Whatever others may say about it, here in Indonesia the trial and subsequent conviction on Thursday of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to 30 months' imprisonment for partaking in the "evil conspiracy" that culminated in the October 12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings is likely to remain a topic of heated contention for a long time to come.

Jim Lobe, Washington – Two major environmental groups are charging that BlueLinx, the largest US building-products distributor, is knowingly importing legally disputed, undocumented timber out of Indonesia's endangered rainforests.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – A lack of hard evidence remains a major obstacle in the investigation into the death of rights activist Munir, despite irregularities found in several documents that could possibly link Garuda airline to the case, police said.

Jakarta – People began to feel the bite of the fuel price hikes on Friday on the beaches and in the streets, with some fishermen abandoning their boats in coastal areas, while in the cities passengers fought with bus drivers over increased fares.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A top human rights activist criticized the move by the immigration office to ban Australian academic Edward Aspinall from entering the country, describing it as an "irresponsible act" by the government.

Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono was on a mission impossible that cold wintry week in Washington, DC, on March 12-19, when temperatures hit close to zero degrees Celsius. His objective was to thaw military relations between Indonesia and the United States.

Erwin Daryanto, Jakarta – Indonesian's chief of police, General Da'i Bachtiar, has said that it is reasonable to suspect that the management of Garuda airlines is involved in the murder of human rights activist Munir. Bachtiar's comments strengthen an earlier statement by the Fact Finding Team at the State Palace.

Jakarta – Protests over the fuel price hike continued on Thursday in several cities across the country, though the number of protesters was smaller than on previous days.

Public transportation drivers continued their protests and students increased the pressure by blocking off roads and setting fire to tires.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – The death of respected human rights activist Munir last September was very likely the result of a conspiracy, a government-sanctioned fact finding team said.

Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta – Over the last three decades, major Asian countries have managed to improve exports from basic manufacturing products to more sophisticated goods, with one major exception – Indonesia.

Aside from natural resource-based products, Indonesia's top manufacturing exports still revolve around textiles, clothing and footwear.

An Indonesian court has sentenced the alleged spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiyah, Abu Bakar Bashir to two and a half years in jail for his part in planning the 2002 Bali bombings.

Jakarta/Surakarta – The lenient prison sentence handed down on Thursday for cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir stemmed from the failure of the prosecution to present sufficient evidence against him, analysts said.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, accused of leading an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, was sentenced by an Indonesian court on Thursday to two and a half years in jail on conspiracy charges related to the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing that killed 202 people.

Matthew Moore in Jakarta and Tom Allard – An Indonesian court has convicted and jailed the militant Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir over his involvement in the Bali bombings in a decision that was immediately condemned by supporters and opponents alike.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander General Endriartono Sutarto has welcomed the resumption of the International Military Education Training (IMET) program by the US government.

However, Sutarto requested the US government not to burden the program with conditions that would "disturb the national dignity" of Indonesia.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – The Cibinong District Court pronounced on Monday the sentences of 17 residents of Bojong village, Bogor, West Java, to the cheers of the defendants' families and neighbors as they received shorter prison terms than demanded by the prosecution.

David Isenberg, Washington – The news that the United States is lifting its ban on military assistance to Indonesia, announced last Friday, reminds one of a famous saying by American writer Gertrude Stein. When Stein returned to California on a lecture tour of the United States in the 1930s, she wanted to visit her childhood home in Oakland.

Alleged terror leader Abu Bakar Bashir was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison for criminal conspiracy for the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

The five-judge panel said Bashir, who has been in jail since last April, would get credit for time served and could be out before the end of 2006.

Indonesia's Abu Bakar Bashir is a soft-spoken, smiling Muslim preacher who provokes anger in the West for his alleged terrorist links but lacks strong influence at home, analysts say.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – One of Australia's most highly regarded Indonesia experts has been banned from entering the country in a move reminiscent of restrictions imposed by the Soeharto regime.

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) has dismissed six top executives for their involvement in an informal meeting last week, which the central board said was an act of betrayal.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – In a rush to rebuild tsunami-devastated Aceh, there are fears that the reconstruction work may endanger the resources of first-growth forests in the province and other areas in the country due to the massive need for timber.

Jakarta – The protests against rises in fuel prices largely fizzled out on Wednesday in many cities across the country in what could been seen as one of the biggest political tests for President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono since taking power last October.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Crews on public transport vehicles have unilaterally raised their fares following the 29 percent fuel price hike on Tuesday, despite the fact that the city administration has yet to make a decision on the issue.

Jakarta – Nationwide protests on Tuesday greeted the government's decision to raise fuel prices, but a heavy police presence helped prevent the demonstrations from turning violent.

Semarang – State forestry company Perhutani I in Central Java lost an estimated Rp 31.72 billion (US$3.5 million) because of illegal logging last year, the company's boss says.

The amount was less compared to 2003, when the company suffered Rp 61.66 billion loss, company head Sofyan Hanafi said in Semarang on Monday.

Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta – Six months after human rights campaigner Munir was murdered, a fact-finding team assigned to help the police investigate the case may have a suspect.

The head of the team, Brig. Gen. Marsudi Hanafi, said on Tuesday the team was looking at an employee of Garuda airline.

Jakarta – On the eve of the government's announcement it was raising fuel prices, a poll found President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's popularity had dropped to 66 percent, with voters criticizing Susilo's efforts to improve the economy.

Indonesia's president has warned traders and transport officials against price hikes during a tour of several towns around Jakarta as protests and strikes continued for a second day after the government raised fuel costs.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – The central government requested the Jakarta administration resume control of the newly corporatized hospitals in the city as it fears their new status will adversely affect services to the poor.

James Balowski, Jakarta – In the boldest statement on the subject to date, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has signalled that the US is ready to restore full military training ties with the Indonesian military (TNI).

[Excerpt from Senator Leahy on Bush's judicial nominees: You Can't "Make The Judiciary An Arm Of The Republican Party".]

Amy Goodman: Senator Leahy, I wanted to get to two other issues before I know you have to go.

Senator Patrick Leahy: Sure.

The brouhaha of politics often belie the soundness of ties between two nations. Millions in this country disapprove of America's foreign policy, particularly in issues related to Iraq and Afghanistan. However, they should not cloud what has been a long-standing, amiable relationship among regular Indonesians and Americans.

Jakarta – The United States' decision to resume training members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) after a 14-year suspension of cooperation shows Washington's recognition of the government's efforts to reform the TNI, officials said on Monday.

[The following is an abridged translation of a selection of articles from Detik.com which were posted on its web site on March 1 after the Indonesian government of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice-President Jusuf Kalla (SBY-Kalla) announced the decision cut fuel (BBM) subsides.]

Makassar students burn tires over fuel price increases

We should commend President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's determination to make the unpopular-but-necessary decision to forge ahead and increase fuel prices. The increases will enable the government to allocate a larger share of resources to poverty alleviation and improve public services and other basic infrastructure in the country.

In one of her very first moves in office, new US State Secretary Condoleeza Rice made the decision to resume full International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Indonesia. The decision to restart the IMET came after the State Department's certification that Indonesia has "satisfied" the legislative conditions for the IMET.

On 26 February 2005, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "determined that Indonesia has satisfied legislative conditions for restarting International Military and Educational Training (IMET)", a small but symbolically important part of the military relationship between the two countries. The decision is a major blow for Indonesia's fragile transition to democracy.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Indonesia will tap America for nuts-and-bolts operational skills for its troops, not just lessons in military strategy for the top brass, now that the US has decided to resume training members of the Indonesian military.

Jakarta – "Huuuu...! That's what you get when you skip classes all the time," spectators at the Anticorruption Court in Jakarta once mocked a prosecutor who was warned by the presiding judge to deliver clear and intelligent questions to the defendant, Abdullah Puteh, who has been suspended as Aceh governor while being tried for graft.

Hundreds of students have held street rallies across Indonesia to protest swingeing government increases on fuel prices by an average of nearly 30 percent.

Protests took place in at least six Indonesian cities and towns, radio and television reports showed, as anger mounted over the government's decision to raise fuel costs.

Jakarta – After weeks of uncertainty, the government has announced a hike in domestic fuel prices by an average of 29 percent, which would come into effect on March 1, despite objections from the House of Representatives and the public.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – Victims of the garbage collapse at Leuwigajah dump created havoc on Monday after missing out on an opportunity to talk face-to-face with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Washington – Just two days after the United States moved to improve military ties with Indonesia, the State Department said on Monday the Jakarta government had a poor human rights record last year.

Most of the abuses took place in areas of separatist violence, the department said in its annual report on human rights conditions worldwide.

Regencies and cities, which lack resources – or the capacity to capitalize on them – should not despair when it comes to attracting private investment, because investors consider policy variables to be very important factors that influence their decisions to set up business in a regency or town.

The United States, eager to build up its alliances in Southeast Asia, has decided to resume training members of the Indonesian armed forces suspended since 1992, officials announced.

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta – The construction of high-rise buildings and the overexploitation of groundwater has caused the capital to sink by up to 100 centimeters over the past 12 years, according to an expert.

The US State department says Indonesia has met conditions set by Congress for re-establishing a training relationship with the Indonesian military, the TNI. The Bush administration previously tried to revive close ties with Indonesia's military, but faltered after two American school teachers were murdered in Papua province in 2002.

Tim Shorrock – The Bush administration and the Pentagon are leveraging warmer post-tsunami relations with Indonesia to convince Congress to lift its restrictions on full military ties with the world's largest Muslim nation.

Jim Lobe, Washington – The State Department's decision to renew military training for Indonesia – a major step toward full normalisation of military ties between the United States and the giant archipelago – has been greeted with scepticism by human rights groups and some lawmakers critical of Jakarta's record.