The Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, or GAM) was founded on 4 December 1976 by Hasan di Tiro – a descendant of the last sultan of Aceh.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Papuan leaders urged the central government to cancel a plan for direct elections in the newly created, but controversial West Irian Jaya province, as they bel

The military chief in Indonesia's Aceh province described foreigners providing relief aid for tsunami survivors in the region as insolent for refusing to follow directives given by loca

Jakarta – The government said on Sunday that the emergency situation in tsunami-ravaged Aceh is now nearly over, and that foreign troops should gradually be replaced by civilians.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – More than three weeks after the tsunami that wiped out much of Aceh's west coast, aid was continuing to arrive in a chaotic manner.

Jay Solomon and Andrew Higgins, Banda Aceh – Government authorities here said they are investigating claims by an Indonesian anticorruption watchdog that the number of refugees in some

Banda Aceh – Villagers cross a river on a makeshift ferry as Indonesian soldiers work to reconstruct a bridge which was swept away by last month's tsunami in Loknga, near Banda Aceh.

Jakarta – An American journalist will be deported from Indonesia after immigration officers said he entered the country illegally, despite granting him a visa when he arrived three week

Barbara Demick, Banda Aceh – From behind a rickety wooden crate on which he has spread out cans of Coca-Cola and cigarettes, Mohammed Yunus warily eyes the bare legs of a blond woman in

Damien Kingsbury, Melbourne – It is a truism in politics that a cathartic experience can result in unrelated change.

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Jakarta – With US helicopters dropping noodles instead of bombs and soldiers carrying rice rather than guns, the United States was confident its enormous efforts to help Asian tsunami v

Philip Cornford, Banda Aceh – "They come as angels. They are our friends," said Almascaty after the fundamentalist's first meeting yesterday with an Australian army captain.

On 20 January, Filip Karma, a West Papuan, went on trial in Jayapura for rebellion.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Pematang Siantar – North Sumatra has long been known for its large oil palm, cocoa and rubber plantations, but they have contributed little to the local people's wel

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – In a bid to speed up the investigation into the alleged murder of top human rights campaigner Munir, members of the government-sanctioned fact-finding team have

Jakarta – The development of Indonesian democracy after more than six years of transformation from an authoritarian regime has failed to usher in significant change in the country's pol

Indonesia ramped up its peace bid for tsunami-hit Aceh, saying it would consider anything except independence in talks with separatist rebels, while trying to reassure the world that re

Vaudine England – Father Fernando, aged 70, is more comfortable speaking Indonesian or his native Italian, rather than English.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head Syamsir Siregar has called on the government to be alert to possible spying from foreign forces deployed in tsunami-devast

Sian Powell – The Indonesian military has a toxic reputation, based on a long history of gross human rights abuses across the archipelago, particularly in Papua, Aceh and the former pro

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reiterated his support for press freedom, promising that the government would settle disputes with the media ou

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Jakarta – Ali Imron, who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 Bali bombings, testified in the trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on Thursday that the cleric had not influenced his actions i

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Employers, labor unions and the government have agreed to eliminate the high-cost economy in an endeavor to help repair the investment climate and improve

Ridwan Max Sidjabat and Nethy Dharma Somba, Jakarta/Jayapura – Papua's provincial leaders have expressed concern over a rumor that the central government will include West Irian Jaya pr

Kobe, Japan – Political constraints in Indonesia are discouraging international non-governmental organizations from assisting victims of Asia's tsunamis, activists at a global conferenc

Deborah Cameron, Jakarta – The tears pool in her deep, wise eyes.

The Indonesian government will consider anything except independence for tsunami-hit Aceh province as it tries to broker a peace with separatist rebels, a senior minister says.

Rebels in Indonesia's tsunami-devastated Aceh province accused the government of abandoning an informal cease-fire after the military said it had killed scores of suspected guerrillas t

Abigail Abrash Walton and Bama Athreya – Aceh, so long isolated from international view by the Indonesian government and military, is now – tragically – at the center of world attention

Veronica Brooks, Canberra – Australia is hopeful East Timor will in the next week or two accept its invitation to return to the negotiating table to settle ownership of vast oil and gas

Andre Vltchek – Mr. Peter M Baki has been interviewed while attending UNESCO EFA (Education for all) Forum for the Pacific, held in the city of Nadi in Fiji.

Manuela Badawy, New York – A US Muslim group on Thursday accused evangelist Jerry Falwell of using money donated for tsunami relief to convert people in South Asia to Christianity and c

The United States yesterday called for a political solution of the conflict in the Indonesian province of Aceh, with a top Pentagon official arguing that Indonesia's military should be

Banda Aceh – A massive world outpouring of aid to tsunami-stricken Aceh had relief agencies rushing to reach survivors, but many are now questioning if the region is "over-aided".

Indonesia's army and the Free Aceh separatist movement, GAM, have agreed to an unconditional ceasefire in the province so devasted by the tsunami.

Dili – Former pro-Indonesian militiamen are gradually slipping back into East Timor and resorting to banditry, a military source in Dili told Lusa Friday.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The recorded number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the capital doubled from 12,000 in 2003 to 24,000 in 2004, the Greater Jakarta AIDS Care Forum says.

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta - National Intelligence Agencey (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar says that foreigners in Aceh definitely have specific interests other than the humanitarian missi

Fedhly Averouss Bey, Jakarta - The Aceh Working Group (AWG) opposes the plan to form the Special Authority Agency for Aceh because it has the potential to turn the Acehnese people into

Suliyanti, Jakarta - People's Representative Assembly Commission I for Defense and Foreign Affairs is urging the military (TNI) to remain resolute and on guard against the armed separat

Jakarta – Airport workers in 13 cities, including Denpasar, Surabaya and Yogyakarta, have canceled their plan to strike over the government's attempt to take over the management of thei

Devi Asmarani – Thousands of residents were forced to flee to safety while traffic flow in Jakarta was disrupted.

Jakarta – Despite a health ministry circular instructing pharmaceutical industries to "self-assess" the prices of their products in order to make them more affordable to the public, mos

Jakarta – Environmentalist Ahmad "Puput" Safrudin blasted the Jakarta administration's policy to allow aggressive conversion of open and green space in the city into building premises,

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Batam, Riau Islands – Some 5,000 workers on Batam staged another protest on Tuesday, demanding Riau Islands acting governor Ismeth Abdullah's resignation over his failure to improve wor

Jim Lobe, Washington – Aside from improving Washington's image in South and Southeast Asia, the administration of US President George W Bush is hoping to achieve something more concrete