Matthew Moore, Jakarta – The price of rebuilding houses demolished by the tsunami in Aceh province jumped 40 per cent in three months as labourers insisted they get paid for work traditionally done for free.

Jakarta – A number of non-government organisations support the government's efforts to resolve the Aceh problem by continuing the dialogue with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Jakarta – Caning was officially allowed Friday in Indonesia's troubled province of Aceh, with 20 law breakers set to be caned in the near future, a local government official said.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) rejected a cease-fire demand from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and said it would continue to crush the rebel group until they fully surrender their arms.

Alisa P, Jakarta – In a report on the results of the military operation over the two years that Aceh was under a state of emergency to members of the People's Representative Assembly's (DPR) Commission I, armed forces (TNI) chief General Endriartono Sutarto failed to mention the number of civilian casualties reporting only on the members of Free Acehnese Movement (GAM) who were kill

Barry Neild, Jakarta – Hopes that talks between Indonesian leaders and separatists from tsunami-hit Aceh would end a long-running war were evaporating Thursday as rebels reacted with anger at Jakarta's refusal to compromise.

The Indonesian military claimed Wednesday to have killed almost 4,000 rebels of the Free Aceh Movement during the two-year-long martial law and civil emergency that ended last month, while only about 200 soldiers died, half of them for non-combat reasons.

The fourth round of Helsinki Talk ended last week. The informal talk resulted in several points of agreement between RI and GAM for drafting the formal agreements.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla optimistically commented that the talk has made significant achievements.

Jakarta – The Minister of Defense, Juwono Sudarsono, says that the Helsinki meetings which are an informal forum for discussions between Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are a personal initiative on the part of Vice-president Jusuf Kalla.

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Helsinki – The Helsinki peace talks on Aceh may have to find a way to respect the Acehnese right to their own political parties, which the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) apparently is asking for as a compromise for dropping its independence demands. If this key factor is not agreed upon, the talks may be in jeopardy.

Jakarta – The head of rebels fighting for independence in Indonesia's Aceh province accused the military on Monday of not wanting peace as that would undermined its interests in the resource-rich area.

Jakarta – The Attorney General supports public floggings as punishment for cases of gambling in Aceh. This support was conveyed by the Attorney General when meeting with a number of Acehnese figures last week to discuss Qanun (by-law) Number 13/2003 on gambling which stipulates the punishment of public flogging.

Jakarta – Separatists in Indonesia's Aceh province warned on Monday that Indonesia's powerful military may try to destroy an emerging peace deal to end the bloody, 30-year rebellion. The army denied it had any such intention.

Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – The fourth round of peace talks in Helsinki ended last Tuesday without a deal being struck to end the 30-year conflict in Aceh. But President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono said in Tokyo on Thursday that the prospect was promising. Earlier, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that Indonesia was "on the right track".

Dwi Wiyana, Bandung – Army Chief General Djoko Santoso said the TNI (armed forces) duties' are to safeguard the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Aceh. But he said if the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) continues to create disturbances armed clashes can't be avoided.

Singapore – Indonesian military chief General Endriartono Sutarto said Saturday he was hopeful ongoing peace talks could lead to a permanent solution to a separatist rebellion in Aceh province.

Agus Supriyanto, Jakarta – Tristanti Mitayani, a parliamentary member of Commission I, says she disagrees with the deputy speaker of parliament, Soetardjo Suryogoeritno, who said that the parliament is demanding that government end negotiations with Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

Tony Hotland and Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Dissatisfied with the "insignificant" results of the latest peace talks in Finland, the House of Representatives demanded on Friday that the government drop plans for further negotiations with insurgents to end the decades-long separatist fighting in Aceh province.

Jakarta – The government is being urged to end negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) because they are not producing any benefits and are even damaging Indonesia's interests because of the involvement of foreign parties in the negotiations.

Jakarta – The Human Rights Working Group (HRWG), a coalition of non-government organisations who are active in the field of human rights monitoring, are calling on the TNI (armed forces) so submit to and comply with policies issued by the civilian government, particularly policies seeking a peaceful or negotiated settlement to the Aceh conflict.

Carol Goar – Her house is uninhabitable. Her town has been reduced to rubble. She has lost relatives and friends. Yet Evi Zain dares to believe that good will come of the tsunami that devastated Aceh province five months ago.

Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rebel group narrowed their differences when they concluded on Tuesday their fourth round of informal talks aimed at seeking enduring peace in Aceh. Both sides also agreed to resume negotiations in July, before a peace deal, if there is to be one, is struck.

Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – The People's Representative Assembly (DPR) is free express its strident opposition to the Helsinki meetings but the government will not end the meetings which are aimed at reaching an agreement with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). The government denies that these meetings represent an effort to internationalise the Aceh issue.

Anton Aliabbas, Jakarta – On Friday June 3, the People's Representative Assembly (DPR) sent a letter of protest to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The DPR is asking the government not to continue negotiations with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, Finland.

Indonesia – About 60 Acehnese students who failed the national final examination protested outside the Aceh Education Office on Saturday, the first student protest in the province since the government lifted the state of civil emergency there in May.

Becky Lipscombe, Lampuuk – Lampuuk was virtually destroyed in the 26 December tsunami Five months after the earthquake and tsunami that devastated large parts of the Indonesian province of Aceh, the village of Lampuuk is still struggling to get back on its feet.

Tiarma Siboro and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Peace talks with Aceh rebel leaders are unlikely to bring any significant changes to the long-standing conflict in the tsunami-ravaged province unless the government accepts two key demands raised in Finland, an Acehnese sociologist says.

Jakarta – Talks to end a separatist rebellion in Aceh Province are stirring hopes for peace after three decades of violence, but experts say the optimism looks misplaced.

Finnish mediators are to draw up an outline of a long-sought peace deal between Aceh separatists and the Indonesian government after winding up a fresh round of talks, they said.

Nationalist lawmakers on Wednesday slammed Indonesia's moves to make peace with rebels in Aceh province, saying they don't believe the guerrillas intend to drop their separatist goals despite their latest talks with the government.

Jerry Norton, Samahani – Standing ankle-deep in the muddy rice paddy he is working with a wooden-handled hoe, Abdullah, 56, said after three decades of fighting between the Indonesian government and Acehnese rebels, he had had enough.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – While many take peace for granted, for the Acehnese it is a treasured, yet elusive goal, reflected in the mixed reactions to the ongoing dialog between the government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Helsinki, Finland.

The pro-independence movement in the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh expressed optimism on peace moves, a day before an EU delegation was to add weight to negotiations in Finland.

Matti Huuhtanen – Indonesian government and rebel negotiators discussed proposals for amnesty and self-government Sunday in the fourth day of talks in Finland aimed at ending the decades-old separatist conflict in Aceh province, the Finnish mediator's office said.

Separatists from the war-torn Indonesian province of Aceh said they will push for a ceasefire in their almost 30-year-old conflict with the Indonesian authorities, at peace talks in Finland.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – A week after the government lifted the state of civil emergency in Aceh, residents remain unsure exactly what, if anything, has changed.

Brad Adams, New York – On Dec. 25, 2004, eighteen people were reported killed in Aceh during clashes between the Indonesian military and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM). This brought the official number of fatalities since martial law and full scale military operations were declared in the province in May 2003 to 2,300.

Aguswandi, London – Post-tsunami reconstruction in Aceh is difficult work. It is not made any easier by the public being rendered illiterate by the process. Many local activists and local people I have spoken with say that many international groups and even the government seem to be more accountable to their donors and international bodies than to the Acehnese.

James Balowski, Jakarta – At midnight on May 18, the Indonesian government declared an end to its two-year civil emergency in Indonesia's northern-most province of Aceh. But calls by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and human rights groups for the troops to be withdrawn have been ignored.

Dean Yates, Jakarta – Indonesian negotiators and Acehnese rebels Will begin a fourth round of peace talks in Helsinki on Thursday, with the atmosphere badly strained by the government's rejection of a key separatist demand.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Legislators and the government have agreed not to open the door for more talks with the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) should the next round fail to strike a deal to put an end to the armed conflict in the province.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Hundreds of containers of humanitarian relief aid are still stranded in Belawan port in North Sumatra despite central government instructions that all of them be taken immediately to tsunami and earthquake victims in Aceh and Nias island.

Astrini D Anindita, Jakarta – The People's Representative Assembly (DPR) is calling on the government to end negotiations with Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders in Helsinki because they believe that it does not benefit the Indonesian government.

New York City Pension System Calls on Oil Company To Report on Risks to Investors from its Payments to Brutal Indonesian Military

Members of Peace Action Wellington today went to the Indonesian embassy to deliver the following letter. The letter was received by the Embassy and the Ambassador is digesting the contents.

Dan Eaton, Jakarta – Indonesia must show separatist rebels in tsunami-hit Aceh province that the central government is ready to compromise if it ever hopes to achieve a peace deal, a rebel adviser said on Thursday.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government lifted on Wednesday the one-year civil emergency in tsunami-devastated Aceh through a presidential regulation, which also spells out the heavy presence of military troops there.

Jakarta – Indonesia's lifting of emergency rule in the tsunami-hit Aceh province was a "cruel joke" that came even as the armed forces were stepping up military operations, separatist rebels claim.

Jakarta – Only a week before representatives of the Indonesian government and the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) are to meet for peace talks in Helsinki, an Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced a senior GAM leader to life in prison for treason and illegal possession of weapons.

Jakarta's declaration of the end of emergency rule for Acheh seems a cruel joke to most Achehnese here in Acheh.

Some weeks ago, the Indonesian government promised Achehnese that the TNI would cease offensive military operations. But since that promise they've only escalated their war.