Banda Aceh, Indonesia  - Just four years ago, Yahya Muad and his comrades were hiding in the jungle while fighting a guerrilla war against the Indonesian army for an independent Aceh.

Now, sitting in a literally smoke-filled room in the headquarters of the Aceh Party, of which he is secretary general, he talks about democracy and peace under "a united Indonesia."

Jakarta  - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono looks poised for re-election this year in the absence of a credible challenger, but his popularity could wane as Indonesians begin to feel the effects of the global financial crisis, analysts said.

Opinion polls show Yudhoyono is a hands-on favourite in the July 8 presidential election, be the second time for a president to be directly elected by the people, with about 50 per cent of the vote.

Kuala Lumpur - An Indonesian man was crushed to death when an 8-metre-long slab of concr

Jakarta- Indonesia's dozens of political parties ended Sunday their nationwide campaigns for the April 9 parliamentary elections, to be followed by presidential elections in July.

More than 171 million voters are eligible to elect some 18,000 national, provincial and district legislators across the country as well as the regional representatives council.

Jakarta  - An

Jayapura, Indonesia - Thousands of independence supporters rallied in Indonesia's Papua region Friday to call for a boycott of next week's national legislative elections, activists said.

The protestors gathered in the Papuan provincial capital, Jayapura, and three other districts - Nabire, Wamena and Biak - to demand a referendum on self-determination for the easternmost province.

Activists said the rallies coincided with the launch of a pressure group called International Lawyers for Papua in the United States.