Debbie Elliott, host:

Colum Lynch and Ellen Nakashima, United Nations – Indonesian security forces and militias they supported killed at least 100,000 East Timorese people – and perhaps as many as 180,000 – over 24 years through torture, starvation, arbitrary execution and massacres, according to a report presented to the United Nations by Timorese President Xanana Gusmao on Friday.

Jakarta – The government played down Friday a report leaked to the Australian media alleging that Indonesia's 24-year-long occupation of East Timor (now Timor Leste) caused the deaths of up to 180,000 people.

Andra Jackson and Mark Forbes, Denpasar – Two West Papua school children were shot dead yesterday by Indonesian soldiers, according to a group representing Papuans.

A Papuan man has died and two others are in critical condition after being shot by the Indonesian military yesterday, sparking fears of reprisals in the wake of the arrival of asylum seekers in Australia this week.

The dead man, Moses Douw, is believed to be a close relative of Amatus Douw, one of the 43 Papuan asylum seekers who landed at Cape York on Wednesday.

Australia's enthusiastic embrace of Indonesian democracy overlooks the bleak truth that sweeping political reforms in Jakarta falter when powerful vested interests stand in the way.

Baucau – The people of East Timor are afraid that the names of the thousands of lives lost during Indonesia's occupation of the country will be forgotten in the name of reconciliation with the former occupier. They want their president to provide more information and be more open to dialogue over the issue.

Kupang – At least 20 members of the police mobile brigade (Brimob) unit based in Atambua town went on a rampage in Fatuknutuk village Friday, damaging 12 residents' houses and a number of public facilities, an officer said on Friday.

Tb. Arie Rukmantara, Jakarta – Standing in front of 3,000 people, Mari, a junior high school student, reads out a poem reminding people of how environmentally harmful mining activities can be.

"What will we, your next generation, have to pass on to our children, if you, our elders, leave us a land filled with huge and toxic holes?"

Helsinki – Peace broker Martti Ahtisaari on Saturday praised former enemies Indonesia and the Aceh rebels for honoring a treaty that ended almost 30 years of bloodshed in the former separatist province.

Ahtisaari, a former Finnish president who mediated the negotiations resulting in a peace pact signed in Helsinki in August, declared the process a success.

Jakarta – In what could add fuel to their sibling rivalry, Rachmawati Soekarnoputri, younger sister of former president Megawati, has crossed family lines and accepted the invitation of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to join his presidential team of advisers, detik.com reported.

Depok – Dozens of people claiming to be supporters of former Depok mayor Badrul Kamal staged a protest Friday against the plan to inaugurate mayor-elect Nur Mahmudi Ismail and deputy mayor Yuyun Wirasaputra next week, Tempointeraktif.com reported.

New Zealand should lead the way by offering reparation to East Timor, Green MP Keith Locke said today after details of a damning United Nations report into what happened under Indonesian occupation were published.

PO Box 15774, Washington, DC 20003

Prime Minister John Howard c/o Embassy of Australia to the United States 1601 Massachusetts Ave, NW Washington, DC 20036-2273

Via facsimile: 202-797-3168

Dear Prime Minister Howard:

Australia is being told to expect more asylum seekers to make their way to the country from Papua.

Forty-three Papuan asylum seekers arrived on Cape York on Wednesday and have been sent to Christmas Island; refugee advocates say the group includes independence campaigners from the Indonesian province.

Jakarta – Indonesia strongly rejected claims by dozens of refugees who fled eastern Papua for Australia this week that the government was perpetrating genocide in their home province.

Sydney – Refugee activists want the Papuan asylum seekers who landed on the north Queensland coast this week to be brought back from Christmas Island and given bridging visas.

About 100 people gathered outside the Department of Immigration in Sydney today to protest the department's handling of the case.

Sydney – Refugee activists branded the Australian government cruel Friday for flying a group of 43 Indonesian asylum seekers who accused Jakarta of genocide to a remote island detention center.

The group of 36 adults and seven children from Indonesia's restive West Papua province arrived Wednesday on Australia's remote Cape York Peninsula in a small boat.

Port Vila – In the 1960s, the Government of the USA shamefully sold out West Papua as a bribe to Indonesia for its cooperation in halting the spread of communism in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The USA is now trading off West Papua to Indonesia once again in return for its cooperation in the struggle against international terrorism and Islamic extremism.

The Australian Coalition of West Papua Support Groups in Australia call on the Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone to allow the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers to remain in Australia.

Throughout history there are examples of relatively minor incidents having far-reaching consequences. The arrival by boat of 43 West Papuan asylum seekers at Cape York on Wednesday is potentially one of those times.

Jakarta – Four Indonesians arrested last week have been named suspects under anti-terrorism laws in October's restaurant bombings on Bali island and for hiding a key militant, police said on Friday.

Jakarta – The Jakarta administration on Thursday asked neighboring administrations Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi and Cianjur to join it in presenting a united front against alcohol.

The capital's industry and trade agency issued a circular in December banning the sale of drinks with more than 5 percent alcohol in supermarkets and hypermarkets.

Leony Aurora and Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – The government risks a backlash if it pushes on with a plan to raise power rates by more than the average agreed upon in the 2006 state budget, lawmakers warned Thursday.

New York – Indonesian politicians should not misunderstand the move of Timor Leste's independent commission to report its investigation results to United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Timor Leste's Foreign Minister Ramos Horta said here on Friday (Saturday in Indonesia).

Damien Murphy – Australia would be guided by East Timor's attitudes on how it wished to come to terms with human rights abuses that took place before independence, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said yesterday.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia's Kopassus special forces have been directly implicated in thousands of human rights violations in East Timor in a new report documenting instances of murder, rape and torture, just weeks before Australia resumes joint training exercises with the notorious unit.

Sian Powell – Former prime minister Gough Whitlam has been condemned for his tacit approval of Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975, his refusal to acknowledge famine on the half-island and his alleged lobbying against its Catholic church leader.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The West Java Indonesian Ulema Council issued an informal edict Thursday, declaring that a hunger strike by Ciseeng residents as haram, forbidden according to Islam.

The hunger strikers, who the council assumes are followers of Islam, are up in arms over high-voltage lines near their village.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – With Supreme Court justices miffed at plans for an assessment of their suitability to sit on the bench, legislators have taken their side in what threatens to become a tug of war in the corridors of power.

Jakarta – While noting an improvement in the Indonesian investment climate, the government still has a long way to go to provide a sense of policy certainty to firms doing business here, a US business delegation says.

New Zealand should lead the way by offering reparation to East Timor, Green MP Keith Locke said today after details of a damning United Nations report into what happened under Indonesian occupation were published.

Jakarta – A group of minivan and bus drivers assaulted Thursday a driver for the free school bus in Cilincing, North Jakarta.

Kennedi, 35, a bus driver for the charity organization Dompet Dhuafa, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after injuries to his head and face.

New York – President Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão of Timor-Leste presented the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, with the final report of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in Timor-Leste (CAVR in its Portuguese acronym). In so doing, President Gusmão complied with the UN regulations that established the CAVR in 2001 and with Timorese legislation.

The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) today called on the United Nations to launch a broad and thorough discussion of the report of Timor-Leste's Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (known by its Portuguese acronym, CAVR).

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – It is apparent that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has heard the demand that the post of Indonesian Military (TNI) chief be rotated among the three military forces: the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Sian Powell's exclusive report on atrocities against the people of East Timor during the 24 years of Indonesian occupation, published in The Australianyesterday, was grim reading, detailing anything up to 180,000 deaths, mainly from starvation.

Jakarta – The United States said it was working towards a closer relationship with Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic nation, despite past strains between the two countries.

US ambassador to Jakarta Lynn Pascoe said it was vital for the world's third and fourth most populous nations to have a "perfectly normal" relationship.

Damien Kingsbury, Indonesia expert and Associate Professor of International and Political Studies at Deakin University, writes:

"The Australian government must respect the rights of the forty West Papuans who have arrived in Cape York. Australia is required to act in accordance with its protection obligations under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees" said John Dowd, President of ICJ Australia.

His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations
New York, NY USA
By fax to +1-212-963-7055

Dili, 19 January 2006

Re: Handover of CAVR's report

Sian Powell – One of the most enduring horrors of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor was the "fence of legs" campaign in 1981, which rounded up civilians – young and old, sick and hungry – and made them march across the island.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Acehnese will not be getting local political parties in the near future, home affairs minister M. Ma'ruf announced Wednesday. He said Jakarta had temporarily ruled out the creation of local political parties, pending consultation with the House of Representatives.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – good relations with Indonesia have always been of prime importance to the independent nation of East Timor.

The half-island of one million people is surrounded on three sides by giant Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago with a population of 230million.

Tantri Yuliandini, Jakarta – A bus stopped, took on passengers, then quickly departed in a choking cloud of smoke. People on the sidewalk scrambled for a handkerchief or piece of tissue to cover their noses from the black trail of fumes.

A report prepared by the newly established investigative division of the Finance Ministry's Inspectorate General shows that there are various methods regularly used by tax officials to pillage potential tax revenue.

The report, a copy of which was obtained by The Jakarta Post, is based on an investigation conducted in 2005 in response to public complaints.

The city of Probolinggo is one of the poorest areas on the north coast of East Java, with the municipal administration only taking in Rp 16.31 billion (US$1.73 million) in revenue in 2003 and the average monthly income being less than Rp 500,000 per capita.

Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – "Jono" is a junior official in an East Jakarta tax office, and regularly parks his silver BMW sedan, which he drives from his luxury home in Cibubur, Bogor, at his friend's house in Jakarta before riding a Honda scooter on the last leg of his journey to work.

Jakarta – Ever wondered why big-time graft criminals frequently avoid prison and jet out of the country, to spend their days and ill-gotten gains in "safe" countries like Singapore or the United States.

One could point to the lax efforts by the police, or the nation's prosecutors, in ensuring these criminals escape justice.

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Reorganizing the military and reviewing the Army-focused national defense concept will be the main tasks for the new military chief, analysts said on Wednesday.