Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – Nine out of 12 corruption suspects from West Nusa Tenggara legislative council were arrested on Tuesday for their involvement in a case involving Rp 24 billion in losses.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandarlampung – Karti is worried. It has been almost a month since the government raised fuel prices, but she still has not heard when, or if, her two children, a sixth grader and a third grader, will get their school fees paid for, as promised.

Eva C. Komandjaja and Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Police investigators said on Monday that Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, the only suspect so far in the murder of human rights activist Munir, was not the main executor, but "facilitated" the murder to happen.

The Indonesian army will set up 22 new territorial commands in the next five years, from 2005-2009, said army chief of staff Lt General Djoko Santoso, in a meeting with Parliament's Commission I.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Two retired military generals stated on Monday they had played no part in alleged corruption in the procurement of a total of 100 British Scorpion tanks in the 1990s.

Greg Poulgrain – The Indonesian military is planning to increase troop numbers in restive Papua province by an additional 15,000 personnel from Kostrad, the Strategic Reserve Command.

Kostrad Commander Lieutenant-General Hadi Waluyo announced the increase last Wednesday.

Lisbon – Foreign Minister Diogo Freitas do Amaral says Lisbon's new Socialist government intends to increase its cooperation with Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor, while simultaneously seeking a more dynamic role within the European Union.

The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has asked the President to approve the establishment of a truth and reconciliation commission. Based on a law enacted by the House of Representatives last year, the deadline for the setting up of this 21-member Truth and Reconciliation Commission is next month.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Liberal Muslim scholars here welcomed on Monday the news of a woman leading a mixed-gender Friday prayer service in New York last week. They were not convinced, however, that a woman could ever lead an Islamic prayer service here.

Jakarta – Indonesia is hoping the Experts Commission the UN has set up to reinvestigate the 1999 human rights violation cases in Timor Leste will not need to carry out its mandate or come to Indonesia because Indonesia and Timor Leste already have set up a Truth and Friendship Commission to deal with the matter, Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono said here on Tuesday.

Jakarta – A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Monday urged the government to start deliberating the draft law on witness protection and to set up a special agency to protect witnesses.

Danang Widoyoko of Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) said that the witness protection law was crucial in helping to curb rampant corruption.

Jakarta – Dozens of residents of Kebon Kacang sub-district in Central Jakarta protested on Monday a road elevation project in the area, fearing that it would only worsen floods there.

The owner of Plaza Indonesia is currently raising the surface of Jl. Kebon Kacang 30 by one meter, making it higher than the foundations of houses in the area.

Jakarta – Paul Wolfowitz' candidacy for World Bank president has triggered criticism from rights activists in Indonesia, where he served as US ambassador during Suharto's dictatorship but never spoke out publicly against the regime's violent abuses or endemic corruption.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – The gigantic and pungent Titan Arum or Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanum), which can reach up to three and a half meters in height, is slowly disappearing from its native Sumatra rain forests and increasingly blooming in foreign places.

An Indonesian plan to build two full-size nuclear reactors has outraged green groups and surprised analysts, who warned it would be a disaster-in-waiting for the volcanic island chain that is plagued by earthquakes and terrorism.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – The unprecedented direct presidential and legislative elections last year were widely praised as free and fair.

One of the organizations that contributed a great deal to the successful elections was the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES).

Jakarta – A faction in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), calling itself the Reform Group, has suggested the upcoming party congress form a presidium to provide transitional leadership as the party moves away from current leader Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Kupang – The Government of East Timor still did not have enough funds to reimburse the Indonesian government, state owned enterprises, and private Indonesian citizens for assets left behind in East Timor, following the 1999 ballot on independence.

Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – As Indonesia embarks on a massive effort to rebuild swaths of Aceh province wiped out by the Dec. 26 tsunami, government officials say coordination is being complicated by foreign agencies' focus on shielding their aid from corruption.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Dutch government has agreed to hand over to Indonesian authorities much awaited information and evidence in the poisoning death of rights campaigner Munir.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – The majority of 277 animal conservation areas across the country are left unprotected, threatening the sustainability of animals here, a noted ornithologist warns.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Army plans to set up a new division of elite troops and station it in the country's westernmost province of Papua, where rebel groups have been fighting a low intensity guerrilla war for the independence of the mineral-rich region for decades.

Jakarta – Activists assisting victims of last year's police shooting in Manggarai regency on Flores island have criticized the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) for "not being serious" about the case.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – House faction leaders ignored an invitation from the government to discuss the fuel price increases on Friday night, saying they were preparing for a plenary session on Monday to discuss the controversial policy.

Kalinga Seneviratne, Jakarta – From Medan to Jakarta, Yogakarta, Surabaya, Solo and Batam, all across this vast archipelago Indonesian konfrontasi, or confrontation volunteer militias, are undergoing martial-arts training to attack what they call "arrogant Malaysia".

The establishment of a Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) by the Indonesian and East Timorese governments has been severely criticised by a group of non-governmental organisations in East Timor and Indonesia.

They see this as a hasty move and suspect that it is the result of political deals struck between the two states.

Dili – "Lia Foun", East Timor's first fully bilingual newspaper, hit the streets Friday, with the weekly's director forecasting it will underline the importance of Portuguese to the country's cultural identity.

Indonesia has backed down on a threat to expel foreign aid workers from Aceh, granting them a two-month extension to continue relief efforts.

Aguswandi, London – It is almost impossible to imagine what the lives of tsunami survivors is like. Not only have they lost many members of their families and all their worldly goods, but they will have to try and rebuild a life in an ongoing conflict area that is little more than a man-made disaster.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A former top official of the defunct Election Supervisory Commission (Panwaslu) said the central government should delay the country's first direct elections for local government officials because most regions still did not have election supervisory commissions.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government's plan to rehabilitate the civil and legal rights of past former political prisoners is expected to finally end all forms of discrimination against them and their families.

[The following is an abridged translation of a selection of articles from Detik.com which were posted on its web site between March 15-18. Demonstrations have continued almost daily throughout the country after the government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla (SBY-Kalla) announced the decision cut fuel (BBM) subsides on March 1.]

Those acquainted with politics looked on in amusement. The majority of those who had held their representatives in something like reverence stared in bemusement.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The government is planning to revoke the visa-free service currently given to a handful of countries and regions outside the Association of the Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN), in addition to providing the visa-on-arrival for 16 new countries and extending the maximum stay period.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Following the recent fuel price increase, the country's fuel consumption has declined by 16 percent compared to the previous month.

State oil and gas company Pertamina said in a statement on Wednesday that fuel consumption this month averaged 158,000 kiloliters per day, compared to last month's 189,700 kiloliters per day.

Samarinda, East Kalimantan – Though East Kalimantan is rich in natural resources, many of the schools in the province have fallen into disrepair from neglect.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has urged the government to set up mechanisms to control the conduct of police amid a rising trend of human rights violations by law enforcers in various parts of the country.

Bob Burton, Canberra – The Australian government has been accused of hypocrisy in its attempt to draw maritime boundaries with its neighbors. While setting a mid-point boundary with New Zealand, after ratifying a treaty, Canberra has refused to adopt the same standard with East Timor, which lays claim to rich oil and gas deposits beneath the Timor Sea.

Tony Hotland and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – A brawl among legislators ended the second day of the House of Representatives plenary session to discuss the government's fuel hike policy, leaving the public disgusted by the immaturity of their representatives.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The food and beverage allowance for the West Java governor and deputy governor for fiscal year 2005 has been increased by more than 60 percent to Rp 1.138 billion (US$126,450).

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Provincial election commissions (KPUD) are facing a number of problems, including a lack of clear guidelines, in organizing the country's first direct elections for local government chief executives.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The House of Representatives questioned on Wednesday the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) in a closed-door meeting to determine what knowledge the agency had regarding the murder of prominent human rights activist Munir.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government has moved to restore the rights of and provide compensation for former political prisoners exiled on Buru Island in Maluku between 1969 and 1979.

Most were accused of having links to the outlawed Indonesian Communist Party (PKI).

Jakarta – National flag carriers Garuda Indonesia has fired its entire 13-member board, in a government move to improve the management of the carrier and its financial performance, a minister said.

The government, which owns Garuda, dismissed six commissioners and seven directors of the Jakarta-based airline on Tuesday, said State Minister of State Enterprises Sugiharto.

Police in Indonesia's tsunami-hit Aceh province will rejoin the military pursuit of separatists because the rebels have started regrouping.

Mulia – When Sofyan Mahdi needed crushed cars removed from his tsunami-devastated neighborhood last month, he called the United Nations, which quickly took care of the problem. By contrast, it took 10 trips to Indonesia's state utility to get electricity, and he is still waiting for local officials to fix the water system.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Rudy, a Banda Aceh resident, breathes a sigh of relief. He has just acquired a document that substitutes for his land title certificate that was lost as a result of the tsunami on Dec. 26 last year. For Rudy, the substitute land title certificate is very important, as it is all his family has left. The family's house was leveled by the disaster.

Brendan Nicholson – Indonesian troops in West Papua used resources earmarked for humanitarian aid and development in the province for an offensive against rebels of the Free Papua Movement, SBS's Dateline has claimed.

These days, most Australians are well and truly aware of the suffering that the people of East Timor went through before they finally gained their independence from Indonesia back in 1999. Much of the repression and violence in that conflict, of course, was attributed to militia groups formed and backed by the Indonesian military.

Sydney – A new report from Australia's aid watchdog AID/WATCH, 'International Response to the Indian Ocean Disaster. A Donor Analysis: Focus on Australia', finds that the $1 billion tsunami aid package from Australia is not as generous as most Australians had expected.

The report launched on the eve of the Indonesia-Australia summit finds: