Max Lane, Jakarta – While Indonesian police investigations, conducted in cooperation with Australian, US, British and other police forces, continue into the October 12 Bali bombings, the policy responses to the bombing by President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government have created a storm of debate.

Salim Osman – The leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation backs tough government measures to tackle terrorism and radicalism, saying it was in the country's interests to clamp down on them.

Debbie A. Lubis and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Activists urged the House of Representatives on Tuesday to reject government regulations in lieu of laws on terrorism and instead amend the Criminal Code in a bid to provide a stronger legal basis to fight terrorism.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – He didn't wear sack cloth, but Timorese President Xanana Gusmao sent a clear message on austerity when he unveiled a burnt-out building as his new headquarters yesterday, dubbing it the "Palace of Ashes".

Richel Langit, Jakarta – Indonesia's war on terrorism is drawing the country's powerful military back on to the political stage, threatening to put an end to political reforms and progress toward fuller democracy.

Nani Farida, Langsa, East Aceh – The Human Rights Forum (PB HAM) deplored on Monday the continued violence against civilians, especially teachers, in war-ravaged Aceh on the eve of the Indonesia-Free Aceh Movement (GAM) peace talks scheduled for October 31, 2002.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The planned dialog between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group has been postponed, but Jakarta expects a new peace deal could be approved before the Ramadhan fasting month begins next week.

Being appointed coordinator of all intelligence activities in the days after the Bali bombing, head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Hendropriyono, has found himself at war not only with terrorism but also the police.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Defense and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected on Monday rumors of two generals being involved in the bomb blasts in the tourist destination of Bali two weeks ago.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Hundreds of people from West Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta visited the city council on Monday, demanding the city administration to reconsider an eviction order from the houses and land they have been squatting upon.

A new grouping of trade unions from state-owned enterprises and student groups linked to former ruling party Golkar are planning to use the planned sale of sale of telecommunications giant Indosat as a class action "test case" in their attempts to thwart the government's privatization program.

Leo Wahyudi S – The city administration, employers and labor unions agreed last Monday to raise the provincial minimum wage by 7 percent, from Rp 590,000 to Rp 631,000, starting next January. Workers gave The Jakarta Post various responses to the issue. Bambang, 31, is a quality control staff member at an Australian-owned company in Tangerang.

The Anti-Terrorism Decree enacted by President Megawati Sukarnoputri on 18 October, in the wake of the Bali bombing outrage that killed over 180 people, represents a grave threat to basic rights in Indonesia, says Tapol, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timor's President Jose "Xanana" Gusmao has repeated his opposition to trials for Indonesian officers accused of human rights violations in Dili, a stand supported by his Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – Six Indonesians were wounded when a homemade bomb exploded at a traditional market in an East Timorese town near the border with East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), the military here said on Saturday.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – In observance of the Youth Pledge Day on October 28, some activists were saddened that nationalism in the country had fallen to one of its lowest levels ever due to numerous conflicts, violence and terrorist issues threatening the country's survival as a nation state.

Tiarma Siboro and I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – The tedious investigation into the bomb attack on Bali has resulted in another bizarre twist following reports that linked the blast with two generals, one from the military and one from the police, who mysteriously visited the island on the day of the carnage and left the next day.

Devi Asmarani, Solo – An Osama bin Laden picture adorns the wall calendar at the infirmary of the Al-Mukmin Pesantren, the Islamic boarding school which has acquired a reputation for being a militant breeding ground. It is a place where students and teachers alike profess their admiration for the man they call the Muslim "hero".

Jakarta – A gang of unidentified men raided the Jakarta office of the Institute for Human Rights Study and Advocacy for West Papua (Els-Ham Papua Barat), a Papuan human rights group that has accused the military of involvement in an ambush that killed two Americans, its coordinator said here on Monday.

Jakarta – The Aceh provincial administration is to introduce caning as punishment in the upcoming fasting month Ramadhan for Muslims who do not carry out their religious obligations.

Aceh Ulema Consultative Assembly (MPU) chairman Muslim Ibrahim said on Saturday that caning would be meted out on Muslims in Aceh who took lunch during the fasting month.

Nani Farida and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Nearly 2,000 Acehnese gathered and prayed on Sunday for peace, ahead of the next set of talks between the government and the Aceh Separatist Movement (GAM).

Don Greenlees – Agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Western diplomats believe Indonesian soldiers fabricated evidence after the August 31 shooting of two American and one Indonesian employee of the giant Freeport copper and gold mine in Papua.

Sidney Jones – In the aftermath of the 12 October bombing in Bali, Indonesians are convinced they have terrorists in their midst. They're just not sure who they are. Absurd, as it may seem, if talk shows and media commentaries are any indication, the most likely candidates in most Indonesians' minds are the US government and the Indonesian army. Al-Qaeda is a distant third.

Jakarta – Indonesian troops have shot dead six suspected rebels in Aceh a day after the government said it was ready to sign a truce with the province's separatist movement.

Apriadi Gunawan and Haidir Anwar Tanjung, Medan/Pekanbaru – A joint police-military team from Asahan, North Sumatra, killed two suspected rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and arrested four others in the waters off Asahan on Friday.

Ellen Nakashima and Alan Sipress, Jakarta – Police have told senior Indonesian military officials they believe Indonesian soldiers were responsible for the August 31 ambush near a copper and gold mine in Papua province that killed two Americans and an Indonesian, according to a senior military officer and a high-ranking intelligence officer.

Australia, with a nod from Washington, is rebuilding its relationship with Indonesia's military. Michael Millett, Marion Wilkinson and Matthew Moore look at the realpolitik behind the moves.

[A group of Indonesian journalist today said the Australian Government is incorrect in thinking Abu Bakar Bashir was the man responsible for the Kuta Beach bombings. The journalists say the Government has no proof to support these claims.]

Transcript:

Sonny Inbaraj, Melbourne (Inter Press Service) – Australia's move to restore links with Indonesia's feared special forces after the October 12 bombings in Bali is risky and short-sighted, say activists and analysts.

Darren Goodsir, Kuta – Investigators hunting the Bali bombers have unearthed credible links between the Kuta explosions, the closure last month of the Australian embassy in East Timor in a terrorist alert and the arrest of Jemaah Islamiah followers in Singapore in August over an alleged plot to attack key western targets.

Tony Sitathan – The recent bomb blasts in Bali have created what some experts describe as a "terrorism risk premium" not just to Indonesia but to all of Southeast Asia. Many economists warn of capital flight and low foreign investment.

Lisbon – The World Bank is studying, with a view to financing, a Portuguese publishing firm's proposal to produce 50,000 school books for use in East Timor's education system.

Banda Aceh – Some ten unidentified gunmen shot dead a middle-aged couple identified as Hasan Basri, 50, and his wife Rosmawati, 45, at their home in the Idi Rayeuk area of East Aceh district on Tuesday, the provincial military spokesman Major Zaenal Mutaqin confirmed here on Thursday.

Jakarta – Suspected gross human rights violator in East Timor, Eurico Guterres, said he had felt neither guilt nor sorrow over what he did in the region before it separated as an independent country.

Damon Kingsbury – Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill has said that in a bid to counter terrorism, Australia will restore its links with the Indonesian army's special forces, Kopassus, and strengthen intelligence links with the country.

This decision was disturbingly predictable and very short-sighted.

Matthew Moore, Mike Seccombe and Marian Wilkinson – The Indonesian Government has flatly rejected a suggestion by Australia's Defence Minister, Robert Hill, that Australian troops could pursue terrorist organisations in Indonesia.

Kuta – Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz yesterday paid his first visit to the scene of the devastating Bali bombing and said the attackers aimed to break up the country and wreck its economy.

East Timor's Foreign Minister Jose Ramos Horta says his country is ready to ratify the Timor Sea Treaty and the Australian Government will owe his people an explanation if it decides to delay proceedings.

"Resuming military ties with Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces is not the answer to terrorism", said Max Lane, chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP).

John Pilger – What passing bells for these who die as cattle?" wrote the great First World War poet Wilfred Owen. His famous line might have been written for those who perish in today's secret wars and terrorist outrages.

[There are fears that the Indonesia is facing a period of increasing instability with worrying signs of tensions on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.

Nani Farida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Abdullah Puteh said on Wednesday that the recommencement of a dialog between the government and the Free Aceh Movement would take place in Geneva on October 31 or November 1, with the Henry Dunant Center (HDC) mediating the peace talks.

Jakarta/Brussels – Widespread criticism of President Megawati's performance following the 12 October attacks in Bali means she is no longer a virtual certainty for re-election in 2004 but other political and security consequences remain question marks.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Dozens of street vendors who had been evicted from Pulogadung bus terminal in East Jakarta visited the City Council on Wednesday, asking for the legislators' help to force the city administration to allow them start trading again.

Jakarta – The fate of two demonstrators charged with insulting the President and Vice President by stomping on their pictures during a protest, is expected to be announced by the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday.

I. Overview

Nearly two weeks after the Bali bombings, Indonesia is still in a state of shock, and it is difficult to assess the longer-term impact with any accuracy. This preliminary analysis suggests that:

Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – Cracks in the wall the Golkar Party has built up around its embattled leader Akbar Tanjung are becoming increasingly evident, as support from party legislators for the demanded suspension of the convicted House of Representatives speaker gains momentum.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – A tripartite wage committee consisting of the city administration, employers and worker unions agreed on Monday to increase Jakarta's provincial minimum wage (UMP) by almost seven percent beginning in January, a senior businessman said on Tuesday.

[Made Pastika, the Indonesian police investigator mentioned by Robert Gelbard in our recent interview, is considered one of the best in the country. Until last week, he was focused on another terror attack. Two months ago, three teachers, two of them American, were gunned down in West Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province.

Max Lane, Jakarta – As of October 18, the Indonesian police investigating the terrorist bombing of the Sari night club on October 12 – which killed nearly 200 foreign tourists and Indonesian workers – have not announced any clear leads as to who carried out the attack.