Radzie, Banda Aceh – The Aceh chapter of the Indonesian Environmental Forum (Walhi) has been included in a list of illegal or banned organisations that was issued by the governor of Aceh through Decree Number 235/13246 dated June 21, 2006.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Friday the new Aceh governance law would help speed up the recovery of the province from the devastating December 2004 tsunami.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) will not step into the controversy about the newly passed Aceh governance law, chief Pieter Feith said Wednesday.

He said the law on the administration of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam was not a sudden "incident", but rather the result of the lengthy efforts of Indonesian legislators.

Banda Aceh – The head of a foreign monitoring mission overseeing a peace pact between ex-rebels in Indonesia's Aceh and the Jakarta government has given an initial nod to a law cementing the deal.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – After five months of intense deliberations, the House of Representatives passed the Aceh governance bill into law Tuesday, with legislators' declaration that it paved the way for greater autonomy receiving a cool response in the conflict-torn province.

Banda Aceh – Many residents in Indonesia's Aceh say they are unaware of the specifics of a new law giving the ravaged province greater autonomy, but don't want any opposition to it to derail a new-found peace.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Usually bustling streets in towns along the eastern seaboard of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam were brought to a standstill Tuesday, with transportation workers taking part in a general strike called to protest the endorsement of the Aceh governance law.

Jane Perlez, Jakarta – The Indonesian Parliament passed a law today that under the terms of a peace accord with former separatists in Aceh is intended to give the province greater autonomy.

Jakarta – Indonesia's parliament has passed a bill to extend political autonomy for Aceh, but human-rights activists and former Achenese rebels say the law does not satisfy a 2005 peace agreement.

The conflict has revived tensions between Jakarta and Aceh's separatist movement.

Jakarta – A human rights group suspects there have been "systematic attempts" to shatter the peace in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Banda Aceh – A former separatist rebel was killed and a policeman wounded in an attack witnessed by members of a foreign peace monitoring mission in Indonesia's Aceh province, police said Tuesday.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is scheduled to endorse the long-awaited and much-debated Aceh governance bill on July 11, with the main focus then on holding the first direct gubernatorial election in the province.

Sarah Smiles, Canberra – Nearly $1 million of Australia's foreign aid budget is feared to have been used fraudulently in the past four years.

Much of the money was part of AusAID's tsunami aid program in Indonesia, according to an audit report released yesterday. AusAID's total budget for the period was $7 billion.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The House of Representatives and the government have agreed on joint management of oil and gas in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam by the provincial administration and central government, reneging on a promise to let the Acehnese control their natural resources.

Jakarta – Activists are demanding legislators ensure women's political rights are protected in the Aceh governance bill expected to be passed into law by the middle of next month. The bill should allocate quotas for women in local political parties, they said.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – A statement by Indonesia's senior representative on the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), Major General Bambang Darmono, which categorised the Aceh Referendum Information Center (SIRA) as an illegal organisation has been condemned by civil activist groups in Aceh.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Civil activists in Aceh are urging the Indonesian government to immediately form an Acehnese Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) and Human Rights Court in order to resolve problems that took place in the past. The call was conveyed by a number of Acehnese activists after they decided to resign from the Aceh Reintegration Agency.

Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Common crimes committed by members of the TNI (Indonesian military) in Aceh must be tried in civilian courts. Unfortunately, the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA) in fact seeking the opposite. Common crimes by members of the TNI will still be processed in military courts.

Jakarta – The Corruption Eradication Commission has set up a monitoring mission of reconstruction projects currently underway in the tsunami-hit Aceh and parts of North Sumatra.

KPK head Taufiequrrahman Ruki said the team would oversee a multimillion dollar project carried out by the Aceh Nias Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR).

Oktamandjaya Wiguna, Jakarta – Elements of the Acehnese people, including the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) and the Aceh Traditions Council (MAA) met with the Aceh Government Draft Bill (RUU PA) formulation team at the Hotel Santika, Jakarta, yesterday (20/6).

Adi W, Banda Aceh – Indonesia's senior representative on the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), Major General Bambang Darmono, has confirmed that there are no longer any illegal groups in Aceh. If there still are, then these groups must be disbanded immediately.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Prospects of a lasting peace in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam appear stronger after the House of Representatives and the government accommodated long-standing demands of locals in the nearly finalized Aceh governance bill.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – In response to the lack of involvement of women in the peace and integration process in Aceh, several women's rights activists have formed the Aceh Women's League to accommodate the political aspirations of women in the area.

Jakarta - A number of non-government organisations from the Aceh Working Group (AWG) are urging the Aceh Rehabilitation Agency (BRA) to give greater focus to its task and initial role as mandated in Section 3.2 of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding on the stages of the reintegration process.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – Non-government organisations (NGOs) are urging the government to immediately acknowledge the existence of militia groups in Aceh. Without such an acknowledgement, the reintegration process in Aceh will be obstructed.

Chazizah Gusnita, Jakarta – The Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) continues to be criticised with its poor performance considered to be threatening the peace process.

Adi Warsidi, Banda Aceh – Yesterday (11/6), the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) resigned from the committee of the Aceh Reintegration Board (BRA), the organization for Aceh reintegration, which was part of the peace agreement in Helsinki.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – House of Representatives lawmakers are unhappy with the performance of the Aceh-Nias Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR).

Nani Afrida, Takengon (Central Aceh) – "These are the best times I've experienced in my whole life," said Aman Masnah, 70, a resident of Keunawat village, Lut Tawar district in Central Aceh regency.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The government and the House of Representatives should not water down powers granted to future Aceh administrations because they would be in violation of last year's Helsinki peace accord, a coalition of non-governmental organizations says.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A peace deal signed in August last year by the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) marked an end of three decades of conflict in Aceh, but it also marked the beginning of a crime wave in the province.

M. Taufiqurrahman and Nani Afrida, Jakarta/Banda Aceh – The secretive deliberation of the Aceh governance bill has sparked suspicions that factions in the House of Representatives are engaged in political maneuvering to water down the draft proposed by the Acehnese people.

Radzie, Banda Aceh – Hundreds of students and social activists in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh took to the streets again on June 1 to demand the immediate ratification of the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA). This time, the action was centred at the governor's offices and the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD).

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The decision of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) not to participate in the upcoming direct election of Aceh governor came as a shock but failed to discourage political parties from involving the former rebels.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – An internal rift has forced the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to drop its ambition to field gubernatorial candidates in the upcoming direct elections, a reliable source says.

Kanis Dursin, Banda Aceh – Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the government and the Free Aceh Movement in Helsinki last Aug. 15, several GAM leaders who had lived overseas for decades began to head back to the formerly conflict-torn province.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) formally announced the establishment of a new political party Tuesday and appointed two independent candidates to take part in the next direct gubernatorial elections in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Fanny Febiana and Aguslia Hidayah, Jakarta – Muladi, Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas), has suggested that Aceh human rights cases could be resolved through the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation (KKR).

If the cases are to be resolved through the human rights court, there is concern that this could open old wounds.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Human rights activists have slammed legislators for being unwilling to create a law that would ensure soldiers and rebels are tried for past human rights abuses in Aceh.

Tiarma Siboro and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) says it does not oppose soldiers being tried by an Aceh human rights court using principles of retroactive justice as mandated in the Aceh governance bill.

Banda Aceh – Dozens of students from Student Solidarity for the People (SMUR) held a peaceful action at the Simpang Lima roundabout in the Acehnese provincial capital of Banda Aceh on May 19. The action was protesting the decision by the Attorney General to terminate the legal case against former President Suharto.

Wahyudin Fahmi, Jakarta – The majority of factions in the Special Committee for the Aceh Government Draft Bill have approved the establishment of a human rights court in Aceh, one a year after the state decree was enacted.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – The two biggest factions in the House of Representatives have balked at applying a retroactive principle for a human rights tribunal for Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, which would effectively bar it from trying members of the military.

Jakarta – Research by the Aceh Working group of the National Commission on Violence Against Women shows women are still objectified by the print media.

Jakarta – Providing jobs, financial assistance and housing to thousands of former guerillas and political prisoners is essential for ensuring the success of the peace deal in Aceh, the World Bank said Monday.

Banda Aceh – The European Union has agreed to extend the mandate of a peace monitoring mission in Indonesia's Aceh for three months until September, the mission said Friday.

Indonesia had requested an extension for the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM), composed of personnel from the EU and five regional states, to enable it to oversee local elections in August.

Halim Mubary & Armia AM, Bireuen – Thousands of Bireuen residents from the 17 sub-districts that make up the regency, inundated the grounds of the Bireuen Grand Mosque on Thursday May 11 to hold a peaceful action to oversee the Draft Law on Aceh Government (RUU-PA). A similar action was also held in Lhokseumawe.

Scott Neuman, Jantho – Head in hands and tears welling in her eyes, Syarifah Binti Jauhari says she knows what she did was against the will of God: She tried to support her family in the tsunami-ravaged province of Aceh by selling liquor.

M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – Efforts to achieve a lasting peace in Aceh could be spoiled should the government and the House of Representatives backtrack in the yet-to-be-passed bill on Aceh governance, an observer and a politician warn.

The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) will have its term extended until August pending completion of deliberation on a bill on Aceh government which will provide the legal basis for the first direct elections ever held in Aceh.