Police in Indonesia's Aceh province said they were hunting civilian activists suspected of supporting separatist rebels.

"We will use the [criminal code] article on subversion, which carries up to the death sentence, against them," said Sayed Husaini, police spokesman in the province where a major military assault on the rebels is in its third week.

Kevin McQuillan and agencies – Indonesian authorities in Aceh have rejected requests from about 10 overseas journalists to cover the war.

The Marshall law Administrator, Major General Endang Suwarya, says he does not need "foreign observers" in the province.

Jakarta, Kompas – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) has found strong indications of human rights violations – including the murder of civilians since the emergency military operation in Aceh came into force.

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) said on Monday it would investigate over 20 cases of alleged rights violations in Aceh during the first two weeks of military operations in the province.

Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Aceh province said they have abducted 13 local civilian leaders for carrying out the military's orders.

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Religious leaders demanded on Saturday that the government avoid civilian fatalities in its war against the separatists in Aceh and boost humanitarian activities in the troubled province.

They emphasized that the main purpose of the integrated operations was "winning the hearts and minds of the Acehnese", and not a military takeover.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – Police nationwide are on full alert for fleeing members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) who may attempt to take refuge in other provinces.

Jakarta, Sripo – The Indonesian Centre for Reform and Social Emancipation (INCREASE) has put forward a referendum as the solution to resolving the conflict in Aceh. According to the pro-democracy non-government organisation, a referendum is the most democratic mechanism and form of participation to involve all elements of Acehnese society to determine their future.

Indonesian armed forces chief General Endriartono Sutarto says the military assault in the province of Aceh is making faster progress than expected.

He says the offensive is on the right track and the progress exceeds Jakarta's expectations in every aspect.

Anger was rising in Indonesia against Sweden over the Scandanavian country's refusal to act on Jakarta's demand that it stop one of its citizens from leading an Aceh separatist group.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – Pressure is mounting on the Indonesian media to support the military offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), with the government insisting that national integrity should come before press freedom.

[Excerpt from report by Indonesian Detikcom web site on 30 May.]

Robert Go, Banda Aceh – Ten-year-old Embrianda Hassan stayed up later than usual on Tuesday last week.

Robert Go, Banda Aceh – Soldiers and policemen strut about in battle gear, machine guns slung from their shoulders and holstered pistols at their waists. They can be seen manning posts, drinking coffee at street stalls, or browsing through stacks of video compact discs in front of supermarkets.

Banda Aceh – An Acehnese joke: Why does an Acehnese with dental problems leave Aceh to get treatment? Punchline: Because he's not accustomed to opening his mouth on his home ground.

Jakarta – A group of journalists associations revealed on Thursday a series of violent incidents and restrictions imposed on journalists covering the military operation in Aceh which began on May 19.

The press association, grouped under the Coalition Against Violence Toward Journalists, said restrictions to press freedom and abuses came from both warring parties in Aceh.

Kafil Yamin, Jakarta – As the Indonesian television journalist faced the cameras from atop a military truck, the sound of gunfire interrupted his report, providing immediacy and reality to his real-time broadcast from Aceh province.

Jane Perlez, Singapore – Paul D. Wolfowitz, the United States deputy secretary of defense, warned the Indonesian Army today that its war against separatist rebels in the northern province of Aceh could not be won militarily.

New York, May 29 – The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by a recent series of sniper attacks in which unknown gunmen have targeted journalists in Aceh, a conflict-riven province on the northwestern tip of the Indonesian archipelago.

David Fogarty, Singapore – Deputy US Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz called on Indonesia on Friday to ensure transparency in its military offensive in Aceh province and said independent monitoring should be allowed.

James Politi, Washington – The US on Friday raised the political pressure on Indonesia, urging the Pacific nation to allow independent monitors into Aceh, the restive island province where Jakarta recently launched a massive military crackdown on separatists.

Jakarta – Chief of the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) Gen Endriartono Sutarto said human rights group the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) should look into itself following the assault and vandalism by a youth organization.

Phar Kim Beng, Hong Kong – Aceh, like East Timor, has seen its share of separatist problems for the greater part of the past 30 years. Located in northern Sumatra, gas-and-oil-rich Aceh has also become the scene of one of the most neglected conflicts in Southeast Asia, certainly less conspicuous than the running battles between Manila and Mindanao.

Dean Yates, Banda Aceh – Their allegations of Indonesian military brutality cannot be verified, but the pain etched on their faces is real. So are the tears, the quivering voices and the vacant stares.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – Despite several shortcomings, the government said on Wednesday the ongoing military operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in the province had been nothing but a success and was moving faster then expected.

Lhokseumawe – Fatimah stopped a car carrying several journalists and begged them to load her belongings into the car. "Please take my stuff to the Meunasah [mosque]; I will follow you by bicycle," pleaded a trembling Fatimah.

Banda Aceh – Indonesia's military reported increased rebel casualties in Aceh province yesterday but admitted that troops were having a tough time confronting highly mobile guerillas who blended into the population.

New York – Indonesian police failed to stop two organized attacks on Kontras, a prominent Jakarta-based rights group, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called for a full investigation into the attacks, which appeared directed at the group because of its work in the embattled province of Aceh.

Banda Aceh – Police in Aceh have named 43 persons linked with separatist movement as suspects for treason.

"Their case will soon be handed over to the prosecutor"s office,' Aceh regional police chief Inspector General Bachrumsyah Kasman said here on Tuesday. He said he would suggest their sentence would be directly implemented soon after it was given.

Chris Brummitt, Lawang – By the time the military arrived at dawn, most men had already fled this isolated village in Indonesia's Aceh province. More than 70 soldiers herded the few that remained, along with the women, into a prayer house.

But what happened next was in dispute Wednesday as the military continued its offensive against separatists in Aceh.

Ten days ago Indonesia launched a full-scale military invasion into the northern province of Aceh, just hours after talks broke down between the government and the Free Aceh movement. Aceh has now been subjected to aerial bombing and 30,000 to 40,000 Indonesian troops are on the ground. Accounts of civilian executions and other atrocities are now being widely reported.

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, Jakarta – It was almost midnight in Tokyo when Indonesia's chief negotiator, Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, waited inside a holding room at the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) office for Free Aceh Movement (GAM) leaders to reply to the third draft of the joint statement to salvage peace in the province.

Cokro Hamid, Jakarta – As Indonesian troops launched a full-scale military offensive in Aceh, there have been protests in other parts of Indonesia, especially Jakarta.

Protest and solidarity actions have been organised by the Solidarity Movement with the People of Aceh (SEGERA) and the Ungu Institute, a women's cultural centre.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Following the breakdown of last-ditch talks in Tokyo between the Indonesian government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), Jakarta on May 19 launched a "security restoration operation" in Aceh – an all-out military offensive to crush GAM and "resolve" the question of Aceh once and for all.

Tiarma Siboro, Lhokseumawe – The Indonesian Military (TNI) will sue the Koran Tempo daily newspaper for allegedly publishing incorrect reports over the killing of 10 civilians during a raid in the first week of a major military operation to rout separatist rebels.

International and local human rights activists condemned an attack on an Indonesian watchdog group over its opposition to the military offensive in Aceh.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – As part of the government's campaign to end separatism in Aceh, the state has begun prosecuting 18 alleged members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) for treason and terrorism.

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – About 100 members of a nationalist youth organization attacked on Tuesday the office of a local human rights watchdog, the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) here and assaulted five staff members for being critical of war in Aceh.

Kurniawan Hari and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – A number of legislators on Monday regretted most reports on Aceh by both domestic and international media, and demanded the government to find a mechanism to control media reporting in the troubled province.

Dean Yates, Banda Aceh – Indonesia has told foreign aid workers to leave troubled Aceh for security reasons and says Jakarta wants to take over all humanitarian assistance in the province.

Kathy Marks, Banda Aceh – The group of men drinking coffee at a roadside stall sprang out of their chairs as the convoy of trucks and buses passed by in a cloud of dust. They had seen little traffic on the main highway through Indonesia's Aceh province since martial law was declared a week ago.

Matthew Moore, Banda Aceh – Indonesian soldiers in armoured personnel carriers have begun escorting truck convoys in war-torn Aceh in an attempt to break a blockade by separatists that has cut supplies of food, medicine and other goods to the province's 4.2 million people.

A'an Suryana, Jakarta – A human rights activist criticized on Monday the arrest of Aceh students and rights activists during the first week of a major military campaign against rebels in Aceh, warning it could worsen human rights violations by the military and the police.

Jakarta – Dozens of members of Pemuda Panca Marga (PPM), a youth organization which is supervised by the Indonesian Military (TNI) staged on Monday a rally in front of the office of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) on Jl. Cisadane, Central Jakarta.

Dean Yates, Banda Aceh – As the battered truck pulled up after negotiating some of Aceh's dangerous country roads, 20 traders crowded around, eager to get their supplies of tomatoes, chillis and dried crackers.

A series of explosions rocked the district town of Lhokseumawe in North Aceh, as the death toll continued its climb at the end of the first week of a massive government operation to crush separatist rebels in the province.

John Aglionby, Banda, Aceh – After only a week of its offensive against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), which military commanders promised would end in the separatists' elimination, Indonesia yesterday conceded it would never defeat the rebel army.

Chris Brummitt, Banda Aceh – Indonesia moved heavy artillery into rebel areas of Aceh on Monday, stepping up its offensive against the region's poorly armed separatists.

The Free Aceh Movement said it wasn't intimidated and vowed to keep up its fight for independence in the tiny province. Rebels promised to increase hit-and-run attacks on vehicles plying the main roadways.

Tim Johnston, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian army has been accused of using British-built Hawk aircraft to attack separatist rebels in the province of Aceh. That would contravene an agreement between Jakarta and London that the aircraft would not be used for suppression of internal dissent.

Robert Go, Banda Aceh – The bodies of two men lay on wooden tables in the morgue at Banda Aceh's main hospital. Both were unwashed and bloodied. One showed severe rigor mortis, with limbs at 90-degree angles to the torso.