Graham Matthews, Melbourne – Some 400 people on October 23 attended a forum on the Bali bombings. It was organised by Asialink and was also simulcast on Radio National and was addressed by academics Arief Budiman, Merle Ricklefs and Tim Lindsey, as well as Greg Fergin, political counsellor for the US embassy.

John Walker – As Australian policy makers attempt to analyse the implications for Australian-Indonesian relations of the bomb attacks on Bali, it is important that they maintain a realistic appreciation both of the nature of our immediate region and of Australia's longer term strategic interests.

[There is a growing backlash in Indonesia over the arrest of Abu Bakar Bashir. A powerful visitor went to visit him in hospital recently, the chairman of one of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisations, Muhammadiyah. After the meeting, Professor Ahmad Syafii Marrif said that Bashir is a "scapegoat", arrested only after pressure from the United States.

Max Lane – The relationship been Australia and Indonesia has always been complex. One of the main reason's for this has been, as Mark Otter explained in his article in Jakarta Post on October 29, the difference between governmental (i.e. elite) and public opinion.

Oyos Saroso H.N., Menggala, Lampung – Two men were killed and one man was seriously injured when gunmen launched a three-day attack on the inhabitants of almost a dozen villages in Lampung.

Sri Wahyuni and Tarko Sudiarno, Surakarta/Yogyakarta – Hundreds of alumni from Al-Mukmin Islamic Boarding School went on strike in Yogyakarta on Wednesday to protest the police arrest of their headmaster and terror suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

Max Lane, Jakarta – While Indonesian police investigations, conducted in cooperation with Australian, US, British and other police forces, continue into the October 12 Bali bombings, the policy responses to the bombing by President Megawati Sukarnoputri's government have created a storm of debate.

Debbie A. Lubis and Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – Activists urged the House of Representatives on Tuesday to reject government regulations in lieu of laws on terrorism and instead amend the Criminal Code in a bid to provide a stronger legal basis to fight terrorism.

Salim Osman – The leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation backs tough government measures to tackle terrorism and radicalism, saying it was in the country's interests to clamp down on them.

Max Lane, Jakarta – In a scene reminiscent of the Suharto era, on October 24 a Jakarta court sentenced two pro-democracy activists from the Popular Youth Movement (GPK) to one year in prison for "insulting the head of state".

Being appointed coordinator of all intelligence activities in the days after the Bali bombing, head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Hendropriyono, has found himself at war not only with terrorism but also the police.

Jakarta – Coordinating Minister for Defense and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono rejected on Monday rumors of two generals being involved in the bomb blasts in the tourist destination of Bali two weeks ago.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Hundreds of people from West Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta visited the city council on Monday, demanding the city administration to reconsider an eviction order from the houses and land they have been squatting upon.

Richel Langit, Jakarta – Indonesia's war on terrorism is drawing the country's powerful military back on to the political stage, threatening to put an end to political reforms and progress toward fuller democracy.

A new grouping of trade unions from state-owned enterprises and student groups linked to former ruling party Golkar are planning to use the planned sale of sale of telecommunications giant Indosat as a class action "test case" in their attempts to thwart the government's privatization program.

Leo Wahyudi S – The city administration, employers and labor unions agreed last Monday to raise the provincial minimum wage by 7 percent, from Rp 590,000 to Rp 631,000, starting next January. Workers gave The Jakarta Post various responses to the issue. Bambang, 31, is a quality control staff member at an Australian-owned company in Tangerang.

Tiarma Siboro and I Wayan Juniartha, Denpasar – The tedious investigation into the bomb attack on Bali has resulted in another bizarre twist following reports that linked the blast with two generals, one from the military and one from the police, who mysteriously visited the island on the day of the carnage and left the next day.

The Anti-Terrorism Decree enacted by President Megawati Sukarnoputri on 18 October, in the wake of the Bali bombing outrage that killed over 180 people, represents a grave threat to basic rights in Indonesia, says Tapol, the Indonesia Human Rights Campaign.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – In observance of the Youth Pledge Day on October 28, some activists were saddened that nationalism in the country had fallen to one of its lowest levels ever due to numerous conflicts, violence and terrorist issues threatening the country's survival as a nation state.

Devi Asmarani, Solo – An Osama bin Laden picture adorns the wall calendar at the infirmary of the Al-Mukmin Pesantren, the Islamic boarding school which has acquired a reputation for being a militant breeding ground. It is a place where students and teachers alike profess their admiration for the man they call the Muslim "hero".

Sidney Jones – In the aftermath of the 12 October bombing in Bali, Indonesians are convinced they have terrorists in their midst. They're just not sure who they are. Absurd, as it may seem, if talk shows and media commentaries are any indication, the most likely candidates in most Indonesians' minds are the US government and the Indonesian army. Al-Qaeda is a distant third.

Tony Sitathan – The recent bomb blasts in Bali have created what some experts describe as a "terrorism risk premium" not just to Indonesia but to all of Southeast Asia. Many economists warn of capital flight and low foreign investment.

Darren Goodsir, Kuta – Investigators hunting the Bali bombers have unearthed credible links between the Kuta explosions, the closure last month of the Australian embassy in East Timor in a terrorist alert and the arrest of Jemaah Islamiah followers in Singapore in August over an alleged plot to attack key western targets.

[A group of Indonesian journalist today said the Australian Government is incorrect in thinking Abu Bakar Bashir was the man responsible for the Kuta Beach bombings. The journalists say the Government has no proof to support these claims.]

Transcript:

Sonny Inbaraj, Melbourne (Inter Press Service) – Australia's move to restore links with Indonesia's feared special forces after the October 12 bombings in Bali is risky and short-sighted, say activists and analysts.

Australia, with a nod from Washington, is rebuilding its relationship with Indonesia's military. Michael Millett, Marion Wilkinson and Matthew Moore look at the realpolitik behind the moves.

Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Dozens of street vendors who had been evicted from Pulogadung bus terminal in East Jakarta visited the City Council on Wednesday, asking for the legislators' help to force the city administration to allow them start trading again.

Jakarta – The fate of two demonstrators charged with insulting the President and Vice President by stomping on their pictures during a protest, is expected to be announced by the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday.

[There are fears that the Indonesia is facing a period of increasing instability with worrying signs of tensions on the predominantly Catholic island of Flores.

Jakarta/Brussels – Widespread criticism of President Megawati's performance following the 12 October attacks in Bali means she is no longer a virtual certainty for re-election in 2004 but other political and security consequences remain question marks.

John Pilger – What passing bells for these who die as cattle?" wrote the great First World War poet Wilfred Owen. His famous line might have been written for those who perish in today's secret wars and terrorist outrages.

Kuta – Indonesian Vice-President Hamzah Haz yesterday paid his first visit to the scene of the devastating Bali bombing and said the attackers aimed to break up the country and wreck its economy.

Damon Kingsbury – Defence Minister Senator Robert Hill has said that in a bid to counter terrorism, Australia will restore its links with the Indonesian army's special forces, Kopassus, and strengthen intelligence links with the country.

This decision was disturbingly predictable and very short-sighted.

Matthew Moore, Mike Seccombe and Marian Wilkinson – The Indonesian Government has flatly rejected a suggestion by Australia's Defence Minister, Robert Hill, that Australian troops could pursue terrorist organisations in Indonesia.

I. Overview

Nearly two weeks after the Bali bombings, Indonesia is still in a state of shock, and it is difficult to assess the longer-term impact with any accuracy. This preliminary analysis suggests that:

"Resuming military ties with Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces is not the answer to terrorism", said Max Lane, chairperson of Action in Solidarity with Asia and the Pacific (ASAP).

Muhammad Nafik, Jakarta – Cracks in the wall the Golkar Party has built up around its embattled leader Akbar Tanjung are becoming increasingly evident, as support from party legislators for the demanded suspension of the convicted House of Representatives speaker gains momentum.

Max Lane, Jakarta – As of October 18, the Indonesian police investigating the terrorist bombing of the Sari night club on October 12 – which killed nearly 200 foreign tourists and Indonesian workers – have not announced any clear leads as to who carried out the attack.

James Balowski – The brutal murder of nearly 200 people in Indonesia's tourist resort of Kuta on the island of Bali on October 12 occurred as the US is attempting to pressure Jakarta into supporting its War on Terror. As part of this effort, Washington and Canberra are also attempting to re-engage with the Indonesian armed forces, the TNI.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – A tripartite wage committee consisting of the city administration, employers and worker unions agreed on Monday to increase Jakarta's provincial minimum wage (UMP) by almost seven percent beginning in January, a senior businessman said on Tuesday.

Ambon – The Ambon District Court here on Monday sentenced 14 men for between two and five years for raising four flags of the outlawed South Maluku Republic in the provincial capital Ambon on April 25, Antara news agency reported. They are all members of the Maluku Sovereignty Front pro-independence movement.

Yeoh En-lai – Bali's famous beaches and spas are not the only places experiencing a dry spell. The island's other hallmark, its lush-green, terraced paddy fields, are also facing long-term damage from a six-month long drought.

Jakarta – About 1,000 street vendors were forcibly evicted from in and around the Pulo Gadung bus terminal in an operation involving around 2,200 officers from the East Jakarta public order agency, the police and the district military command on Sunday.

Matthew Moore, Jakarta and Brendan Nicholson – Indonesia was last night bracing for demonstrations after police detained the radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for questioning over alleged terrorist acts, the nation's second decisive step against terrorism in less than 24 hours.

Lindsay Murdoch – For three months Omar al-Faruq refused to talk. But CIA interrogators at a US-held military base in the Afghan desert used sleep deprivation, isolation and other undisclosed techniques banned in the US to break the 37-year-old Muslim cleric they believed to be a key al Qaeda representative in South-East Asia.

Robert Go, Jakarta – Jakarta is now armed with tougher anti-terror decrees, but the question remains whether it can aim and pull the trigger at the right targets as it tries to prevent a repeat of the tragedy in Bali.

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has signed two emergency decrees to combat terrorism following the devastating Bali bombing, Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said today.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government is planning to build a nuclear power plant by the year 2015 at the latest to meet the country's mounting power needs.

On October 12, the world was shocked by the explosion at the Sari Club on Legian road in Kuta, Bali. It is appropriate that we feel great sorrow and condemn the bombing which killed almost 200 people. The perpetrators of the bombing must be arrested and tried as quickly as possible.

Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta – Welcoming the agreement newly signed by law enforcers to combat mounting graft in the country, anticorruption activists called on Thursday for the establishment of a proper witness protection mechanism and of an independent commission to audit court decisions to support the fight against corruption.