Monica Sloan – Oxford MP Andrew Smith has met a West Papuan tribal leader who fled torture to highlight the oppression of Papuans by Indonesia.

Benny Wenda, 29, was held and tortured in 2002 by Indonesian forces – which are occupying the territory – until he escaped with his wife Maria and two young daughters and fled to England.

Ramidi, Jakarta – Around 500 members of the United Workers' Alliance held an action in front of the State Palace on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat on Tuesday December 21 to protest against wage policies and fuel price increases.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Jakarta/Denpasar – The government said on Monday it would form multi-agency intelligence teams in provinces throughout the country to prevent further terrorist attacks, a move some fear could revive the repressive Soeharto-era measures against freedom of expression.

Indonesian prosecutors' bid to link cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to Jemaah Islamiyah took a step forward when a confessed senior member of the extremist group identified the elderly preacher as its leader.

Two years ago, whilst West Papuan tribal leader and independence activist, Benny Wenda, was being tortured in an Indonesian prison cell, Oxford MP Andrew Smith was sitting at the Cabinet table in 10, Downing Street with Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as the Labour Government's then Secretary of State for Work & Pensions.

Tony Hotland and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Newly elected Golkar Party leader Vice President Jusuf Kalla strongly signalled Golkar was out of the National Coalition on Monday by saying there was no such permanent bloc in the House.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Those attending the Cabinet meeting on Monday were all smiles, particularly Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Showing no signs of fatigue, Kalla was indeed the man of the moment as all Cabinet members present, including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, took turns in congratulating him on his successful bid for the Golkar Party's top post.

Fabio Scarpello, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono may be smiling after his deputy won the leadership of the powerful Golkar Party at the end of a dramatic four-day national congress that ended in the resort island of Bali on Sunday. But many wonder how long the president's joy will last.

As if sitting on a volcano, the residents who live along Jl. Matraman have to be ready for an outbreak of fighting to erupt at any time.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia and its former province East Timor are set to reject an idea to establish a commission of experts to review the judicial processes of human rights abuse cases involving Indonesian military and police officers during a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan this week, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in Jakarta.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Some 14 former Central Java legislative council members, declared suspects in a Rp 14.8 billion (US$1.6 million) scam, have promised to pay back their ill-gotten gains, prosecutors said on Monday.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Several Tangerang regency councillors have handed their letters of appointment over to pawnshops or banks as collateral for loans.

Banda Aceh – The Aceh police ethics commission dishonorably discharged on Monday two police officers in Aceh who were found guilty in two separate cases, one for burglary and the other for drug abuse.

First. Brig. Abu Rimansyah, 22, was fired for stealing a motorcycle, while his fellow police officer First. Insp. Khairuddin, 48, was fired for taking illegal narcotics.

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – A policeman has been detained for his alleged role in spreading terror in Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, which recently saw renewed attacks on the Christian community.

Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Aryanto Sutadi confirmed on Monday the detention of Second Brig. Efendi at the provincial headquarters following the recent violence.

Salim Osman, Nusa Dua (Bali) – Vice-president Jusuf Kalla, 62, was a picture of confidence when he walked up the stage at the Westin Convention hall here on Sunday to deliver his victory speech.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – He outlasted a regime, turned around a backlash against his Golkar party and escaped a damning graft conviction. But time is running out for the ultimate political survivor, Mr Akbar Tandjung.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court will soon rule on the validity of the current oil and gas law, but industry executives are gravely concerned that an annulment could mean a new wave of uncertainty and put billions of dollars worth of contracts at risk.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Dailami, 31, could not hide the sadness on his face during the conclusion of the third phase of the rehabilitation program for former Aceh Freedom Movement (GAM) members.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Environmentalists have renewed calls for the government to completely ban submarine tailings disposal (STD) in the country, for fear of further pollution, such as that blamed on mining firm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in Buyat Bay.

Jakarta/Brussels – A new internal security strategy for Indonesia could strengthen the democratisation process, ease institutional rivalries, reduce wasteful duplication of effort, and aid in conflict management and prevention.

Salim Osman, Nusa Dua (Bali) – A night of high drama capped a week of lobbying and manoeuvring for the coveted post of chairing Indonesia's largest political party.

Surabaya – At least 2,742 illegal migrant workers, who were granted amnesty by the Malaysian government, arrived at Tanjung Perak Port here on Sunday from the neighboring country aboard a Navy ship, KRI Nusa Nive.

"We expect 30,000 other illegals from East Java, who are still in Malaysia, will follow," East Java manpower office head Mohammad Djailani said.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Puncak – State pension fund and workplace insurer PT Jamsostek vowed on Sunday to allocate part of its profit this year to improve workers' welfare in the next.

Jamsostek president Achmad Djunaidi said the company was expected to book a profit of about Rp 3 trillion (US$340) this year.

Ramidi, Jakarta – Around 100 demonstrators from the People's Democratic Party (PRD) held a demonstration in front of the State Palace on Jalan Medan Merdeka Barat on Monday December 20. The action which began at 11am was protesting proposed fuel price increases which they consider will burden ordinary people.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua, Bali – Newly elected Golkar party leader Jusuf Kalla announced on Sunday the lineup of the central executive board, consisting of big names who had supported him in gaining the party's top post.

Jakarta – The election of Vice President Jusuf Kalla as the new leader of the Golkar Party has raised concerns of first, a rubber stamp legislature, and later a battle of two potential foes.

Experts and politicians warned that Kalla's win may undercut the ideals and authority of directly elected President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as time goes on.

Kornelius Purba and M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua/Bali – The failure of Akbar Tandjung to retain his leadership of the country's largest party, Golkar, on Sunday morning, made him the last of four people publicly regarded as leaders who became "victims" of the nation's early taste of democracy following the departure of strongman Soeharto.

Indonesia's ex-dictator Suharto, who has escaped trial on charges of massive graft because he is too ill to follow proceedings, still monitors political developments in the country.

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia needs to double the size of its police force and give the military a clearer role if it hopes to cope with a multitude of security threats from terrorists to ethnic conflict, a report said on Monday.

Indonesia's vice president has been chosen as the leader of the powerful Golkar party, an outcome that could boost support for the country's new government but divide its largest political group.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The Indonesian Military (TNI) has dishonorably discharged eight soldiers for insubordination during their tour of duty in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – At least 23 people had starved to death in the remote Papuan highlands after fleeing a massive Indonesian military operation, church leaders claimed last night.

They pleaded for urgent action to end a crisis which began when the military stepped up its hunt for leaders of separatist rebel group, the Free Papua Movement or OPM.

Yogyakarta – About 2,000 people from a range of Islamic organizations in the province staged a protest here on Friday against gambling after the police chief let a suspected gambling operator go free.

Samarinda – Tensions remained high in Samarinda city on Friday – ith police maintaining a strong public presence after major protests earlier against the appointment of an acting regent for Kutai Kertanegara.

How many times a day do we gripe about traffic in the capital? Despite our protestations and grumblings, most Jakartans despair in silence without ever making their grievances heard.

"Its a fact of life," we tell ourselves. "There's nothing we can do about it," we convince ourselves.

Evi Mariani and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Sixteen years from now, driving in Jakarta will be at a running pace of 10 kilometers per hour (kph) as revealed in a recent study conducted by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Dili – East Timor's Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) indicted 14 people Friday for war crimes committed in 1999, in what the joint Dili-United Nations body said would be its last indictments before winding up its investigations.

Salim Osman, Nusa Dua (Bali) – Disgruntled elements opposed to Vice-President Jusuf Kalla's anti-corruption stance or his decision to stand for Golkar's top post could be involved in the case of suspected arsenic poisoning, his aides said.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Government officials are accustomed to gift giving and will not easily give it up, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) was recently told.

Jakarta Chamber of Commerce's deputy chairman for organization and industry, Fatahillah Dachlan, said businesspeople were becoming "more creative" in giving gratuities.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Everyone is deeply concerned about the poor human development index (HDI), drug abuse and the increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDS among school-aged children in the country, yet there is no institution tasked to lead a nationwide campaign to defuse the problems.

East Timor's cabinet has passed a landmark petroleum law that will open the door to foreign firms seeking oil and gas exploration licences and create millions of dollars in revenue for the impoverished nation.

Yogyakarta – Twenty-one percent out of a total of 2.5 million people in Yogyakarta are effectively unemployed, the province's Manpower and Transmigration Office says.

Office head Diat Minatu said 100,000 out of the 600,000 people had no sources of income at all, while the remaining 500,000 survived by doing odd jobs for parents or relatives.

Hasrul, Kendari – Daeng Embang stared in despair at his dying orchard when a team of government officials and environmental activists stopped by his house on their way to monitor activities at a quarrying site in the area.

Palu – Fish catches in the Palu Gulf had dropped dramatically during the past two years because of sand dredging in the area, fishermen said on Thursday.

Indonesia after Soeharto is full of surprises. Almost daily we are greeted by more surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant. We woke up on Thursday to yet another surprise, this one supplied by the Constitutional Court: it had annulled Electricity Law No. 20/2002.

Bandung – West Java Governor Danny Setiawan rejected on Thursday workers' demand for a repeal of the governor's decree on the minimum wage.

Danny said the decree had been agreed by all parties concerned, including workers' representatives.

Indonesian prosecutors' bid to link a radical Muslim cleric to bomb attacks suffered another setback when a key witness withdrew a confession tying the militant to a regional extremist group.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Thousands of West Java factory workers, grouped under the National Workers Union (SPN), staged a five hour protest on Wednesday outside the West Java governor's office, demanding that the governor raise the minimum wage in the province.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court annulled on Wednesday Electricity Law No. 20/2002, ruling that it was against the nation's Constitution for opening the door to full competition in the electricity business. It was the first law to be annulled by the powerful court since its establishment last year.

Kornelius Purba and M. Taufiqurrahman, Nusa Dua/Bali – This week's Golkar Party congress will feature rich, deceptive and powerful people bidding to win the chairmanship of the party, which controls the most seats in the House of Representatives.