Bandar Lampung – Lampung Military Police yesterday began investigating eight military officers allegedly involved in the shooting that took place during a students protest in front of the Bandar Lampung University (UBL) campus on Tuesday. One student was killed during the demonstration.

Claudia Gazzini, Jakarta – Protests broke out across Indonesia on Thursday over grievances ranging from the UN-backed intervention in East Timor to the pace of democratic reform.

The UN Human Rights Commission will go ahead with an inquiry into alleged human rights atrocities in East Timor with or without co-operation from Indonesia, a spokesman said yesterday.

"We would hope for co-operation from Indonesia, but if they fail to give their co-operation, it will not deter us from going forward," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Tony Wright, Canberra – The Federal Government is considering selling billions of dollars worth of prime defence land throughout Australia to pay for its massively expensive military commitment to East Timor.

Jakarta – Some 1,000 Indonesian students returned to the streets here Wednesday in a peaceful protest against military violence.

The protesters, mostly from the University of Indonesia, massed at a busy roundabout in the capital's main thoroughfare, chanting slogans and brandishing signs against what they called the military's meddling in all aspects of life.

Jakarta – In an unprecedented move, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Wiranto brought together on Tuesday leaders of six major political parties to hammer out a commitment to ensure the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) runs smoothly.

Ambon – A total of 217 fatalities were recorded in communal clashes across the province between July and September, police said on Tuesday.

Maluku Police chief Col. Bugis Saman told a media conference that the number of casualties was likely to be higher due to unconfirmed reports by people of missing relatives.

Bandar Lampung – The mourning of Yap Yun Hap who died of gunshot wounds had hardly lifted from the Indonesia University campus grounds, when news broke through that another student, M. Yusuf Rizal (23), has fallen victim at the Bandar Lampung University of Lampung on Tuesday (28/9).

Jakarta – Australian flags were burned Monday in at least two Indonesian cities, while anti-Australian rallies took place in two other cities amid whipped-up resentment against Canberra's role in East Timor, witnesses and reports said.

Compere: Well, finally returning to East Timor. The crisis may have soured Australia's relationship with Indonesia, but the Federal Government is making it very clear it's not going to encourage independence elsewhere in our giant northern neighbour. Yesterday AM reported on smuggled footage from Ambon showing demonstrators being fired on by the military.

Jakarta – As the UN Human Rights Commission approved a probe into allegations of abuse by Indonesian-backed militias in East Timor, newspapers here were screaming about "atrocities" committed by Australian troops in the territory. "Australian troops torture militias," read a headline in the Indonesian Observer [article included below - JB] Tuesday.

[Please note that this item was included to provide an example of the Indonesian media's anti-Australian campaign and is not intended to be taken as a serious news report - James Balowski.]

Jakarta – Protests against a new state security bill in Indonesia claimed another life Tuesday when security forces shot dead a student in clashes in the Sumatra island city of Bandar Lampung, hospitals and reports said. At least 27 others were injured in the protest, which followed the deaths of at least seven people, one a student, in similar protests in Jakarta last week.

[The following is a compilation of several reports sent to ASIET (Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor) by the Central Leadership Committee of the People's Democratic Party (KPP-PRD) in Jakarta.]

Chris Michaud, New York – Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer on Tuesday praised Indonesian President B.J. Habibie's policies on the troubled East Timor region, saying that without Habibie the saga may never have been resolved.

Jakarta – Fearing being visited and taken away by security authorities, at least four patients suffering injuries sustained in a violent rally in Semanggi cloverleaf on Thursday and Friday have fled Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital, hospital employees said on Sunday.

Major political heavyweights hope to arrive at some consensus on the rules of the game for the presidential election scheduled for Nov 10

Jakarta – Drug abuse has become a major social ill in Indonesia, especially among the young, a report said Sunday adding without urgent preventive action, "a new catastrophe" was in the making.

Drug counsellors said peer pressure, poor enforcement and lack of treatment facilities were among the key factors contributing to the rise of the drug scourge.

Craig Skehan, Peter Cole-Adams and Mark Metherell – Indonesia turned up the heat on Australia yesterday with accusations of torture by Interfet forces in East Timor and bans on wheat imports as it tried to deflect attention from worsening civil unrest.

Jakarta – City authorities will deploy as many as 605 companies or about 60,000 security officers to safeguard the upcoming General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), Governor Sutiyoso said on Friday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Moves to accelerate the constitutional process of finding a new Indonesian president are well under way, promoted by a group of opposition political parties.

Jakarta – The streets of Indonesia's capital were quiet on Saturday after days of bloody anti-military riots in which at least six people were reported to have been killed, but security forces were wary of more unrest.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – At least three people were killed and more than 50 others injured in another bloody clash between security forces and at least 10,000 Indonesian demonstrators yesterday protesting against a new law giving the armed forces sweeping emergency powers.

Geoffrey Barker – Few, if any, Indonesian military chiefs and their militia proxies are likely to be tried, convicted and jailed for atrocities committed in East Timor before and since the August 30 independence ballot.

Craig Skehan and Ningrum Widyastuty, Jakarta – Police used tear gas and beat protesters in the streets of Jakarta as pro-democracy groups claimed the way had been cleared for Indonesia to be ruled by a military junta in the wake of Parliament's passage of new security laws yesterday.

Slobodan Lekic, Jakarta – The Indonesian government on Friday suspended a new law giving the armed forces expanded emergency powers, a day after its passage sparked one of the most serious protests to hit the capital since former President Suharto was forced from power.

Sarah Crichton, Kupang, the capital of West Timor, may soon explode into riots because of mounting tension between local residents and arrogant militias from East Timor, says a returning aid worker.

Washington – Events in East Timor and the Bank Bali scandal threaten to derail Indonesia's fragile economic recovery but it has not yet been knocked completely off track, the World Bank said Thursday.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – International calls for the prosecution of Indonesians for war crimes in East Timor are sure to meet stiff opposition in Jakarta, and even some human rights monitors in the capital suggest now is not the time to pile on yet more pressure.

Grainne McCarthy, Jakarta – The drastic deterioration in relations between Indonesia and Australia over East Timor threatens to damage trade and investment between the two countries, business executives say.

Andrew Marshall, Jakarta – Indonesia's decision to allow an independent auditor to probe a damaging banking scandal has backfired spectacularly – instead of placating foreign donors and investors it has highlighted the myriad risks they face.

Seth Mydans, Jakarta – When international peacekeepers land in East Timor in the days ahead, they will witness the departure of a defeated Indonesian army at the lowest ebb in its history – humbled, hesitant, embittered and convulsively violent.

Keith B. Richburg, Jakarta – In the port town of Balikpapan, on Borneo island, an Australian diplomat was dispatched to help rescue Australian mine workers besieged by people demonstrating against foreigners. He spent most of his time hiding from angry crowds, running down back stairwells and being trundled into a getaway van.

London – The government of Prime Minister Tony Blair came under a hail of criticism Sunday over the imminent delivery of British military planes to Indonesia despite a European Union embargo resulting from the East Timor crisis.

Don Greenlees and Robert Garran – Australia's battered relations with Indonesia suffered a new blow yesterday when Jakarta terminated the bilateral security treaty.

Jakarta – Opposition to the state security bill continued on Thursday, with the National Mandate Party (PAN) and National Awakening Party (PKB) demanding the House of Representatives drop the government-sponsored draft law.

Jakarta – Some 2,000 Indonesian students on Friday converged on the national parliament to protest against a draft security law and demand a trial of former president Suharto.

Some 1,500 students marched towards the parliament from the Jayabaya private university in in South Jakarta about one kilometre southeast of the legislative complex.

Surabaya – Hundreds of Indonesian students protested in the country's second largest city on Thursday against a controversial draft security bill which they say would increase the power of the military.

Some 600 demonstrators gathered in front of two local government offices in the commercial city of Surabaya, 700 km east of Jakarta.

Jakarta – Protests erupted here Wednesday as the UN approved sending troops to East Timor, with security forces opening fire outside the UN building at students protesting Indonesian military atrocities.

Compere: East Timor's anti-independence militia have now been seen on the streets of Jakarta, threatening pro-independence East Timorese and foreign journalists. There were scenes which seemed quite out of place in the Indonesian capital, as Geoff Thompson reports from Jakarta.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – Indonesia's powerful defence forces (TNI) chief General Wiranto will likely step down next month to prepare for his presidential campaign as a parliamentary investigation into a banking scandal looks certain to implicate close friends of Dr B.J. Habibie and kill off his chances.

London – British ministers were under fire Wednesday after it emerged that millions of pounds of public money had been used to help Indonesia buy jets and secure industrial contracts, newspapers reported.

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – President B.J. Habibie's decision to allow foreign troops into trouble-torn East Timor sparked an upsurge of nationalist sentiments especially in the government and local media, with many resentful of international pressure on Indonesia.

Jay Solomon, Jakarta – An investigation into a politically charged banking scandal here has uncovered "numerous" indications of fraud, as well as the transfer of millions of dollars to senior Indonesian officials and politically connected individuals, an audit by the US accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers says.

Ordinary Australians took to the streets in their thousands today demanding urgent government action over the slaughter in East Timor.

Protesters stormed Prime Minister John Howard's Sydney office, blockaded airline terminals and maintained vigils as nation-wide anger continued to mount over the genocide in the violence-wracked region.

Jakarta – After a week of chaos and terror in East Timor, Indonesia's powerful military boss sang "Feelings" on Sunday to show why he can't walk away from the independence-minded province.

In another day of nationwide demonstrations more than 25,000 protesters packed the centre of Melbourne yesterday to hear East Timor independence leader Xanana Gusmao appeal to his Australian "brothers and sisters" to pressure the Howard Government to send peace enforcers into East Timor.

Jakarta – The rising wave of nationalistic fever brought on by a fervor of anti-American and Australian sentiment continued on Friday as major Indonesian cities became witnesses to flag burning demonstrations.

Peter Cole-Adams and Mark Metherell – The Federal Government yesterday cancelled three joint Australia-Indonesia training exercises and announced a review of all aspects of the defence relationship.

The men in uniform usually get their own way, David Jenkins writes from Jakarta. Indonesia's military leaders are accustomed to getting their own way. And when it looked yesterday as if President Habibie might be tempted to give the green light to the early arrival of foreign peacekeepers in East Timor the generals decided enough was enough.