Matthew Davies – Publicity about the tsunami relief effort in Indonesia's Aceh province has mostly depicted Indonesia's military (TNI) in an unprecedented favourable light.

Sunariah, Jakarta – Armed forces (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has question the desire by the leadership of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for self-government, one of the pre-conditions for resolving the conflict between GAM and Indonesia.

Palembang (South Sumatra) – Dozens of Palembang students protested on Tuesday against the central government's plan to raise fuel prices in the near future.

During the rally held in downtown Palembang, the students carried banners and posters demanding that the government cancel the plan on the grounds that the fuel hike would inflict undue suffering on the public.

Gunawan Mashar, Jakarta – For the umpteenth time, on Wednesday February 23 students from the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar have again hijacked fuel tankers. This time, after hijacking two kerosene tankers they drove them round and round the city.

[This letter was sent to Green Left Weekly for publication by Zely Ariane, the international affairs spokesperson of the Aceh solidarity group SEGERA. Green Left Weekly has been asking our readers to assist SEGERA's appeal after the tsunami, for details visit .]

A survey of 1,305 businesses and top managers of local and multinational firms here named Jakarta as the most corrupt city in the country. The survey was conducted last year by Transparency International Indonesia at a time when the city administration was making much-publicize noises about turning Jakarta into a "service city".

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A number of international human rights observers have expressed their pessimism that offering amnesty for human rights violators would be effective in revealing the truth of their wrongdoings.

Rescuers sifting through the debris of a garbage landslide in Indonesia say that any of the more than 100 missing who have not suffocated or been crushed to death have probably died of heat exposure.

Jakarta – The customs agency, airport security and the Soekarno-Hatta Animal Quarantine office often work in cahoots with smugglers to bring protected animals out of the country, a source at the Soekarno-Hatta Animal Quarantine office says.

Rendi A. Witular and Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Military and police personnel along with officials from the ministries of forestry and immigration are all involved in the lucrative business of illegal logging in Papua, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has proclaimed.

We, the undersigned citizens of Australia, address this letter to those representatives of our government who will negotiate with representatives of the government of East Timor about maritime boundaries in the Timor Sea.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Outgoing Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Chappy Hakim has suggested that the President consider a high ranking Air Force officer as the next commander in chief of the Indonesian Military (TNI), saying that a rotation among the three forces in leading the TNI was in line with the spirit of the existing law on the military.

Jakarta – An inter-ministerial work group is now investigating the existence of military businesses.

"How many businesses that will be handled will depend on the findings of the work group," Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono told reporters after opening a workshop on Security Strength Professionalism at the Arya Duta Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday (22/02).

The Bush administration is trying to convince the American Congress to restore some US military assistance to Indonesia. But, it must also win over a number of US Senators who are fiercely opposed to the idea because of Indonesia's human rights record. The advantages for Indonesia in the restoration of assistance are obvious.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – State oil and gas company PT Pertamina expects a decline in profit and revenue this year due to declining oil production and higher expenses for its public service obligations (PSOs).

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – As Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono and several of his ministers were wooing investors in Singapore last week, the Indonesian affiliate of French oil giant Total SA, the world's second-biggest gas producer, was making a third appearance in court to stave off a demand by two Indonesian contractors for seizure of its assets.

[West Papua and Indonesia since Suharto – Independence, Autonomy or Chaos? By Professor Peter King. University of NSW Press, 2004. 240 pages, $40 (pb).]

All too frequently this nation has refused to come to terms with its past. The circumstances surrounding historical events remain blurred, the rhetoric that exalts heroes and condemns villains left untested.

Abdul Khalik, Banda Aceh – Humanitarian volunteers are still finding corpses in Aceh, almost two months after the tsunami struck the stricken province, a relief worker says.

Some 1,850 volunteers from the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and other organizations were still recovering and burying between 200 and 300 corpses a day, a PMI official said.

John Aglionby – Mohammed Yassin has trouble falling asleep at night. But his insomnia is not caused by haunting dreams of a second tsunami – the sound of construction work until late at night is what keeps him, and other Nusa residents, awake.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Tricky details could trip up an apparent political breakthrough for Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province after rebels agreed to drop a demand for independence for the tsunami-hit region during peace talks in Finland.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Two days of heavy rain forced over 50,000 residents in south Bandung to flee to safety on Monday as their houses were inundated by floodwaters up to three meters high.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono denied on Monday reports that the government would again combine the Indonesia Military (TNI) and the National Police in an effort to boost the coordination of the two institutions.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – International experts on truth and reconciliation commissions have expressed concerns about Indonesia's recently passed law on the establishment of such a commission, saying that it contained loopholes that have distinct disadvantages for victims.

Dili – East Timor will ask the United Nations Security Council to extend its peacekeeping mission in the fledgling nation, Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta said Tuesday.

Indonesian prosecutors accused Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir of failing to prevent militants allegedly under his leadership from carrying out terror attacks, including the Bali bombings.

Jakarta – Indonesia's top intellectual and a longtime contender for the Nobel Literature prize believes that the influx of foreigners and aid money into tsunami-devastated Aceh could bring significant change to the war-torn province.

The December 26 earthquake and tsunami disaster that devastated Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, killing 123,071 people, has strengthened the Acehnese people's sense of Indonesian identify, according to the results of a survey released Tuesday.

Jayapura – The number of people living with HIV/AIDS has reached an alarming level in the nation's easternmost province of Papua.

As of December 31, 1,749 people have been recorded as HIV positive, 696 of whom have developed AIDS. Of those 696 people, 232 have died of an AIDS-defining illness, according to the Papua Health Office.

The president is the supreme commander of the Indonesian armed forces. The 1945 Constitution – both in its amended and original forms – clearly stipulates such. Even top military brass would not argue with the president's official distinction as commander in chief.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province exchanged gunfire with Indonesian soldiers escorting an aid convoy over the weekend, but no relief workers were injured, a spokeswoman said Monday.

Separatists from tsunami-hit Aceh province will demand a full withdrawal of the 50,000 Indonesian security forces from the region as part of a negotiated settlement to end the long-running civil war, an Australian member of the rebel delegation said.

A survey by Transparency International Indonesia (TII) has ranked Jakarta as the nation's most corrupt city. The tax and customs offices have also come under fire of late, for the gross level of corruption within them. The Jakarta Post asked residents for their comments on the issue.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Just like government officials, corruption watchdogs showed no surprise on Friday at the results of a survey placing Jakarta as the most corrupt city in the country, but for quite different reasons.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto's term in office has been extended twice. He has also tendered his resignation for the second time earlier this month.

The Australian government has put out warnings to its citizens to avoid Acheh because of an undefined terrorist threat, which apparently is not believed by either the US or Indonesian governments.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – The National Police have shrugged off a report that declares it to be the second most corrupt institution in the country, saying the accusation was without foundation.

John Mcbeth (Straits Times, Asia News Network), Singapore – The recent oil strike by Australian-owned Santos off the coast of East Java and major untapped oil and gas deposits in ExxonMobil's disputed Cepu field will not be enough to head off what appears to be a pending Indonesian decision to end its 43-year membership of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Shawn Donnan, Calang (Aceh) – Almost two months after the Asian tsunamis, survivors in some of the hardest hit areas of Indonesia's Aceh province have begun rebuilding, turning to scavenged wood, recycled nails and aid from abroad to erect homes.

Vaudine England – The lonely mosque, the last thing standing in the once-thriving seaside community of Lampuuk just west of Banda Aceh, now plays host to a huddle of tents.

Yogyakarta – The replacement of three Indonesian armed forces (TNI) chiefs of staff which took place yesterday (18/2) is believed by a political observer from the Gajah Mada University (UGM), Riswandha Imawan, to be an effort by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to strengthen his legitimacy within military ranks.

Ivy Susanti, Jakarta – The Indonesian government has welcomed the US government's gesture to restore full military training ties with Indonesia, which was downgraded 13 years ago.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Indonesia imported about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) of processed fuel last year to meet domestic demand for the oil-based commodity, according to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

On average, 10 people with dengue fever are admitted to city-owned hospitals every day, bringing the total of dengue cases since the beginning of this year to nearly 2,000. The central government has declared an extraordinary incidence of dengue in Jakarta and five other regions, and has urged that extra measures be taken to curb the outbreak.

Jakarta – Prior to its fuel price hike plan in April, which will eventually reduce budget expenditures for the fuel subsidy, the government has been preparing an additional Rp 10.5 trillion (US$1.13 billion) from the budget to assist the poor.

Environmental investigators said Thursday they had uncovered massive timber smuggling from Indonesia's Papua province to China in what they described as the world's largest logging racket involving one wood species.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Minister of Forestry Malam Sambat Kaban said on Friday he planned to meet with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo Adi Sucipto to help resolve the rampant illegal logging in Papua, which a recent report says is backed by members of the military.

Tangerang – Cable thieves disrupted trains services between Tangerang and Jakarta for the second time in a month on Friday.

Ahmad Sujadi, spokesman of state railway operator PT KAI, said that 18 trains were affected by the theft.

"I don't care," has apparently become a catchphrase among government officials, following President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's example.

Responding to a survey showing his declining popularity, the President said earlier this month: "I don't care about my popularity." The President's words have given others in his circle an idea or two.

"This is a smuggler... ha... ha... He is a mafia [member]... ha... ha...," an unidentified man told undercover investigators.

He pointed his finger at a Singaporean in a yellow checked shirt, who was counting stash of cash on his desk. The Singaporean smiled and said, "The problem is that somebody asks me to smuggle. The problem is the buyer. No buyer, no smuggling."