Jakarta – A 10-day training course on crowd control given by the US government to the Indonesian Police will be useless, and would be used by local officers only to break up student and worker demonstrations here, lawyers and students said on Monday.

Documents at the Australian Archives show the Federal Government turned a blind eye to the indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians after an alleged communist coup, writes David Jenkins.

The case of (temporarily non-active) Attorney General, Lt. General Ghalib, is increasingly slipping from the rails of justice as political elements tend to appear on the surface.

Secret records of the US State Department and CIA provide evidence that the massacre of Indonesia's communists in 1965 was not a result of spontaneous uprisings but a deliberate campaign by General Soeharto. Marian Wilkinson reveals that the records show the US and Australia knew what was happening – but continued to back the army in its bloody takeover.

Jakarta – Residents of Koja, an area on the northeast coast of Jakarta, are threatening to use force to take over land that was seized from them in 1995 by a state-owned company with close ties to former president Soeharto's eldest daughter, Siti Hardiyanti 'Tutut' Rukmana.

Keith B. Richburg, Jakarta – Following her apparent victory in democratic elections last month, Megawati Sukarnoputri has declared that the Indonesian people have given her the mandate to lead the country.

Since May last year, there have been constant calls for a thorough investigation into the wealth of former Indonesian President Suharto and the corruption, collusion and nepotism that characterised his thirty two year rule.

The true story of the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of people linked to the Indonesian Communist Party has remained buried since 1965. Now with the fall from power of President Soeharto, Indonesians are beginning to confront their own holocaust, writes Louise Williams.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Exactly one month after Indonesia's groundbreaking general election, just 59 per cent of votes have been counted in Jakarta.

Tangerang – Jailed labor activist Dita Indah Sari of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) left the women's penitentiary here on Monday after spending two years in prison.

Jakarta – Thousands of bank employees and bus drivers staged separate demonstrations in Jakarta yesterday, demanding greater rights for workers.

Sander Thoenes, Jakarta – Former President Suharto yesterday filed a multi-billion dollar libel suit against Time magazine in a case that highlights the new government's failure to pursue corruption charges against him.

Sigit Widodo, Jakarta – Dita Indah Sari, chairperson of the Indonesian Centre for Labour Struggle (PPBI) – which is affiliated to the People's Democratic Party (PRD) – was released from the Tangerang Women's Prison on Monday, July 5. Upon being released, Dita went pay a visit to her mother's grave, Nonya Lili Fernandes.

Yogyakarta – The office of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in Yogyakarta, came under attack on Saturday evening (3/7) 23.30, by an unidentified group of people who were armed with machetes. Aside from damaging the office, the attackers also wounded a PRD activist, Endik, on his arm and left hip.

Jakarta – An unidentified group yesterday attacked an office of the Democratic People's Party (PRD), following last week's shooting of PRD activists by security officials.

Jakarta – In a bid to cast off their image as ruthless supporters of the authoritarian New Order regime of ex-president Soeharto, police have begun to don new uniforms and are now conducting charity programs to help the poor.

In conjunction with the 53rd anniversary of the National Police, the Jakarta Police is providing medical assistance to impoverished people.

This morning, at 3am, the offices of the People's Democratic Party (PRD) in East Jakarta located on Jalan Utan Kayu was stoned by an unknown group of people. The attack was carried out by around 10 who threw rock from the vehicle without getting out then quickly left.

Jakarta – Muslim clerics and students stepped up their opposition on Friday to Megawati Soekarnoputri's presidential candidacy, citing Islamic law and saying she was not capable of leading the country.

On Saturday, July 3, at 11.20pm, the People's Democratic Party (PRD) offices in Yogyakarta was raided by unrecognised group armed with knives, sticks and molotov cocktails. The gangsters raided the office while shouting "Allah Akbar" (God is Great!!!). They attacked those PRD cadres living there.

Jakarta – Military and police officials are blaming supporters of the Democratic People's Party (PRD) for provoking the bloody clash with police outside the headquarters of the General Elections Commission (KPU) in Central Jakarta on Thursday.

Bogi Rianto and Sigit Widodo, Jakarta – In the aftermath of the Bloody KPU Incident on July 1 on Saturday, July 3, it was announced that the Jakarta police have issued an arrest warrant for Hendri Kuok, the People's Democratic Party (PRD) representative on the Public Election Commission (KPU).

Jakarta – Nearly 300 protesters from the People's Democratic Party, known by its Indonesian short as PRD, pressed on Friday with a rally outside the General Election Commission's office following Thursday's bloody clash with riot police that left more than 20 injured, either hit by batons or shot at by rubber or plastic bullets.

Semarang – A military court here sentenced on Friday former Bantul regent Army Col. Sri Roso Sudarmo to nine months imprisonment after finding him guilty of bribing a foundation chaired by former president Soeharto in 1996 to ensure his reelection as regent.

Budi Sugiharto, Surabaya – Around 200 Surabaya students from a number of tendencies demonstrated in the center of Surabaya on Friday, July 2. Before the demonstration they held a "long march" from the University of Airlingga (Unair). They moved off after Friday prayers at around 1pm.

In the 50s and 60s, Hasyim Rachman was the publisher and editor of the anti-imperialist daily newspaper, Bintang Timur, one of Indonesia's highest selling newspapers. Bintang Timur was banned by the Suharto regime in 1965. Hasyim Rahman was gaoled for 14 years, including 10 years on Buru Island. He was never charged or put on trial.

We vigorously condemn the Indonesian military and police for the violent and bloody attack on peaceful, unarmed protesters campaigning for democracy at a rally organised on July 1 in Jakarta, by the People's Democratic Party (PRD). The 2000 demonstrators were protesting against vote rigging by the ruling Golkar party in Indonesia's June 7 election.

Jakarta – A People's Democratic Party (PRD) demonstration in front of the National Election Commission (KPU) building [on June 1], demanding the disqualification of Golkar because of a number of violation in the 1999 elections, was violently broken up by police. As well as shooting at demonstrators, the police also kicked and beat them.

Jose Manuel Tesoro, Blitar – The answer to what Indonesia would look like under Megawati Sukarnoputri's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle might best be found not in the buzzing capital, Jakarta, but in the modest East Java town of Blitar four hours' drive south of Surabaya.

Sam King, Jakarta – PRD activists in Jakarta again took to the streets in protest of the previous days military attack, once again calling for the disqualification of Golkar party from the elections for election rigging and demanding the withdrawal of the dual function of the military.

Medan – Police here defended on Thursday the use of severe measures against alleged looters in Dua Puluh Baru village last week in an incident in which a woman was killed.

[The following was compiled and translated by ASIET from three reports by Detikcom dated July 2, the day after riot police fired on People's Democratic Party (PRD) demonstrations injuring as many as 76. A number remain in hospital under intensive care and a several others have been arrested by police or have "disappeared" - James Balowski.]

[The following is a summary of four reports by Detikcom compiled and translated by ASIET on the shooting of as many as 14 People's Democratic Party (PRD) activists during a demonstration in front of the National Election Committee (KPU) building in central Jakarta on the afternoon of July 1 - James Balowski.]

Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – At least three people were wounded on Thursday when Indonesian police fired on protesters demanding that the ruling Golkar party be disqualified from last month's historic parliamentary election, witnesses said.

[The following is an eyewitness report by Jill Hickson and Sam King, two ASIET members who are currently in Jakarta and were at the demonstration.]

A rally by the People's Democratic Party (PRD) that mobilised 2000 people in Jakarta was attacked by police and military. The protesters were beaten and shot, injuring more than 100, two are in critical condition.

Tantyo Bangun and Jonathan Sprague – The west wind shakes the jermal – a fishing platform perched precariously on log stilts in the shallow seas off north Sumatra. It is some hours after midnight. "Wake up! Your turn to pull the net!" shouts the foreman, shaking Dian and four other boys. They head out into the pre-dawn dark.

Ambon – Thousands of people marched through a city in eastern Indonesia on Tuesday demanding the north of the troubled Moluccas become a separate province, witnesses said.

The student-backed movement brought the town to a halt in Ternate, some 2,400 km northeast of Jakarta. Witnesses put the number at more than 5,000.

Jakarta – Hundreds of activists and professionals are vigorously defending the right of women to become president, branding as violations of human rights and unconstitutional the flurry of recent statements that women are unfit to lead the country.

Jakarta – Activists and professionals have stepped up protests against statements that a woman should not lead the world's largest Moslem-populated nation, reports said here Tuesday.

Jakarta – Indonesian presidential hopeful Megawati Sukarnoputri intends to go after not just ousted leader Suharto but other officials who have abused their positions, a report said Tuesday.

Jakarta – The leader of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisation said yesterday that he still supported the presidential aspirations of his ally Megawati Sukarnoputri but cautioned that the Islamic community may not accept a woman President.

Seth Mydans, Jakarta – It was not a threat, said Wardah Hafidz, one of Indonesia's toughest social activists; it was a simple statement of the country's new balance of power.

"You can meet with 40 of us in your office," she told officials of a government agency she was publicly accusing of misuse of funds, "or you can have 4,000 of us in the street outside."

Jakarta – Abdurrahman Wahid, Amien Rais, Nur Mahmudi Ismail and Hamzah Haz agreed on Saturday that Islam bars women from becoming heads of state, delivering the heaviest blow yet to Megawati Soekarnoputri's presidential bid.

With The Mute's Soliloquy, an account of suffering under Suharto's oppression, Pramoedya Ananta Toer has been hailed as Indonesia's Solzhenitsyn. Zuraidah Ibrahim reports

The Soviet Union under Stalin had its gulags. Closer home, Indonesia under Mr Suharto had its string of penal colony islands.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – Set back from a junction of tree-lined avenues in the West Java capital of Bandung stands a white Dutch-era mansion. It is the headquarters of Kodam III – the Siliwangi provincial Military Command.

Jakarta – Defense Minister/Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Commander General Wiranto yesterday warned political parties against mobilizing the masses or conducting shows of force as the campaign period is long over.

Dan Murphy – Ask the average Indonesian who he'd like as his next president and he'll tell you Megawati Sukarnoputri. Ask him why, and he'll cite her pedigree as daughter of Sukarno – father of the nation and champion of the poor. Now, ask what her policies are. "She's for the little people," says Nahuruddin, a street-side food vendor in central Jakarta.

Jakarta – Calls were made Wednesday for two members of Indonesia's Election Commission (KPU) to stand down because of statements they made on small political parties.

Most of the 53 members of the commission walked out of a plenary session demanding Adnan Buyung Nasution, the KPU deputy chairman, and commission member Andi Malarangeng, be dismissed, witnesses said.

Jakarta – A group of students arrested for staging a "happening art performance" against ex-president Soeharto in South Jakarta last week, yesterday made a mockery out of their trial, by wearing Soeharto masks and cracking jokes throughout proceedings.

Despite international expectations and preparations for chaos to break out in Indonesia during the election period, instead there has been relative calm. Many Asian nations had prepared contingency plans to extract expatriates from Indonesia and to prepare for waves of immigrants fleeing the country, and had warned against unnecessary visits to Indonesia during the election period.