Novia Stephani – When Muji (not her real name), 61, joined Pemuda Rakyat, or People's Youth, in 1965, she never imagined her involvement in the youth wing of the Indonesian Communist Party, known as the PKI, would land her in jail for 14 years. "I was only in it for the singing, dancing and theater," she said.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has come under fire from human rights groups as being execution-happy, with campaigners pointing out that 19 convicted criminals have been put to death on his watch.

Kafil Yamin – The recent buzz about the potential for last week's meeting, between former President Megawati Sukarnoputri and Vice President Jusuf Kalla, to lead to a coalition between their respective parties, revealed an essential truth about this year's election, but it wasn't the one most pundits were discussing.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papuan voters have expressed a desire for young indigenous legislative candidates to represent them at a provincial level and address the major issues of poverty, education, transport and health afflicting the area, as well speed up special-autonomy programs in the region over the next five years.

Jakarta – A Muslim cleric whose marriage to a 12-year-old girl triggered controversy in Indonesia has been detained for violating child protection laws, police said Wednesday.

Jakarta – The food and beverage sector will be one of the business sectors to directly benefit from the general elections, with producers expecting the five-yearly event to generate Rp 3 trillion (US$252 million) to Rp 5 trillion in additional sales revenues.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – Jose Ramos-Horta has intervened to delay a controversial $400 million deal to buy three highly polluting second-hand power stations for East Timor.

The East Timorese President told Parliament yesterday that serious concerns about the plants – bought from China – needed to be tackled.

Dili – A call for more lenient abortion legislation in this predominantly Catholic country is renewing friction between the Church and pro-abortion activists.

A working group convened by Fokupers ("Communication Forum for Women from the East"), a local NGO supported by others such as the Alola Foundation, has been pushing for a softening of abortion laws.

At a high-level Indonesian intelligence meeting at Ifar Gunung, the Indonesian Army Base in West Papua, on Monday 11 June 2007, the Indonesian National Parliament set up a secret intelligence operation in West Papua against the (non-violent) independence movement.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho & Sally Piri – Despite increasing security disturbances in Papua Province, the military does not plan to deploy additional troops to the country's easternmost province, military chief Gen. Djoko Santoso said on Monday.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – The killing of an Indonesian soldier in Papua, allegedly by separatist guerillas, has highlighted the risks of violent outbreaks undermining the country's elections.

Banda Aceh – Achievements toward the Millennium Development Goals in Aceh remain far from the expected target of 2015, national program coordinator Ivan A. Hadar said Monday.

"The number of people below the poverty line there hit 23.53 percent in 2008. It is still very far from what we expected," he told a seminar as quoted by Antara news agency in Banda Aceh.

Oyos Saroso H.N, Lampung Barat – In the last few months six people have died after being attacked by Sumatran tigers while logging illegally inside a national park in Jambi.

Mustaqim Adamrah and Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Indonesia has proposed to world's big economies a kind of facility that will help companies extend their matured debts to cope with the global crisis.

Muhammad Al Azhari – The country's chief economic minister and a top banking official are apparently at odds about the risks that private sector debt, which is due to roll over this year, will pose to developing countries' currencies, and ultimately, their foreign exchange reserves.

Sally Piri – The government will allow 400 Rohingya boat people in Aceh to stay in the province until a decision is made on where they will settle, presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal said on Monday.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the temporary solution when he met with Burmese Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein at Merdeka Palace on Monday.

Jakarta – The settlement process of transferring the management of Indonesian Military (TNI) businesses to the state will not be affected by this year's elections, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said Monday.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Leaders of the Democratic Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) met Monday to discuss the possibility of forming a coalition for the presidential election.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The President's recent assurance that public officials taking leave to campaign would not affect government activities has come under fire.

An advisor to the State Minister for Administrative Reform said that with 20 percent of central and regional officials asking for leave, the government would be understaffed with all the absences.

Hera Diani – Over 11,200 candidates are vying for 560 seats up for grabs in the House of Representatives, or DPR, in the April 9 elections. That breaks down to roughly 20 aspiring politicians scrambling for one seat.

Despite the school operational fund program (BOS) and the increase in the education budget, the government has responded too late to the crucial child labor issue in the country's least-developed province of East Nusa Tenggara.

Alfian, Jakarta – The open election system, which will see legislative seats going directly to candidates who win the majority of votes, has led to great expectations for better public representation; concerns that it has created a large hole for money politics however, linger.

Yogyakarta/Malang – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has made it clear he will look beyond Golkar Chairman and Vice President Jusuf Kalla for a suitable running partner in the upcoming presidential elections.

Jakarta – The Army is planning to increase its personnel at security posts in Papua province, particularly in the Tinggi-nambut area in Puncak Jaya regency, to counter separatist attacks there.

Alfian, Jakarta – Muslim-based parties may have seen a significant decline in their popularity, but they can still determine who will win the presidential election, observers say.

Jakarta – Indonesia's state news agency says separatists in the easternmost Papua province have killed a soldier.

Antara said Sunday that Free Papua Movement rebels opened fire on a remote military outpost on Saturday, killing an army private before setting a bridge on fire and fleeing. The report quoting police officials could not be independently verified.

Bandung – University students are often regarded as future leaders but they are jaded in the face of the political climate in the lead-up to next month's legislative elections, an election observer said over the weekend.

Mariani Dewi, Jakarta – Twenty-five days before the legislative election takes place, the candidates have been doing everything possible to win over voters.

Jakarta – Papua police chief Bagus Eko Danto reiterated on Sunday that local police would chase after members of the Papuan separatist group, the Free Papua Movement (TPN/OPM), following their destructive behavior towards security posts and civil society.

Ismira Lutfia – Victims of the mudflow disaster in Sidoarjo, East Java Province, tried a new tack on Sunday in their efforts to claim full compensation by offering gifts to the mother of Aburizal Bakrie, the man whose corporate interests they blame for their plight.

Jakarta – Education and Sport Minister Adhyaksa Dault revealed Saturday evening that 15,000 Indonesians die of drug-related illnesses each year.

"That's not even accounting the growth of HIV/AIDS patients; a social tsunami in and of itself, since what we know is only the tip of the iceberg," Dault said, as quoted by kompas.com on Sunday.

Arientha Primanita – A director of a state-owned company died in a hospital on Sunday after being gunned down the previous day in a well-executed, mafia-style hit in Tangerang, Banten Province.

Hera Diani – Neither heat, humidity nor even a national holiday can deter the Indonesian voter, it seems. While most of the country was quietly observing the Prophet Muhammad's birthday last Monday, about 100 residents of the crowded Kampung Guji Baru slum in West Jakarta spent the day in an alley covered by a makeshift tarpaulin.

Melbourne's West Papuan community gathered at Flinders Street Station this morning to commemorate a group of imprisoned students on the anniversary of their arrest on charges of subversion. Despite a sudden downpour that flooded Melbourne's CBD around 500 flyers were handed out to passers-by and many stopped to find out more about the plight of political prisoners in West Papua.

Jakarta – Election hopefuls are pulling the wool over the public's eyes with their outdated campaign methods, a communications expert said Friday.

Jakarta – The Office of State Enterprises (SOE) Minister pledges no layoffs by its companies this year although the global crisis is worsening.

"The ministry won't allow layoffs of SOE employees because we're optimistic the companies can survive the crisis," secretary to the SOE minister Said Didu said on Friday.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Five Australians trapped in Papua are in a "race against time" to escape by charter plane before "arrogant" Indonesian prosecutors pounce to overturn their not-guilty verdict.

Jakarta – On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of workers from trade unions in Jakarta and the satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek), held a protest action opposing the 2009 elections saying that it will not benefit the ordinary people.

Nivell Rayda – On the surface, the halls of the great imposing compound are lavish and dignified, with imported marble walls and expensive leather sofas. Scratch the surface, however, and the place is tainted by extortion, bribery, shady deals and few outward signs of remorse. Welcome to the House of Representatives.

Febriamy Hutapea – National legislatures come and go, but the outgoing House of Representatives will be long remembered for its handling of a series of bills and vital issues that critics say divided the country in some cases, protected its own political interests in others or failed to challenge powerful Suharto-era figures.

Joe Cochrane – With his long, bushy hair and 1960s guitar rock ringtone on his Blackberry, it's not a stretch to say Alvin Lie has a little bit of jaman dulu, or the old days, in his soul.

With great hope and fanfare, the reform era that began in 1998 and the democratic elections in 1999 were intended to usher in a new climate of accountable government after decades of authoritarian rule.

Jakarta – West Lombok regency has decided forbid members of the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect, who have been living in uncertainty at a refugee center in West Nusa Tenggara for three years, to return to their home citing security reason.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – For many Indonesian villagers, the first signs that an election is around the corner are the posters, colourful flags and bunting affixed to every structure in their neighbourhood.

The second is a visit from a party official offering money, food and other benefits in exchange for their votes.

Jakarta – The Democratic Party remains seemingly unperturbed about a possible coalition between the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Golkar Party.

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – Major parties are set to spend huge amounts of money on ads ahead of the upcoming elections, but they remain divided over how much this will help them to win votes.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – At least five people were injured when a grenade was thrown into a coffee shop owned by an Aceh Party leader in the city of Lhokseumawe, Aceh Province, on Wednesday evening, police officers and local residents said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The upcoming elections will see millions of wasted votes because many small and new parties are likely to fail in their bids to meet the new electoral threshold.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Jusuf Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri, the heads of the country's two biggest political parties, met Thursday to explore a possible coalition in the presidential election.

Faisal Maliki Baskoro – The country's seemingly militant labor unions, frequently opposed to any government-planned regulation on labor, has somehow run out of steam in ensuring workers get their rights during the recent hard times.