Jakarta – Indonesia signed the protocol of the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (UN-CEDAW) on Monday.

The last year of the twentieth century was a transition for both East Timor and Indonesia. East Timor finally exercised its long-denied right to self-determination, and is now becoming an independent nation. Next year, East Timor will merit its own Country Report.

Jakarta – An Indonesian anti-graft watchdog has demanded that the youngest son of former president Suharto return 255 million dollars which it charged he had embezzled through his clove marketing agency, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The Indonesian economy may be showing signs of recovery from the financial crisis two years ago. However, still left behind in the turmoil created by that crisis are tens of millions of poor Indonesians.

In fact, the problems are still so severe, that the United Nations has agreed to extend by 18 months an emergency relief programme to deliver food.

Ahmad Pathoni, Jakarta – Indonesia's press welcomed the country's wide-ranging military reshuffle here Tuesday, hailing it as an early victory for efforts to assert civilian control over the armed forces.

One newspaper said the changes might be intended to strengthen power of the President Abdurrahman Wahid and his loyalists in the military.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – The Indonesian military's most outspoken reformer, Major-General Agus Wirahadikusumah, has been appointed to head his country's main combat force in a further blow to his arch rival, General Wiranto.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid moved to consolidate his control of the armed forces yesterday by replacing two allies of recently deposed General Wiranto.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) announced on Monday another major reshuffle that included the promotion of Maj. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah, a progressive figure, as the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) chief.

Ambon – Fresh communal clashes broke out in Central and North Maluku on Friday resulting in the death of at least three people. Pattimura Military Commander Brig. Gen. Max Tamaela confirmed the incident but claimed that the situation was now calm as security forces immediately stepped in to establish a buffer zone separating the warring groups.

Jakarta – Former state secretary Moerdiono on Thursday pointed the finger at ex-president Soeharto, saying Soeharto gave his approval to the disbursement of billions of dollars under the controversial Bank Indonesia liquidity assistance (BLBI) program.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) is prepared to leave the House of Representatives (DPR) after the next elections in 2004, but insists on maintaining a presence in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Tim Dodd, Jakarta – After a year's pause for breath Indonesians are about to face another economic squeeze with tax hikes and subsidy cuts set to raise prices on basic goods as part of the Government's effort to prune its budget.

Jakarta – At least three of Indonesia's airports under the state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) I, will be offered to private investors, a company official said.

Sangwon Suh and Dewi Loveard, Jakarta – After two weeks of tense standoff, it was over. Late on Sunday, February 13, Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid finally carried out what he had been promising to do: remove Gen. Wiranto, coordinating minister for security and political affairs, from his cabinet. The announcement was received with surprising grace and composure by Wiranto.

Rome – Both sides in the Christian-Muslim conflict in Indonesia are using child soldiers, sending boys as young as seven into fighting with firebombs in their backpacks, the Vatican missionary news service said Thursday.

Mark Riley, New York – The United Nations Security Council has shelved plans for a UN human rights tribunal in East Timor, ignoring the recommendations of its own inquiry into the mayhem that followed August's independence ballot.

Washington – Indonesia has moved toward a more pluralistic democracy but human rights abuses remain rife, according to a US State Department human rights report released Friday.

Section 1: Respect for the Integrity of the Person

Jakarta – Thirteen people were injured when students and police clashed outside the Attorney General's Office in South Jakarta on Wednesday in the first violent protest in the capital this year.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Officials and residents of Jakarta on one of its more peaceful days were surprised yesterday to hear President Abdurrahman Wahid proclaim a state of "high alert" in the capital to guard against a large demonstration that no one could find.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – They call them Black Operations – kidnapping, killing, torturing, raping, burning and looting designed to intimidate opposition or set communities against each other. Sometimes they wear black masks, other times they pose as local thugs.

Indonesian police are threatening to imprison or deport Australian trade unionist Roger Smith. Smith, who works in Indonesia for the American Centre for International Labour Solidarity, has been detained and interrogated over his participation in labour rallies and his meetings with Indonesian unionists.

Jakarta – The Jakarta Legal Aid Institute (LBH) and the Information System and Legal Education Institute (Sisbikum) have urged workers to reject the new regional minimum wages, saying the level was too low and against international standards.

Interview with Juwono Sudarsono, Indonesia's first civilian defense minister. Juwono Sudarsono, Indonesia's first civilian defense minister, is a soft-spoken intellectual who served as education minister under former president B.J. Habibie and environment minister under Habibie's predecessor, Suharto.

General Wiranto has been a pivotal player in modern Indonesia. Appointed head of the armed forces by Suharto in 1998, he helped ease the dictator out of power, then saw the military through a series of crises: pro-democracy demonstrations in Jakarta, ethnic and religious violence in the provinces, the referendum on independence in East Timor.

Agence France Presse, Canberra – United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Australian Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday that the Indonesian judicial process should be given a chance and played down the need for an international war crimes tribunal for East Timor.

Dow Jones, Jakarta – As Asia's only member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Indonesia's coffers are filling with cash, according to analysts and Indonesian government officials, as the rally in crude oil generates a windfall for the struggling economy.

Jakarta – In relation to the government's plans to cut fuel and electricity subsidies, on February 21, the People's Democratic Party (PRD), led by chairperson Budiman Sudjatmiko, met with President Abdurrahman Wahid (Gus Dur) at the Bina Graha presidential offices [in Central Jakarta].

Jakarta – President Abdurrahman Wahid said on Monday the government would push ahead with plans to increase electricity tariffs and fuel prices despite the public's protests, citing that it was part of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Jakarta – Official minimum wage levels throughout the country will increase between 15 percent and 55 percent from April 1, the Ministry of Manpower announced on Monday. Although representing significant increases, the new minimum wages for most regions barely cover the monthly living expenses of a single person, the ministry said.

Jakarta – Political activist Andi Arief has attracted public attention by announcing that he no longer believes 14 fellow activists who disappeared in 1998 are still alive.

"I am sure that they died a long time ago. I have no proof of this, I just want those who killed them to get what they deserve," Andi told The Jakarta Post last Monday.

Tangerang – Traffic heading to and from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport here was blocked for at least three hours on Saturday afternoon by some 300 angry protesters, causing delays of several international and domestic flights.

Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Jakarta – The Defense Department has quietly resumed training Indonesian military officers in the United States, restoring one element of its relationship with Indonesia that was suspended last year after Indonesian soldiers participated in the violence that engulfed East Timor.

Jakarta – A total of 72 national banks suffered combined losses of Rp38.7 trillion (US$5.5 billion) last year, while 92 others managed to register profit, a study said.

The study conducted by the research bureau of Infobank magazine on 164 national banks, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, suggested the loss was lower than the previous year's Rp62.49 trillion.

Bandung – The newly created Office of the State Minister of Human Rights Affairs has received some 3,000 reports of missing persons, most of them alleged abductions in Aceh, East Timor and Jakarta.

Jakarta – It will much longer to reduce the Indonesian military's influence on the economy than on politics or government, an observer said.

Jakarta – A team of seven prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office are investigating the alleged misuse of reforestation funds by five major figures linked to former president Soeharto.

Jakarta – Former Indonesian armed forces chief General Wiranto appeared on television here Wednesday to defend himself against allegations that he let his troops go on a bloody rampage in East Timor last year.

Jakarta – Indonesia's economy grew 0.2 percent last year following its collapse during the 1998 Asian financial meltdown, according to statistics released Wednesday. The Central Statistics Bureau said the economy expanded 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter alone from a year ago. The economy grew 0.9 percent in the previous quarter.

Jakarta – Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid decided to suspend General Wiranto over his involvement in human rights abuses in East Timor after significant international pressure, a leading legislator, Mr Amien Rais, said yesterday.

February 11, 500 workers from clothing manufacturer PT Matahari Sentosa I in Bandung, West Java, staged a sit-in at the parliament building here. The workers, members of the militant Indonesian National Front for Labour Struggle (FNPBI) trade union, were demanding a 100% wage increase from their present daily pay of 7700 rupiah.

Jakarta – UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wound up a protest-peppered, two-day visit to Indonesia Wednesday urging the government not to use force against separatist rebels and warning Jakarta to bring East Timor rights abusers to trial or face UN action.

Jakarta – A day after he was removed as senior government minister, Gen. Wiranto dropped into a popular Jakarta radio station and became their disc jockey for more than an hour, news reports said Wednesday.

Jakarta – National Police chief Lt. Gen. Rusdihardjo vowed on Tuesday that the police would take up to three months, to complete an investigation into the July 27, 1996 bloody takeover of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) headquarters.

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Indonesia's military yesterday pledged its loyalty to President Wahid after he suspended General Wiranto in an extraordinary back-flip just hours after declaring that he could remain in the Cabinet.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid yesterday achieved exactly what he wanted – General Wiranto's absence from government – without destabilising the nation's delicate political balance.

Vaudine England – Interpreting the statements and intent of President Abdurrahman Wahid is a full-time, fascinating, but often frustrating task for anyone interested in tracking the evolution of this new and highly original democracy.

Sri Wahyuni and Asip Agus Hasani, Yogyakarta – The expectations spoke for themselves when Amien Rais remained virtually unchallenged in his bid to retain the National Mandate Party chairmanship on Sunday.

Seth Mydans, Jakarta – In the nearly two years since Indonesia's strongman, Suharto, stepped down in May 1998, it is the press that has been the most free, and the most tumultuous, of Indonesia's institutions. It has been the fundamental underpinning for the continuing move toward a democratic society.

Kate Linebaugh – Indonesia's bank rescue agency (Ibra) inched nearer to recouping the cost of propping up the nation's lenders this week when it replaced management at the country's biggest car-maker, clearing the way for the agency to sell its 43 percent stake.