Rita A. Widiadana, Karang Asem, East Bali – The Justice and Unity Party (PKP) is planning to merge with other parties in a bid to create a powerful coalition before general elections get underway in 2004, its chairman Gen. (ret) Edy Sudrajat, announced on Saturday.

Jakarta - One of the three Indonesians arrested in Manila on suspicions of terrorism has accused the Philippine police of planting explosives in his bags.

"I saw it myself, the hand of the police that put those things into my luggage," said Tamsil Linrung, according to the Koran Tempo daily yesterday.

Ahmad Junaidi and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Actions speak louder than words, but sadly some equate this as wanton violence and are proud of it even if their actions are nothing more than thuggery.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) will soon dispatch at least 1,850 replacement troops to the rebellious Aceh province, Deputy Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Kiki Syahnakrie said on Saturday.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – A truck carrying a load of diesel fuel was trapped in traffic on Jl. Yos Sudarso in North Jakarta, when a teenager with a plastic bag in his hand crept toward it and slowly opened the fuel tap.

Jakarta – Street gangs in the Indonesian capital Jakarta are stealing fuel from tanker trucks which become stuck in heavy traffic, a newspaper reported Monday.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Major state-owned firms in Indonesia are sending their top executives to an Islamic training centre where they are taught to be better professionals – through lessons in ethics and Quranic studies.

At Ipenburg – There was always something ambiguous about Theys Hiyo Eluay. He became a focal point in the struggle for Papuan independence. But he was also seen as close to top army and police commanders, and the Kopassus special forces were his friends.

The Indonesian military claimed to have killed 12 suspected separatist rebels in the restive province of Aceh over the weekend.

Four suspected separatist rebels and a public transport driver have been killed over the past three days in Indonesia's rebellious Aceh province, the military and residents said.

A local rebel leader identified as Usman bin Rahmad was killed in a gunfight with soldiers at Simpang Nalep in Bireun district on Thursday, Aceh military spokesman Major Zenal Muttaqin said.

Jill Jolliffe, Gleno – Just two weeks after a lopsided campaign began for East Timor's presidential elections due on April 14, there are signs that it may be turning dirty.

Police in the Indonesian capital have arrested seven people after men wielding machetes and sticks attacked rights protestors, wounding at least 15, reports said.

Nine people were questioned on Friday for their involvement in the attack on Thursday but two of them were released, Jakarta police detective chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said in the Jakarta Post.

Jill Jolliffe – An Indonesian human rights lawyer has criticised a special court appointed by President Megawati Sukarnoputri to hear war crime charges on East Timor, accusing it of running "show trials".

Margot Cohen, Zumalai – Juana Dos Reis fought off a wave of revulsion as the woman held her in a tight embrace. "In my heart I felt sick, but I could still control myself," says Dos Reis, recalling the February encounter at a refugee camp just across the border from East Timor in Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – Life is hard in East Timor despite three years after it voted to break away from Indonesia, unemployment remains a serious problem plaguing the country's former province, currently under the UN administration.

Most of the local workforce are jobless due to the limited vacancies and lack of business capital on their part.

Dili - A Special Panel for Serious Crimes in East Timor sentenced a former Mahidi militiaman Wednesday to four years in prison for his role in a murder during the violent aftermath of the UN-run ballot on the future of the territory.

Also Wednesday, a major Crimes Against Humanity trial resumed after a three-week recess.

Jakarta – An international research group says there is a "slim chance" for peace in the bloody 25-year separatist war in Indonesia's Aceh, but only with sustained international pressure on both sides.

Jakarta – Indonesia and the United States are to discuss a possible resumption of security cooperation, during a meeting here next month, foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said.

"We believe that talks on a possible resumption of military ties is one of the main items in the agenda of the meeting," Natalegawa told AFP.

Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta – The United States and its allies should tread carefully in their recriminations of radical religious groups here, since over-emphasizing their potential threat may create unwarranted sympathy for these groups, a leading Islamic scholar warned.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Islamic boarding school staff in West Java are brainwashing students into supporting the fundamentalist group Indonesian Islamic State (NII), parents claim.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – While President Megawati Soekarnoputri was preaching to Chinese businessmen that there was no racial discrimination in Indonesia, experts and activists back home were demanding that her administration revoke over 60 rulings that discriminate against Indonesians of ethnic Chinese descent.

Jakarta – Judges in Indonesia's first human rights court ruled Thursday that the trial of a former police chief in East Timor is legal and should go ahead, throwing out arguments by defence lawyers that the court breaches the constitution.

Yogita Tahilramani, Jakarta – The need for transparency in the use of State Logistics Agency (Bulog) funds has found a fresh cause as the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) disclosed on Wednesday an alleged misuse of over Rp 377 billion belonging to the institution between January 1998 and December 1999.

Jakarta – Indonesian Parliamentary Speaker Akbar Tanjung will retain his post after all, despite his ongoing corruption trial.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, who is charged with murder, sat so lazily during the trial at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday that the prosecutor asked the judge to order him to sit properly to respect the court.

Jakarta – Soldiers are suspected of involvement in the murder of Theys Hiyo Eluay, a separatist leader in Indonesia's Papua province, the military said Wednesday.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Buckling under increased international pressure, the Indonesian government said yesterday there was no grand design for a Suharto-like clampdown on the foreign media.

But it continued to evade questions about its recent decision to ban an Australian journalist from working in Indonesia.

Tommy Suharto, youngest son of Indonesia's former dictator, said he was the victim of planted evidence as his trial resumed on murder and firearms charges which could result in the death penalty.

"Those things are not mine," Hutomo [Tommy] Mandala Putra told judges after a police officer testified that nine guns were found at a Jakarta apartment complex which he owned.

Hamish McDonald – Australia yesterday announced it would no longer submit to international legal rulings on maritime boundaries – after leading lawyers advised East Timor that Canberra was poised to rob it of tens of billions of dollars in oil and gas revenue.

Yemris Fointuna, Dili – East Timorese residents want their compatriots – including former anti-independence militiamen – currently sheltering at refugee camps in East Nusa Tenggara to return home, signifying their full acceptance in their homeland.

Joanne Collins, Jakarta – Whether he wants to lead the world's newest nation or not, East Timor's independence hero Xanana Gusmao looks bound to get the job.

A legend among the people and one of the best political talents the territory has to offer, Gusmao is the hot favourite to win the two-man presidential race just over two weeks away.

Max Lane – Almost every day, details of the murder of Acehnese civilians by Indonesian military forces are reported by democratic and human rights organisations and international news agencies. At least 300 killings have been reported since January. More than 10,000 Acehnese have been killed in the last two decades.

Oyos Saroso, Bandar Lampung – Three hundred and twenty nine temporarily-employed doctors went on strike in Bandar Lampung, protesting to late payment of salaries, demanding a rise in allowances and guaranteed full-time employment, on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Speculation is growing is some circles that the three Indonesians recently arrested in Manila were made scapegoats to ease international pressure on Jakarta to act against reported terrorist elements establishing roots in the country.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government may raise between 7.2 and 9.25 trillion rupiah (750-963 million dollars) from its privatisation program this year, a minister said Wednesday.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Internal investigators of the Indonesian Military (TNI) are likely to name several officers as suspects in the murder of Papuan independence leader Theys Hiyo Eluay last November, a TNI official said.

Banda Aceh – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province are demanding a ransom for three kidnapped oil company workers, the military said Wednesday.

Jennifer Chen, Singapore – Ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Tuesday Indonesia's long-term sovereign ratings are still at risk of a downgrade to "selective default" despite recent positive economic and political developments.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri wants army chief General Endriartono Sutarto to head the armed forces, replacing Admiral Widodo Adisucipto.

A legislator from her political party said yesterday that Ms Megawati will nominate Gen Sutarto for parliament's approval when it resumes its session in May after a two-month break.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The landmark human rights trial for atrocities in East Timor more than two years ago has commenced, but disappointment persists as the Attorney General's Office fails to prosecute the top leaders implicated by the commission of inquiry into the crimes against humanity.

Jakarta – Indonesia's rubber production could fall by eight percent this year because of the El Nino weather phenomenon, a report said here Tuesday.

"The El Nino can reduce the Indonesian production by some eight percent," Chairman of the Indonesian Rubber Association (Gapkindo), Asril Sutan Amir said according to the Bisnis Indonesia daily.

Jakarta – Telecoms workers on Tuesday threatened to go on strike if the government went ahead with plans to sell its 65 percent stake in international call operator PT. Indonesia Satellite Corp (Indosat).

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Amid allegations of the city administration bribing councillors, observers proposed on Monday the implementation of direct gubernatorial elections for the city's next governor to prevent "money politics".

Oyos Saroso, Bandar Lampung - Incensed by continued power blackouts in the Lampung capital of Bandarlampung, a mob of at least 50 people ransacked the city's Tanjungkarang branch office of state-owned electricity firm Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).

Bandung – Around 1,500 truck drivers and container workers went on strike in the West Java capital of Bandung on Monday to protest against new regulations limiting the traffic of trucks carrying containers on the city's highway.

Jakarta – Hundreds of workers of Bank International Indonesia (BII) staged protest at the bank's headquarters on Jl. M.H. Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, demanding a better salary and welfare, report said.

Fears of a crackdown on Indonesia's domestic media were expressed at a seminar in Jakarta, with senior media figure Goenawan Mohamad saying that if this was so, many people were ready to fight such a move.

Bogor – Around 200 workers from PT. SGI, a motorcycle painting business, staged a protest in front of Bogor's social and labor agency office on Monday.

The workers rejected the company's plan to lay off some workers who had joined the labor union at the company.

Thousands of Indonesian children in one district alone have been forced to drop out of school because of poverty.

Jakarta – Defence lawyers Monday slammed Indonesia's new human rights court as a tool of foreign powers as the trial resumed of five army and police officers accused of gross human rights violations in East Timor in 1999.