This is Indonesia's year of voting frequently. That in itself is extraordinary. Since 1955 Indonesians have enjoyed only three genuinely competitive, democratic elections.

Timothy Mapes, Jakarta – Indonesia's move to expel a US citizen, who has become the most highly regarded expert on terrorism in Southeast Asia, could renew questions about the determination of the world's largest Islamic country to fight violence by extremist groups.

Suwarjono, Jakarta – Protests are continuing in response to the deportation of the director of the South-East Asia International Crisis Group (IGC), Sydney Jones.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI), the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) have venomously condemned Jones' expulsion from Indonesia.

The decision of the Indonesian government to expel Sidney Jones and other expatriate staff of the International Crisis Group is a clear attempt to put the clock back, and at the same time, as Jones herself noted in a recent interview, an exercise that is doomed to fail.

Tiarma Siboro and Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The challenges to Wiranto's presidential bid have taken another twist after his former aide in the Indonesian Military (TNI) Maj. Gen. (ret) Kivlan Zein revealed that the Golkar Party candidate had a key role in the deployment of civilian guards during national assembly meeting in November 1998.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Wearing a blue, body-hugging dress, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri began her first full-scale briefing to journalists in her three years in charge of the country by nervously wringing her hands and flashing shy smiles.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, facing a tough re-election fight next month, has defended her record in an interview and denied she was capitalizing on her father's name.

"I have worked hard over the past three years. Can't they see any progress compared to when I was vice-president?" Megawati said in an interview with Kompas daily.

Jakarta – The Indonesian rupiah fell sharply against the dollar Wedneseday, extending early losses to break the 9,500 mark amid concerns over the domestic political situation, dealers said.

At the same time, strong US economic data was supporting the dollar, which compounded the rupiah's problems, they said.

New York – The State Department expressed concern and disappointment Wednesday at Indonesia's decision to expel a US researcher who work helped expose a network of al-Qaida-linked terrorists.

"We're very concerned about this development," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said, according to a transcript of the department's daily briefing.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Amid claims of human-rights violations and accusations it is paying paramilitary forces to silence locals, Australia's biggest independent gold producer, Newcrest, is once again on the sharp end of a dispute over its troubled gold operations in the "Spice Islands", where Indonesia's worst religious conflict started four years ago.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government has ordered Sidney Jones to leave the country by midnight tonight.

Indonesian authorities have moved to immediately expel one of the foremost experts on terror group Jemaah Islamiah.

Washington – Indonesia's decision to expel a prominent American political analyst has raised concerns about the country's crackdown on critical observers ahead of the July 5 presidential election, US-based Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

Indonesia's decision to expel a foreign analyst who has published sometimes-critical reports on terrorism and separatism harks back to the era of dictator Suharto, local and foreign rights groups said.

Jakarta – Indonesia's decision to expel terrorism-expert Sidney Jones, the Southeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group (ICG), was welcomed Wednesday by followers of Muslim militant cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, now a terrorist suspect.

Bekasi – Residents of the Jakarta satellite city of Bekasi who are fed up with the poor condition of roads have again taken action by planting trees on damaged roads. Not only that, on Monday May 31 they also released fish into the larger pot holes on Jalan Perjuangan which are constantly full of water.

Robert Go, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri yesterday launched a re-election charm offensive aimed at drawing support from Indonesia's millions of poor people.

With barely five weeks to go before the July 5 presidential election, she is trailing about 20 points in opinion polls behind the frontrunner, retired general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Robert Go, Jakarta – For Indonesia's five pairs of presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls, yesterday began with prayers, the signing of a unity declaration, a parade of floats and promises.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – What is the most attractive catch for presidential contenders in Indonesia today? Answer: The 40 million votes of the Nadhlatul Ulama (NU).

In a battle for numbers, the NU – together with other Muslim-based outfits – may well prove to be the decisive swing factor that could shift the political balance in favour of any one candidate.

The murder last week of a prosecutor in the case of three suspected Bali bombers has been blamed in some quarters on the regional militant network, Jemaah Islamiyah.

The government has shut down one foreign non-governmental organization (NGO) in Jakarta and is closely monitoring 19 others, including local ones, citing that reports they have made could disrupt stability.

Under the glaring light of the Jakarta Convention Center in South Jakarta, General (ret) Wiranto stood with a sullen face, quite bereft of his usual strength. Maybe the famous chin was held uplifted, but the smile seemed just a little too forced. For those looking carefully that Tuesday night two weeks ago, it was clear the Golkar Party presidential candidate was disturbed.

Edy Budiyarso – The success team of Golkar Party presidential and vice-presidential candidates Wiranto and Solahuddin Wahid is controlled from the Imperium Tower in Kuningan, South Jakarta. As if it were an army base or veteran's hospital, staff and visitors to the luxurious office include a surprising scattering of retired generals.

Surabaya – No less than 500 sex workers operating in six red-light districts across the East Java capital of Surabaya gathered on Sunday for a mass prayer, to pray for a peaceful presidential election.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – The razzle-dazzle begins tomorrow. Tooting horns, banging drums and waving flags and banners, thousands will take to the streets across Indonesia for the start of the July 5 presidential election campaign.

Jakarta – Campaigning starts Tuesday for a July 5 election in which Indonesian voters will for the first time choose their president directly. Five candidates are running, but analysts doubt the outcome will usher in sweeping reforms for the problem-ridden Southeast Asian nation.

Movements opposed to a military president have spread into a number of cities-some with apparent help from the competition.

Dian Intannia, Jakarta – Scores of students from the City Network (Jaringan Kota) have again demonstrated against military presidential and vice-presidential candidates by burning photographs of [former armed forces chief and Golkar presidential candidate] Wiranto, [former coordinating minister for politics and security and Democratic Party presidential candidate] Susilo Bambang Yud

Budi Hartadi, Surabaya – The day before the presidential campaign was to start around 150 activists from the Indonesian National Student Movement (GMNI) and the National University Student Executive Council (BEM) demonstrated against military presidential candidates and burnt Golkar Party T-shirts and military clothing.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – People coming out of the two great arched doors of Kota railway station in West Jakarta are first greeted by blue public minivans, with touts frantically screaming the destinations and ushering the passengers into the vehicles.

Akmal Nasery Basral – It seems that calamity has now struck within the International Crisis Group (ICG), a worldwide institution known for its study and review of national and international flash-points, including groundbreaking work on conflicts in Aceh and Irian Jaya. ICG's problems surfaced last week in Jakarta-not at the organization's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Jakarta – President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in a rare meeting with the press on Monday, denied responsibility for the pending expulsion of the International Crisis Group (ICG) director in Indonesia, Sidney Jones.

"I never expelled – using your word – this person Sidney Jones," said Megawati, responding to questions from foreign journalists after a brief press conference.

Sari Setiogi and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A group of well-known national figures criticized the government for intimidating and terrorizing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals campaigning for human rights and democracy.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Both the Tangerang regency and municipality administrations on Saturday ordered public order officers to arrest city truck drivers known to be regularly dumping raw sewage directly into the Cisadane River.

Those people that have been busy opposing the idea of presidential candidates with military backgrounds have their own reasons. The presence of ex-military candidates is seen as having the potential to bring about a return to the militaristic and authoritarian New Order and to hamper the reform process, especially reform of the law, because of their actions in the past.

Max Lane, Murdoch WA, Australia – On May 26 The Jakarta Post published two interesting opinion pieces: Indonesian democracy or 'demo-crazy'? by Ziad Salim and Complacency: Indonesia's democratic deficit by Adam Tyson. In some key respects, these two articles presented opposite points of view.

Dean Yates, Garut – The dramatic rise of Indonesian presidential frontrunner Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is all the more surprising when you look at his campaign headquarters in the West Java town of Garut.

Peter Cronau: A month ago, the Australian intelligence community took a direct hit. The detonation, a series of leaks to the media about a powerful pro-Indonesia bias in Australia's military intelligence and foreign affairs establishment. The missile was one of our top military intelligence officers.

Indonesia's presidential race gets under way this week, with two ex-generals among the front-runners to lead a nation which was ruled for most of its history by authoritarian figures.

Dadan Wijaksana, Jakarta – Aside from global concerns over a possible hike in US interest rates, the rupiah's sharp drop should also be blamed on excess liquidity in the domestic banking sector, which has opened up greater room to speculate against the local unit, according to the central bank.

Abdul Khalik and Ruslan Sangadji, Jakarta/Palu – Prosecutors and judges in conflict areas have been provided police protection following Wednesday's murder of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi in the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu.

Jakarta – General Hendropriyono, the chief of the National Intelligence Agency, BIN, has been challengd to reveal in public the information he submitted to parliament (DPR) about twenty local and foreign NGOs which are accused of disrupting national security in the period leading up to the presidential election on 5 July.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The contents of a draft domestic violence law are considered so sensitive by the government that it has been reluctant to start deliberations in the House, despite the fact that the bill was initiated by the legislature six years ago.

A. Junaidi, Jakarta – The government and women activists have settled their dispute on a controversial article on marital rape in the domestic violence bill which, if enacted, will carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.

Bogor – Vice presidential candidate Hasyim Muzadi was met by a rally during a visit to the Bogor Institute of Agriculture campus, where he was scheduled to talk.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The number of people suffering from psychiatric ailments has been on the rise over the past few years in the West Java capital of Bandung, with much of the increase being attributed to the economic hardship that has persisted since the economic crisis hit Indonesia in 1997.

Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – A baby boom is looming large in Indonesia with its much-touted population control programme losing pace due to budget cuts and decreasing foreign aid, following the 1998 fall of the Suharto regime.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Many political parties have not submitted the appropriate reports on campaign expenditures for the April 5 legislative election to the General Elections Commission (KPU), a civil governance non-governmental organization disclosed on Friday.

Moch. N. Kurniawan and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Golkar Party and the National Awakening Party (PKB) signed a coalition agreement on Friday, but doubts remain if the alliance would boost their candidates' chance of winning the July 5 presidential election.

Jakarta – For the second time in a week, former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid has hit a snag in efforts to revive his chances of returning to power.

The General Elections Supervisory Committee (Panwaslu) rejected on Friday a demand to include his name in the roster of eligible candidates.

Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has complained about Cabinet ministers who quit to challenge her in the coming presidential election.

Their departure weakened her government, she said on Thursday at a General Elections Commission (KPU) meeting.