Ibnu Rusydi/TMC, Jakarta – Protest actions will colour the capital city on Thursday January 24. The Metro Jaya regional police intelligence and security directorate has received notification of seven planned demonstrations.

Dili – East Timor's laws should be translated into the local Tetun language to give people a better understanding and respect for the law, according to one of the country's legal experts.

Jakarta – The uniformity of media reports on Soeharto's hospitalization and his health condition has raised suspicions that the coverage is aimed at motivating sympathy for the former president.

Fadli, Batam – Hundreds of traditional fishermen in Batam, Riau Islands, have stopped fishing over the past few weeks due to the heavy pollution dumped by oil tankers in Batam waters.

East Timor's fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado has refused to attend a scheduled court hearing on Thursday to face murder and other charges related to a deadly outbreak of violence in 2006.

Reinado's lawyer Benevides Barros said the rebel leader would not submit to the judicial process until the government met several demands.

Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is weighing over the possible closure of upstream oil and gas regulator BPMigas and downstream regulator BPH Migas due to decaying administrative performance and failures to meet targets.

Jakarta – Against the backdrop of a possible US recession, which has sent stock markets across the globe tumbling, the government is preparing measures to safeguard the country's economic stability.

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Motorists will continue to be frustrated on Jakarta's streets this year, with more vehicles to be sold but no new roads to be built, a discussion concluded Tuesday.

Jakarta – Maj. Gen. Liliek AS Sumaryo handed over the Jakarta Military Commander baton to his successor, Maj. Gen. Johanes Suryo Prabowo, on Monday.

The ceremony was presided over by Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Agustadi Sasongko Purnomo.

Jakarta – Discrimination and acts of violence in the name of religion in the country have reached a level that could threaten democracy, rights activists have warned.

Jakarta – Nearly all of Indonesia's 220 million citizens lack access to proper sanitation, an official at the Public Works Ministry said Tuesday.

Jakarta – Leading human rights groups urged Tuesday for the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to address past crimes against humanity in Aceh.

The way the Indonesian government reacted to the steep soybean price hike last week was similar to the pathetic manner in which it tried to address the sky-high oil price rises.

Debnath Guharoy, Consultant – If the overall economy is growing at over 6 percent and if foreign investments are on the rise again why isn't the marketplace buoyant? Why is the consumer economy sluggish?

Jakarta – Politicians are stepping up their attempts to spare former president Soeharto from sitting trial for corruption and human rights crime allegations dating back to his 32 years in power.

Jakarta – No matter how influential it is, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) can not dictate government religious policy, a senior government official said Monday.

"The government will continue to make their own decisions to ensure public order and to strengthen law enforcement," said Azyumardi Azra, deputy secretary to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Reintegration Agency (BRA) has urged to the government to speed up its slow compensation of former members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), and conflict victims, which it said had contributed to an increase of crime and public unrest over the past few months.

Dili – Most child street vendors work the streets daily selling snacks, soft drinks, cigarettes and sweets with a profit of about US$10 to US$15 a day.

Fifteen-year-old Dominggos Obe hawks colorful shaved ices from a three-wheeled cart in East Timor's capital, one of a stream of youths arriving here from his poor hometown seeking a better life.

Fitraya Ramadhanny, Jakarta – The start of the working week in Jakarta will be enlivened by a number of protest actions and internal events by various political parties. The mass of supporters that they bring along could create traffic jams. Where exactly?

Jakarta – The spirit of solidarity lingers around Jl. Barito, South Jakarta, in the wake of the eviction that demolished 107 kiosks of hundreds of vendors.

"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." - George Orwell

Jakarta – Many employers have voiced strong opposition to the minimum wage hikes of Jan. 1, 2008, saying the remuneration policy should be revised to maintain a conducive investment climate in the country.

Jessinta Tan, Solo – Astana Giribangun, a solemn and beautiful graveyard on the slope of Mount Lawu on the outskirts of Solo city, has been temporarily closed for what is said to be "routine cleaning".

Fitri Wulandari and Harry Suhartono, Jakarta – As a student activist, Heri Akhmadi was beaten and jailed. Unable to witness the birth of his son because he was in prison, he named the boy Gempur Suharto, or "Attack Suharto", after the man he holds responsible for his suffering.

Telly Nathalia, Jakarta – Indonesian anti-riot police briefly clashed with about 100 demonstrators on Saturday as they called for former Indonesian president Suharto to be brought to justice.

Andi Hajramurni, Makassar – Rallies for the South Sulawesi gubernatorial pair candidates Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Agus Arifin Nu'mang intensified a day prior to the official inauguration scheduled for Saturday.

Thousands of people took to the streets to demand the central government swear in the pair to replace incumbent Governor Amin Syam, whose term ended Friday.

Jakarta – Political experts concluded during a book discussion Friday the awkward transition from authoritarianism to democracy in post-Soeharto Indonesia resulted in the birth of "local kings" instead of local managers.

Jakarta – Families of missing human rights activists demanded President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono fulfill his election promise to resolve human rights violation cases.

Mark Dodd – East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has threatened to arrest local journalists, claiming inaccurate news reporting in the troubled territory is contributing to national instability.

Mr Gusmao told reporters they faced arrest if they persisted with reporting as fact rumours and other unsourced claims.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Disappointed by the final draft of a severance pay regulation, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said it wanted to maintain the current arrangement in the Labor Law.

Michael Heath – East Timor faces renewed violence unless it reorganizes the army and police, the International Crisis Group said, almost two years after clashes between security force factions drove 155,000 people from their homes.

East Timor's prosecutor general will not investigate claims the country's prime minister was behind deadly unrest that erupted in 2006, saying the allegations are "too political".

Former prime minister Mari Alkatiri has called on current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao to resign, amid claims he orchestrated the violence that plunged the country into crisis.

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua – Since the fall of Soeharto's regime, Indonesia has apparently begun to move toward democracy. Indonesian citizens have found space to exercise their rights and duties without fear, pressure and intimidation from the state.

A London-based Papuan activist has criticised the Governor of Indonesia's Papua for upholding a ban on the Morning Star Flag.

It may not look very scary to you or me, but to the Government of Indonesia it is a dangerous threat to the "unity of the nation". No, it's not an assault rifle or a pound of high explosives, or even a bow and some arrows ....it is a BAG.

Jakarta – The Political Parties Law stipulates that 30 percent of the House of Representatives and the People's Representative Council should be female. But the reality is that only 11.27 percent of the House's 550 members are women.

In the regions, women face challenges in becoming legislative candidates and sometimes have difficulties voting independently.

Jakarta – An alliance of human rights activists demanded Thursday the arrest of a former top intelligence officer for questioning around the 2004 murder of fellow rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib.

Suharto, who ruled Indonesia from 1966 until he was ousted in 1998, decisively shaped the post 1965 political and economic trajectory of Indonesia. His supporters credited him with maintaining Indonesia's stability and setting it on the path to stable economic development.

Dili – East Timor risks erupting in violence again if its government and the UN fail to quickly reform the country's security forces, which remain vulnerable to political abuse, a think-tank warned Friday.

Jakarta – Media observers and activists said Thursday the countless reports on Soeharto's ill health could evoke sympathy from the public, which would then lead to forgiveness over his alleged past crimes.

Thalif Deen, United Nations – The Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG), which monitors some 60 crisis-affected countries worldwide, has appealed for UN and international assistance to revitalize East Timor's fledgling police and armed services in order to avoid a potentially violent civil conflict in that relatively new nation state.

Jakarta – The government should dissolve its official body which is allowed to ban religious sects, because it has disrupted the country's legal system, human rights groups say.

They said the Coordinating Board for Mystical Beliefs (Bakor Pakem) served as a judicial forum which "overrides the role of the existing judicial institution" to enforce the law.

Suharto, who ruled Indonesia from 1966 until he was ousted in 1998, decisively shaped the post 1965 political and economic trajectory of Indonesia. His supporters credited him with maintaining Indonesia's stability and setting it on the path to stable economic development.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Environmental campaigners expressed regret Wednesday about the absence of concrete government action to follow up on the UN-sponsored Bali conference on climate change.

Tito Belo, Dili – East Timor's president urged Timorese to pray for Suharto, the former Indonesian president who ordered the brutal invasion of East Timor in 1975 and who now lies critically ill in hospital.

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla and academics debated the relationship between democracy and the economy, with Kalla saying prosperity, not democracy, should be the country's ultimate goal.

Anthony Deutsch, Jakarta – Indonesia endured decades of bloodshed during Suharto's dictatorship. Yet, in an era when ruthless leaders are increasingly being held accountable, he has eased comfortably into old age without so much as a day in court.

Mark Forbes, Jakarta – Fresh evidence has emerged that ties Indonesia's Intelligence Agency (BIN) to the poisoning of a leading human rights activist, Thalib Munir, indicating top officials lied to court hearings about the 2004 murder.

There's been another twist in East Timor's increasingly bitter internal politics, with former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri demanding that current prime minister Xanana Gusmao resign. Dr Alkatiri's demand follows claims from rebel leader Alfredo Reinado that Mr Gusmao orchestrated deadly unrest in 2006, in which at least 20 people died and hundreds of homes were destroyed.

Alfian, Jakarta – A National Intelligence Agency (BIN) officer said former Garuda Indonesia pilot Pollycarpus had requested a letter from the body recommending him for a security post at the national flag carrier prior to Munir's murder, a court heard Tuesday.