Jakarta – A government-sponsored bill on marriage could see unregistered and contractual marriages banned, while polygamous marriages could end in jail sentences and fines if conducted in violation of procedures.

Max Lane – Elections for the two houses of Indonesia's national parliament and the provincial parliaments will take place on April 9, at a time of growing dissatisfaction with the parliamentary parties. These elections will be followed in July by what will likely be the first of two rounds to elect a president and vice-president.

[The following article was written in response to an article by Kelik Ismunanto, a leader of Papernas (National Liberation Unity Party) titled "Indonesia: Tracing a path towards parliament" that was published in the December 3 issue of Green Left Weekly.

Jon Lamb – East Timor has passed through the first year of "stability" since the failed assassination attempts in February 2008 on East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

With candidates counting down the days to the April 9 legislative polls, merchants and street vendors in Greater Jakarta still lack information about who to vote for – and in some cases, when. "Honestly, I'm still confused who should I vote for.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The government has been slammed for issuing a regulation-in-lieu-of-law to allow double marking on ballots and to update the permanent voter list.

Jakarta – The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) members are pushing for a constitutional amendment which would formalize press freedom as a pillar of democracy.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Vice President and Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla has called on his supporters to calm down, amid mounting calls for him to declare his presidential bid.

Kalla said he would stick to the party's policy of selecting a presidential candidate based on an internal survey now underway.

Jakarta – Most voters still prefer parties over candidates, despite a Constitutional Court ruling that means parties will have little say in who gets a legislative seat, a survey said Friday.

Panca Nugraha, Mataram – After living in uncertainty at a refugee center in West Nusa Tenggara for three years, 68 members of the Ahmadiyah Islamic sect have decided to risk returning home.

Hotli Simanjuntak, Banda Aceh – Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf underlined here on Friday the importance of the presence of foreign observers in the upcoming legislative elections in Aceh.

Indonesian villagers have trapped and killed their fourth endangered Sumatran tiger amid a flurry of tiger attacks blamed on illegal logging, the environmental group World Wildlife Fund said on Friday.

Four tigers and six people, it said, have been killed on the island of Sumatra this month.

Arientha Primanita – Armed violence erupted again in Papua Province on Friday morning leaving one man injured after a shooting incident by what police believe was a member of the Free Papua Movement, or OPM, separatist group, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said.

The rupiah has weakened again for the seventh straight week, prompting the government to search for new ways to stabilize the volatile currency.

The currency depreciated past Rp 12,000 per dollar for the ninth day in a row on Friday, on what analysts said was concern that global funds were continuing to dump emerging-market assets amid the deepening global recession.

The UN Security Council decided unanimously on Thursday to keep its peacekeeping mission in East Timor for another 12 months, noting that the political and security situation there remains fragile.

Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta appeared before the council last week to urge continued UN assistance to the tiny southeast Asian island nation.

Jakarta – The special committee for missing persons at the House of Representatives has said the government is "not serious" about resolving human rights abuse cases after top government officials defied a second summons for questioning about the disappearances of democracy activists in 1997-1998.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – The National Commission on Human Rights says the displacement of thousands of mudflow victims from their homes in the East Java town of Sidoarjo could be classified as a human rights violation.

ID Nugroho, Surabaya – Hundreds of workers grouped under a number of different organizations staged a rally Wednesday to demand the East Java High Court respect their right to form workers' associations.

Dicky Christanto, Jakarta – The Attorney General's Office (AGO) has bowed to public pressure by removing two graft-tainted officials from their new posts as corruption investigation supervisors.

Jakarta – Reforms within the Indonesian Military (TNI) have remained slow under the administration of retired Army general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a discussion concluded Thursday.

Febriamy Hutapea – With several ministers and other senior officials once again declining to attend a House hearing concerning military abductions of students in the late 1990s, lawmakers on Thursday roundly criticized the government for failing to take serious steps to resolve the issue.

Nivell Rayda – The State Intelligence Agency, or BIN, assured the House of Representatives on Wednesday that there were no known threats that could disrupt the April 9 legislative elections or the presidential election in July.

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – Legislators approved late on Tuesday a provision in the 2009 state budget that enables the government to unleash its much-needed stimulus package, and even increased it by Rp 2 trillion (US$176 million) to help shield the economy from the global economic meltdown.

Jakarta – Minister of Administrative Reforms Taufik Effendy said Tuesday that the first ever accountability evaluation report for state agencies confirmed the bureaucracy was more interested in getting their share of the annual state budget than producing beneficial outcomes for the country.

Angus Grigg – It was a performance to remember, an act of sheer front. Prabowo Subianto, the retired three-star general, spent two hours rewriting history last week in preparation for his tilt at the Indonesian presidency.

The son-in-law of former president Soeharto was deathly funny and worryingly convincing. It was spin of the highest order.

Febriamy Hutapea – The head of the Armed Forces, or TNI, again on Tuesday ordered the military to remain politically neutral during the run-up to legislative and presidential elections this year.

Jakarta – Indonesia has appointed two prosecutors, whom activists allege to be corrupt, to oversee graft investigations as part of its crackdown on corruption, an anti-graft group said Tuesday.

He counts lawmakers and senior officials among his scalps but Indonesia's anti-corruption chief says it could be 20 years before graft entrenched at all levels of government has been cleaned up.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati – The Constitutional Court on Tuesday handed another victory to the country's dominant political parties, ruling that print and electronic media were not required to give all political parties equal opportunity in carrying campaign advertisements.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla has received a much-needed boost of support from party heavyweights in his uphill battle to contest the presidency next July.

On Tuesday, Vice President Kalla met with Golkar chief advisor and media tycoon Surya Paloh at the vice presidential office for a discussion that appeared more a consultation.

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person

Aleksius Jemadu, Tangerang, Banten – Among the retired generals who have nominated themselves for the presidency, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto, former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) chief, is the most aggressive in terms of the use of television advertisements and the consolidation of party constituents at the regional level.

Jakarta – Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Djoko Santoso said Monday that widespread vandalism, intimidation, threats, attacks and even murder could occur during the 2009 polls in Aceh province.

The Australia Secretary for International Development Assistance, Bob McMullan, says his government discusses issues around Papua with Indonesia a lot.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – Plaintiffs have demanded a judicial review of the 2008 pornography law by the Constitutional Court, saying the law had turned the country's cultural diversity into uniformity.

Indra Harsaputra and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Surabaya – Victims of the Lapindo mudflow disaster remain skeptical of the new pledge made by the Bakrie Family to pay disaster compensation in phases.

Dessy Sagita – Environmental activists on Monday urged the Jakarta Administration to temporarily halt its car-free days on selected city roads, saying a re-evaluation was needed because the event had failed to reduce air pollution and loose regulations have resulted in many violations, including those by senior officials.

Heru Andriyanto – Critics on Monday attacked the Attorney General's Office for its decision to entrust two officials who were at the center of a major bribery case last year with corruption cases at the district and provincial levels.

Beni Sukadis – More than 10 years have passed since Indonesia first sought to restructure the relationship among the Indonesian Armed Forces, or TNI, the Ministry of Defense and the central government. Systemic change, however, has been slow to take root.

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAU-004-2009

Dear Friends,

Jakarta – A former son-in-law of Indonesian dictator Suharto who is running for president said Friday his "conscience is clear" over human rights abuses he committed as a senior army general.

Multa Fidrus, Banten – Thousands of industrial firms in Banten province are believed to be causing environmental damage which has triggered unpredictable weather cycles.

Based on a recent study conducted by the Banten Environment Care Foundation (Yapelh), some 4,013 industrial firms contribute a great deal to land, air and water pollution.

Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla said Saturday that it would take a courageous "thug" who dared to face risks to lead the country to a better future. If everybody acted like a bureaucrat, he said, Indonesia would never improve.

Election fever mounts as candidates discuss strategic alliances and running mates, but academic and Indonesia expert Max Lane says this may be an election characterized by disappointment – for candidates and constituents alike.

The international community has lauded Indonesia for its success in resolving years of conflicts in Aceh as well as its ability to quickly rebuild the province after the tsunami disaster that struck the province in December 2006. The bloody conflict between the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the tsunami have had an deep impact on Aceh women.

An Australian activist says his government is going the wrong way about improving relations with Indonesia if it continues to ignore the West Papua issue.

This follows last week's conference in Sydney on Bilateral Relations called "Australia and Indonesia: Partners in a New Era".

Aditya Suharmoko, Jakarta – The government will continue trying to improve the investment climate, which has been reformed since 2005, to attract more investment to stimulate the country's economy, according to senior ministry officials.

Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – With Vice President Jusuf Kalla gearing up for a presidential bid, the country's political constellation is realigning as parties look ahead to the possibilities now opening up.

Elites from old and new parties applauded the readiness of Golkar chairman Kalla to contest the presidency, saying it would provide more options for coalitions.

Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says he is not bothered by Vice President Jusuf Kalla's decision to stand as his rival in the presidential election this July, a statement many view as the Democratic Party's farewell bid to the Golkar Party.

Tom Allard, Jakarta – A Soeharto-era commander of Indonesia's notorious Kopassus special forces unit has a novel way of deflecting concerns about grave human rights abuses on his watch as he contests this year's national elections: he has hired some of the activists abducted and beaten by his troops as campaign workers and legislative candidates.