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Former foreign minister Ali Alatas talked to The Jakarta Post's Kornelius Purba about his views on Aceh.

Banda Aceh – Muhammad Nazar, 27, chairman of the Information Center for an Aceh Referendum (SIRA), went on trial here on Thursday for sedition, his second brush with the law in two year

Craig Skehan – Despite its natural splendours, cultural diversity and tragic history of decolonisation gone awry, Papua has not loomed large in world or regional affairs.

Aceh – The police in Banda Aceh are still pursuing a prodemocracy activist Kautsar who mobilized Acehnese to go on strike recently without permission from security authorities.

Bireun – Separatists in Indonesia's Aceh province commemorated the 26th anniversary of their fight on Wednesday with at least one military flag-raising ceremony and vows to keep fightin

Farah Farouque – Flag raising is common at public events.

Banda Aceh – Security authorities in Aceh have arrested 12 members of the pro-independence Front for Acehnese People's Democratic Resistance.

Banda Aceh – At least 5,000 people paraded in Aceh province yesterday to celebrate the country's independence in a show of support for Jakarta's rule over the region.

Nani Farida and Apriadi Gunawan, Banda Aceh/Medan – A series of bomb explosions punctuated the celebration of Independence Day in conflict-torn Aceh, as another bomb explosion rocked a

At least 10 people were wounded when a bomb exploded among a crowd of civil servants preparing to celebrate Indonesia's independence day in the Acehnese capital, officals said.

Jakarta – More than 700 Achenese demanded independence from Indonesia during a demonstration in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Thursday, just two days before the anniversary of

Kautsar, chairperson of the Acehnese Peoples Democratic Resistance Front (FPDRA), attended the second Asia Pacific International Solidarity Conference in April to build support for the

Pip Hinman, Sydney – The news that two Acehnese activists sought refuge in the Finnish embassy in Jakarta on April 10 didn't surprise Erwanto, an Acehnese activist currently visiting Au

Jakarta – Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province confirmed they would discuss Jakarta's autonomy law in future peace talks but denied they are softening calls for independence.

Jakarta – Two rebels were killed and two wounded when some 100 members of the separatist Free Papua Movement attacked a police outpost on Wednesday in Indonesia's easternmost province o

Chris McCall, Jayapura – It is a crude report from one tiny area of the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya.

Jakarta – An East Timorese claimed on Saturday that members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) have made secret contacts with proindependence East Timorese, asking how the latter won their

Banda Aceh – At least 30 bombs or grenade blasts were heard around the main city in the restive province of Aceh in the run-up to Indonesia's Independence Day Friday, residents said.

Max Lane, Jakarta – More than 500 people, Acehnese and Indonesians, attended a series of lively debates and cultural events at conference organised by the Acehnese People's Democratic R

Banda Aceh – At least three people were killed and four others were wounded in the latest violence between separatist rebels and government forces in the Indonesian province of Aceh, a

Devi Asmarani, Aceh – A simple bus trip at night can turn deadly in this violence-wracked province, where residents live in constant fear of being caught in vicious clashes between Indo

Pip Hinman – The Indonesian military is stepping up its war against the Acehnese people.

Banda Aceh – Violence has again escalated in Aceh with at least 11 people being killed in various incidents on Wednesday, while talks continue between government representatives and the

Sydney – Independence leaders from the Indonesian province of Papua issued a plea in Melbourne on Thursday for the United Nations to intervene in the escalating conflict between separat

Washington – The United States on Monday bemoaned the latest 'tragic' deaths in Indonesia's restive Irian Jaya province and called on separatist leaders and the Jakarta government to ba

Jayapura – Students in the capital of Irian Jaya vowed Monday to maintain their strike until the restive Indonesian province is granted independence.

Vaudine England, Jakarta – The indigenous Papuans of Irian Jaya celebrated their claimed independence day yesterday with prayers, peaceful ceremonies and a welcoming speech from the pol

Lindsay Murdoch, Jayapura – Indonesian police with riot shields, padded uniforms and automatic weapons stare grimly at barely clothed men from the remote mountains of West Papua in a su

Michael Richardson, Tembagapura – Nestled in a small valley 1,850 meters above sea level with cliffs and forest-clad mountains towering above, this company mining town with its subsidiz

James Balowski – For the first time since the overthrow of former President Suharto, the Indonesian government has arrested and charged a human rights activist under the notorious "sowi

Jakarta – Independence celebrations in Indonesia's eastern province of West Papua will go ahead next week despite stern warnings from Jakarta, the province's independence leader said ye

Chris McCall, Jakarta – Support for independence in troubled Aceh has reached fever pitch and separatists say the campaign's momentum now is almost unstoppable.

Ben Dolven, Jayapura, Wamena and Timika – No matter where you go in Irian Jaya, it's hard to avoid the signs that this remote province is desperate to break free of Indonesia.

James Balowski – Some 400,000 people converged on the capital of Indonesia's nothernmost province of Aceh, Banda Aceh, on November 10 for a two-day independence rally, despite scores of

Muharram M. Nur, Banda Aceh – With a peace process in shambles and violence escalating, about 50,000 people rallied in Indonesia's Aceh province Tuesday to demand independence.

Lukmanul Hakim/GB, Jakarta – Results of polling carried out by the Aceh Referendum Information Centre (SIRA) show that a clear majority of Acehnese would chose independence from Indones

Chris McCall, Jakarta and Agencies in Banda Aceh – Almost 400,000 people converged on Banda Aceh, capital of Indonesia's Aceh province, for a two-day independence rally after President

John Aglionby, Jakarta – Hundreds of thousands of people gathered yesterday in and around the capital of Aceh province for a huge two-day independence rally, despite scores of killings

Pidie – Hundreds of thousands tried to beat tight security Thursday to reach the capital of Indonesia's troubled Aceh province for a pro-independence rally, as police and residents said

Pip Hinman – The efforts by the West Papuan people to garner international support for self-determination have taken a number of leaps forward recently.

Action in Solidarity with Indonesia and East Timor (ASIET) supports the West Papuan people's demand for a free act of national self-determination.

Jakarta – Some 2,000 pro-independence Acehnese staged a huge rally in front of the UN office in the Indonesian capital Wednesday demanding international intervention to end the fighting

Jakarta – Local authorities vowed on Thursday to take stern measures against the proindependence Papuan taskforce who have commandeered a government-owned provincial art building as the

Jakarta – A pro-independence leader Wednesday ordered his supporters in Indonesia's easternmost province of Irian Jaya to ignore a police order to vacate a building and lower a separati

Chris McCall, Merauke – West Papuans will not let the separatist flag be brought down in the south even if their leaders agree, their regional chief says.

Chris McCall, Wamena – Police in Irian Jaya's remote Baliem Valley say they have removed all separatist Morning Star flags from the troubled region.

[Who is a Free Aceh rebel, how does he operate, and what fuels Aceh's separatist war? Lee Kim Chew visited the guerilla bases in the strife-torn north Sumatran province to find out.

Jakarta – Some 65 migrants were trapped in a hinterland town in Indonesia's separatist province of Irian Jaya after thousands of local tribesmen prevented them from leaving, a report sa

Jakarta – The man spearheading the independence movement in Indonesia's Irian Jaya province on Saturday played down fears of further bloodshed in the remote area over flying the separat