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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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'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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Jakarta – Indonesia's former military chief Gen. Wiranto, who is accused of war crimes in East Timor, has been nominated by a small nationalist youth group as a candidate in the country's first direct presidential elections next year.

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

The General Election Commission (KPU) has determined the total number of seats in the People's Regional Council (DPRD) at the provincial as well as regency level, giving legislative candidates a clear picture of how to act in the election next April.

Jim Lobe, Washington – Reports that the Bush administration will release funds train Indonesian military officers – despite a recent vote by a key Senate committee that calls for training to be suspended until the army's responsibility for the killing of two US teachers is clarified – have drawn strong expressions of concern by human rights groups here.

Rony Panengah, Jakarta – If there are no obstacles, another political party will soon be born. What's interesting is that this political party represents opposition forces which to date have chosen to take there struggle into the streets.

Speaking at a ground breaking ceremony for the new Batam intelligence academy on 9 July, she said "in today's global world, the use of intelligence expertise can not be limited solely to the military, police and other government organizations, but is also needed for civilian purposes."

Suwarjono, Jakarta – As many as 16 opposition groups plan to form a new party to participate in the 2004 general elections. Among them are the People's Democratic Party (PRD) and the Indonesian Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI).

In Jakarta Monday July 14 a coalition of environmental groups and NGOs formed to oppose mining in Indonesia's protected forest areas issued a press statement claiming widespread support from regional government administrations and communities throughout Indonesia.

Antony Barnett – The British Government faces fresh embarrassment over its controversial policy of selling arms to Indonesia as the first evidence emerged of the Indonesian military using UK-made tanks to crush a rebellion in its Aceh province.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – These days, oil baron Arifin Panigoro rarely attends the central executive board meetings of the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P).

He and other PDI-P stalwarts prefer to stay on the sidelines and watch their party wiggle through an enormous tangle of Mission Impossibles – brought on, ironically, by its chairman Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Two constitutional law experts have sharply criticized the newly endorsed bill on the composition of legislative bodies that gives more power to the House of Representatives and will make changes to the political system.

Jim Lobe, Washington – Two of the world's largest human-rights organizations say the government of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is filling the country's jails once again with political prisoners, only five years after all prisoners of conscience were released with the ouster of former president Suharto.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Increasing social pressure in Jakarta is believed to be the main factor in people committing suicide, experts say, in response to a tripling in the number of suicide cases reported by the police.

Erik W. and La Remy, Palu – Peace in the Central Sulawesi town of Poso, once wracked by bloody sectarian fighting, was put to the test on Friday after a homemade bomb exploded in a food stall, injuring four people.

Richard Lloyd Parry – When she first came to world attention seven years ago, Megawati Sukarnoputri was hailed as a heroine. Stubborn, matronly and majestic, the leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party won admirers across the world for her peaceful struggle against the dictatorship of President Suharto.

Jakarta – The Central Jakarta District court sentenced Hidayat Lukman, alias Teddy Uban, to five months in jail plus 10 months probation for assaulting Tempo weekly news magazine journalist Ahmad Taufik.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea regretted the low awareness of workers about unionization, since only 20 percent of the more than 40 million workers employed in the formal sector have unionized, despite the reform era.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives closed its session on Wednesday with the same old problem – a massive backlog of outstanding bills.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives cleared on Wednesday the last hurdle to next year's elections by endorsing a bill on the status and composition of legislative bodies.

With the passage of the bill, the country has all four of the political laws necessary to organize legislative and presidential elections next year.

Jakarta – Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is scheduled today to re-launch a number of development projects, worth billions of US dollars, which were shelved in the wake of the 1997 economic crisis.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Indonesia is soon to open two schools where students will learn how to break into buildings, hack into computers, and bug phones, among other unusual skills.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – Corruption in the courts, rather than within political parties or the police, is the problem that needs the most immediate attention in Indonesia, according to a new opinion survey.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The good news is that Indonesia has been making progress in almost all facets of human development. The not so good news is that the country still rates poorly in the fight to improve the lives of its people when compared to other countries, including most in the region.

Daniel Cooney, Jakarta – The soldiers who killed a peace-advocating separatist leader were "heroes." Two Germans shot by troops were "stupid" for vacationing in a strife-torn part of the country.

The comments by Indonesia's Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu have thrown the spotlight on the tough-talking presidential loyalist who some tip to become military chief.

Pip Hinman, Sydney – The Indonesian government has an almost "pathological hostility to separatism", Dr Ed Aspinall, lecturer in South-East Asian Studies at Sydney University, told a forum on July 2.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Yet another jet saga is brewing in Jakarta with senior officials and military brass demanding explanations, and possibly apologies, from Washington.

The problem: five American F-18 jets are said to have inappropriately breached Indonesian airspace over the Java Sea last Thursday.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The International Labor Organization (ILO) urged the Indonesian government on Tuesday to phase out the worst forms of child labor in the next four years in view of the increasing exploitation of children in the country.

Jakarta – Growing numbers of Indonesians are being jailed for their political views under "draconian" laws that call into question President Megawati Sukarnoputri's commitment to political openness, two leading rights groups said.

Jakarta – An angry mob set fire to a police station in South Sumatra province in protest against the police's failure to curb a series of crimes, leaving one person wounded, an officer said on Tuesday.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – Villagers from Selapanjang in Tangerang have threatened to stage a protest at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The residents have been demanding compensation since they were evicted from their land due to the airport's expansion project which began last year. The project was operated by PT Angkasa Pura II.

Surabaya – Around 5,000 workers of shoe company PT Fortune Mate Indonesia (FMI) staged a demonstration here on Tuesday to demand better conditions.

The protesters, mostly women, urged the management to fire the company's human resources development head, Kusnardi, whom they blamed for reducing their allowances. "Kusnardi has failed to protect us," one protester said.