Jakarta – The move by the House of Representatives to provide a new monthly allowance of Rp 10 million (about US$1,000) for fellow lawmakers drew strong criticism on Friday.

All 550 House members will receive the new allowances for six months starting in November, reportedly as compensation for the recent fuel price hike.

The Australia West Papua Association (Sydney) believes it is now time for West Papua to be granted observer status at the upcoming Pacific Islands Forum in PNG.

AWPA congratulates the Forum leaders for admitting French Polynesia as a Forum observer at last year's meeting in Apia, Samoa

West Papua has always been considered part of the Pacific Community.

Jakarta – The governments of Indonesia and Timor Leste have agreed that neither country should use the land around disputed borders at present to avoid possible clashes among people living in the areas, an official said on Friday.

Jakarta – Lawmakers have turned a cold shoulder to the Constitutional Court's ruling that obliges the government to increase the education budget, citing financial constraints as their rationale.

Emir Moeis, who heads the House of Representative's state budgetary committee, said the issue had to be viewed pragmatically as the funds simply were not there.

Jakarta – Murdered rights campaigner Munir had requested stomach medication from the Garuda crew prior to takeoff at Changi airport, and began to complain about an upset stomach about an hour after the plane took off, a witness said.

Ati Nurbaiti, Jakarta – Karen P. Hughes, a leading US image builder and deputy to US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice, told students here on Friday that she hoped to get to know their hopes for their country, and about how Indonesian-US ties could be improved. But hardly anyone was interested.

Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung – After the government raised fuel prices early this month, Bandung textile businessman Satya Natapura could only pray for a miracle for his business to survive.

Previously, his business suffered a 35 percent increase in production costs following the government's decision to raise fuel prices in March as well as power rates and road tolls.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government's intention of introducing draconian legislation to fight terrorism appears likely to face a long hard slog after politicians and human rights campaigners roundly criticized the proposal.

Theresia Sufa, Bogor – As demand for firewood increases following the 200 percent price hike on kerosene, hundreds of low-income people living in the vicinity of the Gunung Walat research forest in Cicantayan – an hour south of Bogor – have begun cutting down trees for firewood to cook with or sell.

Tangerang – Dozens of disadvantaged people in Kronjo subdistrict, Tangerang regency, ran amok on Friday morning, demanding that they too be given the quarterly Rp 300,000 cash handout from the central government.

They destroyed the subdistrict administration's offices and then demanded that the subdistrict head appear before them.

Lhokseumawe – Iskandar Muda Military chief Lt. Gen. Supiadin AS has said that despite the peace process in Aceh, blackmailing practices and criminal acts against the general public has increased.

Blontank Poer, Sukoharjo – Police officers declared the leader of a Muslim militant group a suspect on Thursday, three days after he led a mob attack on restaurants selling alcoholic drinks.

Surabaya – Four students suffered light injuries after a clash with the police during the latest protests in Surabaya on Thursday as they were expressing staunch opposition to the government's recent move to raise fuel prices.

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee has sent an urgent fax to newly elected Prime Minister Rt Hon Helen Clark urging her to ensure that West Papua is highlighted at this year's Pacific Islands Forum.

A federal judge said Indonesian villagers can sue Exxon Mobil Corp. over allegations the Irving-based company contributed to human rights abuses by government security forces.

Jakarta - The first anniversary of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Jusuf Kalla (SBY-JK) on Thursday October 20 was accompanied by demonstrations in a number of place in Indonesia including in front of the State Palace (Jakarta), Solo (Central Java) and Palembang (South Sumatra).

Mark Forbes Jakarta and Cynthia Banham – Indonesia and East Timor have played down border clashes involving mobs backed by Jakarta's troops, saying they could resolve the building tensions.

East Timor's Foreign Minister, Jose Ramos Horta, said he retained faith in the Indonesian leadership, but yesterday rushed to the Oecussi region, where the violence happened.

Fabio Scarpello, Jakarta – Indonesia's renewed "war on terror" in the wake of the latest round of bombings on Bali could pave the way for renewed politicization of the country's military, analysts believe.

Jakarta – The economic hardship faced by businesses, in particular due to the recent fuel prices hike, may result in up to 1 million workers losing their jobs by the end of the year, a minister says.

Jakarta – The United States administration has supported the Indonesian government's plan to establish a tougher antiterror body and counterterrorism legislations, but said it has no intention to intervene in the process.

Rendi A. Witular, Jakarta – Vice President Jusuf Kalla denied reports that the government would restrict the activities of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) as part of the fight against terrorism, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said on Thursday.

Jakarta – Maj. Gen. Herry Tjahyana, the Udayana IX Military chief, has said that the bombings in Kuta and Jimbaran on October 1, were due to the weaknesses of territorial commands in carrying out intelligence functions. "We are willing to acknowledge this," stated Tjahyana on Thursday (20/10).

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – Large-scale raids to find those responsible for the latest Bali bombings have caused unease among some sections of the public, and those who feel they have been unfairly treated have been urged to file complaints against the police.

Jakarta – Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla has said that terrorism must be handled with stern measures. According to Kalla, all people must work hard, including the police and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Jakarta – Fifteen US senators from the Republican and Democrat Parties have written to Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Fahmi Idris this week, conveying their concerns over child domestic labor in Indonesia.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – A Dutch parliamentarian called on the international community to stop questioning the status of Papua as the territory's incorporation into Indonesia under the United Nations-sanctioned 1969 Act of Free Choice was final.

Passabe, East Timor – Foreign Minister Josi Ramos Horta said Thursday that recent incidents on the border between East Timor and Indonesian West Timor in Dili's Oecussi enclave, were carried out by former anti-independence militiamen.

Mark Dodd – A mob backed by Indonesian troops has crossed into East Timor, attacked a border patrol and set fire to buildings, threatening the fragile peace between the two nations.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – The Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM) demanded on Wednesday that the Indonesian Military (TNI) punish a TNI soldier accused of shooting four members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) in Peudawa, East Aceh.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The Indonesian Military (TNI) will likely retain many of its businesses, despite a law mandating that the government take over all the military's enterprises to improve its professionalism.

Jakarta – A year after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came to power vowing to fight Indonesia's rampant corruption more needs to be done to bring the main perpetrators to justice, observers and analysts say.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Despite a number of decisions that many consider burdensome to the public during his first year in office, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has managed to keep his support intact.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, will monitor Islamic boarding schools as part of its effort to fight militant violence and suicide bombings, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said.

Even before he stepped into Merdeka Palace, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's legacy had been assured. As the first-ever democratically elected Indonesian president, Susilo was the progeny of trial and error, part of this nation's desire to construct a more representational, fairer, system of governance.

Ridwan Max Sijabat, Jakarta – Under President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was democratically elected, indicators of democracy in the country have remained poor, a human rights group says.

Blontank Poerwoko, Surakarta – A middle-ranking police officer here was removed from his post on Wednesday, a day after Muslim hard-liners raided at least two local restaurants and destroyed hundreds of bottles of alcoholic beverages.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A noted human rights activist lashed out on Tuesday at the government's move to compromise on individual basic rights in its fight against terrorism.

Hera Diani, Jakarta – Despite the country's efforts to combat corruption, Indonesia remains one of the world's corrupt nations according to the latest annual report from the Berlin-based Transparency International (TI).

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono came to power a year ago after a landslide victory with promises to fight rampant corruption. His unprecedented campaign has rooted out small-time corruption as well as major graft involving top government officials, legislators and officials in state-owned companies and banks.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – How did President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono do in his first year in office? Since we are now in the habit of giving marks for our leaders, at the risk of being jeered, I am giving him a score of 7 out of 10. If six is a passing grade, SBY did more than just passing this year.

Jakarta – Pollycarpus Budihari Priyanto, a key suspect in the murder case of top human rights campaigner Munir, rarely sat in his seat during the Sept. 6, 2004 flight from Jakarta to Singapore when the arsenic that killed Munir was believed to have been given, according to witnesses.

Jakarta – The TNI pulled out another 2,163 soldiers from Aceh on Tuesday as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) completed their second round of weapons decommissioning as part of the terms of the peace agreement that will end more than three decades of war.

Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, Mataram – Hundreds of people attacked and vandalized local government offices on Tuesday in West Lombok and Tangerang, signaling that public frustration is growing over the messy distribution of fuel compensation money across the archipelago.

Multa Fidrus, Tangerang – When it was reported that the head of their subdistrict was unavailable to meet with them, some 500 residents of several villages in Tangerang, Banten ran amok, pelting his office with rocks.

Aguswandi, Banda Aceh – Ten months after the tsunami, and six months after the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) was established, the reconstruction of Aceh is still in trouble. I am not talking here about the pace of reconstruction.

Bill Tarrant, Lamteungoh – Putri's baby is big. At 4 kg, baby Angi is, in fact, huge by the natal standards of Indonesia – all the more remarkable since her mother has been living in a grim tsunami survivors' camp throughout her pregnancy.

Jakarta – The Press Council and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) have urged the police to quickly investigate and solve a case of alleged violence against a Medan-based journalist who disappeared almost two months ago after running stories on irregularities in a local election.

Nani Afrida, Banda Aceh – Reconstruction projects in tsunami-devastated Aceh have been too slow over the past 10 months, leading to popular frustration, a top UN official said on Sunday.

Jakarta – The second phase of disarmament in Aceh has been extended as the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has not yet handed over the target number of weapons needed to be surrendered under the peace deal.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – The government is drafting a bill on the Aceh administration, which may dash the hopes of former Aceh rebels to contest posts in the regional administration under their own regional party.