Jakarta – The Indonesian military (TNI) is keen to improve ties with the US military without being disturbed by political issues, the top military commander said here Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto held talks with visiting United States Pacific Commander Adm. Thomas B. Fargo at the TNI Headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, on Wednesday.

Richard Norton-Taylor – Human rights campaigners have accused the government of relaxing demands on Indonesia over the use of British military equipment in the country.

Just possibly, a former general in Indonesia's military could become the next president of the country. But if former armed-forces chief Wiranto is elected leader of this key country in the war on terrorism, and decides to pay a visit to Washington – which would not only be likely, but inevitable – it could create a diplomatic embarrassment for the US.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Cabinet ministers will have to leave office if they decide to contest the presidential election, a draft government regulation says in response to controversy on the issue.

Depok – Some 500 students from the University of Indonesia staged a rally on Monday to protest the university's plan to increase tuition.

The students said that although the increase was not yet official, a report in circulation stated that the rector's office had proposed a 300 percent hike to the university's board of trustees.

Agus Maryono, Purwokerto – Seventeen students of the Jendral Soedirman University (Unsoed) continued with their hunger strike on Monday. They are protesting an additional fee imposed on them by the university last year.

The strike started on Thursday last week, with 19 students fasting. Two have already stopped due to the deterioration of their health.

Tiarma Siboro and A. Junaidi – Rampant corruption, including price markups, at the Ministry of Religious Affairs involved many officials, businesspeople, politicians and foreigners, a respected Muslim leader alleged on Monday.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Confronted with increasing population growth figures, President Megawati Soekarnoputri appealed to religious leaders on Monday to take part in promoting the family planning program.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the National Family Planning Coordinating Agency (BKKBN) meeting, Megawati said that the movement needed to be revitalized.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – Work on the much-disputed Muria nuclear power plant (PLTN) in Jepara regency, Central Java, will start soon, a senior government official said in Semarang on Monday.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – As if the contrast between high-rise buildings and riverbank slums were not enough to indicate the social gap among Jakartans, different kinds of movie theater across the capital provide more than just favorite flicks.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has gathered a new medical team to examine former president Soeharto's health to determine whether or not it could resume investigations into his alleged corruption.

Jakarta – All 24 political parties eligible to join the general election have signed a nine-point agreement to maintain peace before, during and after the April 5 polls.

The agreement was signed on Friday at the General Elections Commission (KPU) building.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The press will undergo a crucial test of its independence in the face of the upcoming general election since the intervention of interest groups in the mass media will be unavoidable, says an election executive.

Frans Surdiasis, Jakarta – Adi Sasono is way past his days of being a young activist and minister; and in the 1999 elections, when he still wielded some influence, his earlier party which once alleged of corruption, did not even pass the electoral threshold. So why is he back?

Astrid Felicia Lim, Jakarta – Non-government organisation (NGO) activists from the Committee for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Institute for Public Research and Advocacy (Elsam), the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI) and the Association of Families of Missing Persons (Ikatan Keluarga Orang Hilang, Ikohi) are again urging the government, the People's Re

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Despite the Child Protection Law, the problems of displaced children and child abuse have not been resolved by the government, which sparked criticism from the Committee on the Rights of Children (CRC).

Jakarta – Indonesia's anti-terror laws are tough enough and the country does not need to adopt US and Australian legal tools in the war on terror because they could endanger human rights, the justice minister said on Monday.

An Indonesian court jailed an Islamic militant for life for preparing explosives for the Bali nightclub bombings which killed 202 people.

Suranto Abdul Ghoni, who crushed chemicals for the deadlier of the two bombs which ripped through crowded nightspots, is the fourth man to receive a life sentence.

Endy M. Bayuni – The media in Indonesia has come under fire once again. Unlike the Soeharto years, when the attacks came directly from the government, this time it is coming from the wealthy and the powerful in league with the courts – their battleground of choice. Sadly, the media rarely wins these "legal" tussles.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – A number of judges at the Medan district and North Sumatra high courts were guilty of extortion and other malpractice, Medan lawyers said on Saturday.

Lawyer Januari Siregar said he recently filed a report to the Supreme Court in Jakarta about a judge at the Medan district court, whom he accused extorting money from his client's family.

Bontang – As he flew over the coal mines and shrimp farms that dot Indonesia's part of Borneo island, a smiling Gen. Wiranto couldn't contain himself. "Did you see how they touched me," he said. "It was as if I was Michael Jackson and they were my fans."

Bob Burton, Canberra – One month after an unarmed protester against the construction of a Australian-owned mine in Indonesia was shot and killed, the Australian government is refusing to warn companies against paying Indonesian security forces for protection.

Muhamad Fasabeni, Jakarta – Arriving in three Metro Mini Number 79 busses at 11am, around 60 people demonstrated at the offices of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the Indonesian Legal Aid Association (PBHI) and Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) on Friday February 6 at 11am.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Three non-governmental organizations filed a lawsuit against President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Thursday at the Central Jakarta District Court for issuing Presidential Instruction No. 5/2003 on an economic policy package with International Monetary Fund (IMF) monitoring.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) issued on Thursday a list of 7,786 legislative candidates eligible to contest the polls, one week behind the original schedule.

There were some corrections made to the list as the commission had declared 7,756 aspirants qualified for the April general election last week.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – In anticipation of the possible delay of the general election, the government has developed a number of contingency plans, a minister said on Thursday.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Former minister of religious affairs Tarmizi Taher complained to the Jakarta Police on Thursday that he had been defamed by a group of students who included his name on a list of "70 politicians with a bad record".

Jakarta – Three non-governmental organizations concerned about labor and poverty announced on Thursday political parties and politicians considered to be unscrupulous, and therefore unworthy of support.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – Observers warned the nation on Thursday that press freedom was back under threat, despite the downfall of authoritarian president Soeharto six years ago.

The media has come increasingly under threat with state officials and businesspeople lodging criminal and civil charges against media enterprises without taking the Press Law into account.

Damar Harsanto and Evi Mariani, Jakarta – Taxpayers should fight the three-in-one traffic policy if they believed it was disadvantaging them, community activists said on Thursday.

Jakarta – The environmental group Greenpeace said yesterday that it had documented massive illegal logging in a protected national park that houses orangutans in Kalimantan.

John McBeth/Jakarta and Murray Hiebert/Washington – Indonesia's elections are about to become interesting. Last year, retired armed-forces chief Wiranto, in the early stages of a presidential candidacy, was placed on America's visa watch list.

So much for Indonesian armed forces chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto's promise that the military will refrain from any attempt at influencing this year's general elections.

Max Lane – The Indonesian people's contempt for, and rejection of, the country's elit politik (political elite) is wide and deep. So deep, that a term that began as a normal sociological description is now a form of insult used by the masses. Several political initiatives have been launched to try to tap this sentiment.

Orin Basuki – It is the afternoon of January 30, and as many as 1169 names of prospective legislative candidates for the provincial Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) for Riau province and the Riau island group are officially announced by the regional National Election Commission in Pekanbaru.

Jakarta – A witness told the human rights court on Tuesday she experienced sexual abuse during her detention by the military following a shooting incident in the North Jakarta area of Tanjung Priok in 1984.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – Repeated warnings from the government to the public to take preventive measures against dengue fever at the beginning and the end of the rainy season, apparently have not done any good as around 300 Jakartans still suffered from the disease this year alone.

Kelly McEvers, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri is poised to authorize the expansion of Indonesia's national intelligence agency, a plan that will post new agents in all of this sprawling country's provinces and municipalities.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The Central Committee for Labor Dispute Settlements (P4P) has decided to accept the decision by ailing state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) to dismiss a total of 6,650 workers, meaning that the process of settling the case is sure to drag on.

[Indonesian trade unionist Dita Indah Sari, chairperson of the Indonesian National Front for Labour struggle, addressed 6000 people at the World Social Forum on January 17. On returning, she wrote the following comment on the conference.]

The International Crisis Group has warned that Indonesia could face long term threats from militants, not so much from Jemaah Islamiyah ... but from smaller groups with links to the more militant al-Qaeda. One of the groups is the Mujahidin KOMPAK, formed in 1999 by J-I leaders who were unhappy with the group's slow and bureaucratic response to conflicts within Indonesia.

Jakarta – Indonesia's exports in 2003 rose by 6.76 percent from a year earlier, partly because of a pick up in global demand and a high international oil price, according to local analysts at the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The chaotic preparations for the elections continue to amaze one and all, with the General Elections Commission (KPU) officially announcing on Tuesday that the printing of ballot papers would be delayed again to February 8, a week behind the initial schedule.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – A group of bogus police detectives are raiding unwary Jakartans' homes and searching them on the street, in a spate of extortions and robberies, police say.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Customs and Excise plans to impose non-tax fees on import and export clearance and inspections starting next month in a bid to raise funds to improve services.

Businessmen have immediately criticized the plan, however, saying the fees would only be a new burden, and doubted that customs services would improve.

Tim Shorrock, Washington – The United States is committing a major political blunder in Indonesia by focusing solely on terrorism, according to regional experts on Islam, who suggest that the US should concentrate instead on helping Indonesia build its democratic institutions and revitalize its economy and educational system.

Election fever along with the inevitable campaigning essentially began as soon as the legislation was finalized by the House of Representatives (DPR) in mid-2003.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – A storm is brewing with polls looming. And it has nothing to do with backroom dealings, smear campaigns and the internecine battles between parties at the subterranean levels of politics.

Indonesia's General Elections Commission (KPU) is in deep mire over the most unlikely of problems: ballot boxes or the lack of them.

Frans Surdiasis, Jakarta – When a new party founded by Eros Djarot – a popular figure in politics, the arts and the media – was introduced, many were a little surprised that, just like a number of other parties, it also promoted itself as the legacy of founding father Sukarno.