Abdul Khalik, Jakarta – Amid the hoopla over the city's high crime rate, some police officers are making a quick buck by working as security guards. Security services are in high demand due the recent crime wave in the city.

The Indonesia Human Rights Committee is calling on the Australian Prime Minister and Immigration Minister to release the 43 West Papuan asylum seekers detained on Christmas Island. They should be given protection or bridging visas and their refugee claims should be processed on the Australian mainland with the help of independent legal assistance.

Playboy bunnies have been around for more than 50 years, but they've never quite made their mark in Indonesia. But that's all about to change with a local version of Playboy magazine about to hit the newstands. The move has angered conservative Indonesians and fuelled a growing public debate on pornography.

Presenter/Interviewer: Bernadette Nunn

Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Eleventh-hour lobbying paid off for the government Tuesday when most House factions refused to back a proposal to probe the controversial rice import policy.

Bill Guerin, Jakarta – Recent comments by Indonesian Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Sugiharto that Jakarta planned to "buy back" a stake in publicly listed Indosat, the country's second-largest telecommunications operator, raised eyebrows in Singapore.

Jakarta, Mataram/Kupang – The central government on Tuesday began laying out plans to assist flood victims in West Nusa Tenggara, while it found itself on the defensive over the effectiveness of its reforestation programs.

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta – Indonesia's economy is set for moderate growth this year as the country struggles to recuperate from last year's slowdown amid lingering high oil prices, a weak investment climate and possible electricity and wage hikes.

Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone
Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs
Suite MF 40 Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

25 January 2006

Dear Senator Vanstone,

Jon Lamb – On January 12, Australia and East Timor signed a deal establishing a 50-50 split of royalties from the lucrative Greater Sunrise gas field in the Timor Sea.

Washington – East Timor needs a continued United Nations presence after the scheduled pullout of the UNOTIL mission in May, particularly to prepare for elections and train police to prevent border tensions with Indonesia, President Xanana Gusmao has told the UN Security Council.

Rita A.Widiadana, Denpasar – The classic picture-postcard views of Bali, with its gorgeous multitiered rice fields and toiling farmers, could soon cease to exist as more and more villagers decide they can make more money selling their land than working it.

Jakarta – Human rights activists plan to file a review with the Judicial Commission on Tuesday questioning the integrity of the justices handling the 1984 Tanjung Priok killings.

The move was made after a panel of Supreme Court justices overruled in mid-January an appeal filed by the prosecutors against Maj. Gen. (ret) Pranowo, the then Jakarta Military Police chief.

Jakarta – A woman is paraded through the streets for public scorn simply because her clothes are deemed too revealing. Another is struck by a "morality enforcer" for the crime of neglecting to wear her headscarf while sitting on her porch.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Protesters stormed the Papua legislative council building Monday, demanding Indonesian Military (TNI) soldiers be withdrawn from the province.

The protest follows an incident in Wegete, Paniai, on Friday, in which security personnel fired on a crowd of civilians, killing one.

Guido Guilliart, Dili – An internationally funded report supports claims that Indonesian soldiers intentionally killed five foreign journalists who were covering Jakarta's 1975 invasion of East Timor.

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – With continuing questions over its role in safeguarding the property of private companies, the military has asked for clear regulations to provide a "legal umbrella" for its personnel.

The East Timorese have two tetchy, uncharitable neighbours in Indonesia and Australia, neither willing to lend a genuine hand to the nation, says Peter Kammerer

The government's completed Aceh administration bill will allow the Acehnese to set up local political parties, as mandated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and the now-defunct Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

The Regional Representatives Council (DPD) and local investment agencies have urged the central government to ensure more consistency in investment permit regulations as many foreign investors are reluctant to do business here due to a lack of legal uncertainty.

Jakarta/Kupang – Floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains have claimed lives in three provinces, including the resort islands of Bali and Lombok.

Emmy Kuswandari, Jakarta – After a period of reducing the number of military personnel tasked with guarding vital installations such as ExxonMobil and Freeport, the TNI (Indonesian military) will again be increasing troops numbers assisting these companies.

Leony Aurora, Jakarta – Lack of legal certainty continues to dissuade investors from exploring mining prospects in Indonesia, particularly with a bill introducing a licensing scheme to replace the sector's contract of work system currently being deliberated.

Jakarta – Former home affairs minister Rudini, who died Saturday at age 76, was known as a rare New Order politician of integrity, evident in his willingness to speak out about bureaucratic ills.

The soft-spoken, diminutive former army general was one of the few former Soeharto era ministers spared the hail of recriminations following the end of the administration in 1998.

Adianto P Simamora and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta – An environmental group declared Thursday says the administration is not ready to enforce bylaw No. 2/2005 on air pollution control, which comes into effect next month.

Endy M. Bayuni, Jakarta – First there was the hearing. Then came the investigation. Next thing we know, in less than a year, President Abdurrahman Wahid was impeached and forced out of office by the House of Representatives in July 2001.

Jakarta – After eight months of uncertainty over their status, workers of the now-defunct Jakarta News FM radio station rallied in front of the Kelompok Kompas Gramedia (KKG) media group's office in Palmerah, Central Jakarta, on Friday.

Along with the station's sympathizers, they protested what they called the illegal takeover of the radio station.

Jakarta – About 200 protesters stormed Parliament in Indonesia's restive Papua province on Monday to demand the withdrawal of troops from the region, witnesses said. Calm was restored by nightfall.

Two policemen were injured in the melee in the provincial capital, Jayapura, state news agency Antara reported. Authorities in Jayapura were not available for comment.

Jakarta – Every year more than 100 Indonesians die while performing the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Most of the dead are elderly or ill.

They often go on the pilgrimage without taking into account their old age or poor health. And despite the risks, they are likely to keep going.

Jakarta – Police in Indonesia's Papua on Monday denied allegations that four students were shot dead in a revenge attack linked to a group of separatist refugees fleeing from the province to Australia.

Calls are growing for Australia's immigration department to grant immediate protection visas to 43 Papuan asylum seekers who arrived in far north Australia last week. The group is now being held on Christmas Island, many of them at one of Australia's offshore immigration detention centres.

Nova Maulani, Jakarta - Flavours of West Papua dominated a demonstration in Jakarta by people from Indonesia's eastern-most province. They were demanding that police release the eight people that have been cited as carrying out the shooting of US citizens in Timika in 2002.

Nova Maulani, Jakarta - A solidarity action over the Freeport tragedy has ended up at the US Embassy. For one-and-a-half hours around 150 demonstrators gave speeches and held theatrical actions.

Prior to this they held an action at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout and the State Palace.

Colum Lynch, United Nations – An internal UN probe of the department that runs international peacekeeping operations has uncovered extensive evidence of mismanagement and possible fraud, and triggered the suspension of eight procurement officials pending an investigation, according to UN officials and documents.

Edith M. Lederer, United Nations – East Timor's president urged the UN Security Council on Monday to keep a small political office in the country after the UN wraps up its six-year operation in May.

President Xanana Gusmao hopes the office will help with next year's elections and support critically needed police training, as well as justice and finance reforms.

Gunawan Mashar, Makassar - Scores of West Papuan students in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar have also held an action demanding the release of the Timika detainees. As well as giving speeches, the demonstration was accompanied by traditional dances.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – The Papua People's Council (MRP) has formed four teams to gauge public opinion in West Irian Jaya about the controversial proposal to form the area into a separate province.

Scott Burchill – The report of the United Nations inquiry into Indonesia's brutal 24-year occupation of East Timor will come as no surprise to activists who opposed the policies of successive Australian governments, beginning in 1975, nor to the people of East Timor.

Sian Powell, Jakarta – Indonesia's own military films provide the proof that the Soviet equivalent of napalm, opalm, was used on the people of East Timor during Jakarta's 24-year occupation of the former Portuguese colony.

[Of Aceh and Turning Tides: Songs to My Sisters. Debra H. Yatim, Acehkita Foundation, Banda Aceh/Jakarta, 2005. 71 pp.]

Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta – A historian is urging the government to examine the reasons behind Indonesia's invasion of East Timor in 1975 and any excesses in its 24-year occupation, so that the country can rid itself of "ignorance and hatred".

Jim Dickins – Police failed to investigate allegations an Australian public servant passed massive bribes to East Timor's Prime Minister.

Documents lodged with a United States court claim an Australian acted as the bagman in a conspiracy involving US energy giant ConocoPhillips. Bribery of foreign officials is a criminal offence punishable by as much as 10 years in jail.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Relatives of a Papuan protester killed by security authorities in Paniai regency two days ago demanded on Saturday that Trikora Military Commander Maj. Gen. George Toisutta be held responsible for the death, accusing his soldiers of the shooting.

[The Internet in Indonesia's New Democracy. David T. Hill & Krishna Sen Routledge, 2005, 204 pp.]

Ignatius Haryanto, Jakarta – Over the past few years, Australian researchers David Hill and Krishna Sen have garnered acclaim for their work on Indonesian media.

Jakarta – Indonesia's military chief on Sunday denied that the country's forces massacred or starved to death more than 180,000 civilians and used napalm against them during its 24-year occupation of East Timor.

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Helsinki – As snow floated down from the dark skies over Finland's capital Helsinki, Vice President Jusuf Kalla and exiled leaders of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) held a historic meeting aimed at building a long-lasting peace in Aceh.

Yemris Fointuna and Jon Afrizal, Kupang/Jambi – Continuous rain during the past few days has flooded many villages in East Nusa Tenggara and Jambi, with waters more than a meter deep in some areas.

Thirteen villages were affected by the flooding in Belu and the Rote Ndao regencies. In Rote Ndao a local wharf was destroyed by floodwaters.

Jakarta – Conservative Indonesians are furious about the planned debut of a local edition of raunchy magazine Playboy, fuelling a growing debate on pornography in the world's largest Islamic nation.

M. Azis Tunny, Ambon – About 200 displaced Muslims and Christians rallied in front of the Maluku Legislative Council in Ambon on Friday, demanding the authorities build them adequate houses.

They accused regional and central governments of neglecting their welfare after religious violence forced them to flee Ambon in Jan. 19, 1999.

The Federal Government says it has asked Indonesia for official clarification of reports of a shooting in which one person was killed and two injured, in the troubled province of Papua.

Concerns are being raised that the shooting is linked to the arrival in Australia earlier this week of 43 asylum seekers from Papua.

Nethy Dharma Somba, Jayapura – Unidentified security officers opened fire on a group of protesters outside a police station in Paniai regency in restive Papua province on Friday, killing one person and injuring two others, a police spokesman said.