[Max Lane spoke to the Socialist Party of Timor's (PST) secretary-general, Avelino da Silva Coelho, in the wake of East Timor's June 30 parliamentary elections, in which the PST received 0.96% of the vote.]
No party or figure from the national liberation movement achieved more than 29% in the parliamentary elections. How do you explain that?
Mark Dodd – A District Court judge in Dili has overturned a presidential decree offering amnesty to East Timor army rebel Major Alfredo Reinado.
The decision is a big embarrassment to the UN mission in Dili whose mandate includes reforming the country's notoriously weak justice sector.
Dili – Rival parties in East Timor have failed to agree on the formation of a new government, the president said Tuesday (July 24th), raising the prospect of political deadlock in the tiny nation.
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo and Ary Hermawan, Jakarta/Sanur – Several human rights NGOs have criticized the fourth session of the joint Indonesia and Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) in Bali, saying it was summoning more "actors" in than victims of the aftermath of the 1999 referendum that led East Timor's secession from Indonesia.
Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam governor Irwandi Jusuf agree the establishment of a local political party should have legal grounding.
"Aceh's governor has agreed the process of forming a new local party should be based on laws or other rulings," State Secretary Hatta Rajasa told Detik.com news portal.
Kanis Dursin and Alia, Jakarta – With more than 20 plays under her belt, you would think senior director Ratna Sarumpaet would have no problem finding investors for her film, particularly if the proposed production was a big screen adaptation of her play that won rave reviews.
Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – Thousands of workers from two local shoe manufacturing companies staged a rally Monday to extend their demands for American sportswear giant Nike Inc. to restore contracts with their employers.
Filep Karma a West Papuan political prisoner has been on hunger strike in prison in Jayapura. He went on hunger strike after receiving a letter from the authorities saying that he and fellow prisoner Yusak Pakage, would be moved from prison in Jayapura to a prison in Jakarta.
HS Dillon, Jakarta – Despite evident shortcomings, one of the outstanding features of post-Soeharto reform has been the devolution of considerable authority to the regions. This includes Papua, where, dating back from the Dutch colonial days, the institutional setup and policy-making has not favored ethnic Papuans.
Triono Wahyu Sudibyo, Semarang – Muria community representatives met with members of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) on July 24 to ask them to oppose the planned construction of a nuclear power plant (PLTN) in Semenanjung Muria, Jepara regency, Central Java, in 2010.
Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – As part of its effort to alleviate poverty, the government has launched a new program that is expected to be more successful than previous poverty eradication programs and will not "miss the proper targets".
Nana Rukmana, Jakarta/Cirebon – In a split decision the Anti-Corruption Court sentenced former maritime affairs and fisheries minister Rokhmin Dahuri to seven years prison for corruption Monday, one year more than the prosecutors had demanded.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri, Jakarta – Following pressure from pro-democracy groups, failed independent candidates and student groups, the Constitutional Court has decided to allow independent candidates to contest local elections, annulling some points in the Regional Autonomy Law.
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Government officials will just have to put up with their cramped offices and bring their own pens into work next year as the government plans to divert money away from the bureaucracy so as to increase spending on new roads and public welfare.
Ben Terrall – In a June 8 "web memo," The Heritage Foundation called Indonesia "a large, vibrant democracy and a key piece of the geostrategic puzzle in Asia." The right wing Washington think tank went on to describe Jakarta as "among the United States' most important partners in the War on Terror."
Rizal Sukma, Jakarta – The decision by the Constitutional Court last week to scrap two undemocratic clauses in Indonesia's Criminal Code should indeed be celebrated. Using the two clauses, articles 154 and 155, the state could send anyone to jail for what it considered defamation against the government.
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesia is now formally on the vanguard of the global green energy movement. A new energy law approved last week aims to reduce significantly the economy's dependence on imported refined oil while boosting the use of other energy sources, including natural gas, biofuels and geothermal supplies.
As Asia this month marks a decade since the region went into a deep financial crisis, one might well ask, what exactly has Indonesia been doing these last 10 years? The short answer is that we have been reinventing ourselves. The slightly longer answer is that this has been a difficult and painful process, and that we have had mixed results.
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Recent improvements in Indonesia's macroeconomic indicators are bringing about confidence in the economy as a whole, with the central bank's latest survey showing estimates of higher growth built on more investment and a continued increase in bank lending for the year.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Labor exporters and activists have called on President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to evaluate the implementation of a 2006 presidential instruction on rapid, cheap and safe labor exports following a rift between Manpower and Transmigration Minister Erman Suparno and chairman of the government-sponsored National Labor Placement and Protection Agency Jumhur
Binny Buchori, Jakarta – What do we remember about the economic crisis of 10 years ago?
John A. Prasetio, Jakarta – A decade ago, almost without warning, the Asian economic crisis arrived to challenge the "East Asia Miracle" thesis of the World Bank. Indeed, in the spring of 1997, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicted that East Asia could continue to average 7 percent annual growth for decades.
James Castle, Jakarta – For anyone involved in business or policy in developing Asia, the boom and bust of the 1990s are the defining events of the last twenty years. A decade has passed since the floating of the Thai Baht on July 2, 1997 precipitated a series of currency devaluations and other financial catastrophes that are now collectively known as "The Asian Crisis".
Vincent Lingga, Jakarta – In early July 1997, when the Thai baht crashed and lost more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar immediately after the Bank of Thailand floated the local unit, Indonesia was an innocent, unaffected bystander, its rupiah stable at around Rp 2,500 to the dollar.
Udin – At least 200 victims of the Aceh conflict from the Fraternal Solidarity for Victims of Human Rights Violations (SPKP HAM) demonstrated at the Aceh Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) on the afternoon of Monday July 23. They were calling on the government to immediately form a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (KKR) to resolve past humanitarian crimes.
Jakarta – The official campaign period for Jakarta's first-ever direct gubernatorial election kicked off on Sunday. We'll be following Fauzi Bowo and Prijanto's fight against Adang Daradjatun and Dani Anwar for the top spot with our special election coverage from today to Aug. 8.
Jakarta – A lawmaker, a government minister and a political expert called for a restructuring of the political system during a weekend seminar, saying the present system has numerous loopholes and flaws.
Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – As corporate social responsibility (CSR) becomes mandatory in the new law on corporations, analysts warn the implementation of the legislation could be abused by politicians.
Dili – The rumble of a generator and the whir of ceiling fans muffled the quiet words of a judge as he questioned a witness in a murder trial one recent hot, still afternoon.
But even if they could have heard him, most of the people sprinkled through the little courtroom – including the defendant and the witnesses – could not have understood what he was saying.
Ary Hermawan, Sanur/Bali – The Indonesia-Timor Leste Commission of Truth and Friendship (CTF) will begin its fourth hearing session here today with only seven key witnesses in attendance.
James Dunn – Jill Jolliffe's report detailing Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's involvement in the torture of prisoners in East Timor (Canberra Times, Saturday, July 14) raises questions that go well beyond the NSW coronial search for those responsible for the Balibo murders.
Dili – Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at gangs of youths in East Timor's capital Sunday, after an explosion went off at a base for Australian troops and houses were set ablaze, officials and witnesses said.
At least six people were injured in the violence, which occurred days after politicians failed to decide who should lead a new coalition government.
[Dreamseekers: Indonesian Women as Domestic Workers in Asia by Dewi Anggraeni. Equinox, Jakarta (2006) pp. 250.]
Tony Smith, Contributor, Bathurst – In the 19th Century, Dutch colonists sent landless East Indies peasants to Suriname and New Caledonia to labor in plantations.
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) has accused the government of encouraging deforestation by allowing eight industrial timber plantation companies to cut down trees in Riau province beyond the legal limit.
Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Crystal clear jurisdiction of military tribunals is essential in curbing impunity and achieving transparency toward a more professional military, the Indonesian Human Rights Monitor (Imparsial) group noted Friday.
Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – The campaign for Jakarta's gubernatorial election officially kicks off Monday amid gloomy predictions from pundits and naysayers of a very low voter turnout, either because of the low registration rate or threats of a boycott by voters discontented with the system and the limited number of candidates.
Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – The government hopes to reduce unemployment and poverty by diverting some routine spending in 2008 to help finance infrastructure development in the regions.
The newly passed Jakarta Special Administrative Law can be seen as promoting democracy in Jakarta, though only timidly, but lacks all the articles to necessary to transform Jakarta into a modern, humane metropolitan city.
Jakarta – Jakarta Industrial Relations Court decided Thursday that retail giant Sogo must reemploy 45 staff who were fired due to the closing of the chain's Plaza Indonesia branch in Central Jakarta early this year.
Nani Afrida, Berastagi – Five years after sharia was first implemented in Aceh, many residents, especially villagers, still do not fully understand it, an Islamic group says.
Many residents are unsure about its implementation, while some groups have politicized it, resulting in a focus on punishments like public caning and the requirement for women to wear a headscarf.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – As in previous sitting periods, the House of Representatives seemed to spend little time passing laws to benefit the people, and lots of time criticizing the administration.
Speaker Agung Laksono said the House has yet to give equal attention to its legislative, budgetary and oversight tasks.
Jakarta – An activist and the widow of slain rights campaigner Munir Said Thalib have asked the Attorney General's Office to provide more evidence in seeking a review of a Supreme Court acquittal of the main suspect in the murder case.
Jakarta – A recent survey by a coalition of non-governmental organizations active in the education sector found schools are still illegally making parents pay to register their children as new students.
Calls for the release of prisoners jailed under Indonesia's draconian 'hate-sowing' laws, including Papuans Filep Karma and Yusak Pakage, have been reiterated today by TAPOL, which promotes human rights, peace and democracy in Indonesia.
An expert in criminal law told the Constitutional Court on Thursday that a regulation stipulating that ex-convicts cannot run for office is unjust and discriminative.
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – A voter education group distributed educational brochures for the gubernatorial election Thursday to encourage people to use their right to vote.
Volunteers from the People's Voter Education Network stood at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Central Jakarta to give brochures to passing vehicles.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives decided Thursday to suspend finalizing its proposed interpellation motion over the Sidoarjo mudflow after the House Consultative Body agreed not to include the issue in Friday's House closing plenary session.
Andi Haswidi, Jakarta – Despite strong protests from the business community, the House of Representatives will press ahead with its plan to make corporate social responsibility (CSR) legally mandatory, albeit in a diluted form.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Legislators said Thursday the government should be able to allocate more money for the education sector, while thousands of teachers from Banten and West Java provinces marched through Jakarta to demand action on education.
Mustaqim Adamrah, Jakarta – The Indonesian Survey Institute (LSI) says more than 65 percent of eligible voters in Jakarta will not cast ballots in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial election.
The research center defines this non-voting group as eligible voters who were left off voter lists and those who have been registered but will not exercise their right to vote.