Jakarta – Indonesian Justice Minister Utoyo Usman said on Saturday the government had given a three-month reduction to the jail term being served by East Timorese rebel leader Jose "Xan

Xanana Gusmao, the commander of the pro-independence forces, FALINTIL, who is currently serving a twenty-year prison sentence, has declared that he would prefer to remain in prison rath

John McBeth, Jakarta – The long-awaited generational change in the Indonesian armed forces is now taking shape.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Supreme court has said it will not review the conviction of independent labour leader Muchtar Pakpahan jailed on charges that he incited workers to strike, the Jak

Saeki Natsuko – Nike is one of the biggest sports goods manufactures in the world.

Michael Perry, Sydney – South African President Nelson Mandela's mediation in East Timor could provide the "face-saving" device for Indonesian President Suharto to end the 22-year confl

Keith Loveard, Jakarta – Cafe Galeri in Jakarta's upmarket suburb of Menteng is a trendy testament to the success of Indonesia's economy.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia's Information Minister, Mr Raden Hartono, has denied any political motives in joining the influential Islamic group, the Association of Indonesian Mu

[The following is a slightly abridged translation of a chronology sent to ASIET by the underground Peoples Democratic Party]

Richard Borsuk, Mangakajang – Plywood baron Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, longtime confidant of President Suharto, has finally fulfilled his dream of building a huge, high-tech pulp mill in the

Jakarta – Jailed East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao said his release, as called for by South African President Nelson Mandela, was unimportant compared to the urgency for a settle

Jakarta – Indonesia's independent trade union leader filed a judicial review to the Supreme Court, asking the body to review his conviction over the April 1994 Medan riots.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – A war between police and criminals is escalating in Jakarta following the killing of a mobile-brigade policeman last week.

Jakarta – Indonesian police have suggested that local journalists receive special training and shooting lessons to help them with the accuracy of their reporting, the official Antara ne

Jakarta – The National Commission for Human Rights promised yesterday to urge the government to form an independent medical team to seek a third opinion on labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan

Michael Richardson, Singapore – Defying its human rights critics in the United States, Indonesia said Tuesday that it would buy Russian fighters and helicopters after canceling a deal f

Peter Fabricius – South Africa's dramatic expulsion of Portugal's ambassador at the weekend for allegedly holding and leaking to the press a misdirected letter from President Mandela to

Lisbon – Portugal has urged South Africa to resist pressure from Indonesia after Pretoria expelled the Portuguese ambassador Vasco Valente over the leaking of a misdirected note from Pr

Manila – Indonesian opposition leader Megawati Sukarnoputri wants to visit the Philippines but is uncertain if the government of President Fidel Ramos will allow her in, a local newspap

Dili – Col. Suryo Prabowo, former secretary to the chief of general affairs of the Armed Forces, was installed yesterday as deputy chief of Wira Dharma Command.

A delegation of US senators led by Craig Thomas (Dem.

Jakarta – The private secretary of one of Indonesia's founding fathers was put on trial in Jakarta Tuesday, for insulting president Suharto by printing a booklet written by his employer

Bhimanto Suwastoyo, Jakarta – Indonesia Tuesday brushed aside US criticism of its human rights record and said it would buy Russian fighter jets after cancelling an order for American a

Andrei Khalip, Moscow – Indonesia's decision to replace a big defence order from the United States with arms from Russia heralds a big breakthrough for an industry badly hit by the coll

Jakarta – Indonesia has finally decided to purchase 12 Sukhoi 30K (SU-30K) jet fighters and eight multi-purpose MI-17-1V helicopters from Russia to boost the equipment of the Indonesian

Cape Town – South Africa, trying to unravel twin diplomatic blunders in its East Timor peace initiative, on Tuesday acknowledged a "miscommunication" over an announced visit by U.N.

Lisbon – Portugal said on Tuesday it would not retaliate in kind after South Africa expelled its ambassador over the leaking of a misdirected letter from President Nelson Mandela.

Brendan Boyle, Cape Town – South Africa has expelled Portugal's ambassador over the leaking of a misdirected note from President Nelson Mandela to his Indonesian counterpart, but diplom

Pretoria – The South African President, Nelson Mandela, has said he invited East Timorese leaders to visit the African country in September.

Lisbon – Portugal said on Monday it regretted a decision by South Africa to expel its ambassador over the leaking of a misdirected note from President Nelson Mandela to Indonesian Presi

Susan Sim, Jakarta – The good news is that the Indonesian forest fires this year are not as extensive as those three years ago.

Jakarta – Indonesia has finally received a letter from South African President Nelson Mandela suggesting the possible release of jailed East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao, th

Attempts by the Indonesian security forces to quell disturbances which began on 21 August 1997 in the Timika area of Irian Jaya - Indonesia's easternmost province - have resulted in two

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – On a hot Jakarta evening two weeks ago, in a grand colonial-style guest house at Indonesia's Merdeka Presidential Palace, South African President Nelson Mande

Jakarta – An Indonesian appeal court has ruled that a lower court has the authority to decide on a challenge by ousted minority party leader Megawati Sukarnoputri against her government

A 'Training for Trainers' (TFT) course for members of the unrecognised trade union federation, the SBSI, being held in Lampung, South Sumatra, was broken up by a joint unit of military

Hendardi, Jakarta - Discussions about corruption have re-surfaced recently.

Grave fears are held for the safety of 14 East Timorese men whose whereabouts is unknown following their arrest on 2 July, 1997, during an assault by the Indonesian military on the vill

Jakarta – Pro-independence rebels in the former Portuguese colony of East Timor have killed three Indonesian soldiers, military sources said on Thursday.

There are moves in Jakarta to press ahead with the subversion trial of Muchtar Pakpahan, chair of the unrecognised trade union, the SBSI, despite the fact that he is suffering from a nu

New York – On 25 July 1997, Naimullah, a reporter with the Jakarta-based morning daily newspaper "Sinar Pagi" was found murdered.

According to a report in Media Indonesia (22 July 1997), former MP, Sri-Bintang Pamungkas is to go on trial for subversion during the month of August.

Samsudin Berlian, Jakarta – The jailing more than two years ago of two journalists who defied the Indonesian government by publishing an unlicensed magazine was hardly a surprise.

Pretoria – South African President Nelson Mandela called on Indonesia Wednesday to free jailed East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao, saying his release was essential to resolve the

The East Timor Human Rights Centre (ETHRC) is concerned that no independent investigation has been undertaken into the alleged death on 25 June, 1997, of Commander David Alex, second in

Jakarta – About a third of the World Bank's loans to Indonesia have leaked and disappeared into the bureaucracy, an export on Indonesia's economy said yesterday.

Allan Thompson, Ottawa – Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy last year approved the sale of military equipment to Indonesia, which has been criticized for its human rights record an

[The following is a slightly abridged translation of a report sent to ASIET by the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD)]

The UDT [Timorese Democratic Union] has reservations regarding [South African President] Nelson Mandela's diplomatic initiative on East Timor.

[This is the second part of translation sent to ASIET by the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD). The first part was published in ASIET NetNews Number 29. Written Sunday July 27, 3.50pm]