East Timor's former ruling party has abandoned plans for a court challenge to the legality of the Government sworn in last week, an official said.
But the party, Fretilin, still should be part of a unity government, its deputy president Arsenio Bano said amid continuing uncertainty following an inconclusive parliamentary election in June.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Two years after the signing of the Helsinki peace agreement, justice is not being properly upheld in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam province and prosperity remains an illusion for many Acehnese, activists said Tuesday.
Nani Afrida, Bener Meriah – The woman in the dirty clothes was once one of the wealthiest people in the village.
Now Nursinah Alamsyah returns to a mere hut after working in the fields planting coffee seeds. "I've just moved here in the last six months," she said, placing her sickle in a corner of the hut.
Markus Makur, Timika – Soldiers and police officers have been ordered to take strict action against any groups or parties that erect Papua's Bintang Kejora flags during the commemoration of Indonesia's 62nd Independence Day on Friday.
Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The already cash-strapped defense ministry is set to lose another Rp 400 billion (US$43 million) from its budget because the government plans to use the money to help alleviate poverty in Indonesia.
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Analysts have advised the government to issue a regulation in lieu of the law pending the revision of the 2004 law on regional administration to accommodate independent candidates in local elections.
A total of 14 new elections at the regency level and four at the provincial level are scheduled to take place this year.
Jakarta – Six mixed youth organizations declared Tuesday the establishment of a cooperation body for Indonesia in an attempt to encourage people to work toward the country's prosperity.
Slamet Susanto, Yogyakarta – This year's Independence Day celebrations will see some 265 transsexuals from the Yogyakarta Transvestites Organization (IWAYO) take part in a number of activities, such as sports and stage performances.
[John Roosa, Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia. 2007, University of Wisconsin Press, 329 pages. Reviewed by Carmel Budiardjo.]
Samantha Brown, Jakarta – Indonesian state prosecutors have compiled an array of fresh evidence that implicates the powerful state intelligence agency in the murder of a rights activist, according to a document obtained by AFP.
Jakarta – The AGO is confident the testimony of former Garuda Indonesia chairman Indra Setiawan will have a significant impact on its case involving the alleged murder of rights activist Munir Said Thalib.
Tony Hotland and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – New rules governing independent candidates in regional elections would most likely be engineered in favor of established parties, analysts and lawmakers warned Monday.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Observers said political parties backing Fauzi Bowo and Prijanto could not demand much from the duo as they had not contributed to their victory in the Jakarta gubernatorial election last week.
Dili – East Timor's newly-appointed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao on Tuesday accused the former ruling party of Fretilin of failing to halt ongoing outbreaks of violence in the tiny nation.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili – A furious United Nations chief in East Timor has rejected as "lies" a claim by the former ruling Fretilin party that his staff was responsible for triggering recent violence, including an armed attack on a UN police convoy on Friday.
East Timor's former ruling party chief will sit in parliament with the opposition despite insisting the country's new government is illegitimate and has no right to rule.
Former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, who heads the Fretilin party, urged supporters to remain peaceful following days of sporadic unrest since a new government was announced last week.
John Mcbeth, Senior Writer – Even the commissioners themselves privately acknowledge that there is one thing missing from the hearings conducted by the Timor Leste-Indonesia Truth and Friendship Commission into the bloodshed surrounding Timor Leste's 1999 vote for independence. And that is the truth.
Lisbon, Portugal – United Nations peacekeepers maintained a tense calm Monday in East Timor, which has been rattled by riots, rapes and arson since Aug. 8, when Jose Alexandre Gusmao was sworn in as prime minister. Gusmao, a former president and resistance hero commonly known as "Xanana," was once East Timor's most popular and respected leader.
Jakarta – A new chapter opened in the Munir murder case Friday after the National Police submitted files on two new suspects to the Jakarta provincial prosecutor's office.
Indra Subagja, Jakarta – The lawyer representing Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, M. Assegaf went to the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to hand over a four page letter seeking clarification over four issues.
The contents of the letter were outlined by Assegaf at his office on Jl. Haji Samali in South Jakarta on Monday August 13.
Iqbal Fadil, Jakarta – Suspicions by the Munir Fact Finding Team (TPF) that the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) was involved in the Munir case have been proven correct following the leaking of a claim by the former Garuda executive director Indra Setiawan about the existence of a recommendation letter from BIN.
Jakarta – Despite a national consensus that a democratic system of government is the best solution for Indonesia, an Islamist group says democracy is one of the main reasons why the country is lagging behind others.
Here is a strong warning as the 17th August anniversary approaches to anyone who tries to pull down the red-and-white flag already unfurled on the mast. Army headquarters has issued a threat that they will "shoot on sight".
Jakarta – Independent candidates are likely to contest regional elections in 14 provinces, regencies and municipalities next year, giving a significant boost to the democracy movement.
Among the provinces that will experience fully fledged democratic regional elections next year are North Sumatra, Yogyakarta and South Sulawesi.
Jakarta – More than 70,000 members of a hardline Muslim group held a rally in Indonesia that heard calls for a caliphate – or Islamic rule – to govern the world.
The supporters of the Hizbut Tahrir group filled up most of an 80,000-seat sports stadium in the capital Jakarta, waving flags as they heard fiery speeches saying it was "time for the caliphate to reign."
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – After being performed in eight cities in Java, Kalimantan and Sumatra, a play titled Nyai Ontosoroh will be staged for Jakartans at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta on Aug. 12-14.
A protest prompted Miss Universe 2007, Riyo Mori, to cut her Bandung trip short Saturday.
Some 50 protesters from an anti-pornography alliance against Mori's arrival rallied outside the Savoy Homan hotel, prompting the Miss Universe team to instead take her back to Jakarta.
Indra Subagja, Jakarta – Former Garuda executive director Indra Setiawan's attorney has confirmed that his client issued an instruction to Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto to be on duty on the aircraft carrying human rights activist Munir after receiving a letter from the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).
Tito Belo, Dili – Armed gangs assaulted women students in a Catholic convent in East Timor, including a 12-year-old, a priest said on Saturday, in a wave of ethnic and political violence triggered by the appointment of a new government.
Dili – Unidentified assailants opened fire on a UN convoy in East Timor amid ongoing violence following the appointment of resistance fighter Xanana Gusmao as prime minister, the UnitedNations and police said Saturday.
Michael Leach – President Jose Ramos Horta's appointment of Xanana Gusmao as Prime Minister has once again set off conflict in East Timor's streets.
Stephen Fitzpatrick, Dili – Disgraced former East Timorese interior minister Rogerio Lobato has fled the country aboard a chartered Lear jet after a more than 24-hour standoff on the runway at Dili airport.
Rory Callinan, Dili – Pedro Belo hasn't slept in two days. Commander of the Police District of Baucau, about 100km east of Dili, Belo is still wearing his body armor, yawning as sirens wail around his station. He sits at his desk reading reports of local outbreaks of violence that his men cannot respond to.
Australia's Prime Minister John Howard is being asked to speak up for the human rights of Papua when he meets Indonesia's President in Sydney next month.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Despite widespread perceptions that Wednesday's gubernatorial election was tainted by money politics and voter apathy, some observers say most Jakartans made their choices for the right reasons.
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The government should take effective measures to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS among street children as they are among the highest at-risk groups in Indonesia, groups said Wednesday.
Adianto P. Simamora and Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – The next governor must reconsider government policies from the point of view of ordinary people, tackling poverty, garbage and transportation problems first, urban observers say.
M.
Jakarta – Most labor unions have failed to attract members due to skepticism among workers, a leading unionist has said.
Jakarta – The Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN) is demanding that the government sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People to ensure they are given the same rights as all other Indonesians.
Indra Subagja, Jakarta – Little by little, the mystery surrounding the Munir case is being uncovered. Wira D.
Jakarta – Papua's five-year-old special autonomy status has done nothing to lift social conditions for the majority of Papuan people thanks to the poor allocation of autonomy funds, said the Papuan People's Assembly (MPR) in Australia on Tuesday.
Jakarta – Neighbors eager for a glimpse of reclusive former president Soeharto were disappointed when he failed to appear at a polling station near his residence in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Politicians, political analysts and activists have told the government to revise a 1999 law on crimes against the state, which they said had lost all relevancy in the reform era.
Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Instead of being praised for uncovering cheating at a number of schools during the 2007 national exams, 13 North Sumatra teachers have been discharged and 14 others have had their teaching hours reduced.
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – A police officer pulls over a motorist and asks him to show his driver's license and his vehicle's documents. Upon receiving the documents, the police walks away from the scene.
Jakarta – Former House speaker Akbar Tandjung said independent candidates should obtain political support from at least three percent of voters before running in a local election.
"I think the legal requirements for independent candidates should be similar with the ones imposed during the local election in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam," Akbar told Antara on Wednesday.
Mark Dodd – As East Timor's capital Dili lay a smoking ruin and starving dogs picked at rotting corpses, victims of retreating pro-Jakarta militia in September 1999, a US diplomat turned from the bleak apocalyptic vista to Australian ambassador James Batley and said: "East Timor is going to be Australia's Haiti."
Lindsay Murdoch, Dili – East Timor is heading into a "people power" uprising, one of the country's most powerful politicians said yesterday, as the independence hero Xanana Gusmao took control of a new coalition government.
Tim Costello – East Timor again appears engulfed in flames and violence, this time in the wake of a relatively free and fair election and the ascension of the revolutionary hero Xanana Gusmao as its new prime minister.