Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Two demonstrators went on trial Wednesday for allegedly insulting the president and vice president by stepping on their pictures during a rally in front of the State Palace on June 24.

Jakarta – An Indonesian army deserter who has been arrested for allegedly masterminding a bombing campaign in the capital may have had connections with an international terrorist network.

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timor's new government faced a second day of protests yesterday, when a dissident political party demonstrated outside government offices.

Among the crowd were remnants of a group of 2000 former independence fighters who held an unauthorised military parade in Dili on Tuesday.

Jakarta – A number of trade unions in Central Java have rejected the bill on manpower supervision and protection, and the bill on the settlement of industrial disputes.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Fighting off stiff competition from other low-cost and high-productivity countries such as China and Vietnam, Indonesia is likely to reform some labour laws as part of attempts to stem the outflow of investors and to bring in fresh investments.

Ainur R. Sophiaan, Surabaya – Already hard hit by the economic crisis that has been assailing the nation since 1997, more Indonesians are now facing the prospect of being plunged into severe poverty due to drought.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The United States has criticised Indonesia's acquittal of six out of seven people accused of war crimes in East Timor, highlighting the prosecution's failure to build a case good enough to get convictions.

Robert Go, Jakarta – As the number of hotspots in Indonesia rises, Jakarta officials yesterday said that they were unable to do much to stop the fires causing the choking haze in the region.

Their reasons: Lack of funds and personnel, and the public's ignorance about the health, transportation and diplomatic problems fires can cause.

James Dunn – At last Indonesia's human rights tribunal has begun passing verdicts on the 18 accused who have appeared before it.

The first to be sentenced was Abilio Soares, the last Governor of East Timor under Indonesian rule. Six other officers, including the Polri Chief, Brigadier General Timbul Silaen and Colonel Sediono have been acquitted.

Jill Jolliffe – Most of Dili's shops were closed and shuttered yesterday as about 2000 former guerrilla fighters put on a show of force against the Fretilin government of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung/Jakarta – The Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) and the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) condemned the shooting of two workers in Bandung, West Java, on Monday, saying it showed the security authorities were using violence to deal with industrial disputes.

As of the end of July, the number of political parties registered with the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights for the 2004 general election had reached a staggering 204.

The number of parties far exceeds the figure in 1999, when 149 parties registered for the first election held in the post-New Order era.

Jakarta – Some 3,000 workers from PT Doson Indonesia, a company which produces Nike athletic shoes, staged a demonstration on Tuesday in front of the US Embassy to protest plans by the giant shoemaker to terminate its contract with the company next month.

Jakarta – Some 2,000 people have taken refuge in safer areas in Poso town following a spate of recent attacks in Poso regency, a senior local official said on Tuesday.

Kornelius Purba and Rita A. Widiadana, Kuta – Indonesia has been successfully dealing with transnational crimes and combating terrorism without much publicity either domestically or internationally, a senior cabinet minister says.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri has reportedly spent a whopping $22.8 million on overseas trips during her first year in office and no one in parliament is complaining – disgraceful given that one of the excuses used to oust her predecessor Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid was that he spent too much time and money abroad.

Jakarta – Human rights activists pledged on Monday to step up a global campaign for the establishment of an international tribunal for those involved in the mayhem in East Timor in 1999, saying Indonesia's human rights court was inconsistent and not independent.

A thick haze from forest and ground fires has blanketed several Indonesian regions on Borneo island, choking residents and disrupting road and air traffic.

One scheduled landing was cancelled Tuesday morning at the airport at Palangkaraya in Central Kalimantan and another cancellation was likely later on, said an official there.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Having been in office for a year, President Megawati Soekarnoputri has spent a staggering US$22.8 million on overseas trips, according to a finding revealed by the Alliance for New Indonesia (PIB).

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – The Indonesian government yesterday gave separatist rebels in Aceh a three-month deadline to drop their independence demand and resume peace talks, as part of a new and more conciliatory policy towards the restive province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An observer has criticized the government's decision to raise the budget allocations for the military and police without obliging them to promote financial transparency.

Jacqueline Koch, Jakarta – Last week's acquittals of six army commanders accused of inciting terror in East Timor graphically illustrate the distance Indonesia still has to travel before its military is brought under firm civilian control, foreign governments and human rights groups say.

[The Ad Hoc Human Rights Tribunal has acquitted six military and police officers charged with crimes against humanity for failing to prevent the bloodshed in East Timor in 1999. The Jakarta Post's Ati Nurbaiti talked about the verdicts to Asmara Nababan of the National Commission on Human Rights.]

Jerry Norton, Jakarta – US criticism of Indonesian prosecutors over verdicts in East Timor human rights cases was out of line and would be better directed at judges in the case, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday.

[Australia is to talk to East Timor about Indonesia's acquittal of army officers accused of human rights crimes in East Timor. Australia's Foreign Minister says Canberra is concerned about the decision by Indonesia's Human Rights Court to clear six officers over their role in the 1999 violence.

The commander of the East Timor Defense Force (ETDF) said Tuesday that the Dili government should build a monument to honor resistance fighters killed in the independence struggle against Indonesia and also clarify who fought as FALINTIL guerillas.

Patricia Nunan, Jakarta – About 2,000 factory workers marched through the Indonesian capital Jakarta Tuesday to protest being laid off from their jobs making Nike products. The workers say they want to keep their jobs or else they want more compensation for losing them.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Bandung, the provincial capital of West Java, is still tense following a violent labor rally in which two demonstrators were shot and a police officer was injured.

Kupang – Police and Army troops, backed by local civilians scuffled on Monday at Maumere, Sikka regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) on the island of Flores, leaving more than 10 people, including seven policemen seriously wounded.

The Maumere police office was also damaged as a gang of Army soldiers and locals stormed the building.

La Remy and Muhammad Nafik, Palu/Jakarta – Central Sulawesi Police chief Brig. Gen. Zainal Abidin said on Monday his office would soon summon at least 16 people suspected of masterminding or provoking unrest in the conflict-torn regency of Poso.

Jakarta – A Christian separatist leader went on trial yesterday for allegedly plotting a rebellion in Indonesia's religiously divided Maluku islands.

Kenneth Roth, New York – Following the spate of recent business scandals in the United States, President George W. Bush called for "a new ethic of personal responsibility in the business world." Yet the State Department has recommended dismissal of a lawsuit alleging corporate complicity in violent human rights abuse in Indonesia.

The influential chairman of Indonesia's national assembly says his chances of winning the presidency in 2004 have been greatly improved by the assembly's decision to hold direct elections for the post.

"To be honest, with direct elections my chances have become much better," Amien Rais told Tempo magazine in an interview published Monday.

Muklis Ali and Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesia on Monday gave rebels in Aceh province until December to resume peace talks, backing away from the threat of an intensified military crackdown to crush their decades-old fight for independence.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Disillusioned Indonesians are paying tribute to one of the nation's forgotten heroes and founding fathers, the late Mohammad Hatta.

The media has been retelling the tale of his political struggle, strong leadership and modest lifestyle to mark his 100th birth anniversary which fell on August 12.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI)'s surrender of its seats in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) has been applauded by many, but one analyst says the retreat is symbolic, noting that much of the TNI's political clout lies outside the MPR.

Jakarta – Economists said the government was being too optimistic with its economic growth target of 5 percent for next year, as stated in its 2003 state budget draft, as they argued that the future course of the global economy remained uncertain.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – New government policies expected to be unveiled today for the restive province of Aceh are likely to be a combination of a carrot and stick approach.

Banda Aceh – At least 5,000 people paraded in Aceh province yesterday to celebrate the country's independence in a show of support for Jakarta's rule over the region.

The peaceful rallies in the provincial capital Banda Aceh were a blow to the separatist Free Aceh Movement, the rebel group that has been waging a bloody 26-year war for self-government.

M. Munab Islah Ahyani, Bandung – A demonstration by workers in Bandung [West Java] has resulted in a worker being shot. At the time a number of workers were ganging up on a Bandung police officer Ipda Hotman Gultom. The workers [were trying to] take Hotman's pistol but the pistol suddently discharged and hit a worker in the leg.

Jakarta – Relations with the US will not be affected by the acquittal of six defendants allegedly involved in the violence that engulfed East Timor in 1999, Indonesia's foreign minister said Monday.

Washington – The United States on Monday criticized the Indonesian prosecutors who failed to secure convictions for six out of seven security officials charged with crimes against humanity in East Timor.

Jakarta – Indonesia's national assembly chairman Amien Rais yesterday slammed Malaysia over what he called the "inhumane" caning of several illegal Indonesian migrant workers.

The acquittal of six members of Indonesia's security forces on charges arising from the horrific massacre of three East Timorese priests and the scores of civilians they were sheltering implies, incorrectly, a credible defence.

The Australian Government has been told it has an obligation to support the establishment of an international tribunal to prosecute those Indonesians involved in the 1999 bloodshed in East Timor.

More than 50 prisoners who escaped from Dili's main prison Friday, after a riot apparently provoked by anger at hold-ups in the processing of inmates' cases, remained on the run Monday.

Nani Farida and Apriadi Gunawan, Banda Aceh/Medan – A series of bomb explosions punctuated the celebration of Independence Day in conflict-torn Aceh, as another bomb explosion rocked a hotel in Medan, capital of North Sumatra. It was believed to be connected with the shooting dead of two members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the city on Friday.

[As the fledgling nation of East Timor finds its feet, Maree Curtis talks to Kirsty Sword, the Australian-born former spy playing first lady to a legend. And photographer Nicole Cleary takes her camera on a road trip through the aftermath of independence.]

Tommy Suharto is among more than 35,000 prisoners – almost half of all Indonesian inmates – who have had their sentences cut to mark the country's 57th independence day.

[Bitter Dawn: East Timor, A People's Story; by Irena Cristalis; ZED Books, London, 2002; 286 pages. Reviewed by Carmel Budiardjo, Contributor, London.]