Merrilyn Treasure, Sydney – Having won liberation after 25 years of struggle, the East Timorese people's first challenge is to defend their right to freedom, East Timorese leader Xanana Gusmao told 500 people at a "Peace and Justice in East Timor" public meeting here on November 9. Gusmao was delivering the 2000 Sydney Peace Prize lecture.

Jakarta – Former military commander Feisal Tanjung gave the order for the deadly 1996 attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), a former intelligence official implied yesterday.

Former military intelligence chief Lieutenant General Moetojib said the attack of July 27, 1996, was ordered by the commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI).

Jakarta – Rush-hour traffic in downtown Jakarta ground to a halt yesterday as protesters blocked streets, demanding that former President B.J. Habibie and his security chief be prosecuted for the deaths of 10 students two years ago.

Mark Dodd, Suai – United Nations police in this shattered town had been forced to free people who had confessed to rape and murder because of a lack of resources to pursue investigations, a senior UN official told a visiting Security Council mission yesterday.

Bronwyn Curran, Dili – UN Security Council envoys wrapped up a two-day mission to East Timor Tuesday, concluding that it was ready for independence but in dire need of international support.

Banda Aceh – Separatists in the Indonesian province of Aceh threatened Tuesday to launch a campaign of civil disobedience to win independence as police in Jakarta called for a free hand to crack down on the rebels.

Tom Wright, Jakarta – Indonesian Foreign Minister Alwi Shihab's premature response to an apparent Bush victory in the US presidential election last week showed how much Jakarta wants to see a Republican in the White House.

Tom Allard, Brunei – The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer, has rejected suggestions of double standards over Australia's refusal to back an independence vote in West Papua, saying Indonesia would disintegrate into a "bloodbath" should the province secede.

Jakarta – A massive clash broke out in Irian Jaya (West Papua) yesterday between transmigrants and natives. There were no immediate reports of any casualties, although there were many injuries. The violence occurred at the central market in Abepura subdistrict and lasted for at least one hour, Antara reported.

Once again political developments in Indonesia have reached a crisis point and once again President Abdurrahman Wahid is abroad – this time traveling to Qatar to attend an Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting, then to Brunei for the annual Apec summit photo-ops. Crises perhaps seek out Wahid absences or, given the frequency of both, there are bound to be coincidences.

Banda Aceh – The people of the troubled northern Indonesian province of Aceh were on the move.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Since the economic crisis began, they have become a common sight at almost every major intersection in Indonesia's large cities – singing and dancing and beggar children and teenagers who make a bee-line for the most expensive cars or taxis.

Jakarta – Thousands of angry protesters demanding President Abdurrahman Wahid's resignation trashed part of Indonesia's Parliament yesterday.

The demonstrators, some wearing white headbands, smashed lamps and chairs in the lobby of the parliamentary complex. Outnumbered police stood by and the violence only stopped when protest leaders brought the situation under control.

Yogyakarta – Representatives of 50 student groups and non-governmental organizations here urged Governor Hamengkubuwono X on Monday to take stern measures against members of a Muslim group who raided an AIDS discussion on Saturday night.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia's embattled leader has suffered another attack on his presidency when lawmakers called on Mr Abdurrahman Wahid to resign, blaming him for the country's economic woes, and the separatist and ethnic violence rocking the country.

Robert Go, Jakarta – As the government steps up efforts to enforce tax regulations and collect taxes, some citizens grumble privately that more of their hard-earned rupiah might go to the state's coffers in the future.

Ingo W – The latest military reshuffle continues the trend to shift former Kostrad officers to the center of power of the Indonesian army (TNI-AD).

Jakarta – Former state minister of cooperatives and small and medium enterprises Adi Sasono was elected chairman of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI) at the end of the association's four-day congress on Sunday. He replaces former president B.J. Habibie, who had held the post since the association was established in Malang, East Java, in 1990.

A Dipta Anindita/Hendra & GB, Jakarta – The Socialist Democratic Faction (FDS) of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) led by Budiman Sudjatmiko has formally separated from the PRD after a long-running difference of opinion. FDS members have established a new struggle organisation named the Socialist Democratic Association (PDS).

Dili – Thousands of East Timorese, clutching flowers and photos, followed independence leader Xanana Gusmao in a procession through Dili's still-rubbled streets yesterday, in the largest ever commemoration of a massacre in the city's Santa Cruz cemetery nine years ago.

Jakarta – An explosion near a Christian meeting hall in the capital of Indonesia's North Sumatra, Medan, killed one person and seriously injured at least two others, hospital staff said yesterday.

Jakarta – More than 10,000 Indonesian students converged at a main flyover in South Jakarta on Monday to commemorate the shooting of seven students there two years ago, causing massive traffic jams along the city's main thoroughfare.

Banda Aceh – Banda Aceh, the provincial capital of Indonesia's restive Aceh province, was calm early Sunday as the death toll linked to two days of pro-independence rallies reached 35. "So far, it appears to be calm this morning, but yesterday there were talks of continuing the street rallies today," a local journalists said.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to crack down on major tax evaders in an attempt to raise state revenues and reduce corruption, a move that could pose serious problems for the family of former President Suharto and his associates who may have benefited from the sloppy enforcement of regulations and patronage during his 32-year rule.

Jakarta – The government has given the former owners of ailing banks taken over by the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) until Wednesday to agree to surrender more assets to ensure they settle their debts or face legal sanctions, reports said.

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of people gathered yesterday in and around the capital of Aceh province for a huge two-day independence rally, despite scores of killings by security forces trying to frighten off demonstrators.

Dili – Indonesian soldiers helped 85 East Timorese refugees cross the border back into their homeland under heavy rain Saturday, a United Nations refugee official said.

Mark Todd, Dili – Indonesia says a large number of East Timor refugees will be repatriated soon from squalid militia-controlled camps in West Timor, but the timing of the announcement comes days before a visit to the violence-prone border region by a high-level mission from the United Nations Security Council.

Banda Aceh – President Abdurrahman Wahid blamed the army and police Friday for the escalating violence in Aceh province and the deaths of at least 19 civilians before a separatist rally.

Chris McCall, Jakarta and Agencies in Banda Aceh – Almost 400,000 people converged on Banda Aceh, capital of Indonesia's Aceh province, for a two-day independence rally after President Abdurrahman Wahid urged troops to let it go ahead following the deaths of 26 people.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesian police yesterday scoured exclusive watering holes and five-star hotels in the capital in a massive hunt for the country's best-known fugitive. Meanwhile, regional police went through the Suharto family's estates throughout the country in search of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) chief Gen. (ret) Feisal Tanjung testified on Thursday that former president Soeharto implicitly ordered the halt of a free speech forum at the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters in July 1996.

Muchus BR/Hendra & PT, Jakarta – 75 Workers in Solo, Central Java have staged a peaceful but rowdy rally at the Solo Municipality Building. The crowds are demanding that they are allowed to see the Solo Mayor.

Jakarta – Police and separatist leaders in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province on Friday appeared set for further conflict over a banned separatist flag, just one day after a landmark compromise agreement was reached.

Jakarta – Disaster and unrest have increased the number of internally displaced people in the country to a staggering 1,050,000, officials said on Thursday.

The secretary-general of the National Board of Social Welfare (BKSN), Ferry Johannes, said the refugees made up 240,333 families sheltering in 18 provinces, most in the Maluku islands.

Pidie – Hundreds of thousands tried to beat tight security Thursday to reach the capital of Indonesia's troubled Aceh province for a pro-independence rally, as police and residents said 16 people had died in two days of violence.

Jakarta – Political rifts over the performance of President Abdurrahman, also known as Gus Dur, continued on Wednesday as staunch supporters of the President and his critics demonstrated separately in Makassar, Jakarta and Surabaya.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – It appears that unemployed villagers are not the only ones who stand to gain from the series of disruptions to Indonesia's richest oil fields in Riau province.

Warren Caragata, Jakarta – It was not the sort of message Indonesia would want to send the world. About 100 young men wearing military-style uniforms and identifying themselves as members of a Muslim militia fanned out across the tourist hangout of Solo in central Java. They barged into several hotels and insisted that any American guests be expelled.

[In these two articles we look at the problems of building a new East Timor, where many locals feel the United Nations is leaving them out of decisions on their future, and where past violence casts a long shadow on the next generation]

Jakarta – Notorious Eurico Guterres, former commander of pro-Indonesia Aitarak East Timorese militia, has been awarded a "red-and-white award" by the State Defense Movement for his struggle to defend Indonesian rule in East Timor.

Sydney – Indonesian authorities conspired with East Timorese militiamen to permit the systematic rape of women and the keeping of sex slaves, the Australian wife of independence leader Xanana Gusmao said Thursday.

Maryadi/BI & GB, Pontianak – Three university students have been injured after Mobile Brigade officers stormed the University of Tanjungpura campus in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. The incident occurred after the students refused to release three police officers taken hostage in the hope of ensuring the release of fellow students detained by police.

John McBeth, Jakarta – When Lt.-Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah threw a party on his recent forty-ninth birthday, guests weren't sure whether the flowers delivered to his house were for a celebration or a wake. Certainly, it's no military secret why most of the general's brother officers failed to show up for the affair.

Robert Go, Jakarta – The government's inability to force the son of long-time ruler Suharto into jail makes a farce out of Indonesia's law enforcement, observers and analysts here said.

Jakarta – Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro called on local oil and mining companies on Wednesday to improve community development in a bid to curb the escalation of hostilities against their operations.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Organisers of Jakarta's International Film Festival were kept waiting until the last minute for permission to screen the film banned by former president Suharto, The Year of Living Dangerously.

Jakarta – Regional governments in Indonesia have been barred by Jakarta from making deals with foreign countries.

Lindsay Murdoch – The hunt for Tommy Suharto, the fugitive son of Indonesia's disgraced former president, has turned into high farce. Tommy is demanding that jail authorities build him a special suite inside Jakarta's high-security Cipinang jail.

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Aceh, one of the proudest and most defiant of Indonesia's provinces, has become the first province in the reform era to elect its own Governor, defying Jakarta's calls to wait until security improves.