Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Indonesian religious leaders rejected on Thursday a statement by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad describing a possible war on Iraq as a war against Islam, but called for a counterforce to balance the world's only superpower.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was handed over to prosecutors in Indonesia on Friday to face trial for treason, police said.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – A local newspaper officially reported to police the maltreatment of its photographer by police during a violent demonstration in Bandung, West Java, on Thursday, as dozens of fellow journalists marched to denounce the incident.

Martin Griffiths – On Sundays at the beach in Lampu near Banda Aceh, young couples stroll across the sand holding hands, laughing and flirting. Children frolic in the surf and sit on its foamy edge building sand castles. Families picnic. Games of football and volleyball seemingly break out spontaneously across the mile-long stretch of sand.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite strong criticism from various sides, the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto insisted that the military had no plans to review a bill that would give the TNI commander authority to deploy the armed forces in an emergency without the necessity of seeking approval from the president.

Nug Katjasungkana, Contributor, Dili – On Tuesday, the Dili-based Office of the Prosecutor General of Timor Leste issued an indictment of former military commander Gen. (ret) Wiranto and six other officers who served in East Timor, as well as former governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, of crimes against humanity.

John Martinkus, Jayapura – The border between the Indonesian province of Papua and Papua New Guinea has become a no-go area for Indonesian police and human rights workers, according to human rights and independence groups.

Martin Flanagan – Human rights advocate John Rumbiak fled Papua a year ago. Local police had warned him that his investigation into the assassination of Papuan independence leader Theys Eluay in November 2001 had put his life in danger.

The failure of Indonesia's rights tribunal to bow to international demands for the prosecution of the alleged perpetrators of human rights abuses in East Timor has prompted the indictment of several high-ranking officers, including former military chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, observers said.

Mark Dodd, Dili – In the laboratory of Cafi Cooperative Timor (CCT), senior adviser Alistair Laird, a "cupping" expert, is applying a final quality-control test to assess the fragrance, aroma and taste of a range of samples of East Timor's finest organic certified arabica coffee beans.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – A coalition of minor labor unions are determined to intensify their resistance to the bill on labor protection endorsed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, claiming that the new law favored the interests of employers and investors.

The international rights group Human Rights Watch called on Indonesia to turn over for trial its officials accused of organizing atrocities committed in East Timor in 1999.

In a statement released here, Human Rights Watch urged Jakarta to extradite the officials for trial in the East Timor capital Dili.

Danang Sangga Buwana, Jakarta – Just because they refused to withdraw a class action launched against Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri which was linked to prince increases to fuel, electricity and telephone charges, the offices of the People's Lawyers Union (Serikat Pengacara Rakyat, SPR) in South Jakarta, was attacked by a group of unknown assailants.

Don D'Cruz – When John Howard met recently with Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri he got an important assurance from her: that Indonesia does not regard Australia as anti-Islam. This was crucial in the light of the war against terrorism and possible conflict in the Gulf.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The Islam Defenders Front (FPI) is reactivating its feared paramilitary wing, with the same mission as before – fighting against immorality in its own way if necessary.

Iggy Kim, Sydney – The Indonesian government's decision to divide West Papua into three provinces is a further attack by Jakarta on the Papuan people's right to self-determination, West Papua Institute for Human Rights supervisor John Rumbiak told a February 20 forum organised by the Uniting Church and the Australia-West Papua Association.

Jill Jolliffe, Darwin and Tom Allard, Canberra – United Nations prosecutors have charged the former Indonesian defence chief General Wiranto with crimes against humanity for his role in the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 referendum on independence.

Five other officers have also been accused, along with ex-governor Abilio Osorio Soares.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) said on Tuesday it had found irregularities amounting to the value of Rp 456.3 trillion (about US$60 billion) in the use of state funds in 2001 and 2002, providing yet further evidence that efforts to stamp out graft and corruption have been fruitless.

Jakarta – A leading US newspaper, The Washington Post, on Tuesday said it had found "no substantiation" to one of its reports published last year that implicated senior Indonesian military officers in plans for an attack in Papua, AFP reported.

The paper printed a statement on an inside page, following a settlement with lawyers for the military in Jakarta.

Jakarta – A prime suspect in the Bali bombing will recant in court his confession implicating Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir in the blasts because it was made under police torture, the suspect's lawyer said yesterday.

Iggy Kim – The Indonesian government has again violated the December 10 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). The agreement was supposed to bring an end to violence in Aceh.

Indonesian authorities have arrested Acehnese civil rights activists and unleashed military raids into territory controlled by the Acehnese independence movement.

Jakarta – Aceh province will inaugurate its first Islamic sharia court on March 4 as part of the broad autonomy granted to curb separatist sentiment, AFP reported.

A group mediating a peace pact between the Indonesian government and separatists in Aceh province, plans to deploy 15 personnel to promote the peace accord there.

The personnel will shortly be deployed in eight districts to promote the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

Tiarma Siboro and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Two more military analysts have criticized the draft law on the military currently being prepared by the government, saying the bull, which gives more power to the military, could jeopardize democracy.

Dili – Some 200 East Timorese staged a rally in the new nation's capital Dili on Tuesday to demand compensation for their past services to former ruler Indonesia.

Jakarta – The United Nations on Tuesday indictedthe former armed forces chief Gen. (ret) Wiranto, along with six other senior generals and East Timor's ex-governor for crimes againsthumanity during the territory's bloody independence vote in 1999, AP reported.

Jakarta – Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Tuesday Indonesia would ignore UN indictments of former armed forces chief Gen.(ret) Wiranto along with six other generals for crimes against humanity during East Timor's bloody independence vote in 1999, AP reported.

"He is a free man ... Why take action?" Hassan said on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A controversial Bill, being drafted, is set to revive the supremacy of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) and even allow its commander to declare an emergency without first seeking the President's approval.

Many see it as a sign that the once-powerful military is capitalising on the frail and divided civilian leadership to make a comeback.

Jakarta – Choose a rank, the security force, shell out Rp 300,000 (S$59), and a well-known shop in Central Jakarta will outfit its customer with everything one needs to be a military or police officer. From the caps and shirt with all the trimmings, to trousers, belt, boots – everything is available for a fee.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – The Indonesian military has drafted a bill that would allow it to deploy troops anywhere in the country without having to inform the civilian government, sparking fears that it could be used to advantage by coup plotters.

Jakarta – In what could mark the country's first judicial review under the amended 1945 Constitution, six political parties, each with less than 2 percent of seats at the House of Representatives, plans to request that the Supreme Court review the new elections law, which had been described as "unfair".

Vice President Hamzah Haz urges his opponents not to resort to slander to destroy his political career. Meanwhile, labor rights activists clash with police; and President Megawati Sukarnoputri enjoys diplomatic duties.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Kuala Lumpur – President Megawati Soekarnoputri made her first address on the Iraq crisis when she spoke before the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit which opened on Monday, but she fell short of detailing initiatives to prevent war.

Jakarta – Hundreds of demonstrators from the People's Democratic Party (PRD) demonstrated on Monday against US plans to attack Iraq.

They began gathering at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout then moved off to the British Embassy where they held speeches for around 10 minutes then moved off to the United Nations offices.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – An employers association hailed on Monday the planned endorsement of the labor bill, but trade unions remained divided over the draft.

Djimanto of the Indonesian Employers Association said the final draft of the bill accommodated both employers and trade unions.

The United Nations Serious Crimes Unit has indicted General Wiranto, the former governor of East Timor, Abilio Soares and six other senior military officers, for murder and persecution in the lead-up to East Timor's independence in 1999. But with the Indonesian Government unlikely to hand any of the men over for trial, will justice ever be done?

Yemris Fointuna and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta/Kuala Lumpur – The military commander overseeing the West Timor province promised tighter security along its border with East Timor where one person died on Monday in an attack allegedly staged by pro Jakarta militia who crossed the border to West Timor.

Jakarta – Police used tear gas, water canons and sticks to disperse 1,000 protesters who attempted to storm the House of Representatives building before legislators approved a new labor bill, Elshinta radio reported.

Dili – East Timorese officials blamed anti-independence militias Tuesday for an attack that killed two people, injured four and heightened security fears in the world's newest nation.

A man aged 29 was killed on the spot in Monday's attack in the Maliana district bordering Indonesian West Timor. A 64-year-old man died in hospital Tuesday, his relatives said.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – An action by workers against the promulgation of a new labour law at the national parliament in Senayan, Jakarta, on Tuesday, ended in a clash. The demonstrators who tried to break down the gates, were repelled by water cannon.

Tangerang – Hundreds of workers of bag producer PT Tasindo in Carewet village of Cikupa district and security guard supplier for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport PT Tri Otomat Pratama Guard staged separate rallies on Monday, demanding severance pay.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military has withdrawn from Papua province a special forces unit, some of whose members are on trial for the murder of a pro-independence leader there.

Kanis Dursin, Jayapura – The decision to split up Papua into three provinces has eroded what little trust the Papuans had developed toward the government since the implementation of the special autonomy law on January 1, 2002.

Dili – Anti-independence militias have launched a "terrorist strategy" to undermine Timor Leste's government before the planned United Nations withdrawal from the country next year, a top UN peacekeeper said.

Jakarta – Lawyers for the Indonesian armed forces said Monday they have agreed to settle their dispute with the Washington Post over a report that implicated senior officers in plans for an attack in Papua province.

Robert Go, Jakarta – As war clouds loom nearer and the prospects for more mass demonstrations against a United States-led invasion against Iraq grow in Indonesia, at least one man is ready to capitalise on a money-making opportunity.

The separatist Free Aceh Movement in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh has accused government forces of several serious violations of the peace pact signed in December.

A Free Aceh Movement or GAM representative in the Joint Security Committee said that dozens of soldiers raided a base in Central Aceh district on Wednesday, killing one rebel and injuring five others.

Jakarta – The military on Monday denied accusations by the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) that troops had raided a rebel base in violation of a peace pact signed in December, AFP reported.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government has been preparing a controversial bill giving authority to the Indonesian military commander to deploy military personnel in an emergency without the approval of the president.

The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) released investment figures for the month of January late last week revealing a steep fall in foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals but an upsurge in domestic investment.