Salim Osman, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono hopes to persuade United States legislators to end a ban on selling military equipment to Indonesia on his first trip to Washington this week.

The embargo was imposed in 1991 because of the country's 'poor human rights record'.

Jayapura – The court hearing at the Jayapura State Court on Monday May 23 in the case of Filep Karma and Yusack Pakage who are charged with raising of the Morning Star Flag was marred when defense lawyers refused to speak then walked out of the court room.

Jakarta – "History speaks for itself." This was the response a mother of a victim killed during the 1998 Trisakti shooting in West Jakarta gave when asked about the zero law enforcement against the killers.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Recently disclosed alleged irregularities at 16 state enterprises may have caused more than Rp 2.7 trillion (about US$287 million) in state losses, a report from the Office of the State Minister for State Enterprises says.

Dozens of Indonesian students have burned a picture of ex-dictator Suharto in a rally to mark the seventh anniversary of his fall after 32 years of iron-fisted rule.

But the rally by students from the state University of Indonesia was a far cry from the tens of thousands of students who stormed the parliament complex seven years ago to celebrate Suharto's resignation.

New York City Pension System Calls on Oil Company To Report on Risks to Investors from its Payments to Brutal Indonesian Military

Ambon – Residents from the Batumerah subdistrict blocked a main street in Ambon city from Friday night to Saturday morning to protest police detentions of several locals.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The Jakarta administration's plan to build more toll roads connecting busy areas might be seen as a good idea to some people, but transportation experts believe they could cause greater congestion.

Jakarta – About two-thirds of the nation's wood-based industry has collapsed, with a "high cost economy" and aging machinery making them uncompetitive against more efficient economies such as China and Malaysia, said Indonesian Forestry Society (MPI).

Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian Muslims staged rally outside the US embassy in Jakarta on Sunday, condemning the alleged desecration of the Muslim holy book Koran by American soldiers at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

Michael Casey, Jakarta – Thousands of protesters across Indonesia marked the seventh anniversary of the fall of former dictator Suharto yesterday by burning his portrait and demanding his prosecution on corruption charges. During his 32 years in power, Suharto muzzled the media, rigged elections and reportedly stole $600 million from state coffers.

[Excerpt from report by Emmy F FROM Detik.com web site on 22 May.]

Atambua – Smuggling of fuel and various basic commodities across the Indonesia-East Timor border has become rife again. There have been at least 100 cases of smuggling in the past four months via Belu district, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT).

Anthony Paul – At first glance, the latest news from Aceh seems promising: On Wednesday, Jakarta lifted the state of emergency declared a year ago, when the army stepped up its campaign against militant separatists. Peace talks between the government and GAM, the separatist movement, will continue.

It is now seven years since General Suharto was forced to resign on 21 May 1998, following a wave of student demonstrations across the country, bringing to an end the bloodiest era in Indonesia's modern history.

Indonesian State Minister for Research and Technology Kusmayanto Kadiman said on Friday that the government would develop nuclear technology by 2017 for various peaceful purposes, including power generation. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world.

Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – Jose Ramos-Horta sips Cuban rum and listens to classical music in the thatched-roof house he has built on a hill overlooking Dili harbour.

Michael Casey – Thousands of protesters across Indonesia marked the seventh anniversary of the fall of former dictator Suharto on Saturday by burning his portrait and demanding his prosecution on corruption charges.

Andra Jackson – Fifty refugees from East Timor facing deportation are celebrating after being told at the last minute their claims for protection will be reconsidered.

Riyadi Suparno, Jakarta – After more than a week of assessment, the International Monetary Fund has praised Indonesia's overall economic performance and the policy directions pursued by the government and the central bank, but has sounded warnings over a number of challenges, especially the likely increase in inflation this year.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – A team hunting the killers of Indonesia's leading human rights activist says the country's main intelligence agency was in close contact with the chief suspect.

Jakarta – Seven, for some, is a lucky number. Seven years since the reform movement kicked off a new era of democracy, the nation has only seen a tiny spark of hope, but many problems remain, activists say.

Jakarta – State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto finally disclosed on Thursday 16 state enterprises allegedly riddled with corruption, following demands from lawmakers who wanted to make the allegation widely known.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – As the expiry date of the contract between the city administration and PT Jakarta Monorail draws near without agreement, transportation activists are calling for an end to the agreement, arguing the project is simply not feasible.

Advocate on behalf of East Timorese in Australia, Sr Susan Connelly, has said the Immigration Minister's change of heart on her decision to immediately deport 50 East Timorese asylum seekers who have been living in Australia for more than a decade.

Dili – Tens of thousands of government supporters gathered in East Timor's capital Friday to mark the 31st anniversary of the foundation of the ruling FRETILIN party in festivities that coincided with the celebration of the country's third independence anniversary.

Jakarta – The Fact Finding Team (TPF) in the case of the death of rights activist Munir believes that the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) is being uncooperative in solving the case. In conducting their duties, BIN has behaved in such way as to make it difficult for the team that was formed by a presidential decree.

M. Azis Tunny and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Ambon/Denpasar – Two of the eight people who attacked a police post on Monday on Seram island were active police personnel, a top officer in Maluku said on Thursday. Seven people, including five police officers and one of the attackers, died in the incident.

Jakarta – The government's plan to provide free education for elementary and secondary school students must be a long-term policy and not a short-term move to counter political pressure, activists say.

Dili – East Timor's political and military leaders unanimously criticized Thursday the UN Security Council's decision to ignore Secretary-General Kofi Annan's recommendation that the new, pruned-back UN mission include a symbolic peacekeeping force.

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia must show separatist rebels in tsunami-hit Aceh province that the central government is ready to compromise if it ever hopes to achieve a peace deal, a rebel adviser said on Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's lifting of emergency rule in the tsunami-hit Aceh province was a "cruel joke" that came even as the armed forces were stepping up military operations, separatist rebels claim.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government lifted on Wednesday the one-year civil emergency in tsunami-devastated Aceh through a presidential regulation, which also spells out the heavy presence of military troops there.

Members of Peace Action Wellington today went to the Indonesian embassy to deliver the following letter. The letter was received by the Embassy and the Ambassador is digesting the contents.

The United Nations has marked the end of its peacekeeping operations on East Timor, celebrating a mission credited with bringing stability to the tiny country following its bloody break with Indonesia in 1999.

But while the last peacekeepers are to head home, a scaled-down UN presence will remain in the impoverished country for another year.

"Don't go around digging up old skeletons," so an old Indonesian saying goes.

Six-and-a-half years after the turmoil that swept the former province of East Timor (now Timor Leste), Indonesia has not respectfully laid to rest the skeletons of that fateful tragedy.

Taufik Basari, Jakarta – The atrocities that occurred in East Timor in 1999 have been recognized as gross violations of human rights that constitute international crimes. Elements of these crimes, such as torture, have been recognized as hostis humanis generis, or enemies of all mankind.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono approved on Wednesday a proposal for an increase in the country's military spending this year despite earlier opposition amid concern over the widening state budget deficit.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The fact-finding team tasked to assist the investigation into the death by poisoning of Munir Thalib Said revealed incriminating evidence of the involvement of the State Intelligence Body (BIN) in the case, saying the main suspect in the murder kept in touch with a top BIN official after the rights activist died.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court ruled on Wednesday that former members of the now-outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) could proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the President.

Dean Yates and Achmad Sukarsono – Indonesia gave mixed signals on Wednesday about a visit by UN experts who will inquire into carnage that swept East Timor in 1999, with one minister calling the trip "irrelevant," but another promising to cooperate.

Dean Yates and Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – Indonesia on Wednesday labelled as "irrelevant" a visit by UN experts who will inquire into bloodshed that swept East Timor in 1999 during an independence vote as well as into Jakarta's accounting for the violence.

Agung Yudhawiranata, Jakarta – In an effort to stave off the creation of an ad hoc international rights tribunal to investigate the clearly orchestrated violence that accompanied the vote for independence in East Timor, Indonesia made unambiguous commitments to the international community and the people of East Timor to prosecute those individuals responsible for the atrocities.

Jakarta – Observers cast doubt on Tuesday over the ability of the UN-sanctioned Commission of Experts (COE) to bring the perpetrators of the 1999 atrocities in East Timor to justice.

They said the UN mission could instead actually disrupt the efforts by a reconciliation commission jointly established by Indonesia and East Timor to heal past wounds.

Three members of the UN-sanctioned Commission of Experts (COE) are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on May 20 to meet with legal people involved in the human rights tribunal for Indonesian officers and officials, who were charged with, but acquitted of rights violations in East Timor.

Jakarta – More witnesses and suspects have blamed General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin for corruption at the national election organizer, making it more difficult for him to shrug off allegations over his role in the high-profile case.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is well on its way to failing in its lawmaking function, with zero laws passed and only a few bills drafted since its 550 members took office in October.

Jakarta – Only a week before representatives of the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are to meet for peace talks in Helsinki, an Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a senior GAM leader to life in prison for treason and illegal possession of weapons.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Ahead of talks that it is hoped will seal an enduring peace in tsunami-devastated Aceh at the end of this month, a group of civilians born in Aceh will meet with leaders of GAM, which has been fighting for an independent state at the northern tip of Sumatra.

Meidyatama Suryodiningrat – This goes beyond a simple case of an "oddball" preacher in Malang leading prayers in Arabic and Bahasa Indonesia. The controversy over the preacher from East Java performing prayers in two languages is, unwittingly, part of the growing enlightenment that rejects the traditional dogma of state-sponsored religion.

David Nason, New York – The Security Council has extended the UN presence in East Timor by implementing the mandate of the United Nations Office in Timor-Leste, which will operate until May 20 next year.