Around 10,000 workers from the National Workers Union in Bandung regency staged a protest Thursday to reject the revision of a manpower law outside the regental administration office.
In their protest, the workers said the revised articles, including those on wages and severance pay, were advantageous to business interests and not to workers.
Hera Diani and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – The government is ready to publicize the revised ministerial decree on places of worship but Christian leaders still have reservations about the controversial law.
Religious Affairs Minister M. Maftuh Basyuni and Home Minister M. Ma'ruf signed the joint ministerial decree Tuesday, replacing the one issued in 1969.
His Excellency Kofi Annan Secretary-General
The United Nations
1 United Nations Plaza
New York, New York 10017-3515
March 24, 2006
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
Bekasi – Thousands of workers grouped in the National Labor Union (SPN) and the Federation of Democratic Workers took to the streets Wednesday to protest the revised 2003 Manpower Law.
Staging their protest outside the Bekasi Council building, the workers demanded the councillors protect their rights.
Jakarta – If the general election was today, how would you cast your vote? The answer would be the same as in 2004, when the three biggest parties – the Golkar Party, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the Democrat Party – took the lead, says a survey by the Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI).
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Police have arrested a businessman and an immigration officer at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport as part of a crackdown on a human trafficking ring.
Jayapura – Papuan community leaders, smarting at the refusal of a minister to meet with them last week, have accused the central government of arrogance and an "unwillingness" to address problems affecting their province.
Peter Cave – Up to 1,200 students are reported to be hiding in the hills around Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia's Papua province, fearful of revenge attacks by members of the Indonesian Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob).
The Uniting Church in Australia has called for dialogue and calm in the Indonesian province of Papua, in the wake of a violent demonstration which left four Indonesian security personnel dead.
Dili – The decision announced last week to dismiss nearly 600 East Timorese troops who went on strike over conditions and promotion rules was "unfair" and "wrong", President Xanana Gusmao said Thursday.
John McBeth, Jakarta – The pretext may have been demands for the closure of Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg copper and gold mine, 500 kilometers away across Papua's rugged central highlands.
Rob Taylor and Heru Rahadi, Jakarta – Australia's decision to grant temporary visas to 42 Papuan asylum seekers is an "unfriendly" act and Indonesia must protest, a senior Indonesian MP said today.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Truck drivers were back at work in Medan's Belawan port but only halfheartedly, saying they actually wanted to strike longer since the central government only promised to meet one of their many demands.
The giant Freeport gold and copper mine is carving a scar so vast and deep into the remote forests of Papua that it will soon be visible from space. Downstream, a swelling bruise of a billion tonnes of mine waste has rendered wetlands inhospitable for aquatic life. The stupendous profits generated by the world's largest copper and gold mine largely pass the indigenous Papuans by.
We strongly condemn the statement by Syamsir Siregar, the head of BIN (Badan Inteligen Negara - State Intelligence Bureau) and the Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono, alleging that local NGOs with the support of international NGOs were behind the riots in Abepura.
Loro Horta – On February 8, some 350 officers and soldiers from Timor Leste's small defence force abandoned their posts and marched to the presidential palace. The unarmed soldiers were protesting against ill treatment, discriminatory practices and poor conditions within the Timorese Defence Forces (FDTL).
Jakarta – Indonesia's government Thursday threatened legal action against US mining giant Freeport unless the company improved the environmental record of its massive gold mine in Papua province.
Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) in Aceh deplored the recent decision of the Forestry Ministry to grant forest utilization licenses to five companies in the province.
Rendi Akhmad Witular, Jakarta – Many legislators are not qualified for their jobs and continue to put their personal interests over national ones, Golkar Party leader Jusuf Kalla says.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Truck drivers went back to work at four major seaports in the country on Tuesday after a massive wildcat strike a day earlier.
While a few sought-after employees leapfrog from one company to another, reaping benefits along the way, many Indonesian workers are worried about holding on to the job they have right now.
Job cuts are often the first survival measure when market economies are flat or declining, and last year was no exception as the economy took a beating, a survey on employment found.
Rob Taylor, Jakarta – Indonesia's defence minister wants to blacklist Australian Greens Senator Kerry Nettle from travelling to Papua, saying her presence could stir more violence in the restive province.
Hera Diani, Jakarta – Many workers are displeased by the government regulating a joint furlough scheme for certain national holidays, saying it is infringing on their right to more time off from the grind of work.
Jakarta – The House of Representatives passed two bills Tuesday, ratifying a United Nations convention on corruption and a bilateral agreement on transnational crimes with China.
During a plenary session led by House deputy speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno, all 10 House factions agreed on the need to ratify the 2003 United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan, Karanganyar – Hundreds of participants in the public service exam in North Sumatra and Central Java staged protests Tuesday over the decision by regional administrations to annul the announcement declaring that they had passed the exam.
Vannessa Hearman – East Timor's 2006 Human Development Report prepared by the United Nations Development Program and the Timorese government shows the country is suffering from deep structural poverty. The report argues for "integrated rural development" to be initiated by public investment as the "path out of poverty".
The key findings of the report include that:
The Indonesian government's commitment to ratify two key human rights instruments, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in May 2006, is a welcome step.
Chris Brummitt, Jakarta – A young Indonesian militant with close links to al-Qaida is now in charge of the Southeast Asian terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, which remains dangerous despite more than 270 arrests since 2000, a top counterterrorism official said Wednesday.
Wahyu Dhyatmika, Jakarta – Although the recess at the House of Representatives (DPR) starts next week, the Special Committee for the Aceh Government Draft Bill will still continue its discussions in order to meet the deadline.
They took their place behind a piece of card bearing their name in orderly fashion, a sharp click signaling an end to their moment in front of the camera.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Thousands of students are staying away from their dormitories in Abepura, fearing further reprisals after the killing of four security personnel last Thursday.
Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – The accusations by Syamsir Siregar, the head of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), that local West Papuan non-government organisations (NGOs) in Papua sponsored the Abepura incident are intended to discredit NGOs in Papua as a whole.
Jakarta – Indonesia's Papua remained tense with hundreds of students hiding in the jungle to evade a police manhunt, reports said, as the death toll from riots over a US-run mine rose to six.
Zaky Almubarok/Imron Rosyid, Boyolali – The government's plan to revise the Manpower Decree has been refused by many labor circles. About 3,000 members of Boyolali National Trade Union, yesterday (20/3) crowded the streets to refuse the decree revision.
'The Government no longer pays attention to us. Some local officials have even asked us why we have not repatriated and returned to Timtim. We don't think about going back to Timtim. We're here not only for the sights. We are legal citizens. I'm surprised that officials ask us this,' said Salem Nimran (49)
Jakarta – None of the usual whirring of machinery, clanging of metal or shouts of workers sounded Monday at Tanjung Priok Port.
About 12,000 truck drivers from 151 transportation companies went on strike, refusing to deliver goods for export or pick up ones unloaded from destinations around the world.
Suherdjoko and ID Nugroho, Bojonegoro – Protests over the Cepu oil block continued in Central Java on Monday, with 250 residents demanding to be involved in the project while other protesters rejected ExxonMobil Corp.'s involvement in the oil block's operation.
Jakarta – Activity at major ports in Jakarta, North Sumatra, Central and East Java ground to a halt Monday, with container truck owners and drivers going on strike over the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on transportation services and of rampant extortion at the ports.
Ahmad Dani, Jakarta – Although they have not found any presence of a communist threat, the TNI (Indonesian military) is still keeping on guard against the latent danger of communism in Jakarta.
Israr Iskandar, Padang – Like an irresistible piece of chocolate cake, Freeport has become an issue politicians are eager to talk about.
Former People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) speaker Amien Rais has recently urged the government to revise its contract with PT Freeport Indonesia. He has even agreed with the activists, who demand Freeport's closure.
Rob Taylor in Jakarta – Indonesia's intelligence chief has accused an Australian-backed aid group of being behind clashes in the province of West Papua in which four security officers were killed.
Jakarta – Hundreds of people have attacked and torched a mining camp run by a subsidiary of the US mining company Newmont on Indonesia's Sumbawa island.
The attack came days after deadly clashes in Indonesia's Papua province during protests to demand the closure of another gold and copper mine run by the US firm Freeport-McMoRan.
Jakarta – Four hunger strikers from several Jakarta universities collapsed Sunday, six days into their strike.
They had their lips sewn up in a show of support for people claiming to be the victims of the construction of extra-high voltage electricity wires in their neighborhoods.
Emmy Fitri, Jakarta – The impending reward once the contentious bills on pornography and pornographic acts is endorsed, could be a division among the people – specifically the devout believers and the not-so-devout.
Jakarta – The widow of murdered human rights activist Munir plans to file a civil suit against national flag carrier Garuda Airlines for negligence leading to her husband's death.
Bandung – State Minister of Culture and Tourism Jero Wacik has told legislators not to rush the deliberation of the pornography.
Jakarta – Foreign ministry officials are advised to take over immigration duties at foreign consular offices to minimize cases of corruption, many of which have recently been revealed.
Legislator Djoko Susilo said that if getting rid of the immigration officers were impossible, then at least their number should be reduced and supervision tightened.
The Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC) demands an independent investigation into the cases of Indonesian police brutality in West Papua reported after last week's protests from local students demanding a pull-out of the Indonesian army (TNI) and police from West Papua and the closure of the US-owned Freeport mining operations.
Panca Nugraha, Mataram – A house belonging to an Ahmadiyah follower has been destroyed by his own neighbors in Central Lombok, but nobody was injured during the attack, a police officer said Saturday.
Jakarta – Victims of human rights abuses have called for a review of the 2004 Law on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR), which they say gives impunity to state officials implicated in a series of state crimes.