Comment by Hamish Mcdonald – Could Alexander Downer be playing a deep double game with the Indonesians? Could he be luring them into agreeing to an act of self-determination by encouraging their hopes that it will result in some autonomy formula without East Timor leaving Indonesian hands?

Sydney – The Australian government announced Tuesday it will press Indonesia to grant East Timor an act of self-determination in a policy shift which East Timorese activists immediately said does not go far enough.

[The following is the text of a report by Portuguese radio on January 8.]

Jakarta – This city is facing the prospect of buckling under the strain of a number of serious social problems resulting from sharp increases in the number of jobless people and a continuing influx of migrants, a government official has warned.

Jakarta – The government is scheduled to repeal the Subversion Law next week in response to fierce public criticism and in order to bring the Criminal Code into accordance with the recently approved anti-torture convention.

Angela Tresnasari, Jakarta – Indonesia's military said on Monday it had arrested 30 soldiers in the restive province of Aceh for beating to death and torturing suspected separatist rebels at the weekend.

Jakarta – Thousands of villagers went on a rampage in Indonesia's South Sumatra, torching vehicles and houses after four suspected thieves were beaten to death by residents of another village, witnesses said on Monday.

Jakarta – Thousands shouting "Long Live Mrs. President" turned out Sunday to hear opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri launch her campaign for Indonesia's first elections since the fall of Suharto.

Jakarta – Indonesian troops raided a village suspected of harboring a separatist leader holding two military hostages in troubled Aceh province Saturday, arresting 37 residents, the military said.

Jakarta – The Independent Election Monitoring Committee (KIPP) now has volunteers in 62 cities in 22 provinces, its secretary general, Mulyana W. Kusumah, said on Thursday. Mulyana told The Jakarta Post that he could not give the total number of volunteers because registration was still in progress.

Have you ever heard of the rumor that the ethnic Chinese, who comprise less than 4% of the Indonesian population, but control 70% of that country's economy? Well, according to a Chinese-Indonesian priest who visited the Philippines recently, many journalists fell for it without even checking the facts.

Jakarta – A 28-year-old political activist testified at a court martial here Friday that he was subjected to repeated electric shock treatment after being abducted during the last months of the Suharto regime.

Jakarta – A 40-strong delegation of representatives from the Indonesian province of Aceh Friday called on President B.J. Habibie to swiftly punish human rights violators in the troubled province.

Jakarta – The leader of Indonesia's largest Moslem organisation on Thursday accused followers of former President Suharto of instigating a wave of ethnic and religious violence that has shaken the country in recent months.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military has released most of the scores of villagers detained in a sweep of separatist targets in troubled Aceh province, a rights official said Thursday.

Jakarta – Mob violence rocked two cities in the Indonesian provinces of Central Java and West Kalimantan, leaving a dozen people injured, including one with a gunshot wound, reports said here Thursday.

Lisbon – The senior commander of the East Timorese guerrilla movement has rejected all attempts to split or discredit the occupied territory's resistance to domination by Indonesia.

Jakarta – Students from Java, Lampung and Bali issued a defiant New Year statement vowing to continue with demonstrations this year as a means to maintain pressure on the government, The Jakarta Post reported yesterday.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – Indonesian military commander Gen. Wiranto managed to consolidate his power base after launching a major reshuffle of his command structure that involves 100 officers.

Political observers said the reshuffle announced on Monday had practically sidelined officers who are closely associated to Wiranto's archrival, ousted Lt. Gen. Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta – The dominant party Golkar begged on Tuesday that the powerful Armed Forces (ABRI) reconsider its expressed stance of no longer supporting any political parties, including Golkar, in the coming polls.

Canberra – Hundreds of East Timorese were fleeing the countryside because of ongoing civilian killings and torture by the Indonesian military, it was alleged today.

The fresh allegations of atrocities were contained in videotapes smuggled out of the former Portuguese island colony and broadcast nationally by SBS.

Jakarta – Indonesian president B.J. Habibie on Tuesday lashed out at the country's press here Tuesday, accusing it of exaggerated and unbalanced reporting that threatened to spread confusion and unrest.

Jakarta – Indonesian President B.J. Habibie Tuesday defended a much-criticized government plan to raise a 40,000-strong civilian militia saying it was urgently needed to uphold law and security.

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Indonesian troops opened fire to disperse a mob near a separatist's home in the troubled province of Aceh whom they claim masterminded weekend violence in which nine people died, witnesses and the military said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – The ruling Golkar is holding out for the right of the country's four million public servants to join political parties, turning its back on mounting calls for the bureaucracy's neutrality in elections.

Jakarta – Nearly 50 inmates escaped from a prison in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh, the state Antara news agency reported Monday.

The 47 inmates pushed through the main gate of the Jantho prison in Aceh Besar district Sunday as guards escorted out two visitors. Five guards were threatened by some of the inmates, who were armed with knives.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Police shot 191 suspected criminals for various reasons in 1998, killing 90 of them, but its chief said the action was justified in every incident.

Dili – Two men were killed and five wounded in East Timor when supporters of a referendum on the future of the troubled territory clashed with an armed militia backing autonomy, a source said Monday.

Militia members at a security post in Ainaro district fired into a mob of about 100 people late on Sunday after warning shots were ignored, the source here said.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – About two weeks after Indonesian strongman Suharto stepped down from his 32-year presidency, Indonesian editor, poet and political activist Goenawan Mohamad brought his lieutenants to a villa in the scenic Puncak area in the southern belt of Jakarta.

Jakarta – Rumours of deaths in police custody and anti-Chinese tensions sparked new unrest in Indonesia, reports said Sunday. One mob set ablaze a police post and a store in Java while another shop was ransacked by angry Moslems on the island of Sulawesi.

Jakarta – New unrest has been sparked in several Indonesian towns by rumours of deaths in police custody, environmental pollution and anti-Chinese tensions, reports said Sunday.

Jakarta – Nine civilians were killed and 23 seriously injured when Indonesian troops fired on "separatists" Sunday after a mob attacked a government building in the rebellious province of Aceh, local police said. Witnesses and human rights groups had earlier put the death toll at six.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military found a body believed to be the fourth of seven soldiers killed in an apparent ambush in the troubled province of Aceh as a search continued for two marine hostages, officials said Sunday.

Jakarta – Indonesia freed 42 political prisoners in a New Year's amnesty and plans to revoke a key legal weapon once used to bolster the rule of former President Suharto, local media reported Saturday.

The moves are part of a reform program led by Suharto's successor, President B.J. Habibie, who has been targeted by student protesters demanding swifter democratic change.

Jakarta – A political fight was looming here Saturday over the likely disqualification of scores of new political parties from taking part in the first general elections since the fall of Suharto.

Jakarta – Violence marred New Year celebrations in at least four towns in the Indonesian province of West Java which saw looting and vandalism while revellers threw fireworks at passing motorists, newspapers said Saturday. Unrest broke out in the towns of Sukabumi, Bandung, Cilegon and Garut, but no casualties were reported, the newspapers said.

When Indonesia's Attorney General, Andi Mohamad Ghalib, formally named former president Suharto on December 23 last year as a suspect in a corruption case over a tax-exempt national car project, most politically aware Indonesians knew not to expect too much.

Jakarta – A crowd of people were holding three military men hostage in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province Thursday, two days after an ambush there left at least five off-duty soliders dead, reports and sources said Thursday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian military on Thursday sent hundreds of troops into troubled Aceh province to search for the bodies of seven soldiers killed in an ambush and find three others held hostage.

Mark Dodd, Jakarta – On the eve of today's resumption of the trial of 11 Indonesian special forces soldiers for abducting political activists, one of their alleged victims relived his ordeal at their hands.

Jakarta – Indonesia will release and rehabilitate 62 political prisoners including 20 East Timorese in the coming week, but East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao will not be among those freed, Justice Minister Muladi said Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have estimated that more than 500 million dollars had been lost by the state to graft, most of it to members and cronies of the family of fallen president Suharto.

Jakarta – Indonesia's police declared "zero tolerance" on looters and would shoot at offenders, admitting Wednesday warnings against rampant plundering of food trucks and stores had been futile.

Jakarta – Reoccupation of land by grassroots people and labor disputes following massive dismissals at many companies due to the monetary crisis were just two of the highlights during the year in Greater Jakarta.

Richard Borsuk – They were almost as close to former Indonesian President Suharto as his own family, and their business successes showed it: Beneficiaries of monopolies, state licenses and the strongman's generosity with national assets, Mohamad "Bob" Hasan and Liem Sioe Liong were billionaires during the 32-year Suharto regime.

Jakarta - Seven off-duty soldiers in western Indonesia's troubled Aceh province were tortured and killed in an ambush which the military said Wednesday was orchestrated by separatists.

Shoeb Kagda, Jakarta – Indonesia will once again look to the international community for massive financial help in 1999 as the country continues to grapple with worsening political and social conditions which threaten to undermine its economic recovery and tear apart its social fabric.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian president Suharto, his relatives and associates own almost nine million hectares (22.2 million acres) of forest land, and the family owns 204,983 hectares of prime real estate across the country, press reports said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Observers predicted on Monday that labor conditions would worsen next year due to the prolonged economic and political crises, warning that an unemployment rate of 38 million out of the total work force of 90 million represented a ticking time bomb.

Jakarta – Police and troops patrolled two Indonesian towns Tuesday after new riots left hundreds injured in Lampung, Central Sulawesi and North Sumatra provinces.