A. Junaidi and Indra Harsaputra, Jakarta/Surabaya – A team of 80 historians tasked with revising the national history book, are gathering new data and information on former president Soeharto's roles in a number of crucial events.

Leo Wahyudi S. – Forced evictions conducted by the city administration usually end in clashes between public order officers and the "illegal" occupants. People often end up in hospital due to their injuries; one even died in the last eviction in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

The Jakarta Post talked to some people on the use of violence by public order officers.

Tiarma Siboro and Andi Hajramurni, Surabaya/Makasar – President Megawati Soekarnoputri told the Indonesian Military (TNI) on Sunday to "build a bridge over the country's troubled water" resulting from various conflicts and competition among political interests, which have harmed the nation's integrity.

Jakarta – The New Order regime [of former President Suharto] which was brought down by the wave of demands for reformasi in 1998, is returning to power though the 2004 general elections.

To celebrate its 58th anniversary, which falls on October 5, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has picked "Make the general election a success" as the commemoration's theme. The following is an excerpt of the question and answer session with TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, which was attended by The Jakarta Post's Tiarma Siboro.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Military observers said on Friday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) had made some progress in reforming in the last 5 years, but pointed out other problems that it must improve to meet the nation's expectations and uphold democracy.

Evi Mariani, Jakarta – More than 1,000 people became homeless in a forced eviction on Thursday at a 15-hectare plot of land in Tanjung Duren Selatan subdistrict, West Jakarta.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – The planned revision of the Criminal Code (KUHP) should focus on repressive articles and outdated laws, instead of criminalizing private matters, experts said.

In Indonesia, one of the country's most respected journalists and intellectuals, Tempo-media group co-founder Gunawan Mohamad, has had his Jakarta home confiscated by the courts....Simultaneous moves to seize a key Tempo office have so far failed on grounds that the company doesn't own the building concerned.

Makassar – Tension still engulfed the newly created regency of Mamasa, some 380 kilometers from the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar, on Thursday after three deaths in attacks by rival villagers.

The attacks took place on Monday and Tuesday, and involved those supporting and those opposing the division of Polewali Mamasa (Polmas) into two regencies – Polewali and Mamasa.

The East Jakarta District Court on Monday issued an asset preservation order covering the home of Tempo magazine co-founder Goenawan Mohamad. This was followed by the issuance of a similar order against the editorial offices of the Koran Tempo daily by the South Jakarta District Court.

Jakarta – The number of tourists visiting Indonesia fell in August, nearly a year after the Bali bomb blasts, while arrivals fell almost 20 percent in the first eight months of 2003, the statistics bureau said on Thursday.

Fitri Wulandari, Jakarta – The government has finally decided not to increase electricity rates for the October-December period this year, amid strong public opposition ahead of next year's general elections.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Living in sin, committing adultery and practising black magic will be punished with long jail sentences under Indonesia's draft new criminal code.

The tough provisions in the code, intended to replace much of the criminal law left by Indonesia's former Dutch colonisers, include jail terms of up to 12 years for casual sex.

Kurniawan Hari and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Leaders of the House of Representatives (DPR) have instructed legislators deliberating the water resource bill to make several revisions on some contentious articles, Deputy Speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno said on Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesian lawyers have criticised plans by the Justice Ministry to criminalise sex outside of marriage and some sexual acts by minors, a report said yesterday.

The ministry is drafting an amendment to the criminal code to include acts not currently categorised as crimes but seen as immoral. These include living together and sex outside of marriage.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A rights activist and a lawyer have expressed concern over a government proposal to criminalize extramarital sex and some sexual acts by minors, saying it would infringe citizens' basic rights.

Jakarta -- It was hard to find any national flags being flown at half-mast on Tuesday, signaling that many Indonesians have forgotten about the shadowy September 30 incident.

Jakarta – Moody's Investors Service, an international rating agency, has upgraded Indonesia's sovereign rating by one notch, in light of the country's stronger external financial footing and falling government debts.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The General Elections Commission (KPU) received on Tuesday an anonymous package containing 11 live bullets addressed to each of its members and a letter demanding that the Commission adopt certain specifications in the tender of ballot boxes for the elections next year.

From whatever side one looks at it, by any measure the chain of events that was set in motion by what happened around October 1, 1965, constitutes a human tragedy so huge it deserves to be remembered.

Jakarta – A majority of Indonesians, fed up with what they see as ineffective government, prefer the autocracy of former President Suharto to the democratic rule of current leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, a survey showed.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Another survey has found that the public are disappointed with the performance of President Megawati Soekarnoputri's administration, with poor law enforcement the utmost cause of discontent.

Slamet Susanto & Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Yogyakarta/Jakarta – A number of people were injured during a clash between police and about 200 protesters who staged a rally against the water resources bill in Yogyakarta on Monday.

One of the protesters was admitted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

ID Nugroho and Ainur R. Sophiaan, Surabaya – As many as 4,000 workers of giant household equipment producer PT Maspion in the East Java town of Sidoarjo went on strike on Monday to protest a company policy on leave.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Lawyers for the 11 military personnel accused of committing gross human rights violations in the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre questioned on Monday the legality of the ongoing trials against their clients, arguing that the families of the victims and the military had reached an out-of-court settlement in the case.

Two extraordinary reports appeared in this newspaper, on its National page last week. The first contained a strong warning coming from respected Muslim scholar Nurcholish Madjid that only war and revolution to restore the reform movement could rescue Indonesia from bankruptcy.

Bambang Nurbianto and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Thousands of more families will soon be left homeless as the Jakarta Administration is set to continue its policy of evicting squatters living illegally on privately and state-owned land across the city.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Frustrated with the protracted economic crises, stalled reforms and poor law enforcement, the general public are now more inclined to look favorably at a regime akin to the military-backed New Order, posing a threat to the consolidation of democracy in the country, according to a survey.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Schools are the new breeding grounds for violence in Indonesia if the murders and acts of brutality at colleges and universities over the last month are anything to go by.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Casual sex, oral sex, cohabitation, homosexual sex and witchcraft will be outlawed if proposals by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights to amend the Criminal Code (KUHP) are adopted.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A historian demanded on Monday that the government revise the historical accounts on the September 30, 1965 coup attempt, that has long been blamed on the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), as part of the nation's efforts to come to terms with the past.

Jakarta – A group of Indonesian Muslims, handpicked by the US Embassy here for their moderate views, told an expert panel from Washington in plain terms last week why America is unloved in the Islamic world.

Tiarma Siboro and Indra Harsaputra, Jakarta/Surabaya – Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid is facing an uphill challenge in his bid to regain power, even within his National Awakening Party (PKB).

Jakarta – Indonesian business confidence rose in the June and July period for the first time since September last year, in the belief that the economy will fare better during the period of August 2003 until January 2004, according to a Danareksa Research Institute survey.

The survey also revealed that the Business Sentiment Index (BSI) rose by 2.1 percent.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – University communities throughout the country, particularly those in Java, have committed themselves to a nationwide "moral pressure movement" aimed at helping put the country's reform agenda back on track, says Gadjah Mada University (UGM) rector Sofian Effendi.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – About 150 members of the Betawi Brotherhood Forum (FBR) raided a number of nightspots in Cilincing area, Muara Baru and North Jakarta, early Sunday morning, ordering the venue's owners to shut down business within a week.

Jakarta – Money sent by Al-Qaeda to support the families of suspects arrested over the Bali bombings was used to finance the August 5 attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesian terror suspect Hambali has told investigators.

Bali – An Indonesian court on the resort island of Bali sentenced two men on Monday to 12 and 15 years in jail for their part in last year's nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, most of them young Western tourists.

Jakarta – Only 20 percent of the some 450,000 daily commuter train passengers in the Greater Jakarta area buy tickets while the rest either bribe conductors on board or do not pay at all.

Cohabitation, oral sex and homosexual sex will soon become crimes in Indonesia if the justice ministry has its way, a ministry spokesman said.

The ministry is drafting an amendment to the country's criminal code to include acts not currently categorised as crimes but considered morally unacceptable.

Jakarta – The Ministry of Finance is currently drafting a new bill on the accountancy profession, which will replace the existing outdated law issued in the 1950s.

Jakarta – Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu said on Sunday that the Army had long detected foreign parties' involvement in a number of conflicts in the country. "They may be involved, either directly or indirectly," he said after opening a marathon to celebrate the Indonesian military's 58th anniversary.

Lie Hua, Jakarta – September 30, 1965, is a black day in the history of modern Indonesia. The assassination of seven generals in the wee hours of October 1 sparked a ghastly orgy of bloodletting and vigilantism in the ensuing months.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Several Jemaah Islamiah members detained by Indonesian police said an extremist splinter faction of the group is responsible for conducting terror attacks in the country.

Malaysian Nasir Abbas said yesterday during a broadcast by El Shinta radio station that JI has broken up into at least three distinct parts.

Dikhy Sasra, Jakarta – Around 100 people from the group Solidarity for Aceh and Papua protested rejecting militarism at the offices of the United Nations, the Ministry for the Coordination of Politics and Security and the Presidential Palace.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has set up a team to investigate a string of evictions in the city, which many claim have violated people's basic rights, a commission member said on Friday.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Police released on Friday another four people reportedly linked to terrorist activities, deeming their accounts during interrogation thus far sufficient.

Blontank Poer, Jakarta – Some people may have taken Shakespeare's "What's in a name?" to heart and decided they needed more weight to their names, yearning for the prestige of a royal title.

About 600 people, including prominent politicians, have reportedly submitted requests to be granted royal titles from the Hadiningrat Kraton of Surakarta in Central Java.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – House of Representatives' Speaker Akbar Tandjung defended on Friday the water resources bill despite protests from some quarters, and asked lawmakers to inform the public about the contents of the bill before approving it.