Jakarta – The Indonesian government will not want to risk losing its current close relationship with Muslims by undermining the Muhammadiyah Muslim organisation or its chairman, Mr Amien Rais, an Indonesian political science lecturer has said.

Jakarta – Labor leader Muchtar Pakpahan, standing trial for his alleged antigovernment statements, exploded in court yesterday and accused presiding Judge Djazuli P. Sudibyo of ignoring his poor health.

Jakarta – In the ongoing case of Mochtar Pakpahan, at the South Jakarta state court was shaken yesterday. The reason? The judge accused the defendant of exaggerating his illness. He also said Pakpahan wanted to be written about in the newspapers.

Jakarta – Central Java textile maker PT Sritex has won a Rp 2 5 billion (US$10.87 million) contract to make 500,000 military uniforms for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) starting this year, a company executive said.

Indonesia's armed forces chief has lent the military's backing to the ruling Golkar party ahead of May polls, the state news agency reported yesterday.

General Feisal Tanjung, speaking here on Saturday in the lead up to May 29 general elections, said "the big Abri (armed forces) family" channels its "political aspirations" to Golkar.

[Interview with Mari Alkatiri, Fretilin secretary for external relations. Lisbon, Byline: Abel Coelho de Morais. Original Language: Portuguese.]

DN: According to recent reports, the situation in Timor has worsened. How would you describe Indonesia's activities in the territory?

Semarang, C Java – President Soeharto said the personnel of the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) would face heavier challenges in their dedication to the nation.

Agencies in Jakarta – Indonesia's armed forces chief has lent the military's backing to the ruling Golkar party, breaking decades of traditional neutrality.

General Feisal Tanjung, speaking in Jakarta in the lead up to the May 29 general elections, said "the big ABRI [armed forces] family" channels its "political aspirations" to Golkar.

Gordon Feeney, Jakarta – Leading Indonesian journalist-turned-political activist Goenawan Muhamad today predicted President Suharto would rule for another 10 years amid greater repression.

At midnight on March 3, nine (9) Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) underground Town Leadership Committees organised a coordinated Graffiti Action in the cities of Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Solo, Semarang (all in Java), Lampung and Medan (in Sumatra) and Menado in Sulawesi.

Ong Hock Chuan, Jakarta – One economic casualty of the spate of riots to strike Indonesia over the past few months may be the owners of supermarket chains, a sector that was expected to see huge expansions throughout the country this year with the entry of international retailers such as Wal-Mart.

Jakarta – Armed Forces Commander, Gen. Feisal Tanjung, stressed that in the coming period the Armed Forces will take a firmer stand. The Armed forces will compromise with nobody and will not take the slightest risk concerning any effort which wants to disturb national stability and integration of the nation.

Matthew Jardine – "Hello, Mister. Where are you from?"

On January 21, 1997, ETAN issued an Action Alert regarding the likely nomination of Stanley Roth as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, which had been floated in the Washington Post and other newspapers.

Susan Sim, Jakarta – President Suharto, offering to resign if it was the will of the people, has vowed to "clobber" anyone who tries to force him out of office by unconstitutional means.

Jakarta – Home Affairs Minister Yogie Memed said Indonesia's six million civil servants had no choice but to vote for the ruling Golkar as they were bound by statutes which said that members had to channel their political aspirations through the party.

Jakarta – The manner in which the nuclear-power Bill was rushed through Parliament raised doubts about the government's real intentions, analysts were quoted as saying in a newspaper report on Friday.

Cesar Bacani and Keith Loveard/Jakarta – Just call him King. If ever there were doubts about his preeminent position in Indonesian business, timber tycoon Mohamad Bob Hasan laid them to rest last week.

Jakarta – Indonesian authorities have banned a book by an elderly politician, saying the contents discredited the government, the armed forces and President Suharto, a newspaper report said on Thursday.

Yenni Kwok, Jakarta – Most Indonesian children grow up listening to stories about Kancil, a clever, mischievous mouse-deer who typically finds himself relying on his wits in order to save his life. His adventures often offer moral lessons for the young.

Since Down to Earth posted an Action Alert on the confrontation between the indigenous Dayaks and Madurese settlers in West Kalimantan (17th Feb 1997), we have been waiting for more news and accurate information from Jakarta and Pontianak. What follows is a summary of the news items which have appeared on apc.act. indonesia, apc.reg.

Jakarta – The chair of the United Develop Party (PPP), Ismail Hasan Matareum has said that the National Leadership meeting of the PPP has placed on the agenda, recommendations from a number of Regional Councils of the PPP (DPW) a plan to boycott the coming 1997 General Election campaign.

Analysists who prefer to highlight structural interests often find the personalised nature of Indonesian politics difficult to grasp. Yet personal loyalties define the language of intra-elite conflict today as much as they did in the days of the sultans. A document marked 'highly secret', apparently produced at the think tank CPDS and circulating in Jakarta proves the point.

Solo – President Soeharto brought forward, "If the House of Representatives (DPR) indeed considers that I am incompetent, yes, please "withdraw" me, namely through an Extraordinary Session of the Peoples Consultative Congress (MPR)."

Jakarta – In a rare political statement the country's Catholic Church has told its faithful that it would not be a sin to refuse to vote in this year's general election.

But a senior Indonesian military officer warned on Monday that encouraging people not to vote was against the law.

Jakarta - A number of pro-Megawati Soekarnoputri PDI cadres, calling themselves "Awam PDI" (PDI Laymen) will arrange a longmarch from Denpasar to Jakarta starting 1 April 1997.

Upon arrival in Jakarta they will go to the Parliament Building (MPR/DPR) to deliver a written statement to the House of Representatives (DPR) as holder of the people's sovereignty.

In another stark illustration of the Indonesian Government's intention to silence its opponents in the run up to the May 1997 parliamentary elections, the controversial former parliamentarian, Sri Bintang Pamungkas, was detained on 5 March under the Anti-subversion Law.

Three years after discovering what is touted as the worlds richest gold lode in Indonesias Kalimantan province, Canadas Bre-X Minerals may have finally hit the jackpot. It reached an agreement for a development venture with the Indonesian government and other partners last week.

[The following is the text of a letter sent by Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, to the Indonesian Minister of Justice.]

Dear Mr Minister,

Jakarta – Indonesia's Muslim-led United Development Party (PPP) is considering a boycott of the upcoming campaign for 29 May elections in response to tough restrictions on political campaigning.

Jakarta – The accused in the subversion case against the Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) who are interned at the Cipinang prison, began a hunger strike last Wednesday (26/2) because they consider their trials are engineered.

The following is the text of a letter sent by Bill Jordan, General [Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, to the Indonesian Minister of Justice.]

Dear Mr Minister,

Urgent: Health conditons of MM. Pakpahan and Hariyanto

We strongly demand that the House of Representatives of Indonesia will not approve the nuclear bill!

Jakarta – One of the architects of the New Order economy, Prof Dr Soebroto, explicitly stated that the flourishing of various kinds of levies [read bribes - JB] which has been going on, is a reflection of absence of legal security.

Jakarta – Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja was called in for questioning last week by Bakorstanas [Badan Koordinasi Bantuan Pemantapan Stabilitas, National Coordinating body for the maintenance of Stability] over the pre-Easter apostolic letter by the Indonesian Bishops' Conference.

Jakarta – The Indonesian Ecolabelling Institute (LEI) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) have signed acooperation to speed up the implementation of ecolabelling toIndonesian tropical timber products, LEI chairman Emil Salim saidWednesday.

One of the chief aims of the cooperation is to train assessors, he said.

Jakarta – The Bill on Nuclear Power was finally agreed by the House of Representatives (DPR) for ratification as Laws, although it was coloured by interruptions of its members who questioned the quorum which was not reached, while outside the conference room a demonstration was going on which rejected the Nuclear Power Bill.

Marcy Gordon, Washington – In its first action in a decade under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Thursday a settlement with a Texas-based oil company for a $300,000 civil penalty.

Margot Cohen, Jakarta – The judge hunched forward eagerly as details of a bank statement were read aloud in open court. "What is the total amount of overseas aid?" he prodded the witness.

The socio-political (sospol) role of the Armed Forces (ABRI) will not be a "flat tyre", even at President Soeharto's post leadership. ABRI's role will not change much because ABRI in its history of existence until this moment is performing its role as unifier of the nation.

Richard Borsuk, Jakarta, Indonesia – The chairman of Bre-X Minerals Ltd., facing shareholder ire over last week's pact fixing ownership of the Canadian firm's giant gold find in Borneo, said he had to settle for an arrangement that reflected Indonesia's "political, economic and social environment."

There is growing concern for the health of two men currently on trial for subversion. Both are detained in Cipinang Prison in Jakarta and have not been allowed to obtained medical treatment since being transferred there earlier this year. They were arrested after the raid on the PDI office in Jakarta on 27 July 1996. They have both been on trial since December 1996.

Jakarta – The Commander General of Special Troop Commandoes (Danjen Kopassus) Major General Prabowo Subianto stated that all strata of the society at the country should increase vigilance towards a group which intentionally wants to create instability. This group tries to create riots because it has its own political interests.

PDI fraction member Laksmiari Priyonggo interrupted the Minister of Research and Technology BJ Habibie during constitutional meeting at the National Parliament saying: "Although the speaker states that 317 people are present, in fact there are only 75 members of the DPR here or less than 15% of a total of 500 members. We cannot lie to the people".

S N Vasuki – The fallout from the Busang gold controversy in Indonesia has been immediate. Foreign mining companies, primarily from Australia and Canada, which are awaiting official approval for new mining projects in Indonesia are concerned that the controversy would lead to major delays and changes in the government's policy towards foreign investment in the mining sector.

Objections from environmentalists and other concerned groups notwithstanding, the House of Representatives yesterday passed a government-sponsored bill on nuclear energy which levels the way for the government to build Indonesia's first nuclear power plant on the Muria peninsula on the north coast of Central Java by the year 2003.

Andreas Harsono, Jakarta – It was a bright and sunny day in Jakarta, but that didn't help cheer up American diplomats William Brown and Stanley Roth as they emerged from a critical meeting with President Suharto.

The Indonesian military has accused Muslim separatists in Aceh province of attempting to sabotage the huge nearby Arun gas field.

The security commander of northern Sumatra including Aceh, Major-General Sedaryanto, says the sabotage had been planned for a long time, but did NOT say what the plan entailed.

Bandung, W Java – Four former policemen charged with inciting the recent riot in Tasikmalaya, West Java are facing up to 32 months in jail.

Military prosecutor, Col Ismail Bangun, demanded here Tuesday that the West Java military court imprison former Corporal Nur (38) for 32 months and former 2nd Sgt AM (24) for 30 months.

Louise Williams, Jakarta – The Indonesian Parliament has passed a controversial nuclear energy bill, clearing the way for the construction of up to 12 nuclear power plants.

The first nuclear reactor is due to be built alongside the dormant Muria volcano in Java.