Aqida Swamurti, Jakarta – The Working Committee of the Draft Political Parties Bill has decided that the quota of women's representation in political parties be raised from 30 percent to 35 percent.

The Steering Team at the House of Representatives (DPR) was asked to adjust this provision together with other articles in the Political Party Bill.

New York – The United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) today released a report showing progress in promoting human rights in the nascent country while calling for further measures to help displaced persons and prevent impunity.

Dan Box – Whitlam era foreign minister Don Willesee believed the Balibo Five were "murdered" by Indonesian soldiers and in his dying days told his daughter the Australian government had conspired to keep news of the deaths from the victims' families.

Geraldine Willesee – The nightmare of East Timor followed my father to his deathbed. "Two hundred thousand dead... 200,000." A lifetime of politics poured into a single nugget of horror. "Two hundred thousand dead."

Sydney – A telegram sent from a minister just days after the Balibo Five were killed in East Timor revealed they had been murdered, and proved the government was engaged in a cover-up, one of their widows says.

Jakarta – Indonesia insists the Balibo Five case is closed, despite fresh reports that a telegram sent by an Australian Government minister revealed the five journalists were murdered in East Timor.

The truth about the murder of five journalists at Balibo on October 16, 1975, in the lead-up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor is one of the longest and saddest cases of government abuse of Australians' right to know.

Tony Iltis – In 1975, when Indonesia invaded East Timor, beginning a 24-year occupation that cost over 200,000 Timorese lives (over a third of the population), Australia's support for this genocidal occupation was predicated on a policy outlined in the infamous "Woolcott telegram": that Australia's interest in East Timor was derived from the oil and gas resources in the Timor Sea.

Ary Hermawan, Denpasar – The Bali-chapter of the Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Institute (PBHI) said the government needed to take action on the prevailing local customary laws because it said they violated human rights.

Jakarta – Following the controversy over the al-Qiyadah al-Islamiyah sect, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) announced Tuesday 10 criteria that indicated an Islamic sect was "misguided".

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – A house thought to have been a place where "deviant" Islamic teachings were disseminated was set alight by residents from Enclek Sebrang village in Tangerang, police said Tuesday.

Apriadi Gunawan, Medan – Logging boss Adelin Lis walked away from court free of all charges Monday after the Medan District Court acquitted him of illegal logging activities.

The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) and its sister organization the Asian Human Rights Commission welcome the proposed visit by the Special Rapporteur for Torture, Dr. Manfred Novak.

Irawaty Wardany, Nusa Dua, Bali – Procurement bribery at government offices makes up the bulk of graft cases in Indonesia and reportedly costs it Rp 36 trillion (US$3.9 billion) a year, a top anticorruption official said Monday.

Neles Tebay, Abepura, Papua – In the wake of civil society's efforts to transform Papua into a land of peace, the Indonesian Military (TNI) has been growing both in strength and numbers in the province, as reported by the International Crisis Group in September last year.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The top priorities for the last sitting of the legislature this year are the bills on political parties and on general elections, which are needed to smooth the way to the 2009 polls.

The bills are among 11 targeted for completion by the House of Representatives in the 33-day sitting period, which was officially opened on Monday.

Peter Ker, Sydney – East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta has weighed into the 2007 federal election campaign by passionately endorsing a direct opponent of Prime Minister John Howard in the Sydney electorate of Bennelong.

A man of 23 years died after being struck several times by a soldier attached to the district command Korem 172/PWY. The soldier has been identified only by his initials Sergeant YK.

The incident leading to the death of Rudi Pagawak, who worked for Sinar Mas Plantation occurred outside the TNI Post in Lereh, Jayapura on Thursday.

Jakarta – One person was killed in Indonesia's restive Papua province in tribal fighting as villagers burned houses and attacked a police station close to a US-owned gold mine, a police officer said Sunday.

Riot police and soldiers fired warning shots on Sunday after tribesmen in Indonesia's Papua province set several homes on fire in unrest triggered by the death of a former local police chief.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy is expected to wrap up the year on track in line with the government's forecasts, despite risks to inflation and growth from the recent rise in global oil prices, the latest market confidence survey from the central bank shows.

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Rizal Harahap, Bandung/Pekanbaru – In the wake of controversy surrounding the al-Qiyadah Islamic sect, authorities and residents are focusing their attention on religious sects in their own backyards.

In Bandung, West Java, authorities responded to public demand by beginning an investigation of the Al Quran Suci sect.

Banda Aceh – Acehnese civil activists from the Aceh Anti-Corruption Coalition (KAAA) say they regret Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf has given his blessing to amnesty for former Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh, who was jailed over his involvement in a corruption case when he was still governor of Aceh.

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – The joint Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission for Truth and Friendship (CTF) will ignore UN criticism and focus on finalizing its report without testimonials from officials of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (UNAMET).

A former diplomat has slammed public servants' "willingness to lie", after an investigation into claims he was pressured to break the law ended because of a lack of evidence.

The Greens have used the case to push for a whistleblowers' authority independent from the bureaucracy.

Agnes Winarti, Jakarta – Due to a lack of accurate data, authorities in North Jakarta are finding it difficult to deal with the problem of human trafficking, an official said at a public discussion Thursday.

Jakarta – On the afternoon of Thursday November 1, around 50 people from the Solidarity Network for the Families of Victims or JSKK again held a peaceful action in front of the State Palace in Central Jakarta. They were calling on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to conduct a thorough investigations into past human rights abuses in Indonesia.

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Thursday bureaucratic reform was unlikely to succeed without improved efficiency, time management and cost control, as well as economic development.

Jakarta – Director general for tourist destination Ddvelopment at the Tourism Ministry, Sambudjo Parikesit, warned related institutions Thursday of potential child exploitation in the sex industry.

The warning was issued in response to a finding by UNICEF that about 40,000 Indonesian children had become victims of commercial sex exploitation.

Alfian, Jakarta – Most of the countries rich in oil, gas and mineral resources ironically suffer from poverty and other social problems caused by corruption, an international anti-graft campaigner said Thursday.

Jakarta – A coalition of NGOs and the National Commission on Human Rights expressed different opinions Thursday about the al-Qiyadah sect, which has been described as "misguided" and prohibited in Jakarta by the Provincial Prosecutor's Office and nationally by the Indonesia Ulema Council.

Jayapura – A lack of clear regional autonomy guidelines has prevented the two-year-old Papua People's Council (MRP) from reaching its full potential, members say.

Council chairman Agus Alue Alua acknowledged the council has been less than effective.

Sri Wahyuni, Yogyakarta – Women have a key role to play in helping the country out of economic hardship, but more needs to be done to help them enter the formal economy, a minister says.

State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta Swasono said over the weekend women make major contributions to the national economy.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that as Head of State and Head of Government, he is ready to go to war if any country infringes the sovereignty of the NKRI (Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia).

Alfian, Jakarta – To understand the extent of the Indonesian Military (TNI)'s business network, it is necessary for regional administrations to undertake a thorough inventory of military-linked companies in their areas, observers said Wednesday.

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – So many hands shot up in the air across the ballroom. So many questions on the basics of life and existence, and too little time.

"How do I get a divorce if my husband left me without documents?"

"Is it true that a birth certificate states if the child is illegitimate?"

Jakarta – Global warming is altering ocean tides, meaning more homes will be inundated with floodwater in the years to come, an official from the City Environmental Management Board (BPLHD) said.

Jakarta – Central Jakarta District Court judges ruled Wednesday that the most recent indictment in the murder case of rights activist Munir Said Thalib stands, and that former Garuda Indonesia president director Indra Setiawan will be tried for conspiracy to murder.

M. Rizal Maslan/Muhammad Nur Hayid, Jakarta – The Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (Kasum) doubts the neutrality of Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan as the presiding judge in the judicial review of the Munir murder case.

Jakarta – The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) hopes that the police will soon provide an explanation for the arrest of an activist from the Foundation for Legal Education and Democracy (LPHD), Iwangin Sabar Olif.

Ridwan Max Sijabat and Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh/Jakarta – Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Governor Irwandi Jusuf has sent an official letter to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono appealing for amnesty for his predecessor, Abdullah Puteh.

Politicians and activists in Aceh questioned the appeal, saying it undermined a sense of justice for the people of Aceh.

Nabiha Shahab, Jakarta – Two of the three Muslim militants on death row for involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings said they were sorry for killing fellow Muslims, while insisting their deadly attack had gone according to plan.

Jakarta – A group of influential political figures on Wednesday attended the launch of the Indonesian Awakening Committee to express their concern over the pace of development in the country and what they called the government's short-term political interests.

Rizal Ramli, the committee's founder, said the idea behind the group was to open a new path for the country.

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

October 31, 2007

Dear Madame Secretary,

Consider the different fates of these two organizations. Both are small and both are trying to propagate their own brand of Islamic teachings. The one called Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is notorious for its violent tactics; the other, going by the name Al Qiyadah al Islamiyah, has no history of violence, at least none that we know of, in spreading its teachings.

Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – City Council members gave a mixed response Tuesday to the ambitious 100-day program Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo unveiled the previous day.

The chairman of Commission D for city development, Sayogo Hendrosubroto, said he was optimistic the governor's 100-day plan could be achieved.

Irawaty Wardany, Jakarta – A US political scientist on Tuesday dismissed the idea that democracy cannot develop in countries with large Muslim populations, citing Indonesia as an example of a smooth democratization.

Annolies Truman – Two thousand people rallied in the East Timorese capital of Dili on October 17 to demand food sovereignty for East Timor. The demonstration was the culmination of three days of activities to mark World Food Day.

Makassar, Kompas – On the morning of Monday October 29, police officers from the East Makassar district police in South Sulawesi sabotaged a planned meeting of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) that was to be held at the Makassar Bhumibhakti Adhiguna Public Hall. Police said that meeting organisers did not have a permit.

Rudy Prasetyo, Jakarta – Hundreds of people from various organisations will hold demonstrations in different parts of Jakarta today. Based on data from the Metro Jaya Regional Police Traffic Management Center, the actions will take place between 9am to 2pm local time.