemplative audience included local residents, survivors, and relatives of the dozens of civilians killed there ten years previously, as well as a few human rights activists.

A decade after a massacre intended to blunt East Timor's demands for independence, Lindsay Murdoch finds that the appetite for justice continues unabated.

We confronted the mass murderer as his men hosed blood from his balcony; Leoneto Martins angrily denied the massacre in the East Timorese town where he was Indonesia's appointed mayor.

Jakarta – For the fifth month in a row, the central bank slashed its key interest rate to bolster domestic demand and stimulate economic growth slowed by a sharp drop in exports.

The Bank Indonesia rate was cut by 25 basis point to 7.5 percent, BI Governor Boediono said Friday at a press conference, adding it had room for even more cuts.

Pandaya – Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has painfully lost his grip on the National Awakening Party (PKB) to his less popular cousin Muhaimin Iskandar, following a bitter leadership rift that warranted Supreme Court intervention to end it last year.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – More than 600 non-government organisations have warned that three second-hand power plants under construction in East Timor may endanger the health and livelihoods of the country's 1 million people.

'PBR is open to new ideas, in contrast to the more established parties' - Dita Indah Sari, PBR

In a narrow alley in Kali Besar, Central Jakarta, legislative candidate Lena Maryana hands out brochures detailing her vision and mission, as well as the reasons she is running for a seat in the House of Representatives in the April 9 elections.

Jakarta – After attending a Friday prayer at a Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) mosque near his house in Surabaya, a young man said the cleric had told the congregation to vote in the upcoming general elections.

Christian Motte & Putri Prameshwari – Thousands of people took part in a pro-independence rally in Papua Province on Friday, calling for a boycott of the legislative elections.

The rally, in which students and activists from several universities and religious and social organizations took part, was held in the town of Nabire.

The threat to next week's voting day – Indonesia's 10th elections since independence – may not be so much the violence as the ignorance.

Rallies, posters, commercials and smiling politicians have abounded over the past weeks and months. But what do the parties really stand for? This week we analyze those parties with a realistic expectation of a significant vote share and ask what their visions are. We look at two parties each day in list order. Today: PPP and PDI-P

The United Development Party

Jakarta/Bandung/Makassar/Jambi – With the legislative elections less than a week away, the eligible voter lists are still unavailable to the public in some areas of the country.

The General Elections Commission (KPU) had set an April 1 deadline for distribution of the revised voter lists to political parties at regency and village levels.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – This week's campaign sorties saw at least two Islamic parties try to boost their sagging popularity by calling for the government to outlaw Ahmadiyah, a controversial Islamic sect.

Joe Cochrane – Throwing a gauntlet down at the feet of radical Islam, a group of mainstream Muslim leaders led by former President Abdurrahman Wahid on Thursday announced the release of a book asserting that Indonesia is being infiltrated by foreign-funded extremists bent on turning the country into an Islamic state.

Jakarta – Islamic extremists have infiltrated deep into Indonesia's government, businesses, schools and religious bodies, and are using cunning new tactics to seize control of mosques and preach radicalism, former president Abdurrahman Wahid has written in a new book.

Thousands of people rallied in Indonesia's eastern Papua region on Friday to call for independence from Jakarta and a boycott of elections amid a police crackdown on dissent, activists said.

Timika, Indonesia – Thousands of people rallied in Indonesia's eastern Papua region Friday to call for independence from Jakarta and a boycott of elections amid a police crackdown on dissent, activists said.

Dili – The tiny impoverished nation of East Timor will need several more years of international assistance to ensure stability and tackle poverty, the head of the United Nations mission here said Friday.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – If Aceh's young reformists have their way in the coming legislative election the province can expect major changes in the education sector.

Andra Wisnu, Jakarta – Djoko Hariyanto, a food vendor working just outside the House of Representatives building in Jakarta seemed quite content on Tuesday afternoon.

Dili – International donors to East Timor kicked off a three-day meeting Thursday to discuss how to lock in security gains and promote development in the young nation, one of the world's poorest.

A group of Australian forensic scientists may have solved one of East Timor's greatest mysteries. A team from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine has found the remains of 16 people in graves near the country's capital, Dili.

Jakarta – A survey released on Thursday found that Indonesian sinetron (soap operas) were publicly regarded as having poor moral and aesthetic quality.

Jakarta – More than 150 million eligible voters desperately need more information on various facets of the electoral process to make sure that they will vote correctly during balloting day, according to a survey.

Desy Nurhayati and Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Political parties have once again shown that allies and foes do not last forever if interest is at stake, as they continued discussions on coalitions for the presidential elections Wednesday.

A group of student who call themselves South Sumatra Students' Committee for Concern of the nation staged a rally Thursday to oppose the presence of the founder of Great Indonesia Movement Party, Prabowo Subianto, in the province.

Prabowo is expected to appear at the party's open campaign in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday.

Khairul Ikhwan, Medan – Some 50 or so students in the North Sumatra city of Medan demonstrated on April 2 against the general elections that will take place on April 9. The group said that students believe that the elections will not bring about change or resolve the problems of the ordinary people.

Rendi A. Witular and Hotli Simanjuntak – His sharp eyes shoot out a jittery feeling of rage, while his posture speaks of a once mighty former combatant of the now disbanded Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – An annual performance report released Wednesday by the Supreme Court shows that it exonerated almost 70 of 205 corruption suspects and 36 of nearly 100 others convicted by lower courts of illegal logging offences in 2008.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Exports have continued falling, by another third in February, signaling a further drop in forecast growth, says the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Rallies, posters, commercials and smiling politicians have abounded over the past weeks and months. But what do the parties really stand for? This week we analyze those parties with a realistic expectation of a significant vote share and ask what their visions are. We look at two parties each day in list order. Today: PKB and Golkar

The National Awakening Party

The West Papua National Coalition for Liberation says the Indonesian military may be sponsoring militia groups to masquerade as the Free West Papua Movement, or OPM, in ongoing fighting in Puncak Jaya regency.

After four years of struggle to recover from the devastating tsunami and decades of bloody insurgent uprising, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is seemingly taking a further step to unplug itself from the dependency on public funding and diminishing gas proceeds. The Jakarta Post's Rendi A.

Camelia Pasandaran – In a decision that could trigger mass protests ahead of next week's national polls, the General Elections Commission, or KPU, said on Tuesday that 32 political parties out of the 38 in the polls should be disqualified in parts of at least 11 provinces for failing to submit campaign finance reports.

Jakarta – "I have promoted you as a legislative candidate here, but people will only vote for you if you have something to offer," a text message read on a candidate's cell phone.

"I have received similar text messages almost every day recently," National Mandate Party (PAN) candidate from South Sulawesi, Andi Yuliani or Yuli, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Indonesia's export performance in February dropped by 36.86 percent in terms of value compared to the same period last year, the Central Statistics Agency reported on Wednesday.

Agency head Rusman Heriawan said the total value of exports within the month reached US$7.08 billion or down by 1.02 percent compared to a month earlier.

Dion Bisara & Muhamad Al Azhari – The nation's exports continued to fall in February, off by nearly 33 percent year-on-year and 1.02 percent month-on-month to $7.08 billion, the Central Statistics Agency, or BPS, announced on Wednesday.

Analysts said the trade picture would likely deteriorate further as the global economy weakens.

Max Lane – The official election campaigning period for the Indonesian national, provincial and district legislatures started on March 1 and will last until April 5. There is supposed to be a three-day period of non-campaigning immediately before the April 9 elections.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Five years ago, Indonesia's Prosperous Justice Party pulled off a stunning electoral coup, winning 7.2% of the national vote and topping all parties with 22% in Jakarta, the nation's capital.

Sarah J. Newman – On any given afternoon around the Lapangan Tugu, the large field nestled in between Syiah Kuala University and IAIN Ar-Raniry University in Banda Aceh, clusters of students can be seen hanging out together or having a snack at one of the little food stalls that start to appear there at that time of day.