Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Prosecutors have recommended a life sentence for Garuda pilot Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto for the murder of the country's top human rights campaigner Munir.

The case is being closely watched by human rights groups both at home and overseas to see whether the government will bring the powerful masterminds behind the murder to court.

Krishnadev Calamur, Washington – Critics of a deal between Australia and Timor Leste on disputed undersea oil and gas reserves say Asia's poorest nation is giving away too much in exchange for too little.

Nurvita Indarini, Jakarta – Although the sentence being sought by the public prosecutor for Pollycarpus is considered just, the former secretary of the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF), Usman Hamid, has urged that the investigation in to the Munir murder case not end with Pollycarpus.

Australia and East Timor have struck agreement on how to carve up lucrative Timor Sea energy reserves worth up to $41 billion.

The in-principle agreement brings to a close more than a year of negotiations between the two countries and will culminate in a signing ceremony next month.

The Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has told Parliament that officials had initiated a resource sharing agreement with East Timor that is expected to be signed at a ceremony in mid January.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today called for the quick release of the full report of East Timor's truth commission, the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (known by its Portuguese initials, CAVR).

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – The news last week from Washington that the United States would restore full military ties with Indonesia after a 14-year lapse must have been sweet music to the ears of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, himself a retired general.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Governor JP Solossa on Wednesday told residents not to celebrate the self-declared independence anniversary of Papua on Dec. 1.

"All residents should go about their day as usual. Do not be provoked by groups that are planning to commemorate Papua's 'independence'," Solossa said.

Jayapura – Security forces clashed with hundreds of rock-throwing protesters at an independence day rally Thursday in Papua province, police and witnesses said. There were no reports of injuries.

John Aglionby, Nusa – The community noticeboard in Nusa is conspicuously underemployed. There are no updates on reconstruction programmes and the only bulletin on livelihood is a dog-eared one from June. The only recent notice advertises monthly distribution of rice, cooking oil, noodles and sardines to those who lost their homes in December's tsunami.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite the Aug. 15 peace pact that is helping to restore security in the once-restive Aceh, Acehnese devotion to the unitary state of Indonesia remains low, according to a survey.

Timor has rejected a government commission's recommendation that Australia, Britain and the United States pay compensation for their part in Indonesia's 24-year occupation of East Timor.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sen Lam

Speakers: Jose Ramos Horta, East Timor's foreign minister

Sydney – The widow of one of five Australia-based journalists shot dead in East Timor in 1975 says she is not surprised by new documents revealing the Australian and British governments colluded to cover up the killings.

Sarah Stephen – When seven asylum seekers from West Timor waded ashore near the Western Australian Aboriginal community of Kalumburu on November 5, immigration minister Amanda Vanstone declared that they were fishing, not seeking asylum. This fiction was maintained for 10 days by the immigration department (DIMIA).

Sean O'Neill – For 30 years Maureen Tolfree has suspected that the British Government lied to her about the death of her brother, Malcolm Rennie.

The release of the Foreign Office documents has whetted her appetite for more disclosures so that she knows the full truth about the deaths of Brian Peters and his colleagues.

Richard Lloyd Parry – The British Government knowingly lied about Indonesian atrocities in East Timor, including the killing of British journalists in 1975, according to newly released diplomatic documents.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The former Aceh rebels will be free to celebrate the anniversary of their movement on Sunday as long as it does not rekindle separatism, the government says.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – It is true what they say, "Money can't buy everything". As in the case of Probosutedjo, a businessman and half-brother of former president Soeharto, billions of rupiah "spent" to bribe prosecutors and judges could not get him exonerated.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) found 11 cases of irregularities in the management of state enterprise funds during the first semester of the year, with potential losses to the state amounting to Rp 2.59 trillion (US$258 million) and $39.1 million.

Amanda Freund, Newcastle – Newcastle City Council will fly the West Papuan flag from City Hall on December 1 as a gesture of support for the West Papuan people's struggle for independence from Indonesian rule.

Pip Hinman – The Melbourne-based Timor Sea Justice Campaign on November 23 described the Howard government's decision to discontinue funding to 13 East Timorese NGOs as "political interference".

Sian Powell and Richard Lloyd Parry – The Australian, British and US Governments and international arms makers should pay compensation for their part in Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor, a commission of inquiry has demanded.

Jakarta – Indonesian rights activists have condemned a recommendation by East Timor's president that a probe into past human rights violations in the world's youngest country be kept under wraps.

Kerryn Williams – On November 22, the US State Department decided to override restrictions on US-Indonesian military ties imposed by Congress less than two weeks earlier.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Less than a week after the country refused entry to American researcher Sidney Jones, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the lifting of the ban on Tuesday, blaming the incident on the government of his predecessor Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice
US Department of State
2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

Tony Hotland and Blontank Poer, Jakarta/Surakarta – Apparently exhausted over pressure to bring the country's former authoritarian leader Soeharto to court over corruption allegations, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Monday that the matter was now in the hands of the Supreme Court.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – Enraged by the arrest of terror suspect Syarif Tarabubun, hundreds of people attacked and burned down on Monday a Muslim boarding school believed to have been harboring terrorists.

John Aglionby – This Thursday, December 1, marks the 44th anniversary of the West Papuan people's declaration of independence from their Dutch colonial masters.

Jakarta – Creating internal conflicts within radical groups through infiltration is one of the strategies being pursued by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to fight terrorism, BIN director Maj. Gen. (ret) Syamsir Siregar said on Monday.

Jayapura, Jakarta – The central government must consistently implement the Special Autonomy Law in Papua in order to help quell the demands for independence for the resource-rich province, provincial governor Jacobus Perviddya Solossa said.

He said that special autonomy was aimed at effectively restoring the dignity of the Papuan people.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) is facing internal conflict following its patrons' decision to renew the party's support for the government.

Medan/Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has warned former Aceh combatants against celebrating the anniversary of their organization, saying it would not be in accordance with the spirit of the peace agreement they signed in August.

Jakarta – As the forestry-based industry has yet to perform efficiently, the government should review its policy to increase next year's natural forest logging quota, an environmental organization says.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Recent raids conducted by city police and the immigration office have revealed thousands of foreigners staying in the capital either without proper permits or with expired permits.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – UNAIDS executive director Peter Piot could be in any city in the world for World AIDS Day, which falls on Thursday. But he has chosen to commemorate it here, in the capital of the world's fourth most populous nation, as it is "the new frontline of an AIDS epidemic".

Amnesty International is deeply concerned at President Xanana Gusmao's lack of political will to disseminate immediately to the public the recently completed final report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (Comissao de Acolhimento, Verdade e Reconciliacao de Timor Leste, CAVR) and at his apparent reluctance to support the report's recommendations pertaining to

Guido Guilliart, Dili – East Timor's president on Tuesday rejected recommendations made by a national commission to address human rights abuses carried out during Indonesia's 24 yearlong occupation, saying they could create anarchy.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – The East Timorese president, Xanana Gusmao, yesterday presented to parliament the long-awaited report of the nation's Reception, Truth and Reconciliation Commission but criticised many of the key recommendations and accused the commissioners of "grandiose idealism".

Richard Lloyd Parry – The British and American governments and international arms makers should pay compensation for their part in Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor, a commission of inquiry has demanded.

The Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) is very alarmed that the United States is resuming military ties to Indonesia.

In a surprising and appalling move, the State Department waived all legislated restrictions on US military assistance for Indonesia on November 22. For the first time in over a decade, the Indonesian military is now eligible to receive Pentagon weapons and training without any specific human rights or other conditions.

Blontank Poer, Surakarta – The national celebration of Teacher Day turned sour on Sunday after a poetry-reading that was critical of the poor state of national education irked Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

New York – Today, President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmco presented the Timorese parliament and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri with the final report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste (CAVR in its Portuguese acronym).

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta – The decision by the US administration to resume arms sale and military financing to Indonesia is a foreign policy trophy for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. It was even more significant since the decision was made through a special discretionary waiver granted to the executive to override certain restrictions of a law.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) very likely elicited a big sigh of relief from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as the Muslim-based party reconfirmed its support for his government, at least for another year.

Wrapping up its two-day meeting, the influential PKS board of patrons unanimously agreed to grant Susilo a crucial vote of confidence.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Former members of the pro-Jakarta militias that rampaged through East Timor in 1999 are forming an organization to protect the rights and privileges they feel the government they fought for is now denying them.

Dili – East Timorese police exchanged gunfire Monday with infiltrators who appeared to be pro-Indonesia militiamen, leaving one policeman wounded, an officer said.

Antony Barnett – British military equipment is being used by the Indonesian authorities against civilians in remote parts of the country.

Emmy F, Kupang – Feeling as if the government is treating him as a stepchild, former pro-Jakarta militia have reassembling their forces by forming the Ex-East Timor Forum for Struggle.