Jakarta – Tensions were running high in the strife-torn Indonesian islands of Maluku Monday with troops placed on alert after sectarian clashes left six dead and 24 injured, officials and the Antara news agency said.

Four more people were injured late Sunday when a clash broke out in the Christian-dominated Mardika district in downtown Ambon, Antara said.

Richard Holbrooke is heading to Dili as a representative of the UN, but he's carrying the baggage of a shameful past of covering up for Indonesian human rights abuses.

The irony of US Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke's visit to East Timor in the coming week will not be lost on any East Timorese whose memories go back to the 1970s.

Jakarta – Indonesia's lower house has backed President Abdurrahman Wahid's vow to pardon former strongman Suharto but only after he has been tried by a court for allegations of graft, a report said Monday.

With East Timor in a mess, what will become of the natural resources off its coast? It depends, writes Bernard Lane, on which country you speak to.

Between Australia and the former Indonesian province of East Timor there is no single maritime boundary.

Dili – Indonesia's top military brass plotted the systematic destruction of East Timor and the murder of all independence leaders should the territory vote to break from Jakarta, the country's own human rights investigators said Saturday.

Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – Rex Rumakiek knew the ballot would be rigged when the Indonesian administrators abolished the local parliament after it had approved a one man, one vote system.

It wasn't only the Indonesians. It appeared that the rest of the world was also prepared to sacrifice the rights of the West Papuan people for its own geostrategic interests.

Jakarta – A barrage of criticism was raised on Thursday in response to the Indonesian Military and National Police's proposal to impose limited martial law in Aceh, warning such a move could lead to further human rights violations.

Basilio Araujo is subdued. Over breakfast in a modest hotel in south Jakarta, the former spokesman of the East Timorese pro-integration forces is less than his usual talkative self as he contemplates the future for the defeated militias.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government on Thursday rejected a UN commission to arrive here soon to probe post-ballot human rights violations in East Timor but pledged to bring justice to anyone found responsible for the violence.

Richard Borsuk and Puspa Madani, Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid came under strong criticism in an historic parliamentary session Thursday, but he signaled that he has no plans to change his controversial policies on Aceh and other issues – and no intention of cutting back on his provocative statements.

Malcolm Brown – The Federal Government was accused yesterday of obstructing efforts by the International Commission of Jurists to obtain evidence from East Timorese evacuees in Australia about atrocities committed in their country.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Lhokseumawe – Hundreds of Indonesian migrants to Aceh have fled the province in recent days because of a terror campaign apparently conducted by the armed Free Aceh Movement.

Jakarta – Some 200 people seeking independence for Irian Jaya marched into the parliament complex Thursday as President Abdurrahman Wahid renewed his support for a referendum in Aceh province, witnesses said.

The demonstrators, both men and women, got into the complex in central Jakarta while the house was in session, but did not enter the chamber itself.

Jakarta – Scores of Indonesian students picketed the defense ministry Thursday to demand the prosecution of top officials they accuse of human rights abuses in the restive province of Aceh.

Allen Myers – "John Passant's Requiem for the Left" is the title of a peculiar article in the November issue of Workers Online, the internet magazine of the NSW Labor Council.

Passant, who describes himself as an "antiwar socialist", writes that the left has "capitulated" on the question of East Timor:

James Dunn – As horrifying details emerged about the TNI-backed militia rampage which followed the East Timor independence referendum demands have grown from within and outside the United Nations for an international investigation.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives' 11 factions have unanimously approved President Abdurrahman Wahid's request to grant amnesty and absolution to some 85 political detainees and prisoners.

Greg Torode, Washington – President Abdurrahman Wahid may have sought to cosy back up to the United States during his mission over the past three days, but Washington will be "sleeping with one eye open" in the months ahead, officials said.

Joanne Collins, Dili – East Timor spiritual leader Bishop Carlos Belo on Monday condemned UN slowness over an inquiry into abuses in the territory, saying evidence had long gone.

Jakarta – The spread of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in the country remains unknown after 12 years of efforts to trace people infected with the deadly virus, a health official said on Monday.

Joanne Collins, Manatutu – East Timorese independence leader Xanana Gusmao has launched another attack on the international effort to rebuild the ravaged territory, saying aid organisations were not co-operating with Timorese officials.

United Nations – Despite objections from Indonesia and nine other countries, the UN Economic and Social Council on Monday endorsed the call for an international commission to gather information on possible human rights violations in East Timor.

Jakarta – At least 1,000 students from various universities gathered at the Atma Jaya University campus on Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta on Saturday, commemorating the November 13 shooting incident at the nearby Semanggi cloverleaf, which killed 14 people including eight university students.

Thomas Fuller – Calls for a referendum on independence are growing louder in Indonesia's restive province of Aceh, where a demonstration last week drew hundreds of thousands of people.

Dili – Thousands of East Timorese refugees poured across the border to their homes Monday after talks among UN agencies, the Indonesian military and pro-Indonesian militia, the United Nations said here.

Jakarta – The Indonesian army's legal chief said rape and killing should not be classified as human rights violations and is calling for soldiers accused of rights abuses to be tried in military courts, according to reports here Saturday.

Amy Chew of Reuters in Jakarta – The odds on Indonesia holding on to Aceh are no better than even, and a political solution must be found to stop separatist pressure breaking the country apart, the Regional Autonomy Minister said.

Ryaas Rasyid said separatists had been mounting an effective campaign for a referendum on independence.

Dili – UN-appointed rapporteurs investigating human rights abuses in East Timor Monday described the situation as devastating and are likely to recommend an international tribunal.

Cameron W. Barr – Members of an Indonesian military unit known as Battalion 745 are the leading suspects in the execution-style murder of Monitor contributor Sander Thoenes, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Jakarta – Demands for an East Timor-style referendum on self-determination are on the rise in the staunchly Muslim Indonesian province of Aceh after decades of violence involving soldiers, civilians and armed separatist rebels. Here are some facts about the province:

Population: 5,114,850.

Nisid Hajari – Abdurrahman Wahid doesn't call himself a holy man, but the new Indonesian President seemed to pull off a miracle last week. On Tuesday, Wahid met the challenge of picking a cabinet that reflects the diversity of the country and the 11th-hour coalition that voted him into power, while cleansing the slate of those associated with the worst excesses of previous regimes.

Banda Aceh – Up to a million people rallied here Monday to demand a referendum for self-determination in Indonesia's volatile province of Aceh and show they had popular backing.

Sian Powell, Dili – The pro-Jakarta militia in East Timor conducted a concerted two-stage campaign to split up families, warning men they would be killed if they did not flee, then forcibly transporting the remaining women and children to West Timor.

Jakarta – A fresh demand was aired on Saturday for Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) to cut its traditional affiliation with the National Awakening Party (PKB) when the country's largest Muslim organization holds its congress later this month.

Agencies in Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Suryadi Sudirja indicated yesterday the troubled province of Aceh was unlikely to get a referendum soon to decide its political status.

Special autonomy within the "unitary state of Indonesia" was a better solution to Aceh's problems than "separation from the family", Mr Suryadi said.

Tom Fawthrop, Suai – As red tape and obstruction delay the United Nations investigation of human rights abuses in East Timor, a witness has identified an Indonesian army officer who allegedly directed one of the worst atrocities.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) unveiled a major reshuffle on Thursday morning following the official handover of the force's command from Gen. Wiranto to Adm. Widodo A.S.

Jakarta – Indonesia's leading newspapers on Friday urged Jakarta to find a peaceful settlement to separatist unrest in Aceh, a day after President Abdurrahman Wahid said he was open to a ballot on independence in the rebellious province.

Jakarta – Eight people have been killed and some 100 homes burned down in the latest outbreak of Muslim-Christian violence in Indonesian's province of North Maluku, reports said Friday.

Maliana – Returning East Timorese refugees on Friday said militia in West Timor had seized their belongings and forced them to pay to cross the border.

Constantino Marquez crossed the frontier at a stony river bed near the town of Maliana with his family of seven. They carried a mattress and a few green vegetables.

David Lague, Dili – There are 80,000 East Timorese still missing more than seven weeks after Interfet, the Australian-led international force, halted a violent rampage in the former Portuguese territory, according to estimates compiled by the peacekeeping troops.

Despite current depressed prices and rental values, Chan Fookkheong sees opportunities for capital gains for cash-rich investors

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – In a major shift in economic direction, Indonesia's newly-elected President Abdurrahman Wahid has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to focus more on agriculture under its US$49 billion (S$81.5 billion) rescue plan for the country.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Thursday the people of the volatile province of Aceh had the right to an East Timor style referendum, but that his government would not be pushed into a vote.

Associated Press, Sigli – More than 50,000 people rallied in Aceh on Thursday in a massive demonstration of pro-independence fervour, two days after troops opened fire on rock-throwing protesters in Indonesia's troubled province.

Jakarta – Hundreds of Indonesian students lowered the national flag outside the Riau provincial governor's office in protest after President Abdurrahman Wahid warned separatist activists would be arrested, a report said Wednesday.

Jakarta – George Aditjondro has just ended a three-month trip to 10 countries – the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia – doing what he has always done: tracing the wealth of Indonesia's autocrat Soeharto and his cronies.

Jakarta – Some 100 former political prisoners jailed by the authoritarian govenrment of ousted president Suharto on Wednesday urged the new government to restore their good names.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Jakarta – It's 2am on October 20, and Indonesia's parliament has delivered a stunning rebuke to President B.J. Habibie. It has just rejected his "accountability speech" – the equivalent of a no-confidence vote. In the expansive parlor of the presidential mansion, Mr.

Jay Solomon, Jakarta – The $123.5 million secretly transferred out of Bank Bali went into the bank accounts of some of former Indonesian president B.J. Habibie's senior aides, as well as his own political party, and entailed a massive money-laundering effort aimed at hiding numerous beneficiaries, according to a report by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).