Max Lane – An intense struggle is underway within the Indonesian elite over how to divide up the spoils after the ousting of President Abdurrahman Wahid. On August 3, 12 days after Megawati Sukarnoputri was elected president by the People's Consultative Assembly, it was announced that it would still be another week before she would announce her cabinet.

Urgent solidarity action is needed from supporters of democracy worldwide to secure the release of activists held by police for organising against the Indonesian regime.

Particularly urgent is the case of the Bandung 19, who have imprisoned as political prisoners by the authorities in police headquarters in the West Javanese city since as far back as June 15.

Mark Dodd – A court holding the territory's first war crimes trial heard graphic evidence yesterday about the torture and murder of a pro-independence guerilla by Indonesian special forces.

Jakarta – Indonesia said on Wednesday tax collection in the first seven months of 2001 was above target, raising hopes the government would be able to meet the full year tax revenue target crucial to help plug its budget deficit.

The ouster of President Abdurrahman Wahid and his replacement by Megawati Sukarnoputri has opened up a new, and likely volatile, era in Indonesia.

Pip Hinman – With Megawati Sukarnoputri freshly installed as president, and the country's armed forces, the TNI, in the ascendancy, the US government is moving swiftly to strengthen military ties with Indonesia.

Jakarta – Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) and the Indonesian Accountants' Foundation (YAI) urged the government on Tuesday to revise political party laws to allow party financial management to be more accessible to public scrutiny.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Police turned up the heat in their search for former dictator Suharto's youngest son yesterday by announcing they had two suspects who had confessed the playboy had paid them to kill the judge who sentenced him to jail.

Surabaya – Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of East Java's Tapal Kuda area on Tuesday to welcome home former president and influential Muslim cleric Abdurrahman Wahid.

The crowds, comprising people from all walks of life, continued to pour into Situbondo's main square in the center of the coastal city, some 160 kilometers east of Surabaya, on Tuesday morning.

Jakarta – The World Bank's private sector arm said on Wednesday it had temporarily frozen all funding to Indonesia mainly because of a court ruling over one of its debtors.

Vaudine England – Aid groups may be reluctant to return to refugee camps in West Timor with as many personnel as before, despite the UN giving the go-ahead for workers to go back.

Ian Timberlake, Jakarta – Petrus Hariyanto sees the fate of his tiny political party as a symbol of what's to come under Indonesia's new president, Megawati Sukarnoputri.

[A number of problems feature in the controversy surrounding the resumption of US-Indonesian military ties, writes Dr. Kusnanto Anggoro, senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and lecturer in the postgraduate studies program at the University of Indonesia, Jakarta.]

Jakarta – Human rights activists applauded on Sunday the renewed presidential decree on the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal to try suspects of gross human rights abuses in the 1984 Tanjung Priok and 1999 East Timor bloodshed.

Tim McGirk, Jakarta – When the scorpion tanks clattered to a halt outside the Istana Merdeka palace in Jakarta, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid was relieved. "Maybe they're here to protect the palace," he remarked.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer – I don't blame President Sukarno for my arrest in the early 1960s. I blame the army. But being a political prisoner in the early 1960s was very different from being a captive of later regimes. Sukarno's political opponents were free to visit their families, to go out walking within a limited area if they wanted to. We were at least treated with respect.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – In a quirk of history, two very different Indonesian women won honours recently.

Megawati Sukarnoputri became President, and 28-year old Dita Indah Sari won a newly created gong – a women's category added this year to the annual Magsaysay Emerging Leaders awards, presented by a Philippine foundation in honour of former president Ramon Magsaysay.

[Excerpt from report by Asih Nurhayati by Indonesian Satunet news web site on 6 August.]

An East Timorese Jose Amaral (29) caught entering East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) claimed on Saturday said he was sent to spy on the activities of TNI/Polri Indonesian National Military Forces/Police and former pro-integrationist militia leaders in Belu district.

Mark Dodd – East Timorese officials have hailed President Megawati Sukarnoputri's decision to expand the terms of an Indonesian tribunal investigating violence in East Timor in 1999.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Scores of Acehnese activists have been arrested in Jakarta in recent days as part of the military's no-holds-barred campaign against separatism in the restive province, Aceh sources said yesterday.

Jakarta – Community leaders in an oil-rich Indonesian province have threatened to block the operations of a Caltex affiliate unless Jakarta reviews a decision to extend its contract by one year, a report said Monday.

Banda Aceh – Indonesian police said Saturday they had arrested a sixth rebel peace negotiator in the restive province of Aceh amid an intensifying anti-guerrilla crackdown by security forces.

Jakarta – Deposed Indonesian president Aburrahman Wahid turned 61 Saturday, 12 days after a humiliating impeachment by the national assembly cut short his tumultuous 21-month rule. Aides said Wahid was celebrating at home with family and friends over a meal of 'nasi tumpeng,' a traditional saffron rice cake used for birthdays in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Ousted president Abdurrahman Wahid returned to Indonesia yesterday after medical tests in the United States, insisting those who pushed him from power last month would eventually face the consequences of breaching the nation's Constitution.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – People who like to eat out at KFC would never have imagined that it had something to do with Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Two fatal bombings, the assassination of a top judge and a jail breakout – all took place within the first 10 days of Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri's presidency. Security, or the lack of it, is the burning issue in the country, which has been going through a period of turbulent political transition for three years.

Jakarta – A play highlighting human rights issues will be staged at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta to mark the International Week of Disappeared Persons which falls on August 30.

Jakarta – Political parties have submitted their candidates for the new Cabinet but the lineup will not be announced until next Thursday, largely due to a power struggle within Megawati's own party.

[Source: Kompas Cyber Media web site, Jakarta, Auguse 3]

Denpasar – If civilians refuse to surrender their weapons as ordered by security personnel, the military will not hesitate to shoot them. This statement was made by IX/Udayana Military Area Commander Maj-Gen Willem T da Costa on Thursday in Denpasar.

Jakarta – Indonesian security forces have shot dead 10 suspected separatist rebels in various clashes in the flashpoint province of Aceh, the army and police said Friday.

Jakarta – The much-awaited Cabinet line-up will not be unveiled until next week, accentuating apparent horse trading among major political parties for key positions and leaving the financial markets bearish.

The United Nations is to reduce its presence in East Timor in spite of Security Council members' reservations about the new administration in Jakarta.

John McBeth and Dini Djalal, Jakarta – Sadly for Indonesia, the dramatic events of July 23 that saw Abdurrahman Wahid sacked as president and Megawati Sukarnoputri installed in his place may be only one of many more upheavals attending Indonesia's progress towards a stable and more representative government.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – A bomb blast ripped through the ground floor of a busy shopping centre in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Wednesday evening, injuring at least five people, police and witnesses said.

East Timor's transitional government on Thursday moved forward with a controversial plan to adopt Portuguese as the country's official language by announcing it would recruit 723 Portuguese language teachers.

Jon Land – As campaigning for the Constituent Assembly elections slowly gathers momentum across East Timor, the installation of Megawati Sukarnoputri as Indonesia's new president has drawn a mixed response from East Timor's political leaders and human rights groups.

About 19,800 coffee farmers in Timor Lorosae have to swallow the bitter pill because of sharp falls in worldwide coffee prices. On 10 May the price of export quality coffee fetched US$0.6855 on the world markets. On 27 July, however, the price fell to US$0.5130.

Max Lane – In October 1999, when Megawati Sukarnoputri won the consolation prize of being elected Abdurrahman Wahid's vice-president, tens of thousands of her supporters paraded around the streets of Jakarta celebrating.

The United Nations Security Council yesterday decided to extend the presence of UNTAET in Timor Lorosae till early 2002. However, Indonesia warned that the extension of UNTAET's mandate must not have any hidden agenda that could affect Jakarta.

Mark Dodd, Dili – In a surprise move, American company Phillips Petroleum and its joint venture partners have deferred indefinitely plans to build a $1.5 billion Timor Sea to Darwin natural gas pipeline.

In a letter sent to United Nations Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan on July 26, Phillips cited "critical legal and fiscal issues" as the reason for the deferment.

An Indonesian military commander has ordered his troops to arrest East Timorese militiamen who are still operating from refugee camps in neighbouring West Timor, the official Antara news agency said Wednesday.

Pip Hinman – At 4am on July 22, a tent occupied by hunger strikers in the Sumatran town of Lampung was doused with petrol and set alight by thugs, suspected to be military personnel in plain clothes.

Banda Aceh – Five people – four suspected rebels and an Indonesian soldier – have been killed in the restive province of Aceh, police and the military said Wednesday.

On 23 July, Vice President Megawati was installed as Indonesian president after the People's Assembly sacked the man it had appointed two years ago. The same state organ that intrigued against her then has now promoted her, with the full backing of a regenerated military.

Since the Indonesian armed forces launched new military operations at the beginning of May, conditions for the population of Aceh have rapidly deteriorated. A massacre in Central Aceh resulted in scores of deaths. The death toll in the first half of 2001 exceeded one thousand, most victims being civilians.

Widespread police operations have been underway since March this year in the district of Manokwari in the Bird's Head region of West Papua, following armed attacks on two logging companies. In the second of these incidents, five Brimob officers were killed. Retribution against the population has led to many civilian casualties and thousands of villagers fleeing to nearby forests.

On 6 and 7 June, the Indonesian government went ahead with controversial plans to register East Timorese refugees in West Timor and determine whether they wished to remain in Indonesia or return to East Timor.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – A lawsuit seeking to dissolve former president Suharto's political party, Golkar, was thrown out by the Supreme Court yesterday. The move comes amid growing fears that President Megawati Sukarnoputri's tenure will see a resurgence of groups and individuals linked to Suharto's New Order regime.

Will Hardie, Stockholm – Rebels from Indonesia's restive Aceh province warned new president Megawati Sukarnoputri on Wednesday that she must rein in her military and release jailed rebel officials or jeopardise peace talks.

Kanis Dursin, Bekasi – Indonesia is the biggest rice importer in Asia. This is sadly ironic, because almost 70 percent of the country's 213 million people are farmers.