Arif Shodiq Pujiharto, Jakarta - Around 50 people from the group Youth Community Mistrusts the Elections (Kaum Muda Tidak Percaya Pemilu) held a demonstration at the offices of the National Elections Commission (KPU) in Jakarta on Wednesday January 14 demanding that the KPU have the courage to bring rotten politicians to court.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Directorate General of Taxation has completed the revision of the country's tax laws, which will include greater power for the tax office to detain major tax evaders without trial and impose stronger sanctions on a range of lesser violations.

Indonesia's progress towards national elections has had a rather inasupicious start ... with the Indonesian Electoral Commission rejecting calls to extend enrolment deadlines.

Presenter/Interviewer: James Panichi Speakers: Dr Nazaruddin Sjamsuddin, General Elections Commission chairman; Dr Robert Elson, professor in South East Asian history, University of Queensland.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Hendropriyono said on Monday that the planned establishment of his agency's branches at the provincial, municipal and regental levels was aimed at revitalizing the office.

Yemris Fointuna, Kupang – The chief editor of the Timor Express (Timex) daily complied with a police summons on Monday for questioning over libel accusations made by the Wirasakti Military commander.

Indonesia's efforts to reform its judiciary could face another blow if the parliament passes a bill that would bar non -career judges from sitting on the Supreme Court bench. Often portrayed as corrupt, dysfunctional and ineffective .... an attempt was made in 2000 to change that image.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says democracy and human rights should not be considered the absolute goals of the Indonesian nation.

Magelang – Some Rp 24 billion (US$2.8 million) has been embezzled from Bank Mandiri's Magelang branch, adding yet another scandal to Indonesia's bank industry.

"Three people have been named suspects, and they are being questioned by the police," said Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi, the chief of Central Java Police, on Friday.

Surabaya – An activist of the Tanwir Mosque, Adi Suryana, who happened to be a resident of Asemrowo village, North Surabaya, was abducted on Friday by an anti-terror team from the National Police Headquarters.

Kelly McEvers, Jakarta – Mira Augustina married her husband the same day she met him. It was the first time he had proposed, by way of the 21-year-old's father.

"We met at nine o'clock in the morning. We talked a little, and then he asked if I wanted to be his wife. And by 6pm we were married. Oh yes, it was a very happy day for me," Augustina said.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais and President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik Kiemas top the list of lawmakers who rarely or never attended House of Representatives' meetings over the past year, a parliamentary forum revealed.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Gadjah Mada University (UGM) is planning to replace the obligatory community service program – which is traditionally undertaken by undergraduate students in their final year – with a program to monitor the 2004 general election, a top UGM official has said.

Dewi Santoso and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The city administration's policy on transportation development, such as the construction of new elevated roads in 2003 has victimized the urban poor, a group of activists concluded in their year-end evaluation, revealed on Friday.

Marilin, Depok – Residents of Curug subdistrict, Cimanggis district, Depok, have complained about pollution in the nearby Rawa Kalong pond that killed thousands of their fish last October.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – A respected non-governmental organization predicted on Friday a gloomy outlook of the country's environment, forecasting increasing natural disasters and continued violence directed against tribespeople.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Jakarta plans to sell small stakes in three state-owned mining companies this year as part of efforts to meet its privatization target of Rp5 trillion (US$590 million). Up to 14 percent stakes in miners Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam (Bukit Asam), PT Timah Indonesia (Timah) and Aneka Tambang (Antam) will be offered.

Jakarta – The city administration told political parties on Thursday not to place their flags and banners in public places before the campaign period for the 2004 General Election begins in March.

Public order agency head Soebagio confirmed that placing such articles without the consent of the city administration was a violation of Bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order.

Frans Sudiarsis, Research and Development Unit, Jakarta – One of the leaders of the reform movement to topple Soeharto in 1998, Amien Rais was once very confident that we could bid good riddance to Golkar, Soeharto's political vehicle during his 32-year rule, in the 1999 party election.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) asked the General Elections Commission (KPU) and the 24 political parties eligible for the elections to reach a common understanding on several campaign regulations, which the committee described as "gray areas".

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – A number of public figures who top the lists of legislative candidates representing their respective parties are among those who have not yet submitted all the required documents, including wealth declarations, to qualify for this April's election.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) said on Thursday it would carry out daily monitoring of the ballot box production process beginning Saturday.

The plan comes on the heels of serious concerns about a possible delay of the ballot boxes, which must be completed by the end of January. The commission has ordered 2.19 million boxes.

Surabaya – Dozens of people grouped under the banner of the Indonesian Youth Struggle Front (FPPI) rallied on Thursday to support a poll boycott, saying the political parties contesting the 2004 elections were more concerned about their own interests rather than the public's.

Sandy Darmosumarto and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – One tribesman on the North Maluku island of Halmahera was shot dead and four others were injured when paramilitary Mobile Brigade police opened fire to disperse hundreds of protesters demanding the closure of an open pit mine operated by an Australian firm, police said on Thursday.

Jakarta – Indonesia's Attorney-General has reopened the corruption case against former president Suharto, who seems well enough to give his eldest daughter the green light to run for president.

The A-G Office has called for another medical examination on the former leader. Doctors from the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) have been asked to carry out the job.

Jakarta – Army chief Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu installed on Thursday Maj. Gen. Djoko Santoso as his deputy to replace Lt. Gen. Darsono, who is retiring.

Detikcom, Jakarta – The Indonesian Intelligence Network (JII) is not part of intelligence activities undertaken by TNI Indonesian National Military Forces. However, JII is an organization established by an individual, namely Andang Supriyadi, and operates in the southern part of Sumatra.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja & Moch. N.

Jakarta – Dozens of members of several associations staged a protest outside the House of Representatives compound over the recent attack on a temple on Jl. Pluit Raya, North Jakarta.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – Amid criticism from various parties, the Jakarta administration still plans to go ahead with its eviction program which is expected to affect at least 8,500 families or around 47,500 people this year, according to the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC).

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A recent survey reveals that although many respondents trust the current presidential candidates, most of them prefer other candidates to lead the nation for the next five years.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The government has drafted a campaign regulation that will ban top state officials, including the President and her ministers, from using state facilities during the election campaign, but analysts said the regulation was rife with defects.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – The Habibie Center, a study center founded by former president B.J. Habibie, predicted on Wednesday the general elections would not produce leaders who cared about issues affecting the common people and would keep the existing six major political parties in power.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The National Intelligence Agency (BIN) will have much broader powers soon after President Megawati Soekarnoputri signs a decree authorizing the agency to open offices in all provinces, regencies and municipalities across the country, creating new fears of repression.

Jakarta – Holding the elections in conflict areas such as Aceh will not result in quality elections. Basically this is because violence by state security personnel against the public is still occurring, particularly violence which increases a sense of fear in society.

Jakarta – The involvement of the TNI-AD (the army) in making the 2004 general elections a success does not represent an effort or ambition on the part of the TNI-AD to extend its role.

Lee Kim Chew – Indonesia's Golkar party could stage a major political comeback and beat President Megawati Sukarnoputri in the presidential election this year.

And if Golkar joins forces with Ms Megawati's party to form a ruling coalition, Indonesia will have a strong government.

Jakarta – One person was killed and four injured when police opened fire to disperse illegal miners occupying a gold mine operated by Australian firm Newcrest, police said Thursday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) claimed on Wednesday that it had ordered another medical examination for former president Soeharto in a bid to reactivate the prosecution case against him on corruption charges.

Yogyakarta – One thousand students of Gadjah Mada State University (UGM) will actively empower eligible voters and watch the 2004 electoral process in Yogyakarta villages as part of their field study program, UGM Rector Sofian Effendi said.

The students would be sent to 60 villages in four districts in Yogyakarta province, he told reporters here Wednesday.

An explosion rocked the Indonesian city of Medan in North Sumatra province late on Monday evening, but there was no immediate report of casualties, police said.

"There was a blast in Patumbak, near the Amplas [bus] terminal but there was no report of casualties," Second Sergeant PM Simanjuntak of the Medan city police headquarters said.

Jakarta – Indonesian Finance Minister Boediono said Indonesia's economic growth would persist if the next election was run well and the political situation remained stable.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – According to the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), the statement by army chief of staff General Ryamizard Ryacudu that there 60,000 foreign agents in Indonesia is nothing new. However this statement reflects an anxiety and unwillingness on the part of the military to be corrected.

Ahmad Fikri, Bandung – In order to fulfill the requirements of the National Election Commission (KPU), a number of provincial legislative candidates have submitted copies of diplomas which have been certified by the Siliwangi III Regional Military Command (Kodam). The reason they gave for this was because their schools had already been closed down.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The country's judicial institutions have failed to uphold justice for all, as many verdicts have been delivered without proper legal arguments and charges have been leveled at suspects without sufficient evidence, a judiciary watchdog has said.

Andrew Burrell, Jakarta – Indonesia's $5.7 billion tourism industry, still struggling to recover from the Bali bombings and last year's SARS outbreak, has been hit by a government decision to begin charging foreign visitors a visa fee from next month.

Anindhita Maharrani, Jakarta – A number of youth organisation under the banner of Youth Community (Kaum Muda) have protested the list of legislative candidates [for the 2004 general elections] which are dominated by old faces, people who have previously been legislative members.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Inflation rose by 0.94 percent in December from the previous month, bringing the total inflation in 2003 to 5.06 percent, the lowest year-on-year rate in four years, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Friday.

Jakarta – Indonesian activists yesterday filed a police complaint against Religious Affairs Minister Said Aqil al-Munawar, accusing him of possible corruption over advance money paid by some 30,000 would-be pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – No one in this country who believes in democracy wants the 2004 elections to fail, as it is the only democratic tool to elect a legitimate government that will carry out reforms and dig the country out of its economic doldrums.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) announced on Friday the regulations on the electoral campaign, which sets some restrictions regarding campaigning through the mass media.