As Indonesia celebrates 58 years of independence, Four Corners looks at south-east Asia's most brutal and unrelenting conflict ... the Aceh civil war.

The Jakarta Transportation Office's plan to have all private vehicles undergo periodic road worthiness tests starting next year has evoked strong reactions from the public, and has become one of the hottest issues of debate in this capital city, Jakarta.

The idea came from Ground Transportation director general Iskandar Abubakar.

Former Udayana military chief Maj. Gen. Williem T. Da Costa and five other senior military officers were sworn in as new legislators to replace six others who have reached mandatory retirement age.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government appears to be undeterred by a recent massive demonstration in Bali against the new visa policy and vows to start charging incoming tourists from countries such as Japan and Australia with visa fees, starting October 1.

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – Indonesia's former armed forces chief and would-be president, General Wiranto, is all for reforms to make the country truly democratic and have a more professional military, but he believes this reformasi should be guided by the military itself.

Leo Wahyudi S. – A number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have condemned the recent evictions at Jembatan Besi, Tambora, West Jakarta, which left around 10,000 people homeless. They said that landowner PT Cakra Wira Bumi Mandala could have warned people about the planned eviction and taken more humane measures against the squatters.

Jakarta – The Defense Department through the Directorate General of Defense Strategy has admitted that one of the intentions in revising Law Number 15/2003 on Anti-Terrorism is to increase the powers of the intelligence agencies.

Matthew Moore, Solo – A man accused by two members of Jemaah Islamiah of being a member of the outlawed terrorist group's central command is living openly in central Java, where he says he often prays with local police on Fridays.

Indonesia's pesantren schools have been accused of breeding JI terrorists. Matthew Moore and Karuni Rompies talk to teachers and pupils and find deep suspicion of the West.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – State-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek and labor unions have strongly urged the House of Representatives to maintain the government's monopoly in running social security programs for workers, in its amendment of the social security law to allow private company participation.

Muridan S. Widjojo, Jakarta – The public has again apparently been taken by surprise by the popular uprising in Papua, this time in Timika. The clashes were triggered by the declaration of the Central Irian Jaya province by Jakarta elites.

Eugene Bingham – Indonesia's military, from the top brass down to regular soldiers and members of the militia, have gone unpunished for the massacres, assassinations and executions carried out in East Timor in 1999.

Papua/Jakarta – Police in Timika, Papua have detained as a suspect, a man identified only as LS and questioned seven others for alleged roles in bloody clashes over the controversial creation of Central Irian Jaya province last week.

Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – In the aftermath of the violent clashes between Papua citizens as a result of the creation of the new province of Central Irian Jaya, Papua students in Yogyakarta have called for the [decision to] divide up the province of Papua be immediately annulled.

Jakarta/Papua/Denpasar – Experts have finally begun to step up criticism of the government for violating its own laws on Papua, saying that it would only spark further legal uncertainty and become a divisive issue for the people, especially the residents of Papua.

Neles Tebay, Pontifical University of Urbaniana, Rome – The controversial plan to divide Papua into three provinces was delayed on the heels of the fatal clashes following the announcement of the Central Irian Jaya province in Timika.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The North Sumatra legislative council approved on Thursday a controversial bylaw on spatial planning for the province, which critics say fails to protect the interests of people and allows illegal loggers to denude protected forests.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – One of two packages exploded in the front yard of the residence of renowned human rights activist Munir on Jl. Cendana XII No. 12 in the Jaka Sampurna housing complex, South Bekasi.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The involvement of public order officers, policemen and military officers in the eviction of around 10,000 illegal occupants of private-owned land at Jembatan Besi area, Tambora, West Jakarta, has been protested by urban activists.

How should Australia respond to the growing terrorist threat in Indonesia? Unfortunately, if the knee-jerk reaction of many politicians and commentators is anything to go by, we should turn to the military as the only force in Indonesia capable of confronting terrorists.

The information disclosed by new media watchdog Aceh News Watch on Wednesday that most national newspapers and television stations had failed to practice the very basic media principles of impartiality and coverage of both sides in a conflict in their reportage of the war in Aceh surprises no one.

Nine suspected separatist rebels and two civilians have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province during the fourth month of an operation to crush the guerrillas, police and the military said.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – To rectify past mistakes when resolution of labor disputes could take years to complete, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea vowed on Thursday that the bill on industrial dispute settlement currently being deliberated by the House of Representatives would produce a speedy outcome.

Jakarta – The accusation that particular members of TNI [Indonesian armed forces] have committed rapes has surfaced again. This time it was raised by seven non-government organisation (NGOs) in making an evaluation of 100 days of the military emergency in Aceh which was presented to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Thursday (28/8).

As drought continues to grip much of Indonesia, it was little surprise to see agricultural policies in the news last week. Nor was it much surprise to see that one of the people making noise was the chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Association, Ir Siswono Yudohusodo.

Jakarta – Plans by a large number of foreign companies here to relocate their operations to other countries is an apparent reaction to their frustration over the slow progress by the government to improve the country's business climate.

At least three people have been killed and 45 injured in clashes between supporters and opponents of the setting up of Central Irian Jaya province in Timika since Saturday, when the province was formally established.

Kuching – Malaysia assured Jakarta on Thursday that it would not grant political asylum to people fleeing the restive Indonesian province of Aceh.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) voiced concern over Malaysia's stance after police detained almost 240 people, most of them from Aceh, outside its mission in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month.

John Aglionby – When Jakarta declared martial law in Aceh in May and launched it latest offensive to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels following the collapse of a five-month ceasefire, six months was deemed sufficient time to end the 27-year-long insurgency on the northern tip of Sumatra.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia took delivery of its first two Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets yesterday as officials declared that the arms embargo by the United States and its allies would drive them to search for alternative suppliers.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – A noted woman activist and legislator called on Wednesday for a specific revisions to Marriage Law No. 1/1974 in order to promote more equal relations between husband and wife.

Jakarta – Chief of the National Defence Force (TNI) General Endriartono Sutarto has said his side will not yet launch a military operation in anticipation of possible security disturbances by an armed separatist group in Papua.

Oyos Saroso HN, Lampung province – Many thousands of people from Lampung have been forced to start eating cassava as the drought continues its stranglehold over the impoverished province.

The Indonesian military reported 14 more deaths in war-torn Aceh province and said seven of them were villagers massacred by separatist rebels.

More than 20 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels shot dead the seven residents of Gunung Semelit village in Central Aceh on Tuesday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki on Thursday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – With more than 35,000 troops on the ground, Jakarta has only managed to incapacitate 35 percent of Aceh's 5,000-strong rebel force so far, more than three months after the joint operation was launched on May 19.

Kirsten E. Schulze – The military operation against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has entered the fourth month of what increasingly looks like an indeterminate period. Politicians have ruled out returning to negotiations in the near future. Indonesian Military (TNI) commanders on the ground and in Jakarta have stated that a year or more may be required to achieve their aims.

The Indonesian government has suspended plans to divide the province of Papua into three, after days of sustained street fighting. But Jakarta says it has not abandoned its plan to divide the resource-rich province, to improve administration. There are fears the real agenda is to undermine the long-running separatist movement.

Presenter/Interviewer: Sonya De Masi

Human rights groups say, since martial law was introduced in Indonesia's war ravaged province of Aceh in May, to crack down on the separatist Free Aceh Movement, schools have been burnt, tens of thousands of villagers displaced and many killed in the cross fire of a largely unreported war.

The death toll in several days of clashes in Indonesia's Papua province has risen to four, police said after the unrest prompted the central government to shelve controversial plans to split the province into three.

One man wounded early Wednesday has died in hospital, said Abdul Gani, a senior police officer in the town of Timika.

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Most national newspapers and television stations have failed to uphold the basic principle of covering both sides in reporting the Aceh conflict, a media watchdog says.

Jakarta – The Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) warned on Tuesday that more foreign companies were set to relocate their operations here to other countries due to the worsening investment climate in the country.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – For the second reported time, the Indonesian Military (TNI) dropped bombs and fired rockets at suspected rebel positions in two days of air strikes in Aceh with its Falcon F-16 and OV-10 Bronco bombers, claiming the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commanders were under siege.

Max Lane – Indonesia is in a process of transition out of the period of dictatorship during the presidency of Gen. (ret) Soeharto. This process of transition is occurring in the midst of a severe and continuing economic crisis, often seen to be linked to globalization.

Bali – More than 1,500 Balinese tourist industry workers took to streets of the capital, Denpasar, on Wednesday to protest government plans to revoke visa-free travel for foreign visitors.

Banda Aceh – Government troops have killed up to 752 separatist rebels in the roubled province of Aceh during the first 100 days of an all-out offensive aimed at crushing the 27-year-long insurgency, military sources said Wednesday.

Jakarta – Police fired warning shots and tear gas yesterday to disperse about 500 slum dwellers protesting against an attempt to evict them from their Jakarta settlement.

Police reinforcements were being flown to the town of Timika in Indonesia's Papua province following three days of street clashes in which three people died and dozens were injured.

Jayapura/Jakarta – Pressure mounted on Tuesday for the administration of President Megawati Soekarnoputri to retract its decision to partition Papua into three provinces, following deadly clashes between opponents and supporters of the move.

Peter Cave: Despite claims that Indonesian forces have cracked down on Radical Islamists in the Indonesian province of West Papua, the separatist movement there says Laskar Jihad is still active and being supported by local Indonesian military.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) here on Tuesday revealed that the police had committed human rights abuses when they violently quelled a recent riot in Bulukumba regency, South Sulawesi.

Police claimed to have shot dead only two people during the July 21 incident, but the NGOs said the death toll reached five.