Jakarta – The Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI), the National Student League for Democracy (LMND), the National Farmers Union (STN) and 53 other mass organisation have established a new party, the People's United Opposition Party (Partai Persatuan Oposisi Rakyat, Popor), which was launched in Jakarta on Sunday (27/7).

In the early hours of July 27, 1996, several hundred people belonging to a splinter faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), allegedly backed by the military, attacked the PDI headquarters on Jl. Diponegoro in Central Jakarta, brutally assaulting supporters of the legitimate leader of the party, Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Although formally, the regulations and institutions for upholding human rights in Indonesian have made progress, in practice this is still far from the expectations of society. The legal impasse in handling cases of gross human rights violations which involve security personnel has become a measure which the public uses in assessing the progress made in upholding human rights.

Jakarta – The bloody tragedy that killed at least five supporters of Megawati Soekarnoputri on July 27, 1996 was commemorated in a low-key ceremony here on Sunday by victims of the attack on her Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Kalimantan loses at least 1,000 truck loads of illegal logs every week or about 10,000 cubic meters in the last two months, says a forest ministry official.

Russell Feingold – Last month this newspaper printed a powerful article by Dana Priest relating the story of an ambush last summer in Indonesia that left three dead, including two American schoolteachers.

Jakarta – Tens of university students staged a rally in front of the trade and industry ministry here Monday to protest the government's decision to purchase Russian Sukhoi aircraft and helicopters.

A'an Suryana and La Remmy, Jakarta/Central Sulawesi – The pressure was turned up another notch on Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung to quit his presidential candidacy as a former Golkar leader said it would just hurt the party.

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is defending its stance in ignoring a subpoena by an inquiry of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) into the deadly 1998 May riots, arguing that the investigation has no legal basis.

Jakarta – The rupiah rebounded slightly on Friday amid market talks that Bank Indonesia had sent inspectors to foreign banks that were aggressively selling the local unit. Bank Indonesia confirmed that it had dispatched officials to some banks earlier in the day.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The central message of a recent seminar here on Islamic extremism was clear and pointed: that moderate Muslims in Indonesia should stand up against radicalism.

There is nothing new in the message. The United States and other countries have periodically urged Indonesia's often-silent majority to take a stronger line against militant groups.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Having a side job is nothing new for members of the military. Just like other professionals, military personnel moonlight to contribute to their basic incomes in an attempt to cope with the soaring price of basic needs, particularly since the financial crisis of 1997.

Imanuddin Razak, Jakarta – The July 19, 2003 shooting spree in a North Jakarta, in which a computer businessman and his military bodyguard were murdered, promptly made headlines in national media, although the motive for the murders seems to have been nothing new.

While reports from the battle for the governor's position in Central Java naturally tended to focus on the "split" in the ranks of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), a more interesting struggle was submerged as the losers burned portraits of the President and party leader in the streets of Semarang.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – The forced sale of one of the world's biggest coal mines appears set once again to damage Indonesia's reputation severely as a destination for mining investment and is likely to leave investors with the knowledge that vested interests, manipulation and harsh government disputes leave them devoid of legal certainty when it comes to doing business.

Suherdjoko, Semarang – With the general election drawing near, the cracks within the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) are spreading following the dismissal of the party's Central Java chief Mardijo .

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The government has taken steps toward banning certain jobs for children in order to protect them from health and moral hazards and to ensure their safety, a senior government official said.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Most children across the country would probably have nothing to cheer about when Indonesia commemorates National Children's Day on July 23, as their plight seems to be worsening over time.

Jakarta – A senior member of President Megawati Sukarnoputri's party said yesterday that he and three other top leaders have been targeted by suspected Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terrorists.

David J. Green – In many circles in Indonesia there is a sense of confidence that has not been present in years. True, the economy is hardly booming at 3 percent-4 percent growth each year and unemployment is unlikely to go down.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia will not seek more loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a decision that should signal clearly that the country is finally out of its crisis, say senior economic officials in the government.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government warned on Monday that the US Congress decision to withhold military aid to Indonesia – reportedly because of a failure to bring the perpetrators of last year's killing of two US teachers to justice – could jeopardize bilateral ties.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri is fighting a battle on two fronts as elections loom.

One is with an all-powerful Parliament that was nothing but a rubber-stamp body during the New Order regime – and the other, ironically, is with members of her own Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P).

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesian Trade and Industry Minister Rini Suwandi will answer legislators' summons next Tuesday and face parliamentary grilling over her involvement in Sukhoigate, a scandal involving Jakarta's purchase of combat aircraft and helicopters from Russia in April.

Jakarta (Agencies) – About 1,000 people protested Tuesday at the office of the national food agency Bulog over a deal which would see its funds used to buy Russian fighter aircraft.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The labor union at PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) said on Monday it would sue the state-owned aircraft company's president director, Edwin Soedarmo, for has been called a "unilateral decision" to suspend more than 9,000 workers .

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – At least one person was killed and 25 others injured as police fired shots at more than 1,000 villagers in Makassar, South Sulawesi, who rioted on Monday in a protest against the alleged occupation of their land by a rubber plantation company.

Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has asked a court to order several serving or former generals to answer questions about the bloody May 1998 riots, a commission member said Tuesday.

Jakarta – There are only a few books which mention that [Indonesia's founding President] Sukarno was involved in the 30GS rebellion(1). Conversely, there are many more books which refer to the involvement of the Indonesian military and others.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources said on Monday that it would give 102 mining firms the chance to operate in protected forests, bringing the total number to 124 firms.

Dan Murphy, Washington – The Bush administration has decided to release to the Indonesian military money that was held up after a preliminary US investigation pointed toward Indonesian soldiers as the likely perpetrators of an ambush that left two Americans dead and eight wounded last August.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri and her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) have finally recognized the importance of gaining support from the Islamic parties in the 2004 direct presidential election.

Semarang – Prabowo Subianto Djoyohadikusumo, a son-in-law of former president Soeharto, met with Golkar members in Semarang, Central Java, over the weekend as part of his campaign to win the party's presidential nomination.

Former Indonesiam president Suharto is still too ill to face trial on corruption charges involving hundreds of millions of dollars, Attorney General M.A. Rahman said.

Azis Tunny, Maluku – More than 202,000 people, or 39,000 families, continue to languish in Maluku refugee camps more than four years after fighting between Muslims and Christians first broke out, officials say .

The prolonged conflict displaced more than 350,000 people, who fled to various refugee camps in the province.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A decree outlawing the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and one on the impeachment of founding president Sukarno are among 100 rulings that could be scrapped when the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) convenes next month for its Annual Session.

Eben Kirksey and Jack Grimston – Britain's biggest company, BP, has angered human rights groups by becoming involved with Indonesia's brutal security forces in an attempt to protect a 1 billion Pound gas production scheme.

Leo Wahyudi S. – The unemployed struggle to find vacancies as figures show that nine million are jobless nationwide. Desperation to find work is leading to an increase in collusion and nepotism. Jakartans share their experiences of the job market with The Jakarta Post.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – The Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) has found 1,435 financial irregularities worth more than Rp 1.008 trillion (about US$120 million) in government operations in the first three months of 2003 alone.

Rp 1.008 trillion is equivalent to five months salary for more than 300,000 workers earning Jakarta's minimum wage of Rp 631,000 per month.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) renewed its commitment on Thursday to support the democratization process in Indonesia, especially ahead of the 2004 elections.

A victim of Indonesia's anti-communist purge of the 1960s has finally cleared her name after almost three decades.

The Jakarta Post has reported Nani Nurani, who was jailed without trial between 1968 and 1976 because she once danced at a communist party social function, has won the right to a permanent identification card at the age of 62.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), an influential business lobby, and the country's labor unions have agreed to set up a bipartite secretariat that would play a key role in settling disputes between businesses and workers, a move which some said reflected growing disappointment over the government's poor handling of labor conflicts.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Nine political parties have passed the screening by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, paving the way for their participation in the general elections in 2004, when the country will hold its first ever direct presidential election.

Roger Mitton, Washington – There are tremors of apprehension in the United States about a serious downturn in its relationship with Indonesia.

Robert Go, Jakarta – At the beginning of his career, an Indonesian teacher can expect a salary of just S$170 per month – a reflection of the low priority given to education.

Depending on where he works, he may have to single-handedly deal with overcrowded classrooms housing between 40 and 50 students each.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – The closure of Indonesia's state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Digantara Indonesia (DTI), which has laid off all of its workers in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, appears to put in mortal danger a startling and unlikely dream: to make a Third World tropical nation into a technological powerhouse.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia's chief security minister yesterday warned that the country, and South-east Asia in general, faced more terror attacks not only from the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) but also Aceh's guerilla groups.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government appealed to the public to stay calm but vigilant in the face of renewed terror attacks targeting Indonesia, while ordering security to be tightened at key installations across the country.

The upper and lower houses of the United States Congress clearly differ over whether to restore training for Indonesian military officers.

Washington – The House voted Wednesday to deny military aid to Indonesia until that country fully investigates an ambush last year that killed two Americans.