Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam – Conventional wisdom about what happened in Indonesia during the second half of the 1960s generally held leading Army officers, in collaboration with some youth organizations, responsible for Indonesia's greatest human disaster after its independence, which included the killings, persecutions and imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of alleged commun

Jakarta – Having to dodge cars, three-wheeled taxis, motorcycles and carts appearing from nowhere could soon be a thing of the past for Central Jakarta residents, thanks to the municipality's plans to develop more sidewalks on city roads next year.

TAPOL, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign, strongly condemns the decision of the police in Jayapura to ban an action planned for tomorrow, 15 November, to welcome the launch in The Netherlands of a book by Dutch historian, Professor Drooglever on the 1969 Act of Free Choice.

Alisa P, Banda Aceh – The composition of the draft law on the organisation of a government for Aceh as mandated by the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should not be a revision of the special autonomy law (Otsus) or Law Number 18/2001.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The Jakarta office of the Central Statistics Agency (BPS Jakarta) has registered over 28,000 new families that may be eligible to benefit from the government's cash assistance program.

Local soap star Anjasmara is naked! And it's an Adam and Eve installation! Is it art or pornography? Everybody in this country seems to have jumped on that bandwagon, some condemning and some defending it.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – As police widened the search for the followers of master bombmaker Azahari, an antiterror official warned on Saturday that Islamic militants could carry out widely dispersed attacks across the country following Azahari's death.

Fadli, Batam – A lot of folks' favorite fish, such as the selar and tongkol, are getting harder to find in Batam as hundreds of fishing boats that usually bring them in have curbed operations over the last couple of weeks due to soaring operational costs after a huge fuel price hike.

Several churches in Jakarta and West Java were closed down by force recently, prompting practitioners to conduct their prayers outside their church. This issue has also gained attention from the United States, which mentioned the restrictions on religious freedom in the State Department's 2005 International Religious Freedom Report released on Wednesday.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – A swarm of flies settled on a heap of rotting corn abruptly rose as Siti Maesaroh (not her real name), 17, walked passed the pile of garbage on Wednesday. She held her nose with the fingers of her left hand to keep out the stench, while she shooed away the flies with her right hand.

Yesterday [10 November 2005], on the 4th anniversary of the murder of West Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay by Kopassus [Indonesian Special Forces], the West Papua Street Parliament led a protest involving over 300 hundred Papuan students.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – One of Southeast Asia's most-wanted suspected terrorists has blown himself up – or been gunned down – only days after it was revealed that al-Qaeda's former Southeast Asian chief had escaped from US custody.

A long-awaited report commissioned by the Dutch government into West Papua's controversial incorporation into Indonesia will be launched at the Institute of Dutch History in the Hague next Tuesday, 15 November.

Malang/Semarang/Surakarta/Jakarta – Fingerprinting has confirmed the death of Azahari bin Husin, a bombmaker blamed for the deadliest terror attacks in the region, during a gun battle with police.

Tiarma Siboro and Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The death of Azahari bin Husin, one of the most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia, has dealt a serious blow to the terror network, but officials and experts cautioned that it would not eliminate the terror threat in this country.

Jakarta – Around 80 truck drivers working for the Jakarta International Container Terminal at Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, staged a rally at the City Council on Thursday to ask for support from the councillors for their demand that they be made permanent employees by PT Philia Mandiri Sejahtera (PMS).

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Environmentalists in Lampung lashed out at the Bumi Kedaton Safari Park (TWABK) management for treating animals under its care poorly.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia needs more cooperation from the public to track down Islamic militants who are sometimes regarded as heroes in the world's most populous Muslim nation, Jakarta's top counter-terrorism official said on Friday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, discrimination on the basis of religious belief is a cause for concern in this country, according to the United States' 2005 International Religious Freedom Report.

Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta – Some 600,000 workers in Greater Jakarta are likely to lose their jobs next year, following the implementation of new provincial minimum wage, the Employers' Association of Indonesia (Apindo) said on Tuesday.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Following intense opposition from the business community over proposed amendments to the tax legislation, the government pledged on Wednesday that it would soften its stance by agreeing to significantly review them.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – About 70 American congressmen urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to make "a clear legal move" to resolve the murder of noted rights campaigner Munir, who died in September last year of arsenic poisoning.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Khairil Anwar acknowledged he felt depressed. The head of Lamdingin village in Lambaro Skep district in Banda Aceh is under pressure from village residents desperately in need of houses.

"They are tired of living in tents for displaced persons and asked me to find new funding sources to build them houses," Khairil told The Jakarta Post.

Dili – Unidentified groups are seeking to destabilize East Timor to impede foreign investment and weaken the government, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Thursday.

Alkatiri, speaking to journalists after a meeting with President Xanana Gusmco, said he had discussed the situation with the president.

Rendi Witular, Jakarta – The government has expressed guarded optimism that the United States will not extend its 13-year military embargo on Indonesia.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An order from the military leadership to all 11 regional military commands to set up special counterterrorism desks has been criticized by right activists concerned the move could lead to the stifling of government critics.

East Timor says it's only weeks away from finalising a boundary deal with Australia to exploit the oil and gas reserves of the Greater Sunrise field in the Timor Sea. Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta says the draft agreement is 90 percent finalised, and would be worth five billion dollars to East Timor over 20 years.

Presenter/Interviewer: Graeme Dobell

Jakarta – Indonesia has greeted with a sigh of relief a decision by the United States Congress to omit references to Papua from the State Department Authorization Bill, saying it reflected the consistent support of both the US government and Congress for Indonesia's national integrity.

Jon Lamb – The Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) in East Timor has completed its report documenting human rights violations that took place under 24-year-long Indonesian military (TNI) occupation.

Dili – East Timor's government is ready to adopt "drastic measures" to reconstruct Dili, ending anarchy and reducing population pressures, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said Wednesday.

Alkatiri cautioned, however, that there was no plan to resort to force to expel migrant and refugee residents of the capital, a city of some 160,000.

Kompas – The head of the army's information office, Brigadier General Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan, has confirmed that they have already established an extra-structural organisation at every level of the TNI's (Indonesian military) territorial command, which will be tasked with and function in the same manner as the anti-terror desk at the coordinating ministry for political, legal and

Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta – The city administration has raised the minimum wage for workers here from the current Rp 711,843 (about US$71) to Rp 819,100, effective next year, but the extra Rp 107,257 will hardly make a difference to worker and single mother of two adults, Asmawati.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – Indonesia has denied it refused to cut the sentence of the Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir because of Australian pressure. It had reduced the convictions of many others involved in the Bali bombings, it said. The Justice Minister, Hamid Awaluddin, made the claims amid pressure for a parliamentary inquiry into external interference in the decision.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Despite workers' demand for a 100-percent salary raise following the skyrocketing prices of basic necessities due to the fuel price hikes, the West Java administration did not bow to the demand, raising workers' minimum wage by less than 10 percent.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Sumedang – Darya still tends to his sheep and crops on his land located along the edge of a slope which is supposed to become part of dam in the Jatigede area of Sumedang regency, West Java.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military chief General Endriartono Sutarto has officially ordered the revival of a much-criticised community-based intelligence system to be used to fight terrorism, a report said.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – The deadly clash between the police and followers of sect leader Madi almost two weeks ago, and the ensuing hunt for him, have caused hundreds of people to seek refuge in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is reactivating its intelligence unit that used to work within the community to help the police fight terrorism.

TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on Monday the military unit, comprising non-commissioned officers known as Babinsa, would gather all information required to help prevent acts of terrorism.

Rendi A. Witular and Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The police will intensify security measures at home, including by closely monitoring foreign citizens entering the country, as a precaution to prevent new terrorist attacks following the escape of international terrorist Omar al-Farouq from a US detention facility.

Indonesia has criticised the United States for stalling efforts to restore full military ties between the two countries because of unresolved murders in its province of Papua.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) anti-terror desk which was established in each military regional command and the units below this command have begun to work, including the village military representatives whose duty it is to monitor terrorist activities.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Indonesian government will have to look for alternative arms suppliers with the US appearing likely to extend its military embargo against the country, according to a senior minister.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has criticized United States lawmakers for stalling efforts to restore full military ties between the two countries, calling the move a groundless ploy.

Baucau – Unknown assailants attacked a police station in East Timor's second city before dawn Monday, injuring one officer, the country's police commander said.

Jambi – Tensions were still high in a village in Merangin, Jambi, on Saturday four days after angry residents smashed up the local head office on Tuesday, alleging they were being cheated of their fuel compensation money.

The police presence was high in Rantaujering village in Lembahmasurai in anticipation of a further attack on the compound.

The 42 members of the Papuan People's Assembly (MRP) were installed on Oct. 31, 2005, in Jayapura, capital of the easternmost province of Papua. But whether the assembly will be able to play the role it is supposed to play is another question.

Sian Powell, Mon Ikeun – It is damp, crowded and hot – a tatty canvas tent surrounded by mud and puddles and home to four adult Acehnese sisters and two children.

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Langsa, Aceh – A new chapter has begun for the region along the southeastern coast of Aceh, a district with a tumultuous past, which has long been the bastion of pro-government militias. Similar conditions occurred in the ethnically more diverse highland of Central Aceh.

Enrico Aditjondro – As it turns out, Jose Ramos-Horta has not forgotten about West Papua. But somehow, as some close to him have noticed, he has failed to recall some of the things he stood up for.

Jakarta – One battalion of troops is being sent to help the police maintain law and order in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso following a series of incidents that it is feared could reignite sectarian conflict in the area.