Faced with food riots and student protests, Indonesia's President is tainted by his links with the hated former regime. David Jenkins reports on a country in crisis.

Jakarta - Maj. Gen. (ret) Theo Syafei and Maj. Gen. (ret) Raja Kami Sembiring Meliala led an illustrious pack of former military officers, former Golkar leaders and businessmen who formally joined the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) under Megawati Soekarnoputri on Friday.

Louise Williams, Jakarta – All ministers who served under the former president Soeharto, including President B.J. Habibie, have been ordered to declare their personal wealth ahead of the questioning of Mr Soeharto in the first official investigation into corruption under his regime.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government has set May 26 as the tentative date for parliamentary elections, which will be held under new democratic electoral laws, a newspaper reported Friday.

To Indonesians who can afford it, reform implies political and economic change. To millions of people flung into poverty since the Crisis began, however, the rallying cry of "Reformasi!" has come to mean permission to do whatever they like – loot, flout the law, overthrow officials. In hard-hit Central Java people are willing to do just about anything to survive.

Jakarta – Hundreds of angry villagers in Indonesia's Central Java province went on the rampage Friday and attacked the residences of two village chiefs, burning one to the ground, the state Antara News Agency said.

Jakarta – Hundreds of protesting Indonesian students and youths tested security forces Thursday, stepping up street demonstrations despite warnings from the military.

Jakarta – Indonesia will release 15 East Timorese political prisoners next week, a visiting delegation from the International Federation of Human Rights said here Thursday.

Jakarta – A former military officer in charge of distributing rice in Jakarta has admitted to syphoning off half of the food grain for profit as prices soared beyond the reach of the poor, reports said Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's former president Suharto, facing questioning this week by a government probe into his wealth, says he doesn't have "even one cent" stashed in foreign bank accounts.

Jakarta – Looters will be shot on sight in the densely-populated Indonesian province of East Java on orders from the police chief there, press reports said Thursday.

Jakarta – About 100 people marched down busy streets here on Wednesday demanding that the Indonesian military give up its political role. The protesters marched from the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation towards the Ministry of Defense to protest at the military's "dual function" of the last three decades, witnesses said.

Cindy Shiner, Jakarta – Indonesia-Genoveva Misiati named her son Bima, after a traditional Indonesian shadow puppet character that symbolizes honesty, strength and courage. She apparently hoped it would act as a mystical safeguard against trouble.

Her wish, however, foundered on political upheaval. Bima's life has been reduced to memories and fading photographs.

Bekasi – Idris strokes his grey, straggly moustache apologetically and says he would like to offer the three small pink cakes that have seen better days – but they came from the rubbish. Agus, his seven-year-old son, eyes the cakes jealously. They are for supper.

Jakarta – Rioting mobs burned shops and houses in Bagansiapi-api, a fishing town on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, news reports said Wednesday. Hundreds of people took part in the rampage that began Tuesday evening and ended early Wednesday.

Grainne Mccarthy, Jakarta – Speculation that Indonesia is planning to implement capital controls roiled financial markets despite denials from the country's president and central-bank officials that such a move is in the cards.

Jakarta – Twenty six East Timorese political prisoners ended on Monday their two-week long hunger strike to press for the release of armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao and other political prisoners in their occupied homeland, according to Jakarta's official news agency, Antara.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military is reviewing its role in the country's political life but has vowed to stay in the legislature where its members are appointed directly by the president, reports said here Tuesday.

Macau – East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Jose Ramos Horta said on Tuesday that Jakarta was sending 3,000 new troops to his occupied home land.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people have looted rice from a government-owned warehouse in East Timor, while police arrested 54 people for looting teakwood in Central Java, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Volunteers working with Indonesian victims of rape, especially those from the May riots, said they and their families are still being terrorised. Mr Sandyawan Sumardi and Ms Karlina Leksono-Supelli of the Volunteers for Humanity told The Jakarta Post that those targeted included gynaecologists.

Jakarta – The government is ready to submit to parliament three draft bills on political parties, elections and the legislature in post-Suharto Indonesia, State Secretary Akbar Tanjung said Monday.

Washington – More than 100 members of the US Congress have asked for the release of East Timor's jailed armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao in messages addressed to US President Bill Clinton and Indonesian President Jusuf Habibie.

Jakarta – Soldiers and police deployed around Jakarta's central Merdeka square Monday halted a student demonstration to protest the military's role in political life.

Jakarta – Hundreds rioted and looted in Indonesia's third-largest city [Medan] today when a strike by public transport drivers turned violent. And in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, soldiers blocked 300 students who tried to demonstrate outside military headquarters to demand that the armed forces get out of politics.

Jakarta – Minister of Defense and Security/Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Wiranto warned on Friday the military would take repressive measures against street demonstrations which foment public disorder.

For the first time in 23 years, all of East Timor's major political parties have come together to discuss a reconciliation proposal.

David Jenkins, Jakarta – In an attempt to rebuild the prestige of an institution which is coming under mounting public attack, the leaders of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) have decided to cut the national police force free of military control and reintroduce conventional police uniforms and rank systems, according to well-placed sources in Jakarta.

Jakarta – About 1,500 people looted four hectares (9.8 acres) of ready-to harvest onion fields in the densely-populated island of Java, reports said here Saturday.

Jakarta – About 1,000 student demonstrators staged a noisy but peaceful rally near the Presidential Palace on Thursday, demanding President B.J. Habibie's government lower staple food prices and try former president Soeharto.

Jakarta – A four-day operation by Indonesian police to crack down on teak-wood looting in central Java has left one dead, several injured and forced hundreds of villagers to flee their homes, sources said Friday.

Jakarta – Student and youth protestors from Indonesia's remote Irian Jaya province scuffled with police during a demonstration at the military headquarters here Friday, leaving at least one injured.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – The number of reported rapes of ethnic Chinese women that occurred during the May riots could drop significantly because of a problem with the way human rights groups collected data, a new report says.

Surabaya – Hundreds of people slashed teak trees at the Parengan forest and wrecked three police cars in Tuban district, west of here Tuesday, following the arrest of 149 men suspected of stealing teak logs.

Jakarta – Mobs looted warehouses and stores of rice, sugar and instant noodles for the third straight day Wednesday in the Indonesian provincial capital of Pontianak, sources and press reports said. "The looting is continuing, this time in downtown Pontianak in the central market area," a staff member at the police information office told AFP by telephone.

Jakarta – Hundreds of people raided a state-owned fish pond in West Javan city of Karawang on Tuesday and got away with 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of newly-harvested prawns worth some 2,500 dollars, reports said Wednesday. Some 500 people were involved in the two-hour raid on the pond, owned by the central government's state secretariat Tuesday.

Nick Edwards, Jakarta – Mounting social unrest in Indonesia has scared more skittish capital out of the crippled economy, felling the rupiah and dashing faint hopes of recovery.

David Jenkins, Jakarta – Indonesia seems poised on the brink of another major crisis – one that is already triggering fears of renewed bloodletting.

Jakarta – Faced with deadlock in getting embattled Indonesian debtors and banks to agree on debt restructuring, the government Wednesday made a last-ditch attempt to get both sides talking.

Jailed East Timorese Resistance leader Xanana Gusmao said today that claims made by Indonesia of a large troop reduction in East Timor are false. He said 3,500 new Indonesian troops have been brought in the troubled territory, secretly, to replace the ones that left last month.

Dili – Five former political parties in the troubled territory of East Timor Wednesday announced the formation of a new national organisation and named jailed rebel leader Xanana Gusmao to head it.

Surabaya – Riot police scuffled with protesters and fired warning shots Wednesday when about 4,000 students staged one of the biggest protests so far against Indonesia's president over skyrocketing food prices.

Jakarta – Some 100 students demonstrated outside the attorney general's office here Wednesday demanding that ousted Indonesian president Suharto answer allegations in court of amassing billions while in power.

Jay Solomon and Jeremy Wagstaff, Jakarta – An inquisition against some of the Suharto era's most renowned cronies is gathering steam. The question that continues to be asked, however, is can it be controlled?

Rick Ouston and Ian Mulgrew – Internal government and RCMP correspondence covering the visit to Vancouver last year of then-Indonesian president Suharto show the RCMP were concerned about the threat of violence from his bodyguards and the federal government was intent on ensuring he was not embarrassed by protesters.

Jakarta – At least five people were injured early Tuesday as Indonesian riot police beat student protestors who were demanding that President B.J. Habibie step down and hand over power to a transitional authority. The riot police, using tear gas, chased the 250 protestors out of the parliament compound, hours after they had arrived there for an overnight vigil.

Jakarta – An international rights body Tuesday called on the Indonesian government to stop trying to discredit reports of gang rapes of ethnic Chinese women during May riots here, saying they were scaring off potential witnesses.

Jakarta – Anyone caught disrupting Indonesian government moves to beat food shortages could face execution, Justice Minister Muladi warned Tuesday as anger mounted over price hikes and the scarcity of vital supplies.

Jakarta – Police detained at least 74 people after a second day of rioting in Central Java in which scores of ethnic Chinese-owned stores and cars were torched or damaged Tuesday, Antara news agency reported. Thirty-two high-school students were among those held for questioning after rioting and looting in the town of Kebumen.

Kevin Sullivan, Jakarta – Eleven-year-old Ipan, a cheerful little beggar in a buzz cut and a dirty T-shirt, knocks on car windows and sings and pleads for money with his 4-year-old sister, Tuti, holding tight to his side in her fading flowered dress.