Jose Manuel Tesoro, Jakarta – In the Indonesian political equation, the elements – Islamic groups, student fronts, opposition parties, military factions – are legion and ever-changing. Possible permutations – a coalition, a new government, martial law, absolute chaos – multiply daily. But in everyone's political calculus is one shadowy constant: Suharto.

Karen Polglaze, Jakarta – Indonesia would be solely responsible should civil war break out in East Timor, a member of Indonesian President BJ Habibie's supreme advisory council said here today.

Former East Timor governor Mario Viegas Carrascalao also scorned criticisms that East Timor would be a burden on its neighbours, including Australia, should it become independent.

Don Greenlees – Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi yesterday signalled that a ban on Nobel peace prize winner Jose Ramos Horta from entering the country could be revoked to enable him to join in talks on the future status of East Timor.

Jakarta – Under the watchful eyes of some 300 supporters of the defendants, the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday conducted a speedy trial for all 55 student protesters arrested for holding an illegal rally on Tuesday.

By John McBeth in Jakarta and Dan Murphy in Dili – Antonio da Silva lost his left ear to pro-independence Fretilin fighters. He doesn't intend to lose anything else. That's why he's outside the office of Indonesia's military commander in East Timor, waiting his turn to ask for weapons.

Jakarta – Three out of 11 Indonesian soldiers being court martialled for a series of kidnappings Thursday admitted to abducting some political activists, a witness said.

Three junior officers from the elite army Kopassus special force described how they were involved in kidnapping eight pro-democracy activists.

Keith B.

Jakarta – In a highly critical self-assessment the World Bank has admitted it may have overlooked warning signs as the "Indonesian miracle" faded because of a desire not to upset Jakarta.

Terry Friel, Jakarta – Nestled in a leafy Jakarta suburb, number 47 Jalan Percetakan Negara VII is an unlikely place to decide the fate of a nation.

The armed forces (ABRI) includes the army, navy, air force and police. All are involved in repression in East Timor, but the army is the most important. Note that the lack of a civilian police force has been blamed as the cause of human rights problems by various UN rapporteurs on East Timor.

McCarthy, Jakarta – Indonesian elections and the prospect of a new government this year probably won't derail the country's major economic reform program, the International Monetary Fund's top official in Asia, Hubert Neiss, said Wednesday.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – In a move which surprised both supporters and opponents, Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri declared late last month that she cannot accept a new Indonesian proposal to give independence to the internationally-disputed East Timor.

Jakarta – Forty-nine new political parties have registered at the Justice Ministry to contest the June general election, but only 17 have met administrative requirements, officials said yesterday.

Rasi Manopo, secretary of the ministry's registration committee, said 49 parties have applied to participate in the June 7 election since registrations commenced on February 5.

Jakarta – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ali Alatas, denied that an agreement between Indonesia and Portugal has been reached to settle the East Timor problem by means of a referendum.

"That is not true. Indonesia shall never agree in a referendum," the Minister told Kompas who spoke with him on a long distance line to New York, Monday evening (8/2).

Jakarta – The initial findings of an investigation by the attorney general's office and the foreign ministry have failed to find any wealth or assets belonging to former president Suharto abroad, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Observers urged the Armed Forces (ABRI) on Monday to reconsider its shoot-on-sight order against rioters, saying that capturing the masterminds of recent unrest would do more to improve the military's image.

Idi Cut – Residents have found bullet cartridges produced by the Bandung-based State Munitions Industries [Pindad] scattered around the Idi Cut Military Sector Command post in Darul Aman Subdistrict, East Aceh, the day after shots were fired to disperse a crowd gathered there early on Wednesday morning (3rd February).

Olle Tornquist, Oslo – Almost every day, I am asked two questions. The first is terribly hard to answer in a manner both brief and academically considered: what's happening to democratization in Indonesia?

Jakarta – Indonesian security forces arrested scores of students Tuesday as they marched towards parliament in the first big anti-government demonstration this year, witnesses said.

They have no identity and are nameless. They are almost invisible, and, above all, certainly untouchable. Yet, they are so powerful as to have left a trail of untold deaths and massive destruction across the country in the space of only a few months.

John Colmey and David Liebhold, Jakarta - In the financial world they call it the poison pill, a labyrinth of cross-vested interests designed to protect a company from hostile takeover. In Indonesia, it was known as the New Order, or sometimes Suharto Inc.

Greg Earl, Jakarta – Indonesia has pushed ahead with its new quest for international assistance, as Japan confirmed it would provide $US2.4 billion before Indonesia holds general elections in June.

Jakarta The rush to prepare independent observers of the polls, slated to take place in barely five months, continues as the country's two largest Muslim organizations cooperate to prepare 123,600 volunteer poll observers.

Evelyn Leopold, United Nations – Indonesia apparently has agreed for the first time to a UN ballot in troubled East Timor as its foreign minister and his Portuguese counterpart mapped out steps that could lead to Jakarta's withdrawal from the territory by the end of the year, diplomats said.

Jakarta – Ex-president Suharto's brother-in-law, Ibnu Hartomo, has denied that he is seeking to protect Suharto by setting up a coalition of new parties.

Jakarta – Indonesia's official Human Rights Commission said on Monday religious rioting could easily break out again in the eastern island of Ambon, saying the death toll from clashes last month had passed 160.

Commissioner Albert Hasibuan criticised the military for being ineffective in preventing the unrest erupting and slow in putting it down.

Diarmid O'Sullivan, Dili – In the garden of a house in Dili, capital of East Timor, a hundred villagers are camping out in fear of their lives. They have fled from the district of Maubara, an hour's drive west along the coast, to escape a gang of young thugs, armed and encouraged by the Indonesian army.

Troubled Province's Release To enable RI To Concentrate on Development, Says President

Jakarta – If Timor is release from its fold, Indonesia will be able to concentrate on developing its remaining provinces toward the next millenium, President BJ Habibie said here Saturday.

Jakarta – The death toll from a clash between civilians and security forces in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province last week has risen to 21, a human rights group said on Sunday.

On Wednesday, police opened fire as they tried to disperse a crowd of around 5,000 people listening to a separatist speech in Idi Cut, east Aceh, 1,530 km northwest of Jakarta.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military has been given orders to shoot-on-sight in a bid to stamp out violence, Indonesian armed forces chief General Wiranto told reporters Saturday.

Jakarta – In the latest incidents of mass violence to hit Indonesia, separate mobs attacked a police post in Sumatra and burned the parliament house in West Kalimantan province, press reports said Saturday.

Michael Richardson, Jakarta – An Indonesian proposal to consider independence for East Timor if the disputed territory refuses to accept autonomy is a high-risk strategy that could encourage other restive parts of Indonesia – the world's largest island-nation – to break away or loosen the bonds holding it together, in the view of some analysts and officials in neighboring countries.

Jakarta – The new law on political parties has cut the traditional sources of funding for the ruling party Golkar: contributions from civil servants and state companies and government contractors.

While Golkar could, under the law, still solicit money from individuals and corporations, their contributions arc not automatic as they used to be.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Indonesian soldiers and police fired into a crowd of thousands of people returning from an Islamic prayer meeting in the north Sumatran province of Aceh, killing dozens and injuring more than 100, human rights activists said yesterday.

Lhokseumawe – Thousands of people coming from all parts of East Aceh made their way Thursday to Arakundo bridge to search the river for bodies of relatives missing following a clash between thousands of people and the security forces on Wednesday, 3 February.

Jakarta – The governor of Indonesia's troubled Aceh province has called for the country to change from a republic to a federation to cope with growing separatist pressures.

The governor, Syamsuddin Mahmud, made the landmark call as new deaths were reported from clashes in the northern Sumatran province where Moslem rebels have been fighting for an Islamic state.

[The following is a translation by Down to Earth of a report from Musirawas (South Sumatra) by local journalist, Taufik Wijaya. It was dated 31st Dec 1998, but received via SiaR 5th Feb 1999. Some technical details need to be checked, as they differ from information previously provided by Indonesian and Australian colleagues (see below).

Tom McCawley, Jakarta – Twenty years ago, Defense Minister Gen. Muhamad Yusuf issued a stern warning to Indonesia's armed forces. "All serving officers are forbidden to enter the world of commerce," he said. "Forget about trade if you want to be a good soldier." More than 300 military members were asked to resign.

[The following is a transcription from a recording of a live report by Jonathan Head in East Timor.]

East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao has pressed the Indonesian govt to disband the para-militaries in East Timor. He said their presence could trigger armed conflict, putting the lives of the people in danger.

Dili – In November 1998, 11 East Timorese were killed and 831 displaced in the sub-regency of Alas, Manufahi regency, due to acts of terror, intimidation, detainment, torture, and arson perpetrated by the Indonesian military (ABRI).

Peter Symonds – After months of debate and haggling, the Indonesian parliament last week passed a series of amended political laws, which establish the framework for national elections on June 7. The legislation sets out in detail the new composition of the parliamentary bodies, the rules governing the election and the functioning of political parties.

Jakarta – The death toll in fighting between Moslem and Christian communities in Ambon in eastern Indonesia's Maluku province that began last month has risen to 95, a report said here Wednesday.

Jakarta – University rectors across the country are to recruit 450,000 students to monitor voting at 75 percent of the estimated 600,000 polling booths, even as experts warned of possible unrest marring the event planned for June 7.

Jakarta - Amid escalating tension in East Timor, the Armed Forces (ABRI) has denied supplying ammunition to the province to terrorize pro-referendum East Timorese and to protect pro-integration forces. Instead it has accused separatist "disturbance groups" of being behind the recent killings and terror.

[The following statement by the national secretariat of Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) was issued as a response to the Indonesian government's statement on autonomy and independence for East Timor.]

Margot Cohen – Presidential hopeful Megawati Sukarnoputri is unquestionably the most prominent woman in Indonesian politics today. So what has she done for women lately?

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – Indonesia's powerful former first family is funding 12 political parties in an attempt to influence the June elections, opposition and party sources said yesterday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – To the beat of drums and the sound of marching bands, opposition leader Amien Rais was yesterday acclaimed as his party's leader and presidential candidate by a cheering crowd of tens of thousands.

Indonesia wants to resolve the East Timor problem rapidly because it had proved costly both economically and politically, Finance Minister Ginandjar Kartasasmita said at the weekend.