[This is an opinion piece from Thursday's Asian Wall Street Journal. Mr. Van Zorge is principal and co-founder of Van Zorge, Heffernan & Associates, a political risk and government relations firm based in Jakarta.]

Jakarta – Indonesia's state audit agency said yesterday that despite government efforts to tackle graft, millions of dollars had been wasted through corruption at major state companies and agencies in the fiscal year to end-March.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Troops in the Maluku Islands are to be replaced because they are taking sides in the sectarian strife there, military spokesmen said yesterday as a night curfew was imposed. The action came a day after the declaration of a state of civil emergency in Maluku – one step short of martial law.

A Andri/SWA & LM, Jakarta – The offices of the Indonesian Prosperous Labor Union (SBSI) on Jl. Yos Sudarso St Km 6.8, Medan, North Sumatra, were attacked today by a mob of assailants wearing vests marked with the emblem of the Indonesian Workers Union Federation (FSPSI).

Max Lane – The 10 years to 1998 was a decade of escalating mass protest in Indonesia, climaxing in the 1998 mobilisations of hundreds of thousands of people across the archipelago which toppled the aging dictator, Suharto. But that decade will be nothing as compared to what is down the line during the next one.

Santi Soekanto – A truly democratic negotiation for solutions in Aceh should include different elements including women groups, says Jacqueline Aquino Siapno from the Philippines.

Jakarta – The World Bank country director for Indonesia, Mark Baird, has apparently taken sides with President Abdurrahman Wahid over growing criticism against the government's economic policy.

Jakarta – The government urged on Monday the police to take tougher actions against protesters to protect the operations of coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal in East Kalimantan and gold mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in North Sulawesi.

Dili – The United Nations has ruled out sharing executive power with East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao in the lead-up to full independence for the UN-administered territory, according to a document obtained Tuesday.

Dili – Catholic Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, East Timor's spiritual leader, has written to the UN administration and foreign health aid groups demanding a stop to the use of "artificial" family planning methods in the territory.

Darwin – East Timor wanted a maritime boundary with Australia at the midpoint between the two countries, putting key petroleum projects in East Timorese waters, spokesman on Timor Gap issues for the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT) Mari Alkatiri said on Monday.

Peter Alford – "The criticism of us has been varied and I would say only partly justified ... at no time in history has a country been totally rebuilt in six months or a year," so Jean Cady, deputy chief of the UN Transitional Authority in East Timor (UNTAET), dryly notes.

A Andri/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – Representatives of Batak Toba tribe in North Sumatra have urged the government to immediately close down PT Inti Indorayon Utama to avoid further conflict with local people.

Vaudine England – Her father helped found the country and remains a symbol of freedom to many. After a childhood of privilege she chose to enter politics, daring to stand up to the dictatorial whims of her father's successor.

Maryadi/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – Accused of corruption, incompetence and of being a remnant of the old regime, West Kalimantan Govenor, Aspar Aswin, only has to wait till 28 June when the provincial legislature will decide whether to accept his annual accountability speech.

Yayus Yuswoprihanto/LM & FW, Jakarta – 500 workers from Gaspermindo (Indonesian Independent Workers Combined Union) rallied in front of the House of Reperesentatives building today, demanding sweeping improvements in the wages and conditions of workers.

Jakarta – Government efforts to end sectarian violence in Indonesia's Maluku islands by imposing a state of emergency hang on the neutrality of soldiers there, analysts said Tuesday.

Chaidir Anwar Tanjung/ RHP & LM, Pekanbaru – In Lagoi, North Bintan, Kepri regency, on the island of Riau which is pushing for extensive autonomy from Indonesia, hundreds of local people have staged protests demanding proper compensation for their land taken during the New Order era of President Suharto.

Yogi Arif/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – While some 100 demonstrators gathered at the Jakarta provincial parliament building demanding the members reject the annual accountability speech of Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, over 1,000 pedicab drivers gathered at the Jakarta City Court demanding they be allowed to operate in the city.

President Wahid may pay dearly for failing to get a quick turnaround in his country's troubled economy, writes Hamish McDonald.

Analysts of Indonesia have occasionally looked to the Soviet Union for analogies to explain and predict trends in this far-flung archipelago.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Less than two months from now, President Abdurrahman Wahid will face a fractious parliament, large parts of which will seek to bring him down.

Jakarta – The lack of a clear-cut regulation on industrial labor relationships and poor control from the government have led to the vast exploitation of workers, especially those hired on a seasonal basis, according to legal expert Apong Herlina.

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – There is a lot of clamor nowadays to bring those guilty of abusing power and violating human rights to trial – those involved in abduction, arbitrary detention, corruption, torture, rape and killings.

Dana R. Dillon – It is a debate that pits the Clinton administration against human-rights watchers who say the White House is rewarding a corrupt regime bent on violence. The White House counters it is trying to export American values. Building trade with China?

Jakarta – Mobs broke into a police headquarters and took away cash, ammunition and police uniforms, raising concerns of an escalation of violence in the week-long unrest plaguing the troubled Malukus Islands.

Jakarta – About 200 Islamic protesters attacked and damaged a restaurant in a well-to-do Jakarta neighbourhood after throwing rocks at offices occupied by Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission on Friday.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) would be investigated for holding back nearly eight trillion rupiah (S$1.68 billion) worth of funds that should have been deposited into the state treasury, said the agency's supervising cabinet minister.

Jakarta – The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) has demanded the national rights body reinvestigate the 1984 Tanjung Priok bloodshed.

Amid protests that the rights body be dissolved, Kontras also demanded on Friday that the reinvestigation be conducted by a different set of people representing the National Commission on Human Rights.

James Balowski – On 12 September 1984, dozens of people were killed and injured when troops fired on Muslim demonstrators in the port district of Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.

Jakarta – The latest eruption of violence between Muslims and Christians in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon has left up to 20 dead over two days, including a police major.

There seems to be no end in sight for the wave of sectarian violence plagueing the Maluku islands for the past 18 months.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The navy yesterday evacuated more than 750 terrified Christians from the village of Duma on Halmahera, as large groups of Muslim fighters rampaged across the North Maluku.

D. Sangga Buana/ Swastika, Jakarta – Local police officers in Aceh believe they have discovered a mass grave site located in Simpang Kramat, Kutamakmur sub district, North Aceh. Two skeletons were unearthed in one of spots yesterday and today the police are searching for another 30 burial sites nearby.

Jayapura – Biak Military chief Lt. Col. Bayu Purwiyono confirmed on Thursday reports that residents of at least 10 villages in the regency had been asked to respond to a poll checking their attitude toward a campaign to set up an independent state in the province.

Jakarta – Huge convoys of cars and motorcycles criss-crossed the capital of Indonesia's restive Aceh province yesterday in a mass protest demanding the dissolution of district and provincial parliaments, reports said.

Makassar – Wirabuana Military Police are investigating the alleged involvement of 28 soldiers in the Poso riots which began on May 23, regional military commander Maj. Gen. Slamet Kirbiantoro disclosed on Thursday.

Jakarta – At least 20 people were killed and more than 100 seriously injured Friday in an eruption of deadly street fighting between Muslims and Christians in the eastern Indonesian city of Ambon, reports and hospital officials said.

Tim Johnson, Dili – UN peacekeepers in East Timor have arrested two suspected anti-independence militiamen and confiscated rifles and grenades in the wake of a grenade attack on peacekeepers Wednesday, a UN peacekeeping force (PKF) spokesman said Friday.

Lisbon – East Timor 's independence leader Jose Alexandre Gusmao said Thursday the guerrillas he once led against Indonesian troops are living in squalid conditions and could revolt.

Hundreds of former guerrilla fighters, who still have their weapons, have been living for the past nine months in designated areas monitored by the United Nations.

Jakarta – A new moral movement made up of some 33 public figures is emerging out of the growing disappointment at the slow pace of reform under the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

Shinta NM Sinaga/FW & LM, Jakarta – The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has admitted that they have found many irregularities in their audit of the Ministry of Defense. While the Ministry has vowed to follow up the irregularities found, the Agency has stated that it is about to look into whether the information provided is accurate.

Michael Vatikiotis, Jakarta – In Indonesia, one needn't look far to find a fertile breeding ground for left-wing sympathies: Farmers protesting over the price of rice, workers seizing their factories, students marching daily against corruption.

Jakarta – The chairman of the Indonesia's upper House of Representatives, Amien Rais, added his voice Thursday to the chorus protesting the detention of Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin, saying it smacks of political intervention.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Authorities yesterday arrested a top Indonesian economic official over a $US80million banking scandal linked to Golkar, the former ruling party.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Under pressure to give East Timorese more responsibility for their own affairs, the United Nations announced yesterday it would more than double the size of the country's de facto parliament and make it all Timorese.

Jakarta – Indonesia's inability to guarantee land security is blocking foreign investment in farm-based businesses in Asia's third-largest agricultural producer, analysts said.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The country's top economics minister has berated the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (Ibra) for working at a snail's pace and said it was a long way from meeting its projected contribution to this year's national budget.

Leigh Murray and Grainne McCarthy, Jakarta – Criticism of the detention of Bank Indonesia Governor Sjahril Sabirin mounted Thursday amid suggestions of political interference, with analysts and business executives saying the case has dealt another blow to already shaky investor sentiment towards Indonesia.

Jim Della-Giacoma – In one of the most courageous acts of self-determination in recent history, the people of East Timor went to the polls last August to reject an Indonesian offer of greater autonomy in favor of a transition to independence under the stewardship of the United Nations.

A Andri/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – The chairman of the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), Muhammad Nazar, stated that, based on the results of some 30,000 surveys distributed throughout the province, 97% of Acehnese support a referendum.