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.

A Ismail/Swastika & LM, Jakarta – The continuing conflict between the people of Porsea village, North Sumatra, with PT Inti Indorayon Utama (IIU) has claimed the life of Herman Sitorus, an engineering highschool student shot by a North Tapanuli police subprecinct officer in a heated brawl Wednesday.

Banda Aceh – A caretaker governor of the strife-torn Aceh province was installed Wednesday amid student protests against the Indonesian government. The outgoing governor, Mr Syamsuddin Mahmud, was replaced by Mr Ramli Ridwan, a senior official at the Home Affairs Ministry.

Jakarta – Legal observers called on authorities in the country's legal circle on Wednesday to apply thorough and strong measures to combat chronic and acute judiciary mafia practices.

Jakarta – A series of peaceful protests at the provincial parliament in Indonesia's West Kalimantan on Thursday forced the postponment of a meeting to decide on the fate of the governor there, an official said.

Jakarta – Five civic leaders, who organised a landmark congress calling on Jakarta to recognise the independence of the Indonesian province of West Papua, face life imprisonment for suspected treason.

Mark Dodd, Dili – Negotiations between the United Nations and Canberra for a new Timor Gap treaty could see up to $US100 million a year in oil and gas revenue flowing to East Timor, senior UN officials say.

Vanya Tanaja, Dili – This city has been rocked by snap public transport stoppages since June 2 in response to a rise in the price of fuel. Small minibuses, "mikrolets", that provide cheap public transport around Dili, and private taxis have all taken part, leaving the city with only private vehicles, United Nations cars and a large number of pedestrians.

The National Commission on Human Rights' committee for the 1984 mass killing in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta (KPP HAM Tanjung Priok), has come under fire for its report to the House of Representatives (DPR) suggesting to summon parties related to the killings instead of recommending a trial.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Local governments have been warned not to abuse new regional autonomy laws or they risk losing both domestic and foreign investment, high-level central government officials have warned.

Agence France Presse in Jakarta – Jakarta yesterday issued a fresh appeal to Switzerland to help recover cash that may have been stashed there by former president Suharto, suspected of embezzling billions from state coffers during his 32-year rule.

Jakarta – A group of some 50 students calling themselves the Inter-Campus Muslims Students Association (HAMAS) yesterday attacked the office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), damaging Komnas HAM's board in front of the office.

Harry Otten, Amsterdam – "The policy demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for loans leads to an increase in poverty.

Subsidies on electricity, education and public transport are being cut ... There's already 80 million Indonesian people living below the poverty line. IMF policy will push even more people below it."

Jakarta – Indonesian defence minister Yuwono Sudarsono on Wednesday blamed loyalists of former president Suharto for formenting outbursts of bloody violence wracking several Indonesian provinces.

Jakarta – More than 150 people were killed and many more injured in Monday's attack by Muslims on Christians on the island of Halmahera in Indonesia's Maluku islands, a report said Wednesday, as the military expressed helplessness in the face of constant anarchy.

James Balowski – Defying warnings from Jakarta, the week-long Papuan People's Congress ended on June 4 with a declaration that West Papua was no longer part of the Republic of Indonesia. The congress was extended for a day because of debates over the wording of the declaration; there were fears an outright declaration of independence would antagonise Jakarta.

Iwan Triono/FW & LM, Jakarta – 350 activists from the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) demonstrated at the House of Representatives building, Central Jakarta, Wednesday demanding that a referendum be held immediately in the troubled province of Aceh.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government plans to develop two million hectares of new paddy fields outside Java to secure rice supplies for the nation's growing population.

The recent escalation of fighting in Indonesia's Moluccan Islands has been blamed on the arrival of more than 2,000 fighters from the Lashkar Jihad.

Jose Manuel Tesoro, Jakarta – Ever since the beginning of the Asian financial crisis, a country's currency and its publicly traded stocks have been used by journalists the same way we use shorthand to record interviews – as quick and dirty ways to reflect complex realities.

Jakarta – Communal violence in several parts of Indonesia has left over three quarters of a million internal refugees across the country, an official of the Population and People's Movement Administration Agency said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The National Awakening Party (PKB) Faction in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) is proposing a compromise in the heated debate over communism by allowing such teachings in academic circles but not the growth of communist political parties.

Banda Aceh – Hundreds of protesters yesterday occupied Parliament in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, demanding that the local legislature be dissolved.

Some 500 protesters charged that provincial and district legislators had only served the central government's interests and had failed to contribute to solving conflict in the plagued province.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – "In Indonesia, silence often speaks louder than words ... You have a nation of silenced voices and muted expressions."

So writes John McGlynn, editor-in-chief of Jakarta's Lontar publishing foundation, in a collection launched last night of writings by former political prisoners, alleged communists and intellectuals.

Twenty-four years of Indonesian occupation of East Timor ended last September in a frenzy of murder and destruction. Now the Timorese are recreating their nation with energy and hope

Surabaya – Indonesian police have shot dead two farmers and wounded scores more in two days of clashes over land compensation claims in East Java province, police and witnesses said on Monday.

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Indonesia's military will keep operating many of its illegal businesses because the state budget is inadequate to fund a reform programme aimed at reducing the military's extensive influence.

Jakarta – Lawyers of former Indonesian president Suharto have turned to the UN human rights commission in a bid to end his house arrest and weekly questioning, reports said Monday.

Indonesians have spoken out against their politicians in a newspaper survey. They say their leaders show little regard for the country's 200 million people and have not done enough to bring former president Suharto to justice.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Mr Djohan Effendi's first thought when his long-time pal asked him to be his third State Secretary in eight months was instant despair.

"What sins have I committed to deserve this?" the Islamic scholar asked President Abdurrahman Wahid, who promptly burst into laughter.

Susan Sim – The People's Consultative Assembly session in August will be a breakpoint for the major political parties, who will also have to work out an inter-party relationship based on some national platform.