Faced with the serious threats posed by other political parties in the 2004 general elections, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has closed ranks in a move to consolidate the party rank and file at a two-day National Leadership Meeting in Yogyakarta beginning September 9.

Jakarta – In a press statement issued by the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial), which was presented by Imparsial program director Rachland Nashidik on Friday September 13, [the organisation warned that] legalising the permanent role and powers of the Indonesian armed forces (TNI) in Law Number 15/2003 on the Elimination of Criminal Acts of Terrorism though an amendment is

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – A bid by East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao to further his campaign for reconciliation with Indonesia came apart yesterday when Jakarta's former foreign minister, Ali Alatas, was criticised during a visit to Dili by Bishop Carlos Belo and subjected to hostile questioning by the local press.

Gary LaMoshi, Denpasar – It has been an exciting two years in the relationship between the United States, the world's only remaining superpower, and Indonesia, the nation with the world's largest Muslim population.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government has already conceded that its 2003 reforestation target is unlikely to be met, even before the program has been launched.

Sari P. Setiogi and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The implementation of regional autonomy has turned both provincial and regental legislatures into oligarchic entities eager to fight for their own interests, a survey says.

Jakarta – It is hoped that society will be on its guard against the possibility that Regional Representative Assemblies (DPD) will not become an platform for "old" politicians to make a come back.

Max Lane, Jakarta – On August 28, the Party of United Peoples Opposition (POPOR) submitted the necessary documentation to the Indonesian authorities to be registered as a legal political party.

Jakarta – The government has acknowledged that one of the intentions of the revisions or amendments to Law Number 15/2003 on the Elimination of Criminal Acts of Terrorism is to give a role to the Indonesian armed forces (TNI).

Apriadi Gunawan, Tanjung Balai, North Sumatra – Smuggling has persisted in a seemingly unchecked manner at perhaps 15 small seaports in North Sumatra province despite the presence of security forces, according to some officials and residents.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The prosecution of those alleged to have taken part in the massacre of at least 33 people by the Indonesian Military in Tanjung Priok in 1984 would be hampered by a lack of clear guidelines, a human rights watchdog has warned.

Pip Hinman & Vannessa Hearman – The Kopassus chief, Commander Major General Sriyanto, invited to Australia to cement a military deal with Canberra, will shortly be tried for human rights abuses in Indonesia.

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.

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.

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.

Dr Laurence Sullivan is a British lawyer who's been working on Indonesia's current Special Autonomy Law for the restive, but resource-rich province of Papua. He says the Indonesian Government's failure so far to grant promised autonomy to Papua is actually helping the independence movement, and undermining the unity of the Indonesian state.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A seven-member team from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has begun to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in the province of Papua.

Jakarta – Indonesia said on Wednesday it might ban foreign tourists from visiting restive Papua, where four people have been killed and dozens wounded in recent clashes over government plans to divide the province.

Jakarta – Coal mining company PT Kaltim Prima Coal (KPC) declared force majeure on overdue shipments to a number of its customers in response to a worker strike that has entered its second week.

The Islamic militant who masterminded the Bali bombings was sentenced to death by firing squad after an Indonesian court found him guilty of an "extraordinary crime against humanity."

Jakarta – Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday the revised antiterrorism law would not allow intelligence officers to arrest or investigate suspects.

A controversial new policy abolishing visa-free entry for citizens of 39 countries and reducing the length of a tourist visa from 60 to 30 days will come into force on December 1, the government announced Tuesday.

Rather than point her finger at endemic corruption and poor law enforcement, President Megawati Sukarnoputri says rampant illegal logging in Indonesia is due to rising international demand for timber.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Camping on the rubble of their old houses on Jl. Pipa in Sunter Jaya, North Jakarta, the residents fear two things as night falls: the rain and the police who, on previous nights, forced them to vacate the land.

Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors yesterday charged two retired army generals in the massacre of more than 30 Muslim protesters two decades ago during the rule of former president Suharto.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Over 40 percent of respondents in five major cities in Indonesia stated that the national convention series being held by Golkar to select its presidential candidate was merely a ploy to boost the party's tainted image, according to a survey released on Monday.

Matthew More, Jakarta – The head of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation has questioned the existence of Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia.

This comes as prosecutors filed an appeal against the acquittal last week of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on a charge of being JI's spiritual leader in Indonesia.

Jakarta (Agencies) – Indonesia has begun freezing the assets of militants whom the United States identified last week as suspected members of the al Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiah Muslim group, the foreign minister said on Tuesday.

R. William Liddle – Many years ago, when I was a young and impressionable scholar, I had an opportunity to interview a senior American embassy political officer who had served several tours in Indonesia. We were interrupted by an American journalist, just arrived in Jakarta and on a tight schedule, with an assignment to write about Islam.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Members of the House of Representatives (DPR) Commission I for security affairs rejected on Monday a resolution to officially hold President Megawati Soekarnoputri and Industry and Trade Minister Rini Soewandi responsible for the "unlawful" purchase of four Russian Sukhoi warplanes and two assault helicopters.

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – An expert warned on Monday of more troubles as a result of the government's failure to involve local participation in its plan to divide Papua into three provinces.

Sociologist Daniel Dhakidae suggested that the government be prepared to revise the plan or even drop it as opposition to the partition was quite serious.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – A National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) team is scheduled to arrive here on Monday to investigate reports of human rights abuses in the troubled province of Papua.

The team will gather data and information in Wamena, Wasior and Timika, where non-governmental organizations have accused security personnel of human rights violations.

Jakarta – Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda has stated that the government is continuing to monitor the possibility of support from a number of countries in the Asia Pacific region for a group of people in Papua who have ideas of Papuan independence, separating from the Republic of Indonesia.

Dean Yates, Wamena – It was a typical Sunday in a village not far from the highland town of Wamena in Indonesia's restive Papua province.

Dean Yates, Hebuba – Against the backdrop of mist-shrouded mountains and a new brick church, tribesmen in Indonesia's restive Papua province grabbed their bows and began firing arrows into more than 100 pigs tied to stakes. The dying pigs howled and thrashed madly.

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.

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.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Assets remain a thorny issue in Indonesia and East Timor relations, as neither of the countries is willing to back down from its stance in settling the problem.

Zakki Hakim, Jakarta – "When kancil is released, common people like me will suffer the most," said Sukim, 35, a Bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) driver in Rawamangun, East Jakarta on Sunday.

Dili – Ali Alatas, the former Indonesian foreign minister who negotiated East Timor's 1999 independence plebiscite, arrived in Dili Monday for a visit, expressing "lament" at the violence that scarred the process, but "satisfaction" with increasing bilateral cooperation.

Dili – A top East Timorese commander said Monday it was time to put the country's troubled past behind it and endorse an offer from Indonesia, its former occupier, of joint military training.

Public radio in the early 1960s aired patriotic songs every one hour or so. The lyrics of one song were "Liberate Irian, Liberate Irian" (Seize Irian, Seize Irian). It was around the time when the country had yet to win Irian Jaya – now Papua – back from the Dutch colonial government.

Robert Go – Kebumen and Semarang in Central Java are two places which have used their increased powers wisely.

Kebumen is a poor region in Central Java with 1.2 million people and a budget this year of 380 billion rupiah, run by Ms Rustriningsih, 36.

Robert Go, Kutai Kartanegara – Children go to school for free, college students get scholarships, and child labour will be abolished by 2005 in this small town on the edge of the vast rainforest on the island of Borneo. Teachers earn twice as much as they did in 1998, get subsidies for motorcycles, and work in computer-equipped classrooms.

Robert Go – Decentralisation has resulted in dubious enterprises in Kutai Kartanegara and strange regulations in various parts of the archipelago.

Bengkuliu, Bengkulu – Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) Aburizal Bakrie reminded everyone that Bank Indonesia was the country's monetary authority. It could not be used as a political instrument for a certain party or ruling party.

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.

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.

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

And they are the passions of Kiam Lay and Toto Djumanto, developed over a decade of growing up in Melbourne.

Djumanto, 21, a manager at McDonald's, avoids cruising Lygon Street but loves tinkering with his red VN Commodore while Lay, 20, is more interested in the Swans' finals chances.