Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Indonesia's top military brass descended on a courthouse in Jakarta yesterday to give moral support to a group of low-level commanders accused of human rights abuses in East Timor.

Indonesia finally has begun prosecuting the military soldiers, police officers and government officials in charge of East Timor in 1999, the year the territory overwhelmingly voted to become an independent nation.

Jakarta – A member of Indonesia's once omnipotent Suharto clan goes on trial for his life Wednesday amid heavy security in a case certain to cause a storm of interest.

Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, youngest son of the former dictator Suharto, is accused of murdering of a judge, possessing weapons and fleeing from justice. The first two offences are punishable by death.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Detained Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tandjung looks set to be ditched by his Golkar party in a move to avoid a damning probe into a financial scandal that could implicate several other party leaders.

Banda Aceh – Fifteen killings have been reported over the past two days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, the army and witnesses said Tuesday.

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Jakarta – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a rise in the number of refugees returning to East Timor from camps in West Timor, Indonesia, a report said Tuesday.

Rendi A. Witular and A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Some 3,000 students from various universities staged a protest rally demanding the formation of a special House of Representatives inquiry into the alleged misuse of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds, in which House Speaker Akbar Tandjung is implicated.

Jakarta – It hurts to see Indonesia being tagged as the most corrupt nation in Asia, said President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday while calling on Indonesians to work hard to shed the image.

Manila – Two of the three Indonesians arrested in the Philippines last week have claimed links with leading political parties, police sources said yesterday.

Ignatius Stephen in Bandar Seri Begawan – Some 76,000 Indonesian workers, including those deported from Malaysia, have turned to Brunei to look for jobs as tailors, construction workers, drivers and cleaners, among others.

Carol Pineau, Dili – Independence leader and presidential candidate Xanana Gusmao is no longer a national leader, East Timor Chief Minister Mari Alkatiri said ahead of April 14 elections.

Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – The government on Monday stood by its decision to ban an Australian journalist whose reports on rights abuses included an article alleging that Indonesian soldiers poured boiling water over a baby.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia's longest-running television station, the state-owned Televisi Republik Indonesia (TVRI), may go off air if it fails to pay the millions of dollars it owes to a satellite operator.

Jakarta – A leading Australian media group said Sunday its correspondent had been barred from working in Indonesia because of his reporting on human rights issues.

The "Sydney Morning Herald" (SMH) and its affiliated newspaper "The Age" said they were "gravely troubled and deeply regret" the decision to refuse Lindsay Murdoch an extension of his working visa.

Banda Aceh – At least 12 people have been killed in the latest outbreak of violence in Indonesia's Aceh province on the weekend, police and residents said Sunday.

Vaudine England, Yogyakarta – Revelations from Australian spy transcripts on the degree to which senior generals directed the violence surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote have failed to stir public debate.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Police chief Timbul Silaen is only hours away from a crowded courtroom in Jakarta, where prosecutors will accuse him of condoning mass murder.

It is a moment that has haunted him since the day Indonesia's attorney-general added his name to a list of 22 people accused of taking party in the destruction of East Timor in 1999.

The disclosure in the Herald this week of highly classified Defence Signals Directorate intercepts gathered during the 1999 East Timor crisis has, understandably, raised concerns within the Government that vital "sources and methods" of intelligence may be compromised.

A witness to any crime has responsibilities that are essential to maintaining a civilised society. The first responsibility is to the victim, to offer whatever help is possible. The second is to help bring the offender to justice. Australia, as a result of its intelligence gathering, has emerged as a key witness to crimes against humanity.

Jakarta – FBI director Robert Mueller has praised Indonesia's efforts against terrorism and says he is looking forward to more cooperation with law enforcers from the world's most populous Muslim country.

Craig Skehan – Australian Federal Police are investigating the leaking of classified material showing that high-level Indonesian officials were involved in orchestrating the wave of violence linked to East Timor's independence ballot in 1999.

The Defence Minister, Robert Hill, confirmed the police investigation in Parliament yesterday.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesian civil servants will be asked to get their urine tested for drugs, and the results could affect their performance appraisal.

Catharine Munro, Jakarta – Indonesia began landmark trials focused on human rights abuses in East Timor yesterday, with two high-ranking officials answering charges of crimes against humanity.

East Timor4s presidential election campaign kicked off Friday with a rally in Dili and UN administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello predicting a peaceful race.

Hamish McDonald – Canberra's predictable reaction to the disclosure of signals intelligence material on the Indonesian Army's covert East Timor campaign has been to try to find and plug the leak.

Jakarta – Almost all witnesses to a massacre of civilians in Indonesia's Aceh province last year said the army was to blame, an international rights group reported Friday.

Dan Murphy, Jakarta – Munir had dreamed of this day for years, and as head of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), he had helped to bring it about: the nation's first trial of senior leaders for crimes against humanity, committed in East Timor in 1999.

Jakarta – The country's long-delayed human rights trial commences on Thursday amid public skepticism that justice will be done to those responsible for gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999.

In January 2000, the United Nations International Commission of Inquiry on East Timor and the Indonesian government's own human rights commission both found the Indonesian military responsible for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor in 1999. The UN commission called for the establishment of an international tribunal.

Jakarta – A landmark Indonesian human rights court on Thursday began hearing its first case concerning atrocities in East Timor in 1999, with former governor Abilio Soares accused of failing to prevent the massacre of more than 100 people by militia gangs.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Wielding sticks and swords, hundreds of supporters of City Governor Sutiyoso threatened and chased away dozens of flood victims who staged a protest in front of City Hall on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – In an encouraging sign that Indonesia is willing to prosecute even top officials for corruption, central bank governor Sjahril Sabirin was yesterday sentenced to three years in prison and fined 15 million rupiah (S$2,700) over a bank scam.

Hamish McDonald – The evidence is contained in the most tightly held archive in Canberra: the electronic data base of the Defence Signals Direct-orate (DSD), the result of months intercepting secret communications between Indonesian officers involved in a shadowy campaign to thwart East Timorese hopes of independence in 1999.

Hamish McDonald – The Australian Government sat on explosive intelligence material which showed the direct involvement of senior Indonesian army generals in the violence which swept East Timor in 1999.

Jakarta – US investment firm Farallon has won the bidding to buy Bank Central Asia (BCA), Indonesia's largest retail bank, the government said Thursday.

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Foreign lenders have questioned Vice President Hamzah Haz's plan to announce an economic recovery program, fearing it could push aside reforms agreed on with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an economist said.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Human rights activists were cautioned on Wednesday of what they called an escalation of terror against them after dozens of people attacked the office building of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Jl. Mendut in Central Jakarta.

The head of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency at Polonia Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, hinted on Tuesday that the haze which had been covering the city since Saturday had the potential to become a very serious problem.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economy will grow by up to 3.8 percent this year and inflation will be fall to 9.5 percent under an optimistic scenario, Central Bureau of Statistics head Sudarti Surbakti said Wednesday.

Jakarta – The leader of an Islamic paramilitary force which has waged "holy war" against Christians in Indonesia's Maluku islands denied Wednesday that its radio broadcasts are aimed at destroying a recent peace pact.

Nglinting Darmono, Yogyakarta – Two hundred protesters from across central Java gathered in Yogyakarta on March 8 to mark International Women's Day.

Rita A. Widiadana, Denpasar – Illegal trading of endangered and protected species has reached an alarming level in Indonesia, with the provinces of Bali and East and West Nusa Tenggara serving as centers for the illicit practice, State Minister for the Environment Nabiel Makarim said.

Jakarta – Victims of last month's devastating floods in the Indonesian capital and a neighboring province on Wednesday filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against President Megawati Sukarnoputri and two governors for their failure to deal with the disaster.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The country's human rights record worsened in 2001 as the state continued to neglect its obligations to promote and protect human rights, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said.

Jakarta – A mob vandalized the offices of Indonesia's most prominent human rights group on the eve of unprecedented trials for atrocities in East Timor that were allegedly committed by Indonesia's army and allied paramilitary gangs. Three generals are among those to face the courts for crimes against humanity.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A highly-commended plan by the House of Representatives (DPR) to open public access to information more widely will face a tough challenge as the government plans to submit a state secrecy bill for deliberation later this month.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government plans to facilitate new peace talks that will include all parties in Aceh. This comes after a series of dialogs with rebel groups failed to live up to the aspirations of the majority in the province.

Banda Aceh – At least 14 people have been killed over the past two days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, security officials and aid workers said Wednesday.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's government yesterday delayed announcing a new owner for Bank Central Asia (BCA) following nationwide protests by thousands of the bank's workers, but stressed that the much-awaited deal would be concluded soon.