Max Lane – On December 26, one of the worst earthquakes in a century sent a massive tsunami travelling at 800 kilometres per hour out from an epicentre off the island of Sumatra. This tsunami hit a series of countries around the Bay of Bengal and down to the tip of Sumatra, Aceh.

Philip Cornford in Banda Aceh, Cynthia Banham and agencies – The infamous former pro-Indonesian militia commander in East Timor, Eurico Guterres, yesterday denied he had visited Banda Aceh to organise a militia to fight against rebels from the Free Aceh Movement, known as GAM.

Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces have allowed unprecedented access to Aceh province since it was devastated by last month's tsunami, but relations with the thousands of foreigners involved in the aid effort could quickly turn sour if the military feels its control there is being threatened, some analysts warn.

Ian Fisher, Banda Aceh – Business is coming back to Banda Aceh, a city hit hard by the tsunami, and not all of it fits into neat moral boxes.

[Interview with US Deputy Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz. Sections not directly related to South-East Asia and Aceh have been edited out - JB.]

Newsmaker: Paul Wolfowitz

John Mcbeth – Nationalism, often tinged with conspiracy theories and a measure of xenophobia, is never far from the surface in Indonesia.

Jane Perlez and Evelyn Rusli, Kling Meria – Like many of the hundreds of thousands of survivors left homeless by the recent tsunami, Mohamed Adan, his wife and their six children confront an unpalatable choice about where to go now. But here in Aceh that decision must be made at the intersection of natural calamity and civil war.

Marianne Kearney – A military-backed militia group responsible for widespread killing and looting when Indonesia pulled out of East Timor has established a base in tsunami-devastated Aceh. The local leader of Laskar Merah Putih, or Red and White Troops, says the group is ready to defend the province from separatists.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Dozens of members of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) moved swiftly out of the pickup trucks as they arrived at the mosque in Ajun residential area in tsunami-battered Banda Aceh.

A brief prayer started their work on Sunday to locate and remove the corpses around the area and to clean up the mosque.

Andi Hajramurni, Banda Aceh – At least six people in Banda Aceh, including two children, have died of tetanus over the past several days, while 30 others have been hospitalized with severe infections.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – Muharram believes the foreign presence in Aceh will help GAM's cause.

John Aglionby – Rahmatun is almost inaudible over the drone of the low-flying aid helicopter. Pointing upwards, the softly spoken 14-year-old eventually makes herself understood. "That's what I want to do when I grow up," she says. Her smile implies she is aware that this is not the standard career choice of a devoutly Muslim teenage girl in Aceh. "I want to be a pilot.

Vaudine England – His long flowing hair and tight jeans mark him out as a young intellectual even before he starts talking.

Michael Vatikiotism Meulaboh – Indonesia Almost a month after the tsunami, the town of Meulaboh still reeks of death and misery. As I drove down the main street, named after the great Acehnese leader Teuku Umar, images of Dresden and Tokyo after the firebombings sprang to mind, even after some intensive cleanup.

Matthew Moore reports – It is more than 13 years since Max Stahl shot his famous footage of Indonesian troops massacring East Timorese at the Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. Hiding behind gravestones, Stahl stayed calm as he filmed hundreds of Timorese fleeing a relentless spray of automatic fire, some reaching safety, many falling dead or wounded before his lens.

In the first weeks of the aftermath of the tsunami of December 26, we were stunned by the severity of the destruction, and thankful for the many small miracles of survival told by enduring residents.

Prospects for peace in Indonesia's war-torn and tsunami-hit Aceh province were lifted by an offer of talks from separatist rebels, but tensions continued to overshadow efforts to aid disaster victims.

Norbert Vollertsen, Banda Aceh – I feel almost as if I am back in North Korea again. The military road blocks, heavily armed police tanks at every street corner and thousands of soldiers everywhere all remind me of the 18 months I spent in the Stalinist state.

Andrew Burrell, Banda Aceh – The acting governor of Aceh said yesterday he was "frightened" of being abandoned by the thousands of foreign troops and aid workers involved in the massive humanitarian mission in his tsunami-battered province.

Raymond Bonner, New York Times, Jakarta – The US ambassador here said on Thursday that the United States was not troubled by the demands by the Indonesian government that aid workers in Aceh Province register and that all foreign troops be gone by the end of March.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – As the United States rides its sudden wave of popularity in the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia, the secular government there has been handed a very hot political potato.

Amy Goodman: We're joined by journalist and activist, Allan Nairn.

Banda Aceh (Agencies) – Indonesia wants a lasting truce with separatists in tsunami-ravaged Aceh province, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Friday, as both sides expressed a willingness for talks to end the 28-year rebellion.

Marianne Kearney, Darussalam – Dozens of Muslim and Christian groups are exploiting the chaos wrought by the tsunami in the Indonesian province of Aceh to spread their message and compete for influence, secular aid workers said yesterday.

Ellen Nakashima, Banda Aceh – An Islamic cleric and political organizer, Azmi Fajri Usman, pulled up at a camp of about 200 tsunami survivors stranded in a city park.

"Asalaam alaikum!" Peace be with you, he said, hopping off his motorbike and approaching a few of the survivors as the sun neared its zenith Wednesday. "Is there anyone here who's organized the place?"

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Montasik – Acehnese rebels fighting for an independent homeland have descended from the isolation of northern Sumatra's mountains to restock and regroup after the tsunami that killed 100,000 on the Indonesian island.

Ian Fisher, Calang – This town was not just destroyed. It vanished. After almost three weeks, only 323 bodies have been found. Before December 26, when the tsunami swept in from both sides of the pretty tropical peninsula that once cradled Calang, 7,300 people lived here.

Matthew Moore in Banda Aceh and Cynthia Banham – The acting governor of Aceh has asked foreign troops and aid workers to stay and provide "long-term support" for victims of the tsunami despite growing pressure from the Indonesian Government for all foreign troops to leave by the end of March.

Yeoh En-Lai, Lhoknga – All that remains of the barracks that housed 2,000 Indonesian soldiers in this village is a huge mound of rubble, crushed in seconds by last month's tsunami. The commander died when his quarters were washed away.

Bangkok – SEAPA is dismayed by Jakarta's stated intent to restrict the movement of aid workers and journalists in Aceh. In the wake of the devastation wrought by the 26 December 2004 tsunami on the province, SEAPA said the latest statements of the Indonesian government and military run against a need to ensure transparency and access to information in Aceh.

The East Timor Action Network (ETAN) today urged Congress and the Bush administration to maintain restrictions on US military assistance to Indonesia. Congress has limited US weapons and training support for the Indonesian military (TNI) for more than a decade because of human rights violations and other atrocities committed by Indonesia's armed forces.

New York – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by Indonesian government restrictions on reporting in the province of Aceh, which was devastated in the December tsunami. CPJ called on the government today to lift the limitations immediately so independent journalists can fully document the massive international humanitarian effort.

Matthew Moore in Banda Aceh and agencies – Indonesia's Vice-President, Jusuf Kalla, said yesterday that foreigners should get out of Aceh as soon as possible. "Three months are enough. The sooner [they leave], the better," he said.

Raymond Bonner, Jakarta – As the United States and other world governments prepare to channel hundreds of millions of aid dollars to the tsunami-ravaged regions of Aceh, Indonesia's culture of corruption has emerged as a major concern.

The Indonesian military will send thousands more soldiers into Aceh to help tsunami relief efforts, bringing the total troop deployment there close to 50,000, a military spokesman said.

Banda Aceh – Wanting to visit Sigli to report on the activities of Doctors without Borders here, Bruno Bonamigo, producer of Radio Canada Information, reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs desk at the governor's house in Banda Aceh.

An official at the desk told Bonamigo that he could go to Meulaboh on the west coast, but not to Sigli, a town on the east coast.

The leadership of a rebel movement fighting for independence in the tsunami-hit Indonesian province of Aceh has called for ceasefire talks with the government.

Rebel prime minister Malik Mahmud said in the statement that his men were willing to sit down for discussions with Jakarta to ease fears over the safety of foreign humanitarian workers operating in Aceh.

Manila – Two radical Islamic groups that have moved into Indonesia's tsunami-stricken Aceh province aren't likely to attack foreigners or relief workers, but may raise tensions by fostering anti-Western sentiments, said an expert in Manila Thursday.

Petaling Jaya – A team of Malaysian volunteers was forced to bribe its way through a military check point at the Medan-Aceh border yesterday during its journey to deliver medicine and other supplies to the tsunami victims.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia bore the brunt of the tsunami, suffering 100,000 of the 150,000 fatalities. The world's response has been generous, but is already causing tensions

The desire by the government of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to create an opportunity for a peace agreement and end the armed conflict with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should be welcomed all elements of society. This positive signal should also be welcomed by GAM.

New York – The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by Indonesian government restrictions on reporting in the province of Aceh, which was devastated in the December tsunami. CPJ called on the government today to lift the limitations immediately so independent journalists can fully document the massive international humanitarian effort.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak and Riyadi Suparno, Banda Aceh – The government and the military are caught between a rock and a hard place regarding the presence of more than 2,000 foreign nationals in disaster-hit Aceh.

The commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), General Endriartono Sutarto, announced Tuesday that foreign aid agencies wishing to distribute relief to people in Aceh would be restricted to two cities, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. Special permission would be needed to go anywere else. All agencies will now be required to tell the military where they intend to deliver aid.

Matthew Moore in Banda Aceh and Karuni Rompies – Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-stricken province of Aceh have threatened to abandon their two-week-old cease-fire unless the Indonesian military agrees to stop action against them.

Jane Perlez, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian military on Tuesday ordered restrictions on foreign aid workers, limiting their free operation to the two main cities hit by the tsunami in an effort to assert control over international relief operations here.

Paul Toohey – The stragglers below wave plastic flags and shirts as the US Navy Seahawk helicopter settles on an island of broken tarmac in the no-longer-existent village of Panga, some 100km south of Banda Aceh. It is the briefest of touchdowns.

Guests: Prof. William Liddle, Prof. Jeffrey Winters

Jim Lehrer: Next, politics and aid in the devastated Indonesian province of Aceh. We start with a report from James Mates of Independent Television News.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has said that Indonesian government needed not to impose non-war martial law in the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD).

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – Alwi Shihab couldn't help himself. Barely two hours after a US Seahawk helicopter crashed near Banda Aceh's airport, the Indonesian minister responsible for the relief effort explained what had gone wrong to a news conference of mainly foreign journalists.