[The following is a translation of a message sent to Down To Earth on December 9 from Padang, Sumatra. DtE has not been able to confirm the information as yet - James Balowski.]

Jakarta – The Indonesian armed forces have sought to dampen fears of a military coup but are considering a controversial plan to train civilian militia to help supervise elections next year, reports said Friday.

The riots that engulfed jakarta last week have spent their malevolent force, at least for the time being. But few people realistically believe that Indonesia will not be hit by other upheavals as the new year opens. To think that President B. J.

Jakarta – A third day of rioting over soaring prices of fertilizers has left scores of shops vandalized and looted, three people wounded and 13 others arrested in the Indonesian city of Blora, reports said here Friday.

Greg Earl, Jakarta – The Indonesian Government is facing a damage bill of at least $30 billion to recapitalise more than 60 banks after the dual impact of bad lending practices and the economic crisis.

Jakarta – The commemoration of 50 Years of the Universal Human Rights Declaration (HAM) on Thursday (10/12), took also place at eight other cities besides Jakarta. It was in general colored by parades, free speech fora, distribution of pamphlets and other activities. The 8 other towns were Ujungpandang, Padang, Lhokseumawe, Banda Aceh, Palu, Bandung, Semarang and Yogyakarta.

By Max Lane

[This paper was delivered at the conference: "Democracy in Indonesia – the crisis and beyond", organised by the University of Melbourne and Monash University, 11-12 December, 1998.]

Jakarta – Indonesia's economy is likely to contract about 14.8 percent in 1998 from the previous full year and by a further 5.8 percent in 1999, according to a Reuters poll of analysts from 12 leading brokerages and banks in Jakarta.

Jakarta – At least 17 student protesters were injured and 33 others detained by the police when demonstrators opposed to President B.J. Habibie and security personnel clashed near the President's residence on Jl. Patra Kuningan XIII in South Jakarta on Wednesday.

Jakarta – Angry students threw rocks and bottles at Jakarta's police headquarters while as many as 10,000 protesters choked the streets of Indonesia's capital Thursday and demanded more democracy.

It was one of the biggest days of protest since demonstrations and deadly riots forced ex-President Suharto to quit last May after 32 years of autocratic rule.

Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives agreed on Wednesday to ease requirements for existing political parties to contest the general election scheduled for next June 7.

Louise Williams – Protected by a cordon of riot troops, the man who ruled Indonesia with absolute authority for more than three decades, former President Soeharto, finally faced the humiliation of interrogation today over allegations of corruption and nepotism.

Peter Symonds – Six months after B.J.

Jakarta – A brief chronology of the search for the alleged fortune accumulated by former Indonesian strongman Suharto since he stepped down from the presidency on May 21 after 32 years in power.

Jakarta – Three Indonesian student activists were arrested by police early Tuesday morning at their residence, sources said.

Jakarta – Attorney General Andi M. Ghalib described the former president Soeharto's national car program, entrusted to his own son Hutomo Mandala Putra, as a graft-infested project designed entirely for self-profit.

Jenny Grant, Jakarta – The charitable foundations controlled by former president Suharto lent more money to his cronies than they gave to charity, the Attorney-General said yesterday. Attorney-General Andi Ghalib also confirmed Mr Suharto would be questioned tomorrow and two former ministers would be interrogated at his office today.

Terry Mccarthy, Jakarta – When Jimmy Siahae hit the ground, that was the end. The Muslim mob never let him up again. Their weapons were dull – bamboo staves, kitchen knives, metal spikes – but their hatred was sharp. Siahae was 45, a Christian from the eastern Indonesian island of Ambon, suspected of attacking their mosque.

Greg Earl, Jakarta – Indonesia has outlined yet another schedule for its elections next year as horse-trading over the shape of the new electoral system enters a volatile final phase.

A senior government official was quoted yesterday as saying the presidential election would be held on October 28 followed by the swearing in of a new president on November 10.

The "inter-party dialogue" organised by the Gajah Mada University (UGM) [in Central Java on December 6, which was attended by around 78 political parties was engineered. The dialogue was used to "force" all of the parties to take part in Habibie's election which will be "free" and "democratic". In reality there is no evidence that the election will be free or democratic.

Jakarta – Eleven people were injured when supporters of rival political parties clashed in an Indonesian town, a news report said Monday.

Fighting broke out on Sunday in Brebes, about 250 kilometers east of Jakarta, between followers of the ruling Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party, or PDI, who are loyal to opposition figure Megawati Sukarnoputri.

Isahak Daud, 38, was found guilty at the Sabang district court on Saturday of rebellion and the seizure of weapons and sentenced to 20 years. The court's verdict took two hours to read.

Jakarta – Students from 14 Indonesian universities met here Saturday to launch a watchdog to monitor general elections pledged for June 7 next year, student sources said.

Jakarta – A group of new Indonesian graduates celebrated their last day as students by protesting on the capital's busiest traffic roundabout, accompanied by proud parents and friends.

Jakarta – Only eight out of more than 100 new political parties are currently eligible to contest parliamentary elections in Indonesia June 7, a news report said Friday.

Dozens of parties have mushroomed following last May's resignation of authoritarian President Suharto, who previously controlled political activity.

Jakarta – A Moslem mob Friday attacked and set on fire a Catholic church in South Sulawesi in the latest incident of religious strife to hit Indonesia in the past two weeks, residents said.

Sander Thoenes, Jakarta – If there were fewer soldiers on the streets of Jakarta than might have been expected last week as Moslems and Christians clashed, buildings were torched and shops looted, it did not mean they were far away.

Liz Sly, Jakarta – Indonesia's angry students are more likely these days to shout "Down with Suharto," referring to the autocrat who was forced from office last May as the economy collapsed and unrest surged, than "Down with Habibie," an allusion to the functionary who succeeded him.

Jakarta – The majority of the Indonesian people do not believe the government's claim that the student movement has lost its purity, or that it had begun to represent the interests of a small group of people bent on bringing down the government of President B.J. Habibie, according to a recent poll.

Jakarta – Indonesia will hold parliamentary elections on June 7 and elect a new president on Aug. 29, speaker of the house of parliament Harmoko said Thursday.

Jakarta – Former-vice president Try Sutrisno and former defense minister Edi Sudradjat, both retired Army generals, signed their names to a declaration on Tuesday to form a new political party along with nearly 100 other discontented members of Golkar.

John McBeth, Bireuen – Mention Indonesia's financial crisis to betel-nut farmer Abdullah Ali and the bony face under the floppy hat cracks into a delighted grin. "I'm very happy," says the father of seven at his modest home in the foothills near Bireuen. "Krismon" – a colloquial term for the crisis – "has been very good to me."

Jakarta – The United Development Party (PPP) wound up its fourth congress on Wednesday by appointing new chairman Hamzah Haz and secretary-general Ali Marwan Hanan to lead it in the daunting task of facing stiffer political competition.

Jakarta – Certain groups have seen indications that the riots in Ketapang [Jakarta - trans] and Kupang are forms of revenge perpetrated by civilian forces prepared by the Cendana Group in retaliation for the attacks on Soeharto's position and to serve as a warning to halt investigations into the Soeharto family.

Jakarta – The parents of six students who were shot dead in the clashes between students and security forces on Nov. 13 demanded on Monday the Armed Forces (ABRI) leaders are held responsible for the incident.

Gde Anugrah Arka, Jakarta – Indonesia's ailing rupiah is out of intensive care and in the recovery ward – but anxious eyes are on the chart for any sign of a relapse.

The political turmoil and bloody unrest sweeping Indonesia has failed to dampen a steady rally that could see the rupiah breach the 7,000 barrier this month for the first time since January.

Jakarta – Thousands of Indonesian students took to the streets here again Wednesday, and managed for the first time to breach presidential palace security and directly demand that fallen strongman Suharto be brought to trial.

Indonesia had one of the most tumultuous years in its modern history: economic collapse spurred student-led demands for political reform, bringing President Soeharto's three-decade rule to an end in May. His successor and protegi, Vice-President B.J.

Jakarta – The country's largest Moslem organization Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) may bring the case of the ninja killings which have taken place across Java over the past few months to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Antara reported on Monday.

Jeremy Wagstaff, Jakarta – Mobs in mainly Christian eastern Indonesia went on the rampage Monday, burning mosques and attacking Muslim shops, schools and a university. It was one of the worst attacks on the country's majority religion in years and is certain to fan divisions in a nation already gripped by political and social unrest.

Jakarta – A district court in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province was set ablaze when unidentified men threw petrol bombs into the building, press reports here said Tuesday. Several rooms, including the courtroom, were burned in the early hours of Monday forcing an indefinite postponement of court sessions, the Kompas daily reported.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – Indonesian Muslim and Christian leaders asked the public Tuesday to refrain from seeking reprisal against one another over attacks on more than 20 churches in Jakarta last month and the burning of several mosques in a predominantly Christian area on Monday.

Paul Lashmar and Jamese Oliver – In autumn 1965, Norman Reddaway, a lean and erudite rising star of the Foreign Office, was briefed for a special mission. The British Ambassador to Indonesia, Sir Andrew Gilchrist, had just visited London for discussions with the head of the Foreign Office, Joe Garner.

Terry Mccarthy, Jakarta – Sitting in an office deep inside the Istiqlal Mosque complex in the center of Jakarta, Komaruddin Rachmat looks like a man of peace. Yet two weeks ago the soft-spoken activist armed 30,000 rough-hewn Muslim vigilantes to intimidate students protesting for democracy.

Bernard Lagan and Louise Williams – The Government's links to Indonesia were under strong attack last night after Jakarta refused to allow an Australian Government-appointed investigator into East Timor to gather new evidence on military abuses.

Jakarta – The Indonesian government had found nine million hectares of forest concessions linked to former president Suharto, his family and close associates, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – An independent commission to probe the wealth accumulated by veteran leader Suharto during his 32-year rule will be only advisory and leave any decisions to the new president, State Secretary Akbar Tanjung said Monday.

Jakarta – A special committee of the House of Representatives agreed on Thursday to retain the old proportional representation (PR) system for next year's general election, but with major improvements to make it more democratic.

Greg Earl, Jakarta – Indonesia is moving quickly towards a policy of redistributing wealth through new Government policies with several key economic officials signalling support for affirmative action.

Louise Williams, Surabaya – Australia would maintain a close working relationship with Indonesia's armed forces, despite increasing domestic and international criticism over the shooting of student protesters in Jakarta earlier this month and concerns of more civil unrest ahead, the Defence Minister, Mr Moore, said yesterday.