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Indonesia & East Timor Digest

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January 5, 2008

Sydney Morning Herald - January 5, 2008

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – One of the Bali bombers has written from his Indonesian jail that he feels so "beautiful" on the eve of his execution that "no words can describe how good the feeling is".

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A study has shown that Java island will remain the most prone area in the country for water-related disasters, because of violations of land use permits and the island's rapid population growth.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Indra Harsaputra, Sidoarjo – An embankment built to contain the hot mud that has been flowing from an oil drilling well in Porong, Sidoarjo regency, East Java, has collapsed, forcing hundreds of residents to flee in panic.

The collapsed embankment has caused mud to flow into the area, paralyzing the nearby railway track and road transportation.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Jakarta – The centralized structure of the police force hampers efforts to build an effective professional law enforcement body, a researcher said in a discussion Friday.

Muradi, program manager of the Ridep Institute said centralization had caused at least three problems. "The police are uncreative, too dependent on structural command, and face budget problems," he said.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Jakarta – Indonesian migrant workers, non-governmental organizations and students in Malaysia are up in arms over the anticorruption court's ruling that former Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, Hadi A. Wayarabi, must return the funds he was found guilty of embezzling to the government of Indonesia.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – Corrupt behavior in politics and complicated bureaucracy are believed to be the factors keeping benevolent democracy and a sound economy out of Indonesia's reach even after 10 years of reform, experts said in a discussion Friday.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Jakarta – Rights defense group Imparsial said Friday that human rights was little more than a government slogan last year and was likely to remain so. This was especially the case, they said, with the 2009 presidential elections drawing nearer.

Jakarta Post Editorial - January 5, 2008

Deadly natural disasters look to have struck too early for Indonesia, just after the country won praise for hosting a key climate change conference in Bali last month. A national follow-up plan prescribing forest conservation among other measures remained a work on paper when floods and landslides struck.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Jakarta – Hundreds of Barito market vendors distributed roses to passing motorists Friday in a subtle protest against their relocation to Radio Dalam.

Wearing black T-shirts and headbands, the vendors blockaded Jl. Melawai in South Jakarta, which leads to Blok M. As a result, traffic had to be rerouted to Jl. Barito Raya.

Jakarta Post - January 5, 2008

Jakarta – Jakarta's street musician, the one found playing beside a car waiting at a red light, on a public bus, or in small roadside restaurants, could be part of an advertising strategy.

January 4, 2008

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2008

Jakarta – More than 50 Islamic organizations grouped under the Islamic Community Forum visited the Attorney's General Office (AGO) on Thursday to urge the government to ban the Ahmadiyah sect.

Kompas - January 4, 2008

Jakarta – Non-government organisations are pessimistic and concerned about the prospects for upholding human rights and solving past human rights violation. They say they hold little hope that there will be any improvements or progress in 2008.

Jakarta Post Editorial - January 4, 2008

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported a decrease of 921,000 in the number of unemployed people between August, 2006 and August, 2007, to about 10 million or slightly over 9 percent of the 110 million-person workforce.

Since new job seekers increased by 3.5 million in the period under review, that means more than 4.4 million new jobs were created in one year.

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2008

Jakarta – Religious and ethnic issues rarely grow into communal conflicts without underlying political and economic motives to trigger unrest, an international relations and security expert said Thursday.

Jakarta Post - January 4, 2008

Jakarta – The Indonesian Farmers' Union criticized the government Wednesday for mismanagement in the food crop sector, highlighting the massive displacement of farmers by the expansion of oil palm plantations.

January 3, 2008

Detik.com - January 3, 2008

Maryadi, Jakarta – Jakarta could well be referred to as the 'repository' of protest actions, because not a day goes by without a demonstration, including for the start of 2008.

The Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Aboeprijadi Santoso, Amsterdam – When Iraqi journalist Muntader Al-Zaidi threw his shoes at President George W. Bush it was to many, myself included, a deja vu.

Jakarta Post Editorial - January 3, 2008

Riding on the confidence and bullish market sentiment generated by the estimated 6.3 percent growth in 2007, the Indonesian economy is forecast to continue surging this year. The consensus among analysts put the growth this year in a range of at least 6.3-6.5 percent. Government economists are even more optimistic, projecting an expansion of between 6.4 and 6.8 percent.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Sidney Jones, Jakarta – The security outlook for Indonesia in 2008 is reasonably good. The biggest danger lies not in terrorism, separatism, election disputes, or any external threat, but in poorly managed communal tensions that have the potential to fray this country's social fabric.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Alfian, Jakarta – The House of Representatives' plenary session is not an efficient forum to debate public issues, said political experts and commentators on Wednesday.

The commentators each said greater transparency in bill deliberation was essential to improve the performance of legislators.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – The political situation in South Sulawesi is heating up following the issuance of a ruling by the Supreme Court on a repeat gubernatorial election in the province.

On Wednesday hundreds of people supporting one or the other of two governor-deputy pairs staged rallies in front of the local legislative council building in Makassar.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) will impose a one-year demotion on Sultan Bagindo Fahmi, a prosecutor in the illegal logging case built against logging boss Adelin Lis, who was acquitted of all charges by the Medan District Court last November.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua – Papua Province has been the only Indonesian province still rebellious against the Jakarta-based central government.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Indra Harsaputra and Suherdjoko, Bojonegoro/Semarang – More than 100 people have died due to ongoing floods across Central and East Java, a health ministry official said Wednesday.

Rustam Pakaya told Agence France Presse on Wednesday that 112 people had died in the last week.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, Malang – Workers at small-scale cigarette producers in Malang, East Java, Wednesday staged a rally at the Malang Customs and Excise Office to protest a ministerial ordinance increasing the basic price of tabacco starting Jan. 1.

Jakarta Post - January 3, 2008

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Indonesia and many other countries in the world have only recently commemorated World Human Rights Day, which fell on Dec. 10. But a question remains whether Indonesia has really succeeded in upholding and providing human rights protection for its own people.

January 2, 2008

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2008

Novan Iman Santosa, Jakarta – The Indonesian Army will prioritize personnel development to create a large, professional and strong Army while at the same time improving soldiers' welfare, new Army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo said Monday.

Jakarta Post Editorial - January 2, 2008

As we begin the New Year, we are all asking the same question: What does 2008 have in store for us? Looking at the horizon, one could say plenty.

Sydney Morning Herald - January 2, 2008

Lindsay Murdoch, Jakarta – Even the former dictator seemed surprised. "I am becoming rich, suddenly," 86-year-old Soeharto told the Indonesian magazine Gatra after a court ordered he receive a staggering $US109.9 million ($125.8 million) in defamation damages.

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2008

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – Observers and legislators agreed the changing of the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and chiefs of staff would not affect the military's independence and neutrality ahead of the 2009 general elections.

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2008

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – The Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters said on Tuesday it will tone down security measures in Poso considering the gradual improvement of conditions in the regency.

Central Sulawesi Police Chief Brig. Gen. Badrodin Hait launched an operation called Siwagilemba following the conclusion of the Lantodago operation in Poso on Dec. 31, 2007.

Agence France Presse - January 2, 2008

Jakarta – Landslides and floods that struck Indonesia's main island of Java last week killed 107 people and left 12 missing, a health ministry official said Wednesday, as waters receded in the worst hit areas.

Jakarta Post - January 2, 2008

Indra Harsaputra and Stevie Emilia, Sidoarjo/Jakarta – It has been nearly two years since the mud started gushing out of a gas exploration drilling site in Sidoarjo regency, East Java, erasing a number of villages from the face of the map. Since then, there is only one thing for certain – the disaster is unstoppable.

January 1, 2008

Inside Indonesia - January-March, 2008

John Roosa – Taciturn, reserved, reclusive, emotionless, Suharto ruled Indonesia for 32 years as a mystery man, a dictator who presented himself as a faceless, replaceable figure in an apolitical administration. His speeches were dull, forgettable affairs filled with mind-numbing bureaucratese, worn clichis, and pious homilies.

Political Committee of the Poor - January, 2008

[The following article was originally published in late 2007 in response to the split in the People's Democratic Party (PRD)-National Liberation Party of Struggle (Papernas). It was later republished as an editorial in the first issue the Political Committee of the Poor's (KPRM) monthly newspaper Pembebasan (Liberation) dated January 2008.]

HAK Association Human Rights Situation 2008

Contents

December 31, 2007

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2007

Jakarta – Despite the surge in oil prices and lower government spending, the Indonesian economy has managed to make a soft landing this year, with an improvement in most of the country's economic indicators.

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2007

Jakarta – The new Air Force chief Vice Marshal Subandrio revealed Saturday his short-term target of achieving a 60-percent weaponry capability, a slight increase from the current less-than 50 percent.

Jakarta Post Editorial - December 31, 2007

As the curtains open on the new year we will note down 2007 as the year of a greatly bullish stock market with a rise of over 50 percent in the composite index, making it among the best performers in Asia. The economy was robust with an estimated growth of 6.3 percent, the highest over the past decade.

Jakarta Post - December 31, 2007

Ruslan Sangadji, Palu – Three Tadulako University students in Palu, Central Sulawesi, have been banned from attending graduation day, allegedly because they took part in a series of rallies over a corruption case in which the rector was a suspect.

December 30, 2007

Jakarta Post - December 30, 2007

Slamet Susanto, Surakarta – Flooding caused by an overflowing Bengawan Solo River paralyzed business activity along the Central Java-East Java border Saturday, with transportation routes blocked and shops forced to close.

December 29, 2007

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2007

Jakarta – Experts at the Center for Anticorruption Studies (Pukat) of Gadjah Mada University's Law Department concluded Friday in a year-end analysis that 2007 was the gloomiest year ever for corruption eradication, but that this might change in the following year.

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2007

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Thousands of supporters of South Sulawesi's governor-elect have pledged to continue protesting the Supreme Court's decision of holding repeat elections in four regencies in the province.

The protesters staged a rally at the legislative council Thursday.

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2007

Dozens of people from the Poor People's Alliance, comprising various large organizations and foundations, staged a rally Friday at the Home Affairs Ministry, demanding the annulment of the new public order bylaw.

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2007

Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) says a rising tide of violence against members of the news media threatens the freedom of the press in Indonesia.

AJI chairman Heru Hendratmoko said Friday that there were 75 cases of harassment of journalists nationwide this year, up from 53 last year.

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2007

Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection has predicted the number of cases of violence against children will increase next year in line with mounting socio-economic pressure aggravated by traditional misperceptions about child rearing.

Jakarta Post - December 29, 2007

Slamet Susanto and Blontank Poer, Surakarta – Flooding in Surakarta in Central Java and its surrounding areas worsened due to heavy rain Friday as rescuers intensified efforts to search for people still believed to be buried by Wednesday's landslide in Tawangmangu in the adjacent city of Karanganyar.

December 28, 2007

Jakarta Post - December 28, 2007

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – The West Java chapter of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has been criticized by several Muslim organizations for describing as halal two planned "royal" game centers in Bandung.

Representatives from the organizations criticized the MUI's stance on the matter at a meeting with Bandung Police chief Sr. Comr. Bambang Suparsono on Wednesday.

Jakarta Post - December 28, 2007

Jakarta – Reports of human rights violations have doubled this year, with more than 20,000 people claiming to be victims, a legal aid foundation said Thursday.