John A. Prasetio, Jakarta – A decade ago, almost without warning, the Asian economic crisis arrived to challenge the "East Asia Miracle" thesis of the World Bank. Indeed, in the spring of 1997, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted that East Asia could continue to average 7 percent annual growth for decades.

Udin – At least 200 victims of the Aceh conflict from the Fraternal Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations (SPKP HAM) demonstrated at the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on the afternoon of Monday July 23. They were calling on the government to immediately form a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) to resolve past humanitarian crimes.

James Castle, Jakarta – For anyone involved in business or policy in developing Asia, the boom and bust of the 1990s are the defining events of the last twenty years. A decade has passed since the floating of the Thai Baht on July 2, 1997 precipitated a series of currency devaluations and other financial catastrophes that are now collectively known as "The Asian Crisis".

Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – In early July 1997, when the Thai baht crashed and lost more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar immediately after the Bank of Thailand floated the local unit, Indonesia was an innocent, unaffected bystander, its rupiah stable at around Rp 2,500 to the dollar.

Jakarta – A lawmaker, a government minister and a political expert called for a restructuring of the political system during a weekend seminar, saying the present system has numerous loopholes and flaws.

Jakarta – The official campaign period for Jakarta's first-ever direct gubernatorial election kicked off on Sunday. We'll be following Fauzi Bowo and Prijanto's fight against Adang Daradjatun and Dani Anwar for the top spot with our special election coverage from today to Aug. 8.

Dili – The rumble of a generator and the whir of ceiling fans muffled the quiet words of a judge as he questioned a witness in a murder trial one recent hot, still afternoon.

But even if they could have heard him, most of the people sprinkled through the little courtroom – including the defendant and the witnesses – could not have understood what he was saying.

Ary Hermawan, Sanur/Bali – The Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) will begin its fourth hearing session here today with only seven key witnesses in attendance.

James Dunn – Jill Jolliffe's report detailing Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's involvement in the torture of prisoners in East Timor (Canberra Times, Saturday, July 14) raises questions that go well beyond the NSW coronial search for those responsible for the Balibo murders.

Dili – Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at gangs of youths in East Timor's capital Sunday, after an explosion went off at a base for Australian troops and houses were set ablaze, officials and witnesses said.

At least six people were injured in the violence, which occurred days after politicians failed to decide who should lead a new coalition government.

[Dreamseekers: Indonesian Women as Domestic Workers in Asia by Dewi Anggraeni. Equinox, Jakarta (2006) pp. 250.]

Tony Smith, Contributor, Bathurst – In the 19th Century, Dutch colonists sent landless East Indies peasants to Suriname and New Caledonia to labor in plantations.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The government hopes to reduce unemployment and poverty by diverting some routine spending in 2008 to help finance infrastructure development in the regions.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Crystal clear jurisdiction of military tribunals is essential in curbing impunity and achieving transparency toward a more professional military, the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) group noted Friday.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The campaign for Jakarta's gubernatorial election officially kicks off Monday amid gloomy predictions from pundits and naysayers of a very low voter turnout, either because of the low registration rate or threats of a boycott by voters discontented with the system and the limited number of candidates.

Nani Afrida, Berastagi – Five years after sharia was first implemented in Aceh, many residents, especially villagers, still do not fully understand it, an Islamic group says.

Many residents are unsure about its implementation, while some groups have politicized it, resulting in a focus on punishments like public caning and the requirement for women to wear a headscarf.

The newly passed Jakarta Special Administrative Law can be seen as promoting democracy in Jakarta, though only timidly, but lacks all the articles to necessary to transform Jakarta into a modern, humane metropolitan city.

Jakarta – An activist and the widow of slain rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib have asked the Attorney General's Office to provide more evidence in seeking a review of a Supreme Court acquittal of the main suspect in the murder case.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – As in previous sitting periods, the House of Representatives seemed to spend little time passing laws to benefit the people, and lots of time criticizing the administration.

Speaker Agung Laksono said the House has yet to give equal attention to its legislative, budgetary and oversight tasks.

Jakarta – Jakarta Industrial Relations Court decided Thursday that retail giant Sogo must reemploy 45 staff who were fired due to the closing of the chain's Plaza Indonesia branch in Central Jakarta early this year.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has accused the government of encouraging deforestation by allowing eight industrial timber plantation companies to cut down trees in Riau province beyond the legal limit.

Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Despite strong protests from the business community, the House of Representatives will press ahead with its plan to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) legally mandatory, albeit in a diluted form.

Jakarta – A recent survey by a coalition of non-governmental organizations active in the education sector found schools are still illegally making parents pay to register their children as new students.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Legislators said Thursday the government should be able to allocate more money for the education sector, while thousands of teachers from Banten and West Java provinces marched through Jakarta to demand action on education.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A voter education group distributed educational brochures for the gubernatorial election Thursday to encourage people to use their right to vote.

Volunteers from the People's Voter Education Network stood at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta to give brochures to passing vehicles.

An expert in criminal law told the Constitutional Court on Thursday that a regulation stipulating that ex-convicts cannot run for office is unjust and discriminative.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives decided Thursday to suspend finalizing its proposed interpellation motion over the Sidoarjo mudflow after the House Consultative Body agreed not to include the issue in Friday's House closing plenary session.

Calls for the release of prisoners jailed under Indonesia's draconian 'hate-sowing' laws, including Papuans Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, have been reiterated today by TAPOL, which promotes human rights, peace and democracy in Indonesia.

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) says more than 65 percent of eligible voters in Jakarta will not cast ballots in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial election.

The research center defines this non-voting group as eligible voters who were left off voter lists and those who have been registered but will not exercise their right to vote.

Lindsay Murdoch, Darwin – The hunt for Alfredo Reinado has been officially called off in East Timor's central mountains and the rebel military leader and his heavily armed men are being given safe conduct passes.

The decision brings to a humiliating end a five-month operation by Australian troops that included elite Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – It was business as usual Wednesday a PT Naga Parama Shoes Industry (NASA) and PT Hardaya Aneka Shoes Industry (HASI), manufacturers for American athletic apparel company Nike, despite fears of a massive staff dismissal.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – The trial of an illegal logging suspect was delayed Wednesday after a group of people disrupted court proceedings at Medan District Court in North Sumatra.

Tensions over Adelin Lis' hearing led presiding judge Arwan Byrin to postpone the trial until July 23. The trial was scheduled to examine five witnesses Wednesday but heard from just one.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Rampant torture in Indonesian prisons could be minimized if the government ratified the Optional Protocol of the United Nations Convention against Torture, several NGOs said.

Under the protocol, the country's prisons would be open to independent external monitoring.

Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has a few tough decisions ahead of him in the wake of a recent spate of land disputes involving the Indonesian Military (TNI) and civilians.

"The president, as the head of state, must decide who will have the land," Isono Sadoko from the Akatiga Foundation told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – Law and rights activists have labeled the Constitutional Court's revocation of Criminal Code articles concerning defamation against the government as a glorious achievement for human rights enforcement.

Hikmahanto Juwana, Jakarta – This newspaper has published various opinions from writers discussing legal conditions in Indonesia. The articles seem to identify the sources of weaknesses in law enforcement here.

Release prisoners held under unconstitutional laws

New York – The ruling by Indonesia's constitutional court to declare unconstitutional a set of laws that criminalize free expression is a bold and welcome decision, Human Rights Watch said today. All prisoners currently serving sentences under these laws should be immediately released.

Banda Aceh – Victims of the Aceh conflict being assisted by the group Fraternal Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations (SPKP HAM) will hold their second congress in Saree in the Lembah Seulawah sub-district of Greater Aceh on July 20-23.

Muhammad Wildan, Singapore – The spread of radical Islamism in Indonesia has led many people to assume that it has to do mostly with the incorrect interpretation of Islam. Although this assumption may not be totally incorrect, this judgment is misleading. For some people, this could lead to theological accusations of Islam.

Welcome back to New Perspectives (Perspektif Baru), I'm Jaleswari Pramodhawardani and I'm here with Zely Ariane, an activist from the Perempuan Mahardhika National Network. Today we will be speaking about an issue that is of concern to us all, the urban poor.

Jakarta – The government has made no significant progress toward implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) 23 years after its ratification, women's rights advocates say.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Indonesian police routinely torture, rape and kill with impunity in West Papua and risk fanning separatism there, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on July 5.

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – The Constitutional Court struck down on Tuesday articles in the Criminal Code banning speeches and writing expressing hostility toward or inciting hatred of the government, calling the centuries-old rulings detrimental to democracy.

Hambali Batubara, Medan – Student and social organisations in the North Sumatra provincial capital of Medan demonstrated at the Japanese Consulate and the representative offices of PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (PT Inalum) on Wednesday July 18.

James Balowski, Jakarta – Coinciding with the release of a report by Human Rights Watch exposing endemic human rights abuses in West Papua and the refusal to allow a member of the US Congress to visit the province, protests featuring the Morning Star flag were held.

Sohirin/Jems de Fortuna, Semarang – A leak at the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) nuclear-powered electric generator plant has made the residents around Gunung Muria (Jepara, Pati and Kudus, Central Java) grow stronger as regards resisting the government's plan to build a nuclear plant in their area.

Jakarta – The House of Representatives has enacted a new Energy Law that is aimed at securing sustainable energy supplies, and promoting energy conservation and the use of renewable energy resources.

The presence in West Papua of Col. Burhanuddin Siagian, a senior Indonesian army officer indicted for crimes against humanity charges in East Timor (now called Timor-Leste) endangers human rights defenders and political activists. Recently Col. Siagian threatened to "destroy" peaceful dissidents in the contested region.

The Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC), a regional solidarity organization that campaigns on issues affecting the peoples of the region, expresses its gravest concern over the continued presence of Col. Burhanuddin Siagian as commander of the Jayapura sub-regional military command (Korem 172) in West Papua.

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The government must improve the qualitative aspects, not quantitative aspects, of political parties through the package of political bills currently under deliberation at the House of Representatives, political observers said Tuesday.

Iwan Gunawan, Jakarta – The administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono seemed to be irritated by independence aspirations reflected in the display of separatist flag in Ambon and Papua.

Such aspirations have been visible in Aceh, with former rebels proposing a local party which chooses their old flag as the party's symbol.