Jakarta – In order to resolve the conflict in Aceh there must be a new political party which does not have the mentality and methods of the New Order [regime of former President Suharto]. This new political party must have a concrete and clear agenda to resolve the Aceh problem and at the same time the problems of the Indonesian nation.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Indonesian government officials and high-ranking military officers have been hinting that, despite the military's (TNI) much-touted successes in its war against the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the province of Aceh, the so-called "integrated operation" may be extended beyond its original six-month deadline.

Nani Farida, Banda Aceh – The ongoing military operation in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) appears to now be directly involving the participation of civilians, with around 1,000 villagers from Leupung district in Aceh Besar regency being drafted in to join troops in hunting down Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels hiding in the nearby forest.

The Indonesian military said soldiers have shot and captured alive a rebel "governor" in Aceh province, marking the first arrest of a senior rebel leader since a major offensive began in May.

Jakarta – Revoking the status of a military emergency in Aceh is a prerequisite for holding general elections in Aceh. If not, it will be difficult to hope for quality elections.

After blaming the press, human rights groups and anyone who expresses a critical view on the military operation in Aceh as obstacles to the failure of the government to speedily eliminate the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the government has now found a new game to play: the Aceh local bureaucrats.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The government has prepared the necessary documents to have the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist group and its leaders placed on the United Nations's list of terrorist groups, a government official says.

Eight separatist rebels including a local leader have been killed in fresh clashes in Indonesia's war-torn Aceh province, the military said.

Jakarta - The forced relocation of a population, as has occurred in Aceh, can be viewed as a crime against humanity. Therefore the regional emergency military command (PDMD) must avoid relocating populations forcibly.

James Balowski, Jakarta – As many as 100 women have been raped since martial law was declared in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh on May 19.

Vannessa Hearman, Melbourne – Rachland Nashidik, who visited Australia at the invitation of Indonesian Solidarity, is program director of Imparsial, a human-rights monitoring organisation in Indonesia. Nashidik's main message, when he spoke at Melbourne University on August 26, was that the Indonesian government must lift martial law in Aceh.

Baradan Kuppusamy, Kuala Lumpur – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is sending a delegation to Kuala Lumpur to discuss the fate of some 2,500 Acehnese asylum seekers.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military accused separatist rebels on Tuesday of gunning down a woman and her two daughters at their home in war-torn Aceh province.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The 2004 general elections should not be used as an excuse by the government to maintain the presence of thousands of troops in the war-torn Aceh province, says a former minister.

Three people including a soldier have been killed in clashes between troops and separatists in the Indonesian province of Aceh, the military said.

A first sergeant was shot dead during a clash at Bukit Seuntang in North Aceh late Sunday afternoon, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

Indonesian troops have arrested 27 suspected separatist rebels in a day of raids in the restive province of Aceh, a report said.

Banda Aceh – At least 319 civilians have been killed, 108 disappeared and 117 others have been wounded since the military emergency in Aceh came into force on May 19.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers has voiced concern to Malaysia over its plans to expel some 250 asylum seekers, including women and children, who fled the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh.

Nani Farida and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – At least 108 people have gone missing in Aceh since the government launched its integrated operation in the troubled province on May 19, a police officer says.

Jakarta - The Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has explained that the government would not be reducing TNI [Indonesian military] and national police levels in Aceh.

Jakarta – Indonesian armed forces (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto has stated that the TNI is considering extending the integrated operation in Aceh until the 2004 general elections. [He said that] conducting the 2004 elections in Aceh, which will be held concurrently with elections in other provinces, represents one of the targets of the integrated operation in Aceh.

Lhokseumawe – The chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara, has said that that the Komnas HAM Ad Hoc Team for Aceh will investigate [a recent] report about 100 Acehnese women who have been raped, [saying that] if this has actually occurred, then gross human rights violations have occurred.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government will soon send Swedish prosecutors more evidence on Acehnese separatist leader-turned-Swedish citizen, Hassan Tiro's alleged involvement in criminal acts in Aceh, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda has disclosed.

Four suspected separatist rebels and a civilian have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province where troops are in the fourth month of an assault on the guerrillas, the military said.

As Indonesia celebrates 58 years of independence, Four Corners looks at south-east Asia's most brutal and unrelenting conflict ... the Aceh civil war.

Nine suspected separatist rebels and two civilians have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province during the fourth month of an operation to crush the guerrillas, police and the military said.

Jakarta – The accusation that particular members of TNI [Indonesian armed forces] have committed rapes has surfaced again. This time it was raised by seven non-government organisation (NGOs) in making an evaluation of 100 days of the military emergency in Aceh which was presented to the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) on Thursday (28/8).

Kuching – Malaysia assured Jakarta on Thursday that it would not grant political asylum to people fleeing the restive Indonesian province of Aceh.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) voiced concern over Malaysia's stance after police detained almost 240 people, most of them from Aceh, outside its mission in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month.

John Aglionby – When Jakarta declared martial law in Aceh in May and launched it latest offensive to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels following the collapse of a five-month ceasefire, six months was deemed sufficient time to end the 27-year-long insurgency on the northern tip of Sumatra.

Kirsten E. Schulze – The military operation against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has entered the fourth month of what increasingly looks like an indeterminate period. Politicians have ruled out returning to negotiations in the near future. Indonesian Military (TNI) commanders on the ground and in Jakarta have stated that a year or more may be required to achieve their aims.

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Most national newspapers and television stations have failed to uphold the basic principle of covering both sides in reporting the Aceh conflict, a media watchdog says.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – With more than 35,000 troops on the ground, Jakarta has only managed to incapacitate 35 percent of Aceh's 5,000-strong rebel force so far, more than three months after the joint operation was launched on May 19.

Human rights groups say, since martial law was introduced in Indonesia's war ravaged province of Aceh in May, to crack down on the separatist Free Aceh Movement, schools have been burnt, tens of thousands of villagers displaced and many killed in the cross fire of a largely unreported war.

The Indonesian military reported 14 more deaths in war-torn Aceh province and said seven of them were villagers massacred by separatist rebels.

More than 20 Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebels shot dead the seven residents of Gunung Semelit village in Central Aceh on Tuesday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki on Thursday.

Nani Farida and Teuku Agam Muzakir, Banda Aceh/Lhokseumawe – For the second reported time, the Indonesian Military (TNI) dropped bombs and fired rockets at suspected rebel positions in two days of air strikes in Aceh with its Falcon F-16 and OV-10 Bronco bombers, claiming the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) commanders were under siege.

Banda Aceh – Government troops have killed up to 752 separatist rebels in the roubled province of Aceh during the first 100 days of an all-out offensive aimed at crushing the 27-year-long insurgency, military sources said Wednesday.

Jakarta - After having previously taking a soft position [on refugees] and stating that it will give temporary residency permits to hundreds of Acehnese asylum seekers in Malaysia, yesterday, the Malaysian Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, did an about turn and issued a strong statement [on the issue].

Banda Aceh – Six Indonesian Military aircraft raided on Tuesday the hills of Kuta Baro subdistrict, Aceh Besar, believed to be a stronghold of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is of the view that the integrated operation which has continued for three months in Aceh has been characterised by far too many violations of human rights and humanitarian laws.

Baradan Kuppusamy, Kuala Lumpur – After a perilous five-day journey by sea in tongkangs or slow wooden boats, Acehnese displaced by the escalating war in their troubled Indonesian province cross the narrow Straits of Malacca and land on the long west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Meaulaboh – Indonesia's chief security minister said Thursday the government would not hold any kind of peace talks with the separatist movement to halt the war in Aceh province.

Four separatist rebels including a suspected senior figure have been killed in Indonesia's Aceh province, the army said, as a military campaign to crush the guerrillas entered its fourth month.

Troops shot dead three of the suspected members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on the outskirts of Lhokseumawe town on Monday, said military spokesman Ahmad Yani Basuki.

John Aglionby, Matang Peusangan – The several thousand people gathering in glorious sunshine on the main road in Matang Peusangan to celebrate Indonesia's independence day last Sunday were expecting a chance to relax with their friends and family.

Leslie Lau – The captain and two crew members of a Malaysian-owned tanker have been kidnapped – the latest victims in a recent spate of pirate attacks being blamed on Aceh separatist rebels.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Delivering her progress report at the annual session of the People's Consultative Assembly on August 1, Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri said that, despite "occasional mishaps", her government had "put the country back on track".

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – The bedug (large drum) outside the small mosque in Ujung Blang village, Gandapura district, Bireuen, pounded incessantly on Tuesday, signaling that the remains of another victim of Indonesia's brutal war in Aceh had been found.

Curious residents soon gathered at a wooden house where two bodies were laid out pending burial.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The military offensive to curb the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has resulted in rampant violations of the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in times of war, experts say.

They called on the government on Tuesday to halt the security operation in the country's westernmost province.

A female activist faces 20 years in jail if found guilty in a treason trial which began in Indonesia's Aceh province, where troops are battling separatist rebels.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Lhokseumawe – In an apparent attempt to bury the hatchet with the Indonesian Military (TNI), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has pledged its support to the ongoing conflict in Aceh.

Almost 300 civilians were killed in the first two months of the Indonesian military's campaign to crush separatist rebels in Aceh, a rights group in the province said.

The Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA) said in a statement that 235 civilians were killed in the first month after the offensive was launched on May 19 and another 60 in the second month.