Jim Wolf, Washington – US President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave late Indonesian strongman Suharto the green light for the 1975 invasion of East Timor that left perhaps 200,000 dead, according to previously secret documents made available on Thursday.

Jakarta – Disgusted by recriminations that Golkar swindled most of the 54 billion rupiah (S$9.5 million) from a financial scandal involving a state agency, a government minister said most major political parties got a share of the money.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A team examining October's controversial verdict issued by the Supreme Court exonerating Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra from all charges has concluded that the Court violated the Criminal Code Procedures as well as its own rules and procedures.

Bahrul Ilmi Yakub, Palembang – Environmental activists have called for a transparent investigation into the pollution on Musi River in Palembang that has allegedly originated from a factory on the river's banks owned by state-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Pusri.

[Ford and Kissinger gave green light to Indonesia's invasion of East Timor, 1975: New Documents Detail Conversations with Suharto. National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 62. Edited by William Burr and Michael L. Evans, December 6, 2001.]

The new evidence

Banda Aceh – Six people were killed yesterday in Indonesia's Aceh province as rebels marked the 25th anniversary of an independence struggle which has cost an estimated 10,000 lives.

Indonesia will get a 400 million dollar loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help it reform and return its state-owned corporations to private hands, the Philippines-based lender said.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – As whole villages are destroyed by renewed religious violence in Central Sulawesi, its local leaders blame Indonesian security forces and a team of government negotiators for failing to rein in the rampaging militias.

Kuala Lumpur – Around 2,000 illegal immigrants detained in a Malaysian camp rioted and burnt down some of their quarters overnight before police fired tear gas to re-establish control, newspapers reported on Wednesday.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Some 4,500 workers from 24 companies launched a strike here on Monday demanding better pay, fair treatment of layoff victims and higher Idul Fitri bonuses.

East Timor4s chief minister, Mari Alkatiri, has expressed concern over mounting domestic violence against women, urging his people to put an end to such practices as part of the territory4s larger efforts at reconciliation.

Richard C. Paddock, Dili – The girl's nightmare began when she was 13 and a pro-Indonesia militia burned down her village. Her parents were away from home when gunmen herded her and her neighbors across the border into the Indonesian province of West Timor.

Nigel Wilson – A new wave of confidence is emerging that East Timor and Australia within weeks will reach agreement on key aspects of future development of Timor Sea gas reserves.

Canton, Mass – The Reebok Human Rights Award Program announced today that for the first time in its 13-year history, the annual Reebok Human Rights Award will be presented to four women.

Jill Jolliffem Dili – Just a block away from the imposing United Nations building that dominates the Dili waterfront, two East Timorese girls are soliciting outside Tom's Place, a recently opened Australian bar. Some off-duty UN policemen stroll by, stop to consider the offer, then walk on.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Despite pressure to bring to justice high-ranking officials suspected of involvement in a number of human rights violation cases, Chief Justice Bagir Manan said on Friday that the ad hoc human rights tribunal would be delayed until early next year due to the long holidays.

Dili – The threat of violence from pro-Indonesian militias opposed to East Timor's independence has decreased significantly, raising hopes that thousands of peacekeepers may soon be able to go home, a U.N official said Friday

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Jakarta – Workers' hopes of enjoying a 38.7 percent increase in the minimum wage here next year will likely not materialize as employers have rejected the hike.

Ibnu Mat Noor, Banda Aceh – At least five people were killed and five more seriously injured in separate, violent incidents in the strife-torn province of Aceh on Wednesday, separatist movement and military sources said here on Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Importers Association (Ginsi) estimated on Thursday that the government has been losing at least Rp 40 trillion (US$3.8 billion) a year in revenue from import duty, value added tax (VAT) and income tax due to the widespread practice of under-invoicing import prices.

Robert Go, jakarta – The arrest of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra on Wednesday capped a year-long manhunt by the police, but now the government faces its real test – putting former president Suharto's youngest son behind bars.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – The fugitive son of former dictator Suharto was officially put behind bars yesterday after a night of questioning. But outside his cell, the questions about his arrest had just started.

Roger Maynard, Sydney – Indonesia and Australia signalled a significant thaw in their relations yesterday, after Jakarta's Foreign Minister suggested an early resumption of military ties between the two countries.

Jakarta – Indonesia warned rebels in Aceh on Thursday that it would soon step up military operations in the restive province, saying the government's willingness to compromise was ebbing fast.

Badri Djawara, Poso – At least five people were killed and five others were injured when two rival sectarian groups clashed in the Central Sulawesi riot-torn town of Poso late on Tuesday.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Several of Indonesia's political parties appear to be backing down from a plan to investigate a financial scandal allegedly involving House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, following reports that several political parties might have also received funds from a state agency.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Legislators from the Golkar Party successfully foiled attempts on Wednesday to create a House of Representatives (DPR) committee to examine alleged corruption involving House speaker and Golkar party Chairman Akbar Tandjung.

Indonesia's brief honeymoon with the international donor community appears to be over. Barely four months after President Megawati Sukarnoputri won praise for choosing an economic team packed with reformers, many aid officials, diplomats and pundits have begun to doubt their ability to match rhetoric with action.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – How the authorities deal with the subsequent legal processing of captured Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra will, of course, depend on the ability of the National Police to obtain evidence of some of his crimes.

Chris McCall, Jakarta – Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra's ability until yesterday to evade the clutches of the law was as sure a sign as any that Indonesia had failed to put behind it the dark days of legal impunity for the rich and powerful.

Jakarta – Some 30 people from Indonesia's rebellious Irian Jaya province rallied peacefully outside the UN mission here on Thursday, accusing the military of being behind the murder of separatist leader Theys Hiyo Eluay.

Bahrul Ilmi Yakub, Palembang – More than 200 workers of state-owned coal company PT Bukit Asam held a demonstration at the South Sumatra legislative building in Palembang on Tuesday, demanding the central government annul the appointment of the company's new board of directors.

Don Greenlees, Jakarta – Militia groups opposed to East Timor's separation from Indonesia are a spent force, incapable of presenting a military threat across the border from West Timor, according to Western diplomats and military officers.

Rob Taylor, Canberra – Australia and Indonesia are set to resume military ties frozen in the diplomatic fallout from East Timor, following a two-day visit by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda.

Jakarta – Two rebels were killed and two wounded when some 100 members of the separatist Free Papua Movement attacked a police outpost on Wednesday in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya, a report said.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – East Timor's charismatic leader Jose Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmao and former pro-Jakarta militia leader Joao Tavares agreed on Tuesday to end their hostility and to work together for peace in East Timor through reconciliation.

Xanana and Tavares reached the agreement in a closed-door meeting in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara.

Canberra – Indonesia and Australia will set up a tripartite consultative forum to help East Timor solve problems that may arise in its transformation into an independent state, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hasan Wirayuda said here Wedensday.

Dili – With East Timor due to become the world's newest nation in six months, hundreds of people rallied Wednesday to mark the territory's first declaration of independence 26 years ago.

Waving East Timorese flags, about 500 people listened to speeches by leading politicians before raising their fists in salute East Timor's largest political party, Fretilin.

The Constituent Assembly today approved a motion recommending that East Timor's first presidential election be held in the first or second week of April 2002, and that the voting process be universal, direct, and secret.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – As a parliamentary body yesterday reported that up to 40 per cent of funds meant for regional governments were lost to corruption, President Megawati Sukarnoputri expressed shock that some officials and legislators had refused to comply with an anti-corruption law.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Frustrated that a seemingly unrepentant Indonesian military is still being given carte blanche authority to abuse human rights in Aceh and engage in illegal logging, among other sins, American lawmakers are already threatening to curtail the limited re-engagement initiated by the US military.

Jakarta – A church in the eastern Indonesian city of Poso has been bombed and burnt to the ground, a policeman said on Tuesday, and an aid worker said the area was gripped with renewed religious tension.

Jakarta – Indonesia's forestry minister Tuesday promised a clampdown on illegal logging, which he called a "crime organized by many parties."

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – Indonesian authorities say they do not regard last year's Memorandum of Understanding between East Timor and Indonesia on transfer of prisoners as valid, East Timor's new Prosecutor-General has said.

Yongker Rumthe, Manado – An alliance of student associations in Gorontalo and North Sulawesi has called on the central government to annul the results of the recent gubernatorial election in Gorontalo on the grounds that they were not legal.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Controversial police figure Commissioner General Da'i Bachtiar is set to become Indonesia's new police chief with the backing of President Megawati Sukarnoputri and the majority of Parliament, despite criticism over his past track record.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – In a bid to prevent separatist and ethnic conflicts from fragmenting Indonesia, the government plans to rotate up to 50 battalions through the restive provinces of Aceh and Irian Jaya and hotspots in Maluku, Sulawesi and West Kalimantan, security chief Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

Ian Timberlake, Jakarta – The mysterious death of charismatic leader Theys Eluay threatens to inflame desires for independence in Irian Jaya, the vast province occupying the western half of the island of New Guinea.

Jakarta – The US military chief for the Pacific Tuesday said the Indonesian armed forces should account for the 1999 violence in East Timor before they can resume full military cooperation with Washington.

Jerry Norton, Jakarta – The United States wants to return to full military cooperation with Indonesia but it must first match words with action in accounting for the violence in East Timor, US Admiral Dennis Blair said on Tuesday.