Jakarta – Chief of the Iskandar Muda Regional Military Command Maj. Gen. Supiadin A.S. defended Monday former members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a number of whom are in leading government positions in the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said Thursday Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf should be held responsible for a recent incident in the province in which an Indonesian flag was burned.

Jakarta – Politician and patron of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Taufiq Kiemas, said the central government's lack of authority had seen the Acehnese take down hundreds of Indonesian national flags.

"This proves the country is not yet stable," Taufiq said. "There should have been no taking down of national flags."

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite political obstacles, the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam provincial administration is considering establishing a truth and reconciliation committee (KKR) to settle unresolved human rights abuse cases.

Mohamad Rayan, Banda Aceh – Two years have passed since the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Aug. 15, 2005. Several significant developments have taken place in Aceh since, including a successful and widely respected democratic election and the swearing in of a democratically elected government.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Two years after the signing of the Helsinki peace agreement, justice is not being properly upheld in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province and prosperity remains an illusion for many Acehnese, activists said Tuesday.

Nani Afrida, Bener Meriah – The woman in the dirty clothes was once one of the wealthiest people in the village.

Now Nursinah Alamsyah returns to a mere hut after working in the fields planting coffee seeds. "I've just moved here in the last six months," she said, placing her sickle in a corner of the hut.

M.

It's not yet four in the morning but Nyak Nur Asiah, 50 years old, is already out of bed, getting everything ready for the day's business. In the cold morning air, she gathers together pieces of paper and leaves for wrapping up rice and portions of food.

At dawn, Nyak Asiah, as her friends call her, is ready to set out, hoping that she will make a small profit.

The Aceh people remain hopeful the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) could finish the construction of infrastructures in Aceh by 2008.

James Balowski, Jakarta – A furor has erupted over the recent formation of the GAM party in Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh. Former members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) announced the formation of the party on July 7.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam governor Irwandi Jusuf agree the establishment of a local political party should have legal grounding.

"Aceh's governor has agreed the process of forming a new local party should be based on laws or other rulings," State Secretary Hatta Rajasa told Detik.com news portal.

Udin – At least 200 victims of the Aceh conflict from the Fraternal Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations (SPKP HAM) demonstrated at the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on the afternoon of Monday July 23. They were calling on the government to immediately form a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) to resolve past humanitarian crimes.

Nani Afrida, Berastagi – Five years after sharia was first implemented in Aceh, many residents, especially villagers, still do not fully understand it, an Islamic group says.

Many residents are unsure about its implementation, while some groups have politicized it, resulting in a focus on punishments like public caning and the requirement for women to wear a headscarf.

Banda Aceh – Victims of the Aceh conflict being assisted by the group Fraternal Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations (SPKP HAM) will hold their second congress in Saree in the Lembah Seulawah sub-district of Greater Aceh on July 20-23.

Aguswandi, Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) establishing itself as a political party is the last thing Jakarta needs to worry about right now. In fact it should be celebrated as another step in Aceh's peace process. It is a success of the reintegration – political reintegration – of former combatants fully into the society.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – Vice President Jusuf Kalla shrugged off the possibility of the former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) starting a new separatist movement by forming a local political party.

Udin, Banda Aceh – United Nations High Commission for Human Rights Louise Arbour is particularly interested in women's issues in Aceh. She is asking the Aceh government under the leadership of Governor Irwandi Yusuf to pay attention to gender equality at all decision-making levels in the Aceh government.

Banda Aceh – The case of RCTI television reporter Ersa Siregar, who died during a fire fight between TNI (Indonesian military) soldiers and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) during the period of martial law in Aceh has been reported to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour.

Banda Aceh – United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has been asked to pressure the Indonesian government to resolve cases of human rights violations that befell the people during the Aceh conflict. This was conveyed by 12 Acehnese civil society organisations during a meeting with Arbour at the UN representative offices in Aceh on Thursday July 12.

Jakarta – The government denied Monday that it had given the go-ahead for ex-members of the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to use the flag of the former rebel group as symbol for a local political party.

[The following is a compellation of abridged translations from Detik.com on reactions to the establishment of the GAM Party by former members of the Free Aceh Movement in Banda Aceh on July 7.]

Banda Aceh police protest use GAM logo and flag as party symbol

Banda Aceh – A plan by the Aceh government to liquidate the Asean Aceh Fertilizer (AAF) factory and have it managed by a foreign company has been opposed by the Aceh People's Party (PRA). The PRA is instead calling for the government to restart operations at the factory.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – More than 6,000 families that fell victim to the tsunami in Aceh are living still in temporary shelters because many newly built houses were not yet equipped with proper facilities, including sanitation.

Imran, North Aceh – Residents of the Mee village in the sub-district of Syamtalira Aron, North Aceh, have discovered the remains of what they believe to be part of a skeleton of a person killed during the period of conflict. The bones were found in the area of the Surplus Control Project of the Supply Chain Department at Exxon Mobil Indonesia Cluster I on Wednesday June 20.

Jakarta – Many people in Indonesia's Aceh province remain traumatised two years after a peace deal ended almost three decades of war and if left untreated could trigger violence, a report said on Friday.

Jakarta – Civilians in Indonesia's Aceh, which was wracked by a long-running civil conflict, suffer high rates of mental trauma that could trigger more violence, a report said Friday.

Banda Aceh – Angry residents in Indonesia's Aceh have disabled a tsunami warning system after a false alarm spread panic in a province still traumatized by the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, an official said on Thursday.

Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has begun to initiate steps to form a local political party. The idea was revealed during a meeting between GAM leaders, the entire staff of the Aceh Transitional Committee (KPA) and activists from the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA), which took place at the Asrama Haji in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh on Monday June 4.

James Balowski, Jakarta – On May 20, a group of women activists in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh declared the formation of a new local political party – the Acehnese People's Alliance Party for Women's Concern (PARAPP).

Former Aceh Monitoring Mission chief Pieter Feith recently made his first visit to Jakarta and Banda Aceh since the mission's mandate expired in December 2006. He spoke with The Jakarta Post's Tony Hotland on Saturday about the progress of peace in Aceh, before flying out to the province on Sunday morning.

Dara, Banda Aceh – A number of women's activists that are concerned about the fate of women have declared a new local political party that has been given the name the Acehnese People's Alliance Party for Women's Concern (Partai Aliansi Rakyat Aceh Peduli Perempuan, PARAPP).

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – An alliance of activists and human rights abuse victims in Aceh have completed a draft on the formation of a truth and reconciliation commission, which they plan to propose to the government.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Post-tsunami reconstruction works in Aceh are contributing to deforestation as reconstruction agencies use timber from illegal logging activities, an environmental organization has alleged.

Banda Aceh – The Acehnese People's Party (PRA), the first local political party to be established in Aceh, is appealing to the public to remain calm and not be provoked by the by the recent string of grenade and bomb attacks on the homes of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders and regional government officials in Aceh.

Jakarta – Experts on peace, women and religious affairs said Tuesday that women's roles in peace negotiations, and even in day-to-day activities, are still not recognized, especially for women living in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province.

Dara, Banda Aceh – International Labour Day, which is known as May Day, was also commemorated in Aceh on May 1. Hundreds of representatives of labour organisations in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh held a peaceful rally on the grounds of the Acehnese Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and at the Simpang Lima roundabout.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A grenade exploded at the residence of former Free Aceh Movement (GAM) spokesman Sofyan Dawood in Muara Dua district, Lhokseumawe, early Sunday morning.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Aceh has accused the central government of breaking the law and betraying its promise to the Acehnese people to share more of the province's oil and gas revenues, as required by the 2006 Aceh Governance Law.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – More than two years after Banda Aceh was devastated by the 2004 tsunami, the agency handling much of the rehabilitation in the province has completed 44 percent of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam's road repairs – but residents are still unhappy.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Less than two years after the signing of the peace agreement between the Indonesian government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM), residents of Nanggroe Aceh Darusalam have been terrorized by two grenade attacks.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Southeast Aceh regency was tense Monday evening after the installation of Marthin Desky as acting regent, replacing Rajidin, by Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Irwandi Yusuf earlier in the day.

Both residents and officials at the regency administration strongly opposed the installation, held in Aceh's capital Banda Aceh.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf warned the government Friday against issuing regulations that may contradict the 2006 Aceh Administration Law without consulting the Aceh provincial administration.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A member of Aceh's sharia police was caught with a teenage girl in a Banda Aceh public bathroom on Thursday night.

Andi Haswidi, Banda Aceh – Aceh is a province that is blessed by abundant natural resources and wealth that have long lain undeveloped due to a 32-year insurgency that only recently came to an end.

Sunil Jagtiani, Banda Aceh – Brightly coloured new homes now dot the Indonesian province of Aceh as it slowly rebuilds after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, but some lie empty pointing to the next big hurdle in the reconstruction effort.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A majority of Acehnese people no longer believe in the effectiveness of the Aceh-Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR) and are calling for its chief to step down, a new survey has found.

The survey was conducted by Greenomics Indonesia in March and timed with the second anniversary of the government-backed reconstruction agency.

Jakarta – Acehnese cultural experts are calling for the revival of traditional and religious culture in Aceh, saying that local customs were strong prior to their erosion by the region's long history of conflict.

Seth Mydans, Bireuen – The little green car accelerated around a mountain curve and flashed through a village here in Aceh Province, scattering chickens, children, dust and pebbles. It swerved past potholes, skidding precisely to the edge of the road before speeding ahead.

Jakarta, Sandy Indra Pratama – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf has said that the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) will set up a local party. However, according to Irwandi, GAM has not yet decided either the name or the form of the party.