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Indonesia & East Timor Digest

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May 22, 2008

ABC News Online - May 22, 2008

Aid group Church World Service says climate change has helped push malnutrition in West Timor to levels higher than in Africa. A survey of 4,800 households by the group found 61.1 per cent of children under five in the region were stunted due to chronic malnutrition, while 13.1 per cent of children were acutely malnourished.

Agence France Presse - May 22, 2008

Dili – East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta is confident about his young country's future, despite lingering poverty and swirling mistrust over rebel attacks three months ago that left him near death.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Jakarta, Cirebon, Yogyakarta, Makassar – Thousands of students across the nation took to the streets Wednesday to reject the government plan to increase fuel prices and provide direct cash aid for affected low-income households.

The protests were generally peaceful, although minor incidents marred demonstrations in Jakarta and Cirebon, West Java.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – While some observers say there has been significant progress in the professionalism of the Indonesian military (TNI), many others think military reform has been too slow and half-hearted in the past decade following the authoritarian era.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Jakarta – The United Nations Committee against Torture (UNCAT) has recommended Indonesia drop its plan to outlaw Ahmadiyah, saying the ban will legitimize crimes against members of the Islamic sect.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta – Ten years after the country declared war on graft, it is still common, if the numerous investigations into government officials accused of stealing stats money are any indication.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Jakarta – The KPK unveiled Wednesday a link between two top officials at the Attorney General Office's (AGO) in the case of alleged bribery involving businesswoman Artalyta Suryani and state prosecutor Urip Tri Gunawan.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Indonesia has recently emerged as the "good boy" at the international level due to its positive role in global talks and its signing of many environmental agreements.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The environment ministry has warned Indonesia's emissions from the energy sector will continue to increase if oil and gas companies do not prevent their carbon from being released into the atmosphere.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Apriadi Gunawan and Rizal Harahap, Medan/Pekanbaru – Choking haze from forest fires in Riau and Jambi has blanketed North Sumatra for several days and threatens to spread to neighboring countries.

Jakarta Post - May 22, 2008

Harry Bhaskara, Jakarta – In a sense, the media is like an eligible bride who often has a honeymoon with a new government.

In Indonesia, that honeymoon began in 1998 when autocrat Soeharto fell from grace and the press enjoyed freedom for the first time in more than two decades.

Kompas - May 22, 2008

Jakarta – Waves of protesters commemorating 10 years of reformasi took to the streets on Wednesday May 21. At least 6,000 people from a number of mass and student organisations gathered at the State Palace and the House of Representatives (DPR) between 11am and 6pm. The protesters presented seven people's demands to the government.

Radio New Zealand International - May 22, 2008

Greenpeace says that without good governance, Indonesia's plans to utilise millions more hectares in its Papua region are unlikely to be sustainably managed.

Indonesia's agriculture ministry says that since Sumatra and Kalimantan have become too dense for new palm oil plantations, the only land available is in Papua.

May 21, 2008

Asian Human Rights Commission Urgent Appeal - May 21, 2008

Dear friends,

Agence France Presse - May 21, 2008

Rebels who attacked the East Timorese leadership in February were trying to seize control of the country, President Jose Ramos-Horta says.

Agence France Presse - May 21, 2008

Dili – East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta said Wednesday he had slashed the seven-year jail sentence handed out to a former minister for distributing weapons during violent unrest in 2006.

Detik.com/Tempo Interactive - May 21, 2008

[The following is a compilation of abridged translations from Detik.com and Tempo Interactive covering protest actions around the country on May 21 against the Indonesian government's planned fuel price increases.]

Anti-fuel price hike protest in Bogor ends in clash

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2008

Jakarta – The ministry of industry has revised down the country's industrial growth target for the third time in five months to between 4.5 and 5 percent in response to the government's plan to increase fuel prices.

Agence France Presse - May 21, 2008

Jakarta – Indonesians took to the streets in angry protests over the soaring cost of food and a planned fuel price hike Wednesday, as an economic "crisis" overshadowed the 10th anniversary of Suharto's fall.

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2008

Johannes Simbolon, Jakarta – The rise in oil prices is happening at the "wrong time" for Indonesia – at a time when the country is struggling to stop or reverse the decline in its oil production.

In the past, when the country's oil production was still high and the country's oil production exceeded demand, a rise in oil prices was always welcomed as good news.

Agence France Presse - May 21, 2008

Jakarta – Thousands of students took to the streets across Indonesia on Wednesday to protest the government's plan to raise fuel prices.

With global oil prices surging, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said he has little choice but to slash subsidies that threaten to bust the state budget, and raise fuel prices by up to 30 percent by the month's end.

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The House of Representatives is poised to pass an amended law on military tribunals that would allow civilian courts to try soldiers involved in non-military offenses.

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2008

Jakarta Police detained 18 students from Mercu Buana University who took over a fuel truck during a rally in West Jakarta on Tuesday.

The students used the country's 100th National Awakening Day to stage a protest against the government's recent decision to increase fuel prices.

Agence France Presse - May 21, 2008

Jakarta – The government of Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, is now looking at its vast easternmost provinces in Papua to expand its palm oil plantations, a senior official said Wednesday.

Jakarta Post - May 21, 2008

Jakarta – Former student activists who took part in the historic rallies of May 1998 have called their struggle for sweeping reforms a disappointment.

The former students, some of them having joined major political parties, concluded in a discussion Tuesday that apart from forcing President Soeharto to resign, most of their demands had failed to materialize.

Jakarta Post Editorial - May 21, 2008

On this date 10 years ago, when Soeharto ended his 32-year iron-fisted rule, the country's economy was in total chaos, partly – some say mostly – because of the president's inability to control the greed of his children and cronies.

May 20, 2008

Catholic News Service - May 20, 2008

Chaz Muth, Washington – Indigenous residents of Indonesia's Irian Jaya region suffer a multitude of injustices, from rape and murder to the pilfering of riches extracted from their island, said representatives of an Indonesian Catholic diocese.

IRIN - May 20, 2008

Dili – It is 8am and Star King in Dili, Timor-Leste's capital, is about to open. For most of the year, Star King, a dimly lit warehouse that sells tinned milk, noodles and cooking oil, is a store among a dozen just like it. But today police have been called to help manage the 100 or so anxious people waiting outside.

Sydney Morning Herald - May 20, 2008

Jill Jolliffe, Dili – East Timorese citizens are celebrating the sixth anniversary of their independence today, but with an edge of uncertainty about their political and economic future.

May 19, 2008

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2008

Jakarta, Pontianak – Business in Indonesia still relies on political rather than technical or professional support, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Saturday, which allowed unfair competition among businessmen close to the government.

Asian Human Rights Commission Urgent Appeal - May 19, 2008

Dear friends,

Tempo Interactive - May 19, 2008

Firman Hidayat, Samarinda – Around 500 students, NGO activists, and laborers in Samarinda demonstrated today protesting the government's plan to increase fuel prices.

Tempo Interactive - May 19, 2008

Bibin Bintariadi, Jakarta – The Central Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PBNU) will announce their position over the fuel price increases. The statement will be sent to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono today.

"PBNU will ask the government to cancel the fuel price increase or at least postpone it," said chairman of PBNU KH Hasyim Muzadi at his house in Malang yesterday.

Agence France Presse - May 19, 2008

Dili – East Timor is set to celebrate six years of independence Tuesday, with bursting national pride and dreams for the future contending with the harsh realities of poverty, violence and instability.

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2008

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Twelve lawmakers currently visiting Argentina for a nine-day "comparative study" tour – of which seven days are reserved for sightseeing – have been criticized in light of the current economic climate.

Radio New Zealand International - May 19, 2008

The Australia West Papua Association has called on the leaders of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to grant observer status to West Papuans at their upcoming meeting in Vanuatu.

The Association's spokesman Joe Collins says granting the Melanesian people of Indonesia's Papua region observer status would be in accordance with a founding principle of the MSG.

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2008

Jakarta – Some 10,000 students and teachers paraded around the National Monument here Sunday, campaigning for a better national education system.

The event was held in conjunction with National Education Day, which falls every May 2, and the 100th anniversary of National Awakening Day (May 20). Participants said Indonesia had made little progress in developing education.

Radio Australia - May 19, 2008

Indonesia's powerful military will have to relinquish its vast business interests. The overhaul of the TNI is an important part of Indonesia's political reform.

Presenter: Sen Lam

Speakers: Bob Lowry, visiting fellow at the Australian Defence Studies Centre in Canberra.

Jakarta Post - May 19, 2008

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Contrasting figures between shrinking unemployment and growing underemployment suggest the country's investment climate has yet to support the growth of the formal sector, an economist says.

May 18, 2008

Reuters - May 18, 2008

Dili – East Timor's army will receive military training from Portuguese-speaking countries such as Brazil and Portugal as part of a military pact signed between the countries today.

Defence ministers of eight Portuguese-speaking countries signed the military agreement in former Portuguese colony East Timor's capital, Dili, in a bid to prevent conflict in their regions.

Detik.com - May 18, 2008

Nurvita Indarini, Jakarta – A number of organisations are endeavouring to thwart the government's plan to increase the price of fuel and are planning to besiege the State Palace in Central Jakarta on May 21 (the 10th anniversary of the overthrow of former President Suharto) and June 1.

Sydney Morning Herald - May 18, 2008

We will see how serious Kevin Rudd is in bringing the Balibo Five case to its logical conclusion, writes Paul Daley.

A week before the last election, Kevin Rudd placed on record his unambiguous views about a crime that many Australians have come to regard as perhaps the most shameful recent episode in Australian diplomacy.

Jakarta Post - May 18, 2008

Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) has added pressure on the government to reconsider its plan to raise fuel prices, saying the policy will severely impact on the country's economy.

Jakarta Post - May 18, 2008

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The Holocaust did happen and was historically well-documented by historians and its survivors with their published journals and testimonies.

Yet, there are people – the Iranian president is only one of them – who believe the event was a grand hoax.

Jakarta Post - May 18, 2008

Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – Religious violence against minority group Ahmadiyah stems from the weakening of the Indonesian Islamic thought movement and the government's ineptitude meet the basic needs of its citizens, experts say.

May 17, 2008

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2008

Jakarta – Homosexuality is not a disease but a social reality that the public should learn to respect, the executive director of the Women's Journal Foundation (YJP), Mariana Amiruddin, said at a discussion Friday.

The event was held in conjunction with International Day Against Homophobia, which falls on May 17.

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2008

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The government called on developed nations to buy carbon credits from Indonesia, rather than push for a moratorium on forestry activities.

The Forestry Ministry expressed concern over rising calls from the international community for Indonesia to cease forestry activities in order to combat climate change.

Asia Pacific Solidarity Network Urgent Action - May 17, 2008

Report on an attack against the secretariat of the Political Committee of the Poor (KPRM) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Saturday, May 17, 00.10 local time.

Jakarta Post - May 17, 2008

Mariani Dewi, Jakarta – The gap in salaries between managers and clerics in Indonesia widened last year from 2006 in part because of a shortage in talent amid the country's growing economy, a global study says.

The Australian - May 17, 2008

Paul Toohey – Xanana Gusmao, his Australian wife Kirsty and their kids haven't been back to their home in the hills overlooking the East Timorese capital, Dili, since the morning of February 11, when his prime ministerial convoy was ambushed by a group of rebels. The family will never return to that home.