Former foreign minister Ali Alatas talked to The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba about his views on Aceh. Now the advisor to President Megawati Soekarnoputri, he pointed out that Indonesia should not repeat the mistakes it made in East Timor, especially in regards human rights issues, in resolving the Aceh problem. The following is an excerpt from the interview:

Tony Sitathan, Jakarta – When a troubled commercial bank in Indonesia needed to improve its standing with the public and the business community, it turned to Landor Associates, considered one of the world's foremost authority in image building and branding.

Alexander Irwan – Last year, the Partnership for Governance Reform in Indonesia published a study entitled "The Poor Speak Out: 17 Corruption Cases", which covered several poor communities in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Makassar.

Herbert Docena, Jakarta – Organisers of the "Iraq and the Global Peace Movement: What Next?" conference, which will be held here on May 19-21, expect attendance by as many as 200 delegates from the broad anti-war coalitions that have emerged in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Marianne Kearney – When members of East Kalimantan's timber mafia, or cukong, need some illegally logged timber smuggled through the province's forests and rivers, they usually contact Pemuda Pancasila, or another group of well-connected thugs for hire.

Lesley McCulloch, Melbourne – Extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture, rape and the targeted harassment of human-rights defenders. This was life in Aceh five years ago; it is also life in Aceh today.

Canberra – Aid funding will increase but assistance for East Timor will be slashed under the Budget released tonight. In a sign of the government's continuing use of aid to help fight terrorism, much of the increase has been tied to the efforts of neighbouring countries to improve their governance and policing systems.

The first trial of a Bali bombing suspect began in the Indonesian resort island amid a huge security clampdown.

Jakarta – Acehnese scrambled to store basic commodities on Sunday, one day before the deadline for separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to abandon its demand for independence and disarm – two non-negotiable prerequisites for peace talks to resume.

Australia and the US reasonably expect their ally to deliver justice for victims of atrocities.

Joe Cochrane – When Indonesia and Australia agreed in 1989 to jointly exploit East Timor's offshore oil and gas fields, the countries' foreign ministers sealed the pact by sipping champagne in a private jet high above the Timor Sea.

Richard Bingley – Soon after Labour came to power in 1997, its approach to arms sales to Indonesia became the litmus test for the new ethical dimension to foreign policy expounded by a former anti-arms campaigner himself, the incoming foreign secretary Robin Cook.

Antony Barnett – The Observer Tomorrow is make-or-break day in one of South-East Asia's bloodiest conflicts. Last week more than 2,000 Indonesian government troops sailed from the Javanese port of Surabaya to reinforce a 26,000-strong force already in the province of Aceh, where a 26-year struggle for independence has already led to the deaths of more than 10,000 people.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has found financial irregularities worth about Rp 820 billion (US$97.62 million) in the selected city administration offices and city-owned companies (BUMD), but the City Audit Agency (Bawasda) seems to be taking the news lightly.

Jakarta – The speaker of the Bogor municipal council has admitted to receiving Rp 1.59 billion of taxpayer money in late February from Mayor Iswara Natanegara and distributed the money to council members – Rp 30 million each.

Richel Langit, Jakarta – The harmonious relations developed before and during the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies seem destined to be short-lived for Muslims and Christians in Indonesia, the world's biggest predominantly Muslim country.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – Some of the most contentious issues across Indonesia involve ngebor, drilling. In the far eastern province of Papua, the division of the wealth from gold mining and mitigating the ecological impacts of extraction figure prominently in the province's movement for independence.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – The business sector has demanded that the government continue working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) through a post-program monitoring system, saying the fund's presence is still crucial to maintain international confidence in the country.

Jakarta – Twenty companies in the Tangerang municipality have stopped operations due to the slow business over the past few years, causing 36,108 people to lose their jobs, an official said.

Just five months after the Indonesian Government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) concluded a momentous accord on the Cessation of Hostilities (COHA) on 9 December 2002, which was enthusiatically welcomed by the Acehnese people, the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) have started preparations for a major military offensive in Aceh aimed at crushing GAM.

Prangtip Daorueng, Jakarta – As Aceh's peace effort lurches toward a possible collapse, fear has taken over the persistent, if increasingly uncertain, hope that many from that restive Indonesian province had over recent months.

Banda Aceh – The United States, the European Union and Japan yesterday issued a joint statement urging Indonesia not to launch a military operation in Aceh province.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – Trouble has been brewing in Papua, located at the other extreme of the Indonesian archipelago from Aceh where war with separatist rebels is imminent, but a US-based organization believes that the government in Jakarta could reduce tension in Papua, and use it as a model for conflict prevention in other regions.

Indonesian police have arrested four rebel members of a joint committee established to monitor a ceasefire in the province of Aceh.

The four members represented the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the Joint Security Committee. The committee was set up to monitor the December 9 peace deal between the GAM and the Indonesian government.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Seven navy vessels carrying some 3,000 marines sailed for troubled Aceh on Thursday, even as officials said there was time to talk with rebels and that the government would consult parliament on plans for the province.

[Indonesia's special forces have tarnished that country's human-rights record. Yet, they weren't always maligned, writes John McBeth KOPASSUS: Inside Indonesia's Special Forces, by Ken Conboy. Equinox Publishing. $14.99]

Marian Wilkinson, Washington – A group of United States senators has called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri of Indonesia to make the investigation into the killing of two Americans and the wounding of eight others near the Freeport mine in West Papua "a national priority".

Australian Parliamentarians have been told that Indonesia's troubled province of Papua is the most likely future cause of problems between Jakarta and Canberra. A group of experts has also told the MPs and Senators that the hardline tactics of the Indonesian military have made it impossible for Papuan moderates to cooperate with Indonesia.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Three tycoons, two former generals, a revered Javanese sultan and an icon for religious tolerance – these are some of the men whose names are in circulation for the coveted post of the presidential nominee for Golkar, Indonesia's second-largest political party.

Susan Austin, Jakarta – About 10,000 people marched on May 1 in a colourful display of opposition to the anti-worker policies of the Indonesian government. Organised by the May Day Action Committee, the demonstration drew together contingents from many unions.

Oscar Jukes, Darwin – East Timor's parliament is discussing a new law that would allow the interior ministry to deport any foreigner who engages in political activity or even attends a political meeting or demonstration.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Papua Police named an alleged commander of the separatist Free Papua Movement (OPM) as a key suspect in last month's armed robbery at the Wamena military district arsenal which left three men dead and dozens of rifles missing.

Max Lane – Following a meeting of the Indonesian cabinet security committee on April 28, security minister Susilo Bambang Yudotomo announced that Jakarta may consider resuming "security operations" and abandon peace negotiations in Aceh.

That Papua is one of the poorest provinces in Indonesia is beyond dispute, but what is less known to date is the deep disparity that exists there.

Grave human rights abuses including the killing of children and other civilians are already being reported in Indonesia's Aceh province, Amnesty International says.

A major military offensive aimed at crushing the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) entered its second week today in the province, which has been placed under martial law.

Separatist rebels in Aceh have accused the Indonesian government of violating an already fragile peace agreement by strengthening its troops in the province.

Sonya De Masi – Indonesia has a growing drug problem. Some research suggests there are up to a million intravenous drug users and the numbers are increasing daily. Now under a bilateral agreement between the Australian and Indonesian governments, a training program is underway towards the development of a national action plan.

Why has the government information campaign basically failed in Papua? The answers may have to do as much with the low penetration of the media among the Papuan people as with the message itself.

Endy M. Bayuni – Anyone wondering why many Papuans are bent on seeking independence should read a newly published public opinion survey, which finds the province mired in poverty and inequality resulting from neglect and, to some extent, exploitation.

Michael Perry, Sydney – Tens of thousands of Papuans who fled Indonesia into neighbouring Papua New Guinea fearing abuse by the military have become a forgotten people, living in a stateless limbo for two decades, according to a new report.

Banda Aceh – Police said on Monday they found three bombs allegedly planted by separatist rebels on a road often used by police patrols, AFP reported.

Jakarta – Some 50 Acehnese leaders are attempting to salvage the fragile peace in the province as the government deadline for Acehnese rebels to accept special autonomy and disarm draws near.

Leo Wahyudi S. – Thousands of workers staged rallies to mark International Labor Day on May 1 in an attempt to voice their rights, which they said were often overlooked by employers.

While President Megawati Sukarnoputri keeps silent in the choice of her running mate in the 2004 direct presidential election, her husband Taufik Kiemas has taken a provocative stand by signaling the readiness of the Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to join forces with Golkar, the political vehicle of former dictator Suharto.

Indonesian prosecutors will bring subversion charges against 129 separatist supporters arrested in Maluku province, a police officer said.

Maluku head of detectives Chief Commissioner Usman Nasution said Monday the suspects will be charged with plotting against the state, a charge carrying up to 20 years in jail.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Despite having opposed the United States' invasion of Iraq, Indonesia will probably not be among those countries that suffer trade punishment by the US, analysts here believe.

Patrick McLoughlin, Stockholm – Sweden on Sunday rejected suggestions that the Stockholm-based leader of the separatist rebels for the Indonesian province of Aceh be expelled from the country to face trial in Indonesia.

Pelambang – People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) chairman Amien Rais has said that it would be "useless" to continue depending on the Swiss-based Henry Dunant Center (HDC) in finding a peaceful solution to the prolonged armed conflict in Aceh.

A mob has attacked and ransacked a police post in Indonesia. The incident happened in Palimanan, in West Java, a day after a policeman allegedly shot dead a bus driver following a traffic accident. The company's bus drivers went on strike today to protest the shooting.

Tony Stephens – Teresinha Maia's grandfather, Loloulo, helped Australian commandos fight the Japanese in Timor during World War II. Believing he had saved their lives, the Australians gave him a slouch hat. Loloulo wore it for years. It rests now in what Mrs Maia calls a holy place in East Timor.