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.

Andreas Harsono, Salatiga – Two boys were taking a nap as three men waited for the heavy tropical rain to stop under a red-and-black shelter in this city last week. Quietly, one man said, "We're lucky to have this bamboo shelter."

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Pressure is mounting on the Government of Dr B.J. Habibie to force the return to Indonesia of Lieutenant-General Prabowo Subianto, the son-in-law of former president Soeharto, to face allegations that he ordered the kidnapping and torture of pro-democracy activists.

Jakarta – All but 15 out of the 120 or so political parties that have mushroomed since the fall of Indonesian president Suharto are likely to be disqualified from the June elections if parliament endorses government proposals, a senior minister said Monday.

Jakarta – Indonesian police on Monday summoned a leading student activist for questioning in a controversial subversion case involving 11 prominent public figures accused of instigating unrest.

Jakarta – Muslim scholars Abdurrahman Wahid and Emha Ainun Nadjib have issued dire warnings of chaos and even bloodshed in the run-up to the general election in June 1999 unless a national dialog for reconciliation was held to head off the danger.

Medan – Indonesian police on Monday opened fire on hundreds of farmers who occupied a state plantation on the island of Sumatra and also clashed with villagers in a strife-hit region of Sulawesi to bring a mass brawl under control.

Jakarta – An angry mob set fire to a discotheque and damaged shops selling liquor in Christmas violence on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, government officials and residents said on Sunday.

Jakarta – Indonesian Justice Minister Muladi said Monday the country's new government may be open to the return of hundreds who fled the country in the 1960s after being charged with being communists.

Madrid – Portuguese lawyers on Saturday demanded the extradition of Indonesia's ex-president Suharto to bring him to court for genocide of the population of East Timor, Portugal's former colony.

Jakarta – A leading Indonesian human rights watchdog Saturday lashed out at the court martial of 11 soldiers on charges of abducting activists as "simplistic," and demanded that their commanding officers also be dragged to court.

There are days when Teungku Bintara wonders how he ever survived. For six months in 1990 and 1991 he languished in a military prison camp in Indonesia's Aceh province. One day, Bintara, then the headman of a nearby village, was put inside a room whose walls were splattered with human blood and hair.

Jakarta – Visiting United Nations (UN) special envoy Jamsheed Marker said he was pleased with his meeting with Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto here Monday which can be useful for future dialogs on the East Timor issue.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's President, Dr B.J. Habibie, has ordered prosecutors to target Lieutenant-General Prabowo Subianto, the son-in-law of deposed president Soeharto, over the abductions of at least 24 political activists earlier this year.

Jakarta – The government has approved a military plan to recruit civilians to help police fight crime in Indonesia, an official said Wednesday. Minister of Information Yunus Yosfiah said 40,000 civilians would be recruited in January and would be trained in all military training centers across the country.

Jakarta – The government plans to increase regional minimum wages by between 10 percent and 20 percent next April.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government on Wednesday signed a letter of intent with the International Labor Organization (ILO) pledging to ratify three more human rights conventions.

Jakarta – Eleven members of the Indonesian armed forces will face a military court Wednesday, charged with involvement in the abduction and torture of political activists, a rights group said Tuesday.

Seven government offices were seriously damaged and seven people – four soldiers and three civilians – were seriously injured when hundreds of people flooded into Lhokseumawe early Monday morning.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government, following up on the results of a government-set probe team into the violent May riots, Monday admitted 76 rapes had been committed, but denied they were organized, a minister said.

Jakarta – A popular Moslem leader has defended a weekend meeting with fallen Indonesian president Suharto against mounting criticism, saying the veteran leader still had a strong influence on the nation's political life, reports said Monday.

Jakarta – Indonesia will release between 40 and 50 political prisoners, including East Timorese, later this week but top East Timorese rebel leader Xanana Gusmao will not be among them, a minister said Monday.

Jakarta – Rights campaigner Benjamin Mangkoedilaga said on Saturday that an investigation into recent unrest in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, revealed that it was not a spontaneous eruption of outrage over earlier unrest in Jakarta.

Jakarta – Two major Indonesian student groups have said they plan to halt their almost-daily street protests during the Moslem fasting month that began Sunday, a report said here Monday.

The City Forum (Forkot) and the Jakarta Student Senates Communication Forum (FKSMJ) were considering other forms of protests during the fasting month, the Indonesian Observer said.

Jakarta – A mob of more than 1,000 people attacked three churches, a Catholic school, a clinic and scores of houses near here on the eve of the Moslem fasting month, a report said Monday.

Dili – A special envoy of the UN secretary general was airlifted by helicopter from the Komoro airport here Sunday as hundreds of protestors stormed the terminal, witnesses said.

Dili – More than 1,000 pro-independence residents of East Timor rallied in the capital Dili Saturday, preparing to greet the UN secretary general's special envoy on the territory Jamsheed Marker.

Jakarta – A day after clashes between students and security personnel in Jakarta ended with dozens injured on both sides, noted scholars, religious leaders and the military renewed their appeals for an end to demonstrations during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan.

Jakarta – The military, stung by fierce criticism, yesterday put on hold plans for a 40,000-member "bamboo militia" many fear would be nothing more than state-sanctioned thugs.

Jakarta – Protesting students involved in a clash with troops and police officers on Thursday have defended their actions, saying that assaults on security personnel were in retaliation for heavy handed crowd control measures used against them during demonstrations.

Jakarta – Only a week after demonstrations against violence were held in Jakarta, when another bloody incident took place on Thursday (17/12). A clash broke out between security troops and demonstrating students on the way to Parliament House/People's Consultative Assembly in Senayan.

Farah Mihlar, Colombo – A United Nations investigator Friday accused the Indonesian military under former President Suharto of carrying out widespread rapes in various parts of the country.

Jakarta – Indonesia's national human rights body and the Catholic church have both bowed out of a state security council announced last week by President B.J. Habibie, saying they thought their membership was inappropriate, reports said Friday.

Jakarta – The World Bank has decided to delay a planned one billion dollar loan to Indonesia until after elections in June of 1999, a report said Friday.

[The following summary was prepared by ASIET based upon initial reports posted by the Committee of the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KONTRAS), the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI), the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and Aldera (Peoples Democratic Alliance).]

Jakarta – Indonesian troops blocked roads near the presidential palace and other strategic sites Friday as 1,200 students staged anti-government rallies. Extra police were also deployed near the US Embassy amid fears of demonstrations in the predominantly Muslim country against the US missile strikes on Iraq.

Helsinki – Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Jose Ramos Horta said in Helsinki on Thursday he agreed with jailed East Timorese former guerrilla leader Xanana Gusmao's proposal for a transition period leading to a referendum on self-determination in his occupied home land.

Lisbon – There has been a mixed reaction to jailed East Timorese armed resistance leader Xanana Gusmao's interview with LUSA earlier this week.