Ismira Lutfia – There is still no light at the end of the tunnel for Rohingya refugees now being housed in Aceh, as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees is still looking for a third country willing to accept them, a Foreign Ministry official said on Friday.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A civil society group in Aceh has said Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's re-election will place the Acehnese people in an unfavorable position.

The groups say that while Yudhoyono's victory is a sign peace will prevail in Aceh, it will not help Acehnese people prosper or protect their identity, which they have held closely to.

Hotli Simanjuntak and Andi Hajramurni, Banda Aceh/Makassar – Incumbent President Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the majority of votes in several previously conflict-torn provinces that were expected to go to Jusuf Kalla because of his role in peace negotiations.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The presidential and vice presidential debates, particularly on the peace-maker issue, have considerably influenced the Acehnese and led them to rethink their preferred candidates.

Jonathan Wootliff – Conservation campaigners in Britain are calling on supermarkets to stop selling products that contain palm oil harvested from environmentally sensitive areas in Indonesia.

Palm oil is widely used in everything from chocolate cookies and potato crisps to detergent and lipstick, and Indonesia is the world's largest producer of this much prized commodity.

The victories of local parties in last April's provincial and district elections in Aceh are further confirmation of the success of the peace process underway since August 2005, says TAPOL in its latest Election Update.

The dispute between the rival camps of presidential candidates Jusuf Kalla and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono over who brought peace to Aceh continued on Sunday, with claims that Kalla was being "unethical" for belittling the incumbent president's role.

Hotli Simnjuntak, Banda Aceh – More than 5,000 homeless tsunami victims, who have lived in barracks since the 2004 disaster, have threatened to boycott the upcoming presidential election.

Jakarta – A former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group member pledged Saturday to rally support for presidential candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, or SBY, and his running mate Boediono in the July 8 election, Antara news agency reported.

Alfian, Jakarta – Now the PT Medco E&P Indonesia contract in the Block A gas field in East Aceh will be extended, the local authority wants a new state regulation to clarify the 70:30 revenue split between local and central administrations.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – A local party, founded by former rebels of the Aceh Free Movement, was officially announced Monday as the winner of the 9 April legislative election, but no celebrations marked their victory.

No street convoys were conducted by supporters of the Aceh Party which secured 33 seats out of 69 seats in the Aceh Legislative Council (DPRA).

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Autonomy in Aceh has allowed local political elites to trump Jakarta's authority.

After local figures beat national candidates in the gubernatorial election in 2007, a local party founded by former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatants has assured itself of a controlling share in the provincial legislature.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Party, founded by former guerilla fighters from the Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, is the only one of six local political parties in the province to clear the 5 percent electoral threshold guaranteeing their future, a political analyst from a local university said on Wednesday.

Jakarta – The Aceh Party, a local party representing former Aceh rebels, is projected to win control of the parliament in Indonesia's northernmost province Aceh, a local poll monitor said Monday

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Former separatist combatants have managed to transform the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) into a major local political force after last week's legislative elections.

Early official results of election vote counts show that the Aceh Party (PA), established by former rebels, secured a majority of votes in the country's westernmost province.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – A number of homes still remain unfinished, but at 10 a.m. on Thursday, the nameplate of the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency, or BRR, was taken down from its office in Lueng Bata, as scheduled.

Ahmad Pathoni, Banda Aceh – Stories about young unmarried couples in Aceh Province arrested by religious patrol officers make frequent headlines in local newspapers with tabloids exposing details of the offenders' sexual trysts.

Jakarta – The Aceh Party, the leading local party in Aceh whose members mostly include former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatants, claimed winning the popular vote in the province.

Alfian and Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – The legislative polls were held peacefully in the restive Aceh province, despite a volley of accusations of intimidation by local parties' members and supporters.

Banda Aceh – In Indonesia's Aceh province, stories about young unmarried couples arrested by religious patrol officers make frequent headlines in local newspapers with tabloids exposing details of the offenders' sexual trysts.

Alfian, Banda Aceh – Aceh's leading local parties have promised sharia law during their recent campaigns, bidding to win the upcoming legislative elections and a political chance to reinstate the province's special identity as "Mecca's verandah".

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Certain circles in Aceh have remained pessimistic that female politicians contending in the legislative election have the capacity to improve the life of women in the post-conflict era.

Irwan Firdaus, Jakarta – Motorcycle gunmen fatally shot a rebel-turned-politician in Indonesia's Aceh province, officials said Sunday, raising fresh fears of violence during parliamentary elections this week.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – If Aceh's young reformists have their way in the coming legislative election the province can expect major changes in the education sector.

After four years of struggle to recover from the devastating tsunami and decades of bloody insurgent uprising, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam is seemingly taking a further step to unplug itself from the dependency on public funding and diminishing gas proceeds. The Jakarta Post's Rendi A.

Rendi A. Witular and Hotli Simanjuntak – His sharp eyes shoot out a jittery feeling of rage, while his posture speaks of a once mighty former combatant of the now disbanded Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – Despite pledges by leaders of political parties to engage in peaceful campaigns, election preparations in Aceh Province continue to be overshadowed by acts of terror and intimidation, as well as kidnapping.

Jakarta – A granade that had failed to detonate was reportedly thrown at the residence of Aceh Sabulussalam Party chairman Alimuddin Jabat early Monday morning.

Aceh Sabululssalam Party deputy chairman Nurdin Ramli told tempointeraktif.com that the incident had left the house slightly damaged. "The rooftop and several lamps were damaged in the attack," he said by phone.

Jakarta – Aceh's local parties are showing a definite edge in the competition with major national parties for legislative council seats, but are still jockeying to align themselves with their competitors to obtain a presence in the House of Representatives.

Jakarta – Two men suspected in several grenade explosion terrors in Aceh province was arrested in Langsa regency on Thursday and was immediately taken to the National Police headquarters in Jakarta, tempointeraktif.com news portal has reported.

Jakarta – The Aceh Party, the leading local party in Aceh whose members mostly include former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) combatants, has denied it was still seeking Aceh's secession from Indonesia.

Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Police in Aceh on Monday were still investigating the latest violent incident ahead of the April elections, while a noted research group said the underlying problem – a "growing distrust" between former elements of Aceh's separatist group and the Indonesian Military – must be addressed.

Jakarta – The signing of the Aceh peace accord in 2005 has not freed the province from violence involving former rebels, as reports of attacks continue to escalate ahead of the general elections.

A recent report revealed that at least 16 people were killed in a series of attacks by unidentified gunmen between December 2008 and February 2009.

Nurdin Hasan – In a major review of its education system, Aceh's provincial government has started looking to integrate Shariah-based values into the curriculum, testing subjects such as Koran recitation alongside improved information technology and English courses.

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Tension in Indonesia's formerly war-torn province of Aceh has escalated ahead of April's parliamentary elections, with 16 people killed and dozens of buildings and cars damaged in recent months, monitoring groups said Monday.

Banda Aceh – Achievements toward the Millennium Development Goals in Aceh remain far from the expected target of 2015, national program coordinator Ivan A. Hadar said Monday.

"The number of people below the poverty line there hit 23.53 percent in 2008. It is still very far from what we expected," he told a seminar as quoted by Antara news agency in Banda Aceh.

Nurdin Hasan, Banda Aceh – At least five people were injured when a grenade was thrown into a coffee shop owned by an Aceh Party leader in the city of Lhokseumawe, Aceh Province, on Wednesday evening, police officers and local residents said on Thursday.

Nurdin Hasan & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Indonesian soldiers who pulled down the flags and banners of political parties in Aceh earlier this week had no authority to do so and might have committed legal violations, a local election supervisory committee, or Panwaslu, said on Wednesday.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf underlined here on Friday the importance of the presence of foreign observers in the upcoming legislative elections in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Djoko Santoso said Monday that widespread vandalism, intimidation, threats, attacks and even murder could occur during the 2009 polls in Aceh province.

The international community has lauded Indonesia for its success in resolving years of conflicts in Aceh as well as its ability to quickly rebuild the province after the tsunami disaster that struck the province in December 2006. The bloody conflict between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the tsunami have had an deep impact on Aceh women.

Jakarta – The quality of life for women in Aceh has greatly improved since the end of a three-decade separatist conflict and the 2004 tsunami, which ravaged the Islamic province, a study revealed Saturday.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Jakarta – Four years after the Boxing Day tsunami that wiped out large parts of coastal Aceh, almost everyone involved in the Indonesian province's reconstruction is talking up the special agency President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono created for the task.

Jakarta – A former rebel whose wife is contesting regional elections in Indonesia's Aceh province has been fatally shot, raising fears the April polls could descend into violence, police and party officials said Friday.

Markus Junianto Sihaloho – A House member on Wednesday sought help from the Army to prevent local political parties in Aceh Province affiliated with former members of the now defunct separatist Free Aceh Movement, or GAM, from winning the majority of seats in the provincial legislative council, or DPRD.

Nurdin Hasan – As many as 92 Acehnese inmates in a Malaysian jail have gone on a hunger strike to protest alleged brutality and sexual harassment at the hands of the prison guards, an Acehnese in Malaysia and a lawyer in Aceh said on Friday.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Gunmen have shot dead two former Aceh rebels in the last two days, adding to a string of violence that has plagued the province ahead of the elections.

Nurdin Hasan & Anita Rachman – A chapter of the Alliance of Independent Journalists, or AJI, in Aceh Province has rejected the proposed regional Islamic Press and Broadcasting Bylaw, saying it could undermine press freedom.

Jakarta – A grenade exploded in front of a hotel in Peunayong in the Aceh capital of Banda Aceh on Friday at approximately 6:00 a.m. Friday, immolating one car and damaging two others but injuring noone.

Banda Aceh – Intimidation through setting fire to political party offices, banners, billboards and campaign advertising and threats against legislative candidates has tainted the administration of the 2009 elections in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh.