The central government has issued Government Regulation Number 20/2007 on Local Political Parties in Aceh. The decision was announced at the State Palace yesterday. The following is a summary by Aceh Kita's editors of the government regulation that so many have been waiting for.
Definition of a local political party
Article 1
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The poor quality of the city's water is making children more vulnerable to diseases and deficiencies, particularly those living in slum neighborhoods, a health official said Tuesday.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Hundreds of farmers and activists staged a demonstration outside the House of Representatives on Tuesday, protesting against the bill on capital investment.
They demanded that the House and the government discuss the contents of the bill in public before endorsing it.
Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta – Political parties are revealing undemocratic tendencies in choosing their candidates for governor of Jakarta, with elites ending up having the final say, an analyst says.
Ika Krismantari, Jakarta – Major mining companies issued a 'white paper' Tuesday, calling on the government to retain the Contract of Work (CoW) system under the proposed new mining law if it wanted to avoid creating a major impediment to new investment.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has approved a bill to overhaul the elections system, requiring the government to establish a new general elections commission and an independent supervisory board.
Vannessa Hearman – Suciwati, the widow of Munir, the prominent Indonesian human rights activist killed by arsenic poisoning aboard a plane in 2004, visited Australia in February to call on the Australian government to help pressure Jakarta to resolve the case.
Rini Kustiani, Jakarta – A volunteer who has been working in Aceh since the tsunami disaster submitted a judicial review of the hate sowing articles in the Criminal Code to the Constitutional Court on Wednesday March 21.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The House of Representatives has passed a long-awaited bill on human trafficking carrying a maximum 15-year jail sentence and/or a maximum fine of Rp 5 billion for involvement in the human trade.
The bill requires traffickers to pay compensation for victims' material and immaterial losses suffer.
Max Lane – On April 9, East Timor will hold its second presidential election, which will be followed by parliamentary elections. The East Timorese political system combines a president, who is commander-in-chief of the army and who has veto powers over legislation, with an executive cabinet headed by a prime minister who is elected by the parliament.
Stephen Skinner – Timorese people are starving on our doorstep. That's the blunt report being received in Darwin by former Territory Government agricultural scientist Rob Wesley-Smith, who's better known as a long-time East Timor activist.
Dili – A fugitive East Timor rebel leader, who has eluded a manhunt by crack Australian troops, is at the centre of fears that unrest could mar the country's landmark presidential election next month.
Bagus Kurniawan, Yogyakarta – Dozens of students in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta held a demonstration on Tuesday March 20 condemning the US invasion of Iraq and demanding that US troops leave Iraq immediately.
Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – Teachers, scholars, activists and members of the public are joining hands to file a petition and a legal action against a recent ban issued by the Attorney General's Office on a number of history textbooks.
The AGO's ruling is philosophically unconstitutional and technically faulty, scholars and activists say.
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – The opening of a new US$1.1 billion gas pipeline would appear to mark a rejuvenation of Indonesia's until now woefully inefficient natural-gas sector and boost the fortunes of publicly listed, majority state-owned gas-distribution company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).
Luhur Hertanto, Jakarta – Like any other ordinary household, the Presidential Palace also faces common problems that affect other homes. One of these is when the septic tank overflows.
Zainal Effendi, Surabaya – Scores of protesters from the National Student Front (FMN) demonstrated at the East Java Regional Police Headquarters on Jl. Achmad Yani in the provincial capital of Surabaya on Tuesday March 20 demanding the release of recently detained farmers and condemning US agression in Iraq.
Imron Rosyid, Solo – The Indonesian History Community (KSI) has condemned the decision by the Attorney General to prohibit 13 historical book titles by 10 publishers from being used as texts in primary and secondary high schools.
Jakarta – Indonesia's new air transport chief said that airlines revealed next week to have neglected safety standards will have three months to comply – or be closed down, a report said Sunday.
An alleged leader of the Jemaah Islamiah militant group said bombings in Indonesia had hurt Islam's cause there, but warned of more attacks by small terrorist groups working independently and influenced by internet teachings.
Palembang – More than 30 cases of environmental destruction, mostly in the form of pollution created by the oil and gas industries, were recorded over the past three years across South Sumatra.
Adisti Sukma Sawitri and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The decision by the majority of political parties in Jakarta to support current Deputy Governor Fauzi Bowo in August's gubernatorial election is not without consequences, say analysts.
Ary Hermawan, Jakarta – The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) has urged the government to annul its recent deal with US giant software producer Microsoft for the use of the latter's software in state offices and institutions.
M. Taufiqurrahman and Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The President on Friday denied backing a clause in a new political bill requiring presidential candidates have at least a bachelor's degree in an attempt to thwart his rivals in the 2009 presidential election.
Fery Firmansyah, Jakarta – The National Commission for Protecting Children has revealed that there are approximately 17 cases of child-rape every month in Jakarta. Half of the sex crimes ended in murders.
"This is really worrying," said Secretary General of the National Commission for Protecting Children Arist Merdeka Sirait yesterday (03/15).
Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – Incumbent Jakarta deputy governor Fauzi Bowo has received the backing of a giant political coalition for the city's upcoming gubernatorial election.
Jakarta – Indonesia is the world's fastest destroyer of forests, eradicating 300 football fields' worth every hour, environmental group Greenpeace said Friday as it staged a demonstration.
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo and M. Taufiqurrahman, Jakarta – An official fact-finding team proposed Thursday that the government revamp the aviation industry and shut down airlines that ignore safety regulations, following a series of recent deadly accidents.
East Timor's fugitive rebel leader Alfredo Reinado fired on Australian troops before they shot back, killing five of his supporters, Australia's military commander in the country says.
Brigadier Mal Rerden yesterday said Australian troops, who had Reinado surrounded at his mountain base earlier this month, did everything they could to convince him to surrender.
Juwono Sudarsono, Jakarta – The most urgent issue facing Indonesia today is poverty reduction. Measured in terms of income, poverty affects 48 percent of Indonesia's total population of 220 million. The government's Medium Term Development Program aims to reduce poverty from 18.2 percent in 2004 to approximately 8.4 percent by 2009.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A midtern survey on Indonesian voters' political preferences has signaled the possible return to center stage of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Political parties are at odds over new political bills proposed by the government ahead of the 2009 general elections, with minority parties warning of political instability during the elections if the bills are passed in their current form.
It has been eight years since the so-called 'reformation' was launched. It has also been eight years since extraordinary human rights abuse have nearly been forgotten. Regimes come and go, but since then, when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was in power, there has been no justice available to modern day victims.
Anissa S. Febrina, Jakarta – "What do you know about the G30S (September 30th movement)?" The Jakarta Post asked an 11th grader at state elementary school No. 3 in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, on Tuesday.
Jakarta – Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said Wednesday that his office did not have the legal grounds to proceed with an investigation into the 1998-1999 Trisakti, Semanggi I and Semanggi II shootings.
Jakarta – While Indonesia has reached the 2005 global cure rate target for tuberculosis, it still remains the most deadly communicable disease in the country, particularly in eastern regions.
Peter Boyle – On March 4, hundreds of armed right-wing militia, calling themselves the Indonesian Anti-Communist Front (FAKI), attacked the East Java regional conference of the National Liberation Party of Unity (Papernas) at Hotel Selekta in Batu City. The same militia group attacked Papernas's founding national conference in January.
Depok – The Depok municipal administration has been urged to pass a bylaw on domestic violence in a bid to reduce cases of abuse against children and women.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The attempt of relatives of victims of the 1998 and 1999 Trisakti and Semanggi shooting incidents to have their cases tried at a special ad hoc rights court ended in disappointment Tuesday when the House of Representatives rejected plans to have the cases heard in a plenary session.
Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, Jakarta – The new air transportation chief has vowed there will be tough consequences for airlines disregarding safety procedures.
Budhi Muliawan Suyitno, appointed director general for air transportation on Tuesday, said he would rank the safety standards of all airlines in Indonesia. "We will suspend airlines at the bottom of the list," he said.
Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has won high marks from both the United States and Australia for his government's efforts to combat terrorism, including the recent capture or elimination of at least 200 terror suspects. But a new front may be opening in strife-torn Sulawesi.
[The following letter was written by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Progressio and TAPOL.]
Francisco Guterres (Lu'Olo)
President of the National Parliament
National Parliament
Dili Timor-Leste
14 March 2007
Dear Mr Guterres,
Mark Dodd, Dili – The UN has admitted holding talks with the lawyers for East Timor army fugitive Alfredo Reinado after twice denying it was involved in negotiations to secure his surrender.
Dili – Street violence and worries about renegade soldiers are disrupting preparations for next month's elections in East Timor – polls seen as crucial to the tiny nation's future – an official said Wednesday.
Jayapura – The future of nature conservation water catchment areas in the Papuan cities of Jayapura and Sentani is under threat from rampant illegal logging.
4,330 people have illegally settled in the conservation areas – known as Cycloop – thanks to lax government control.
Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Police are attempting to persuade two quarreling tribes in Yoparu village, Paniai, Papua, to end their bloody clash, in which nine people have been killed and dozens of others wounded.
Muchus Budi R., Solo – Scores of people demonstrated at the Gladag roundabout in the Central Java city of Solo on March 13 opposing the ratification of the Draft Law on Capital Investment because it fails to side with the interests of the people.
The Rp 1.38 trillion (US$152 million) loan syndication agreement between PT Semesta Marga Raya and a lender consortium led by state-owned Bank BNI and Bank Rakyat Indonesia for the construction of a 35-kilometer toll road in West and Central Java should not have caused a furor.
Jakarta – The government plans to coordinate all three branches of the Indonesian Military (TNI) next year, the defense minister said Monday.
The Navy, Army and Air Force will work on one task timeframe and towards one long-term target in order to create an efficient and effective military.
Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – The labor commission at the House of Representatives has questioned the annual dividend paid to the government by state-owned workers' insurance company PT Jamsostek.