Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – A legislator from PKB has proposed that the Indonesian Military (TNI), for which a bill is currently being deliberated by the House, be placed under the control of the Ministry of Defense.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri has warned that the country's unity is being threatened by separatist rebellions, as well as illegal sea and forest exploitation by criminals who exploit the weaknesses of the Indonesian police and military.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta (and agencies) – Indonesia's President Megawati Soekarnoputri has acknowledged criticism of the country's human rights tribunals, which have cleared virtually all army and police officers of human rights abuses.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The presidency is not yet in the bag for incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri.

There might have been a silver lining in the clouds for the 57-year-old leader after Indonesia's largest party endorsed her candidacy on Sunday night. But Golkar's support does little to guarantee a second term for her.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri, bracing herself for a tough election battle next month, yesterday came out in defence of her administration as she spelled out its accomplishments over the past three years.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The government has failed to extend the travel bans on 10 suspects and convicts in the misuse of Bank Indonesia liquidity support funds, sparking concerns that the suspects will be able to evade justice by fleeing abroad.

Semarang – Central Java: A severe drought has affected 14,399 hectares (ha) of paddy fields in Central Java, and more paddies are feared to be affected if rain does not fall soon.

The farmers have been unable to reap any harvest from 3,491 ha of the 14,399 ha affected by the drought, said Central Java Agricultural Office head Sukarno.

Gunawan Mashar, Makassar – Students in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar have again held demonstrations rejecting the draft law on the TNI (armed forces) at the local parliament on Jalan Urip Sumohardjo on Monday August 16.

Jakarta – Car ownership is not for the faint-hearted in Indonesia – fuel supplies are erratic, the roads are often awful and price tags on cars are almost hilariously high.

Even so, new car sales are overtaking expectations despite the nation's economy being stuck on the hard shoulder.

Indonesian economic growth slowed in the three months to June, raising fresh concerns over country's hefty debts. Official figures show that the economy grew at an annual rate of 4.3% in the second quarter, down from 5% in the three months to March.

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta – Moonlighting teachers and the lack of toilets in many schools are among the reasons for alarming levels of the absence rate of elementary school teachers in Indonesia, a survey suggested.

Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri, facing a tight re-election race, Monday backed the creation of a truth commission to investigate rights abuses by the military that she said have left a "deep wound" on Indonesia.

Indonesia's presidential election race remains wide open despite a decision by the powerful Golkar party of former dictator Suharto to back incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri – a move unlikely to swing the vote, observers said.

Jakarta – The Golkar party has endorsed President Megawati Sukarnoputri in next month's run-off election, providing a much-needed boost to her struggling campaign.

She finished second behind Mr Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in the July 5 presidential poll and continues to trail her former security minister in opinion polls.

Zakki P. Hakim and Johannes Simbolon, Jakarta – Despite the lingering effects of the economic crisis, the nation's farming industry has grown over the past four years at a faster rate than during the previous decade's economic boom, according to a senior government official.

Semarang – The appointment of 45 members of the Semarang legislative council was marked on Saturday by a noisy protest at City Hall from dozens of members of the Semarang People's Solidarity movement.

The protester said they were angry with the way councillors had behaved in the past by deceiving the people they represented and stealing public money.

Medan – It would be difficult for Indonesia to reach a 7 percent growth target in the next two years, a senior minister said on Saturday.

"It is impossible to reach such growth rate with present situation and a lagging world economy," Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said in a seminar organized by the North Sumatra University (USU).

Jakarta – It is about to stage the second half of an election that promises to cement its young democracy into place. But in some ways, Indonesia still shows little sign of bringing its armed forces to heel.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – Indonesian prosecutors have again failed in their attempt to convict soldiers accused of gross human rights abuses, with the head of the army's notorious Kopassus special forces yesterday cleared of all charges by a human rights tribunal.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Weak indictments by prosecutors because of alleged pressure from the Military were blamed on Thursday for acquittals of Army generals from charges of gross human rights abuses in the 1999 East Timor violence and the 1984 Tanjung Priok massacre.

Indonesian human rights activists have condemned a court decision clearing a top army general of gross human rights violations for his role in a 1984 military massacre.

Cirebon/Padang/Banda Aceh – The swearing in of graft convicts and suspects at the legislatures of Cirebon, Banda Aceh and Padang municipalities has sparked protests among the local people.

Piet Soeprijadi, Peter Rimmele and Anne-Lise Klausen, Jakarta – Ross H. McLeod's – Competition: Key to reform of civil service two-part article on The Jakarta Post of August 4 and 5 is an interesting eye opener that something has to and can be done to reform the Civil Service.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Foreign businesses say a planned new policy on taxation, still winding its way through the corridors of power, coupled with high corporate tax rates, currently at 35%, has scared off investors and made it uncompetitive for those businesses already in Indonesia.

A spate of acquittals absolving Indonesian military officers of human rights violations is being regarded as evidence of the armed forces continuing influence. An ad hoc human rights court in Jakarta this week cleared the army special forces chief and a retired army general of charges of gross human rights violations for their role in the 1984 Tanjung Priok military massacre.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The credibility of Washington-based International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) and other independent pollsters have bee questioned ahead of the Sept. 20 election runoff, with analysts saying their opinion polls have been misleading.

Abdul Khalik and Suherdjoko, Jakarta/Semarang – Former Banyumas Police chief Sr. Comr. Andi Mapparesa admitted during a police professional ethics board hearing on Wednesday that he had been partial and had acted beyond his authority by endorsing President Megawati Soekarnoputri for reelection in a May 29 meeting.

Jakarta – Golkar chairman Akbar Tandjung threatened to take disciplinary action against party leaders and members who held meetings with the candidates in the upcoming election runoff without the prior consent of the party's central executive board.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – A coalition of non-governmental organizations filed a complaint on Wednesday with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) over corruption allegations concerning the procurement of materials for the legislative election by the General Elections Commission (KPU).

Jakarta – Washington should mind its own business and refrain from commenting on court rulings that acquitted four Indonesian security officials of atrocities in East Timor, leading ministers here said Thursday.

Ian Timberlake, Jakarta – A spate of acquittals absolving Indonesian military officers of human rights violations proves how powerful the armed forces remain in the country despite their claims to have abandoned politics, observers say.

Urip Hudiono and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District Court dismissed on Wednesday a lawsuit filed by youth organization Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM) against Tempo magazine.

Makassar, South Sulawesi – Some 200 protesters, mostly women accompanied by their children, barred the gates of the municipal council here on Wednesday, to protest their evictions by the city administration.

Their move left at least 15 councillors and officials unable to go home, although office hours were over.

Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Representatives of major parties have jumped on the bandwagon to call for a delay in the deliberation of the military bill, with the party led by the President shifting the blame on Cabinet members who they said pushed her into approving the government-sponsored bill.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Despite a hard line against offenders, Indonesia's war on drugs seems to have stalled, with users estimated at four million and rising, and the country described as a ripe target for international drug syndicates.

The government has opted for tough punishments, including the death penalty and life imprisonment, against offenders.

Jakarta – Legitimate forestry companies are contributing to illegal logging and other deforestation in Indonesia, according to a new report into the widespread exploitation of the country'svaluable timber resources.

Jakarta – Indonesian police said Thursday they had raided a gambling den reportedly owned by former East Timor militia boss Eurico Guterres, who has been convicted of crimes against humanity in his former homeland.

Jakarta – On the night of Wednesday August 11, the Tambora city sectoral police (Polsek) in West Java raided a number of gambling houses in the Tambora area. One of these was known to be owned by Eurico Gutteres, a former commander of the East Timor pro-integration militia.

Yogyakarta – Yogyakarta municipal police chief Sr. Comr. Chondro Kirono confessed on Tuesday that his office had become a transit point for thousands of campaign T-shirts emblazoned with images of Megawati Soekarnoputri and Hasyim Muzadi.

Suherdjoko and M. Taufiqurrahman, Semarang/Jakarta – Central Java's Semarang General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) discovered on Tuesday that three related companies had contributed to the Megawati Soekarnoputri-Hasyim Muzadi campaign fund.

A public debate is raging over the Indonesian Military (TNI) bill. As the TNI maintains that a law is needed to justify its duties, activists burn placards in dissent, claiming the bill protracts the military's engagement in politics.

Kusnanto Anggoro, Jakarta – There are quite a few positive sides to the territorial structure of the Indonesian Military (TNI), as ID Nugroho and Netty Dharma Somba wrote in this newspaper on August 6.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) put an end on Tuesday to their fragile and less-than-three-month-old coalition, following the elimination of their presidential ticket from the race.

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – In response to demands by businessmen operating in Glodok business district, West Jakarta, the Jakarta administration will delay the afternoon three-in-one traffic restriction by half an hour. The new time will be from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

President Megawati Sukarnoputri sought to reassure Indonesia's media that it would remain unshackled despite claims her government was putting the squeeze on free speech.

"Have I ever tried to shackle the press?" Megawati was quoted as saying by Indonesian Broadcasting Commission chief Victor Menayang after she met commission members at the state palace.

Sari P. Setiogi, Jakarta – Former Jakarta military commander Maj. Gen. (ret) Pranowo implicated in a massacre 20 years ago walked free on Tuesday, leaving a big question mark over the trial of his subordinate who now commands the army's elite special forces.

Medan – Hundreds of truck drivers from Belawan port staged a protest on Tuesday in front of the office of North Sumatra provincial council, demanding the council revoke a government ruling that prohibited drivers with container trucks entering the port.

In the latest verdict to favor Indonesia's powerful military, a court acquitted a former army general on Tuesday of charges that he tortured scores of Muslim activists two decades ago.

Achmad Sukarsono, Jakarta – The Islamic card may not be a sure vote-winner in secular Indonesia, but candidates in the first direct presidential election are not taking any chances.

Dadan Kuswaraharja, Jakarta – People living in and around mining operations find it difficult to obtain their rights. Aside from governments which don't really care, they are also confronted by militarism.