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Indonesia & East Timor Digest

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July 24, 2002

Straits Times - July 24, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – In a sign that the United States is renewing military ties with Indonesia, a Senate committee last week voted to restore a military assistance and training programme for the country's armed forces.

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Max Lane, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri's support within her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) is falling as she increasingly associates with the political figures from the era of the Suharto dictatorship.

World Socialist Web Site - July 24, 2002

John Edwards – Fifty-three people died after fire engulfed a karaoke bar in the Indonesia port city of Palembang on the island of Sumatra on the evening of July 7. As the fire swept through the five-storey Heppi Karaoke bar, people were trapped people inside because the building had just one stairwell and the only elevator had failed.

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2002

Leo Wahyudi S, Jakarta – Eki is only 10 years old, but he plays an important role in his family. Along with his brother, Edo, who is two years older, he is the family's breadwinner.

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Lesley McCulloch – In the remote area of Aceh Tengah (central Aceh) there is a new and growing problem for the civilian population: the presence of Indonesian-backed militia. The rarely visited area has experienced a devastating attack on its social and economic fabric.

Christian Science Monitor - July 24, 2002

Dan Murphy, Banda Aceh – It's pretty safe here, reassures a local driver, ushering his car past a group of Indonesian soldiers. The sun glints off flooded rice paddies and silver-domed mosques tucked away in tiny villages.

Then he issues the warning: "Don't go out after 9." As for the surrounding villages: "I wouldn't go," he says.

Radio Australia - July 24, 2002

[Indonesia's President Megawati Sukarnoputri was once seen as the great hope for Indonesian democracy. Now, on the first anniversary of her presidency, Megawati's critics have accused her of cosying up to the military.

Lusa - July 24, 2002

East Timor formally joined the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Tuesday, with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri describing the event in Washington as "an important day for us, a historic day".

He thanked the two institutions for their pivotal help during his country's three-year transition, under UN administration, to independence from Indonesian occupation.

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Terrica Strudwick, Townsville – Indonesian trade union leader Dita Sari was one of 29 Third World women activists denied a visa to attend the annual International Women's Conference and the Network of Women Students Australia (NOWSA) conference held July 5-12 in Townsville.

Jakarta Post - July 24, 2002

Bambang Nurbianto and Ahmad Junaidi, Jakarta – Didi Purwanto, 32, knew the consequences of supporting Megawati Soekarnoputri, who was the main enemy of the New Order under former authoritarian president Soeharto. He even braved the attack against her party's headquarters, the then Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) on July 27, 1996.

Agence France-Presse - July 24, 2002

A senior Indonesian military officer was accused of ignoring massacres of at least 39 civilians by army-backed pro-Jakarta militias following East Timor's vote for independence in August 1999.

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Max Lane, Jakarta – The Peoples Democratic Party (PRD) launched its new newspaper, Pembebasan (Liberation) at a public meeting held at the Jakarta Media Centre on July 11. Almost 400 people packed the auditorium for a lively discussion on the need for a political alternative to the parties of the political elite in Indonesia.

Green Left Weekly - July 24, 2002

Pip Hinman – US military ties with Jakarta have been restricted since the 1990s because of the Indonesian military's (TNI) human rights abuses in East Timor. Now, Washington is using the "war on terrorism" as justification to renew ties. On July 18, the US Senate voted for a foreign aid bill which included US$400,000 for the Indonesian military.

July 23, 2002

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Jakarta – Haze resulting from bush and forest fires continues to prevail in Riau and Central Kalimantan, as the effects of prolonged drought hit farmers in other parts of the country.

People in the Riau capital of Pekanbaru woke to thick fog on Monday for the seventh straight day. The clouds prevailed till the afternoon but flights were not affected.

Agence France Presse - July 23, 2002

Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri completed a year in power as newspapers in the world's fourth most populous nation gave her a less than flattering report card.

Agence France Presse - July 23, 2002

Jakarta – East Timor's army on Tuesday replaced United Nations peacekeepers in one district of the new nation – the first step in a 20-month handover which will see the blue berets bow out.

The army took over responsibility for the Lautem district in the east, the UN said.

International Organisation for Migration - July 23, 2002

Jean Philippe Chauzy (Extract) – Yesterday some 1,100 East Timorese refugees returned home to East Timor from the towns of Soe and Atambua in West Timor.

The movement, organised by the Indonesian West Timor Refugee Taskforce (Satlak) and funded by IOM, followed successful reconciliation talks between refugee leaders and government of East Timor.

Sydney Morning Herald - July 23, 2002

Jill Jolliffe, Darwin – Three Australian soldiers are being investigated over an alleged assault on a United Nations employee outside a bar at a military barracks in the East Timorese capital, Dili.

A UN police media officer, Antonio da Silva, said a complaint against the soldiers had been laid by an Irish civilian working for the UN administration.

Jesuit Refugee Service - July 23, 2002

On 22 July more than a thousand East Timor refugees set off on their journey to cross the border from West Timor and return home.

Lusa - July 23, 2002

The Indonesian commander of West Timor said Tuesday there were "one or two people" among his forces who "continued efforts" to derail the repatriation of East Timorese refugees, actions he would "not tolerate".

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, Jakarta – The result of the UN fact-finding mission on how pathetic the country's administration of justice and the judiciary have become has not come as a surprise to the judges and the country's legal circles, who describe corruption as rampant in courtrooms.

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Debbie A. Lubis, Jakarta – Fourteen-year-old Santi plainly retold her life story at Monday's seminar organized by the International Labor Organization-International Program for the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC).

Radio Australia - July 23, 2002

All international calls to a human rights group in the Indonesian province of Papua have been blocked by Telecom Indonesia.

Telecom Indonesia has confirmed all international calls to and from the Elsham Organisation have been blocked temporarily.

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Yemris Fointuna, Atambua – As many as 1,175 East Timorese refugees, or 335 families, including 35 Indonesian soldiers and civil servants, left East Nusa Tenggara on Monday for their newly independent homeland.

Agence France Presse - July 23, 2002

Jakarta – The exiled former commander of militias in East Timor said Tuesday he and his followers are prepared to face justice after they return home, but only following a period of readjustment.

Straits Times - July 23, 2002

Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – Indonesia's legal system has taken a severe knock with a United Nations official describing it as one of the worst he has seen.

Reuters - July 23, 2002

Jakarta – Indonesia's justice minister lashed out on Tuesday at a UN investigator examining the country's judiciary for branding the legal system as among the worst he had seen.

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Edith Hartanto and Yogita Tahilramani, Lhokseumawe – Local community members have joined the Aceh administration in opposing the central government's plan to impose a state of emergency in the restive province to stop decades of separatist fighting.

Sydney Morning Herald - July 23 2002

Lesley McCulloch, Banda Aceh – He speaks in barely a whisper, his mind frozen in the moments of horror when he thought he would die.

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Indonesia passed its first year under the rule of President Megawati Soekarnoputri relatively calmly, allowing the country a break from the restless years under her two predecessors.

Jakarta Post - July 23, 2002

Berni K. Moestafa, Jakarta – Corruption within the country's judiciary is glaring and well-organized, involving all players in the legal system, and is faced by justice seekers at every stage of court procedures, a survey reveals.

July 22, 2002

Agence France Presse - July 22, 2002

An Indonesian general admitted on Monday that some soldiers and civilians have been trying to discourage the tens of thousands of East Timorese refugees in Indonesian West Timor from returning home.

Tempo - July 22, 2002

Darlis M, Palu – The forest damage in Lore Lindu National Park (TNLL), Central Sulawesi, has worsened, according to Indonesian Environment Katopassa Foundation deputy director Ir. Muh. Yamin.

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Kurniawan Hari and Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The decision by the United States Senate Appropriations Committee to endorse the allocation of US$400,000 for the training of the Indonesian Military (TNI) will boost relations between the armed forces of the two countries, according to one military observer.

Straits Times - July 22, 2002

Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia's two leading Muslim groups – the Muhammadiyah and the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) – have vowed to distance themselves from local politicking and instead speak up for the country's moderate Muslims.

Associated Press - July 22, 2002

Jakarta – The armed forces Monday welcomed a move by the US Congress to reinstate military ties with Indonesia, but human rights groups are calling it an endorsement of an abusive and undemocratic institution.

Sydney Morning Herald - July 22, 2002

Malcolm Maiden – Towards the end of 2000, Mark Carnegie, John Wylie and friends, including John Singleton's media group, STW, placed a large bet on the Indonesian television industry.

Straits Times - July 22, 2002

Jakarta – Jakarta police said yesterday they were following up a report that a man said to be carrying US$12 million in bogus cheques and with possible links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network had travelled to Indonesia before arriving in the US.

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Yogita Tahilramani and Edith Hartanto, Jakarta – Those living in strife-torn Aceh, particularly outside the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, have known fear all of their lives.

Laksamana.Net - July 22, 2002

Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais says the government should not hesitate to take drastic measures against "troublemakers" in Aceh rebellious Aceh province.

"If necessary, cut off the hands of those troublemakers," he was quoted as saying by state news agency Antara on Monday.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - July 22, 2002

Washington – East Timor, the world's youngest nation, was due to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank on Tuesday, the lending institutions said.

At a Washington ceremony, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri was scheduled to sign the Articles of Agreement for the Asian country of 800,000 people to join the twin organizations.

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Jakarta – Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea now admits that labor militancy has reached such a fever pitch that it is discouraging investors and undermining the overall business climate.

Lusa - July 22, 2002

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri has rejected domestic and international criticism of a government amnesty and sentence reduction bill under discussion in the East Timorese legislature, saying the proposal aimed precisely to encourage "national debate".

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Damar Harsanto, Jakarta – Ningsih, who is only 11 months old, cannot yet speak, but her eyes, which continually brim with tears, and her loud cry if her mother stops breastfeeding her, may indicate that life is too hard to bear.

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

The number of street children here has increased in the past few years. They can be found at every intersection in the city. When the traffic lights turn red, they approach the cars and beg. Some motorists say they take pity on the children, but others say they are annoying.

Jakarta Post - July 22, 2002

Oyos Saroso H.N., Bandar Lampung – Following a violent clash with security personnel on Thursday, hundreds of striking workers from a PT Budi Dharma Godam Perkasa (BDGP)-owned oil palm plantation in North Lampung have threatened to take over the 2000-hectare plantation because of the management's failure to end a prolonged land dispute.

July 21, 2002

Detikcom - July 21, 2002

Arifin Asydhad, Jakarta – The Chairperson of the Achenese Women's Democratic Organisation (ORPAD), Reihan Diany, has been detained by the Aceh Besar district police since Sunday. The detention of the Achenese woman activist is considered to be an irrational act. Police are therefore being called on to release her.

Jakarta Post - July 21, 2002

Yogita Tahilramani and Edith Hartanto, Mojokerto – Rising at dawn everyday, 60-year-old grandfather Hardjo prays long and hard before he prepares himself for work in the dry, rock-hard fields of Suru village, in the drought-ravaged district of Dawarblandong, Mojokerto regency, East Java.

July 20, 2002

Straits Times - July 20, 2002

Jakarta – Governor Sutiyoso tried to sidestep blame for his administration's handling of Jakarta's problems by blaming poor public discipline in his accountability speech.

Jakarta Post - July 20, 2002

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – The House of Representatives (DPR) ended its session on Friday with House Speaker Akbar Tandjung blaming the public for its legislative shortcomings.

The house managed to approve only three out of 22 bills targeted to be completed during the sitting that started on May 13, Akbar acknowledged.