Jakarta, Pontianak – Business in Indonesia still relies on political rather than technical or professional support, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Saturday, which allowed unfair competition among businessmen close to the government.

Dear friends,

Firman Hidayat, Samarinda – Around 500 students, NGO activists, and laborers in Samarinda demonstrated today protesting the government's plan to increase fuel prices.

Bibin Bintariadi, Jakarta – The Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) will announce their position over the fuel price increases. The statement will be sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today.

"PBNU will ask the government to cancel the fuel price increase or at least postpone it," said chairman of PBNU KH Hasyim Muzadi at his house in Malang yesterday.

Dili – East Timor is set to celebrate six years of independence Tuesday, with bursting national pride and dreams for the future contending with the harsh realities of poverty, violence and instability.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Twelve lawmakers currently visiting Argentina for a nine-day "comparative study" tour – of which seven days are reserved for sightseeing – have been criticized in light of the current economic climate.

The Australia West Papua Association has called on the leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to grant observer status to West Papuans at their upcoming meeting in Vanuatu.

The Association's spokesman Joe Collins says granting the Melanesian people of Indonesia's Papua region observer status would be in accordance with a founding principle of the MSG.

Jakarta – Some 10,000 students and teachers paraded around the National Monument here Sunday, campaigning for a better national education system.

The event was held in conjunction with National Education Day, which falls every May 2, and the 100th anniversary of National Awakening Day (May 20). Participants said Indonesia had made little progress in developing education.

Indonesia's powerful military will have to relinquish its vast business interests. The overhaul of the TNI is an important part of Indonesia's political reform.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speakers: Bob Lowry, visiting fellow at the Australian Defence Studies Centre in Canberra.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Contrasting figures between shrinking unemployment and growing underemployment suggest the country's investment climate has yet to support the growth of the formal sector, an economist says.

Dili – East Timor's army will receive military training from Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil and Portugal as part of a military pact signed between the countries today.

Defence ministers of eight Portuguese-speaking countries signed the military agreement in former Portuguese colony East Timor's capital, Dili, in a bid to prevent conflict in their regions.

Nurvita Indarini, Jakarta – A number of organisations are endeavouring to thwart the government's plan to increase the price of fuel and are planning to besiege the State Palace in Central Jakarta on May 21 (the 10th anniversary of the overthrow of former President Suharto) and June 1.

We will see how serious Kevin Rudd is in bringing the Balibo Five case to its logical conclusion, writes Paul Daley.

A week before the last election, Kevin Rudd placed on record his unambiguous views about a crime that many Australians have come to regard as perhaps the most shameful recent episode in Australian diplomacy.

Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has added pressure on the government to reconsider its plan to raise fuel prices, saying the policy will severely impact on the country's economy.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The Holocaust did happen and was historically well-documented by historians and its survivors with their published journals and testimonies.

Yet, there are people – the Iranian president is only one of them – who believe the event was a grand hoax.

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Religious violence against minority group Ahmadiyah stems from the weakening of the Indonesian Islamic thought movement and the government's ineptitude meet the basic needs of its citizens, experts say.

Jakarta – Homosexuality is not a disease but a social reality that the public should learn to respect, the executive director of the Women's Journal Foundation (YJP), Mariana Amiruddin, said at a discussion Friday.

The event was held in conjunction with International Day Against Homophobia, which falls on May 17.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The government called on developed nations to buy carbon credits from Indonesia, rather than push for a moratorium on forestry activities.

The Forestry Ministry expressed concern over rising calls from the international community for Indonesia to cease forestry activities in order to combat climate change.

Report on an attack against the secretariat of the Political Committee of the Poor (KPRM) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Saturday, May 17, 00.10 local time.

Mariani Dewi, Jakarta – The gap in salaries between managers and clerics in Indonesia widened last year from 2006 in part because of a shortage in talent amid the country's growing economy, a global study says.

Paul Toohey – Xanana Gusmao, his Australian wife Kirsty and their kids haven't been back to their home in the hills overlooking the East Timorese capital, Dili, since the morning of February 11, when his prime ministerial convoy was ambushed by a group of rebels. The family will never return to that home.

Dili – The advantages of Cuban basic reading and writing teaching method Yes, I Can, which combines the student's basic learning primer with video classes, outstood here Saturday on occasion of the National Reading Day in this capital.

Jakarta – A seminar on university student militaristic training clubs, held Wednesday, addressed the clubs' relevance in response to their fading popularity in the wake of political change in 1998. The seminar was attended by dozens of student regiment members wearing their army-like uniforms.

Medan – Hundreds of protesters from the National Liberation Front (FPN) demonstrated at the North Sumatra Regional House of Representatives building and the offices of the North Sumatran governor on Friday May 16 against the government's plan to increase fuel prices by 30 percent.

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Leaders of several major factions in the House of Representatives will confirm their opposition to the government's plan to increase fuel prices during a consultation meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Although the government has accepted the invitation, the meeting's date has yet to be set.

[The following is a translation of a leaflet produced for mass distribution in the poor residential areas along the planned march route to the State Palace for a mass action on May 21. Translated by Max Lane.]

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Lower income families urged the government on Friday to ensure proposed fuel price hikes would not cause the prices of other basic commodities to increase.

They told The Jakarta Post it would severely burden them and would also render useless the direct cash aid they would receive from the government.

The Committee against Torture today concluded its fortieth session after adopting its annual report to the General Assembly and issuing its concluding observations and recommendations on reports from Australia, Sweden, Algeria, Costa Rica, Indonesia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Zambia and Iceland, which it reviewed during the session.

Summary

Hardline Islamists like Abu Bakar Bashir have joined forces with powerful government agencies pushing for minority Ahmadiya sect of Islam to be formally banned.

Presenter: Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson

Speakers: Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir; Sobri Lubis, Muslim Defenders Front.

Bradley S. Klapper, Geneva – A UN panel said Friday that Indonesian police and military forces are allegedly engaging in widespread torture, and it urged the world's largest Muslim country to punish the abuse of prisoners.

Sara Webb – Indonesia's powerful military, pushed out of politics a decade ago when Indonesians embraced democracy, must soon relinquish another prize: a motley array of businesses including golf courses, offices, and taxi firms.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The economy grew by 6.28 percent in the first quarter of 2008 from the same period last year on robust growth in investment, exports and spending, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said Thursday.

Laura MacInnis, Geneva – Indonesia's police, armed forces and intelligence services routinely torture and degrade criminal suspects to extract confessions, with almost total impunity for those responsible, a United Nations rights body said on Friday.

Nazry Bahraimi – Horrified by the bloody riots that left some 1,200 people dead in Jakarta at the height of the Reformasi movement, human rights activist Rafendi Djamin decided to play the role of healer.

M. Rizal Maslan, Jakarta – The government doesn't need to be concerned about the massive demonstrations by students opposing planned fuel price hikes. Rather, the real danger will be if hungry people take to the streets.

Nograhany Widhi K, Jakarta – A former director of the State Intelligence Coordinating Body (Bakin), Dr. A.C. Manullang, says he is not surprised by the statement by National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Syamsir Siregar that the demonstrations against the government's planned fuel price hikes are being taken advantage of.

Nograhany Widhi K, Jakarta – Devide et impera. It appears that the strategy of pitting one side against the other during the Dutch colonial period is still not out of date – including in the lead up to the government's planned fuel price increases.

[The following comment was posted on the East Timor list in response to a May 14 report that appeared in Green Left Weekly titled "East Timor: Governing coalition on brink of collapse".]

The factual inaccuracy of this report is worrying. The AMP government is not on the "brink of collapse". It may be challenged next year – the "brink" is still some way off.

Ramadhian Fadillah, Jakarta – Fifteen protest actions will rock Jakarta today, Thursday May 15, all of which have the potential to create traffic congestion.

Jakarta – Workers in the 1-3 million rupiah per month wage group will be further squeezed if the planned fuel price increases come into effect. This is not just because real wages are steadily declining, but also because workers face the possibility of being dismissed due to the economic pressures confronting industry.

Stephanie March – The United Nations in East Timor is on the defensive after being lambasted by its own top lawyer in New York for hiring disgraced former defence minister, Roque Rodrigues, as a presidential security adviser.

Paul Toohey – The UN will wait until February to consider whether it will continue its peacekeeping mission in East Timor, despite President Jose Ramos Horta asking it to commit until at least 2012.

Mr Ramos Horta, still recovering from being shot in February, views his country as volatile despite the apparent calm following the surrender of rebels a fortnight ago.

Dicky Christanto, Denpasar – An alliance for religious freedom protested the government's ambiguous stance toward violence committed by some religious-based groups following a recommendation issued by the Board of Monitoring Mystical Belief in Society (Bakor Pakem) that the government officially ban the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – While welcoming the government's newly launched book regulation for schoolchildren, critics say the policy lacks clarity, sets wrong targets and failed to involve all stakeholders during the formulation process.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – West Java Police announced Monday they had raided the separatist group Indonesian Islamic State (NII) in West Java and arrested 17 people on subversion charges. Chief Insp. Gen. Susno Duadji said those arrested were suspected of alleged involvement in subversion and blasphemy. He said they would likely face life imprisonment if found guilty.

Jakarta – With national elections around the corner, the House of Representatives has limited time to meet its legislation target.

Trimedya Panjaitan of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said Tuesday all lawmakers in the House would shift their focus to preparations for the legislative election, scheduled for April 5, 2009.

Rizal Harahap, Pekanbaru – The Indonesian Environmental Forum's (Walhi) Riau branch urged the government Tuesday to revise numerous controversial industrial forest concessions issued contrary to the law.

Tony Iltis – A realignment of political forces appears to be underway in East Timor, with the signing of an agreement for a strategic alliance for future elections between the largest party in parliament, the Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (Fretilin), and the Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT) – the second largest party in the coalition of non-Fretilin part

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office has sparked controversy by resisting a court order to reopen a Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) case involving tycoon Sjamsul Nursalim.

Achmad Syafriel, Analyst – Many problems need to be solved before Indonesia can increase food production and mitigate food prices.